Oscar nominee 'Gravity' still a stunner in any dimension

Oscar nominee ‘Gravity’ still a stunner in any dimension

By Betsy Sharkey

Feb. 19, 2014 12 AM PT

There has been so much talk of the heights director Alfonso Cuarón achieves with “Gravity’s” groundbreaking 3-D effects, I fear the merits of its heart-pounding story and Sandra Bullock’s and George Clooney’s moving performances are being overlooked. It’s worth a mention as “Gravity” fights to the Oscar finish line in the running for best picture, actress, director and seven other categories. So I decided to put the ethereal cosmic odyssey written by Cuarón and son Jonás to the ultimate test: 2-D, 35-inch screen, dogs on the couch. Could it rise above the diminished dimensions and the dogs? Would it still be a wondrous adventure of courage and the capacity of the human spirit to survive that final frontier? The short answer is yes. I will admit I love what “Gravity’s” 3-D delivers — an experience so immersive it’s as if you are lost in space alongside Bullock’s stranded engineer. But without all the whiz-bang-wow, “Gravity” still has gravitas. Riveting, thrilling, poignant, profound — all the elements that make a movie great are there. Oh, and the dogs