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#3848715 - 10/11/13 12:02 AM Re: Gravity [Re: Navigator]  
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Maybe the Iridium network. wink


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#3851134 - 10/17/13 06:08 PM Re: Gravity [Re: Navigator]  
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Not all comm sats are in geosync orbit. The direcTV ones are lower orbit IIRC, that's why you can use a tiny dish to get the signal instead of a vast multi-meter one.




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#3851224 - 10/17/13 10:04 PM Re: Gravity [Re: Navigator]  
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Ten days later, I still vividly recall the visuals of this film. Yes, it is a good one. If you still haven't seen it, do it while you can still watch it on a BIG SCREEN. No matter how big your TV set is, it won't be big enough. wink


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#3851323 - 10/18/13 05:41 AM Re: Gravity [Re: Jedi Master]  
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Originally Posted By: Jedi Master
Not all comm sats are in geosync orbit. The direcTV ones are lower orbit IIRC, that's why you can use a tiny dish to get the signal instead of a vast multi-meter one.

The Jedi Master


If it needs a dish, it's geosynchronous, regardless of size.
Non-geosync would be coming from anywhere, you'd need a
non-directional antenna.

#3852248 - 10/21/13 03:03 AM Re: Gravity [Re: Navigator]  
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PanzerMeyer Online centaurian
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PanzerMeyer  Online Centaurian
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Just saw this tonight and I absolutely loved it. I enjoy films with lots of tension and this had it in spades.

It's amazing how well this film functioned with a bare minimum cast.


“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
#3853093 - 10/23/13 12:55 AM Re: Gravity [Re: QuantumPeep]  
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Originally Posted By: QuantumPeep
My wife and I saw it a couple of hours ago in 3D. Great movie, both my left hand and left leg still hurt from my wifes grip. Was a bit too exciting for her lol. I'd say 3D is worth it for this and big screen a absolute must.


I watched 'Gravity' on Sunday at the Imax3D. bloody impressive!

I kept myself in a Gravity review/publicity-free environment until seeing the film and it was worth it. I was not impressed with the 3D graphics in 'Avatar' and expected something similar in this film, but I was wrong. The 3D effects are simply amazing and put to good use.

'Gravity' is a much better film than Oblivion and Star Trek Into Darkness. It will be interesting to see how Ender's Game turns out; the preview in Imax looked good. The 3D preview of the next Hobbit release did not work for me. It appeared as if the characters was standing in front of a flat backdrop? really weird...

Anyway, I recommend seeing the film in Imax3D if possible. cowboy


Animal Mother > Rambo+ChuckNorris
#3853187 - 10/23/13 07:32 AM Re: Gravity [Re: Navigator]  
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What an excellent film. Really enjoyed it.

Totally unexpected - trailer looked super formulaic but the movie was way better than both the previews and the marketing (to be fair, word of mouth has been stellar - very unusual for a movie in this day and age).

So impressed with the fact the crap hit the fan in the first ten minutes and the film didn't let up from that point forward. I was TOTALLY expecting a change of gear with a flashback to earlier in the mission, usual preamble, by-the-numbers character building, blah blah.

How refreshing to see a different approach!



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#3853223 - 10/23/13 11:03 AM Re: Gravity [Re: Navigator]  
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PanzerMeyer Online centaurian
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I have to say that I was expecting "Gravity" to bomb at the box office. Original scifi is always a tough sell but I think what made this film connect with audiences was the incredibly well made tension and emotion.


“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
#3853344 - 10/23/13 04:34 PM Re: Gravity [Re: Navigator]  
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Much as I don't like deference to "names", having Bullock and Clooney as the two leads probably helped get the movie over critical mass where there were enough people chattering about how good the FILM was to really drive the box office. Appeals to the Sci-Fi casuals.

Went last night and the theater was packed (tried to go last week and couldn't book a decent seat).



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#3853357 - 10/23/13 04:47 PM Re: Gravity [Re: Navigator]  
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PanzerMeyer Online centaurian
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Agreed. I don't think the film would have done as well had the two leads been no name actors.


“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
#3853443 - 10/23/13 08:02 PM Re: Gravity [Re: Navigator]  
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IMHO word of mouth contributed much more. How many would still go see a movie with two names, when a friend says "It had x and y, but it was not worth the time and money."?

#3853446 - 10/23/13 08:07 PM Re: Gravity [Re: Navigator]  
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PanzerMeyer Online centaurian
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Any guesses on where Sandra Bullock's character ended up landing at the end? I'm guessing the west coast of Africa.


“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
#3853451 - 10/23/13 08:19 PM Re: Gravity [Re: Navigator]  
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Oh I agree JAMF, I went to see it because of word of mouth and I'm sure that will end up contributing the bulk of receipts. My point was that you need a push to get the snowball rolling and for what might otherwise have been a short-lived arthouse sci-fi a couple of recognizable names helps (especially with marketing).



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#3853464 - 10/23/13 08:52 PM Re: Gravity [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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Originally Posted By: PanzerMeyer
Any guesses on where Sandra Bullock's character ended up landing at the end? I'm guessing the west coast of Africa.


IIRC the FM radio sounded like an English broadcaster speaking at the beginning or end of a song, sounding American even.

#3853467 - 10/23/13 09:00 PM Re: Gravity [Re: Navigator]  
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I was expecting Hollywood to butcher orbital mechanics in a horrendous way - and was positively surprised (easy to do if you have near-zero expectations, of course). Considering what's par for the course, it's almost a miracle that the film turned out to be what it was. I mean, seriously: In all likelihood it should have been so much more the usual drivel. Cast and superb photography / SFX certainly helped with general acceptance.

We had a discussion as to which this film was actually to be considered "science fiction". I argued that it was a mere drama film that happened to be located in space. Aside from the initial incident and the Chinese space station there wasn't anything futuristic in it. Heh, with Space Shuttles still flying one could even say that it was decidedly retro. wink

#3853478 - 10/23/13 09:41 PM Re: Gravity [Re: Navigator]  
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Well, Star Wars was set a long time ago and that was certainly Science Fiction smile



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#3853502 - 10/23/13 10:31 PM Re: Gravity [Re: Navigator]  
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I'm sorry, but again I have to disagree. Star Wars is pure Fantasy. Fantasy that happens to play a lot in space, admittedly, but just because we associate cold, irradiated vacuum with "science fiction" doesn't lend any scientific credibility to Jedis, howling TIE fighters, visible laser beams, planetary destruction devices, and aerodynamic movement outside of an atmosphere. Star Wars revives strong Fantasy archetypes and clads them in futuristic looks, but pretty much anything in it is undiluted Fantasy.

That doesn't detract anything from its value, mind you. There just isn't any science in this fiction.

#3853577 - 10/24/13 03:04 AM Re: Gravity [Re: Navigator]  
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PanzerMeyer Online centaurian
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Heh, when I think "fantasy" I always think of elves, wizards, dragons, orcs, magic, etc.

If it has space travel, aliens and futuristic technology then it's science fiction.

smile

Last edited by PanzerMeyer; 10/24/13 03:05 AM.

“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
#3853579 - 10/24/13 03:07 AM Re: Gravity [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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Originally Posted By: PanzerMeyer
I have to say that I was expecting "Gravity" to bomb at the box office. Original scifi is always a tough sell but I think what made this film connect with audiences was the incredibly well made tension and emotion.


How did it do for money/audience?


Oh, and for the record, I saw this in 3D, the first movie I REALLY wanted to see in 3D...and I agree it was not only good, but great!

As for realism, yea, there ARE a few shortcommings, the time to get ready for space walks for one thing, the improbability/impossibility that shuttle, ISS and Shenzen station would all be just an hour or two away from each other is just rediculous.

Oh, and the Jet pack? My brother thought it had a very short time/fuel use, but turns out the wiki on it states the earlier MMU had a useage of around 6 hours! But at a max velocity (relative to whatever orbit speed you already have, of course) of 88 feet per second (24m per second), I'm calculating that 6 hours linear travel would only get you 504 km (314 miles). Now, I'm no rocket scientist...or even much good at math, but I'm guessing 300 miles is utterly useless to get from a shuttle on an unrelated mission, to the ISS unless the satelite (Hubble??) in question was out of control and dangerously close to the ISS in the first place (no impression of this was given in the movie). Not to mention that Clooney states that he was mostly out of fuel, having expended most of it during flight testing before the emergency (and movie) began. Which from what I'm gathering, suggests he really only had enough fuel to travel perhaps 25-50 miles to the ISS. Not including

Click to reveal..
rescuing Sandra from her out of control spin, or trying to rendevous with the shuttle before going ISS



And yet...none of that mattered to me in the movie...because they tried so hard to make so much of the movie realistic, that the few items that weren't, could be easily forgiven as nessisary plot devices to have the story in the first place. I mean, I think it's fair to say that in the real world,
Click to reveal..
Sandra's intial spining velocity after the first impacts at the shuttle rescue would be virtually impossible unless everything were absolutely perfect for Clooney to carry it out: him with a full fuel in tanks, her not drifting away at more than say 8 or 9m per second, otherwise catching her, stopping their inertia, and then getting going back for intercept to shuttle...just wouldn't happen. We'd have listened to a woman speaking her final words for an hour or a few, and then...well, space travel can be somewhat unforgiving for humans! biggrin


But again, I'm very far from rocket scientist! biggrin

It was nice to see Soyuz get some screen time in movies...that seems to be a seriously rare event! Though at one point I was rather hoping that the Russians might make their own "robot arm" that could cut parachutes! Frustrating scene, but then, that's the whole point of the movie!

Last edited by Rick.50cal; 10/24/13 03:45 AM.

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#3853582 - 10/24/13 03:28 AM Re: Gravity [Re: Navigator]  
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Would seem very well!

$100m budget, taken $290m already worldwide: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=gravity.htm

For comparative purposes, Trek into Darkness did 70m opening weekend, 37m second weekend, 16m third.

Gravity did 56m first, 43m second, 30m third so strong numbers for a non-franchise off the bat, and word of mouth is really holding numbers up.




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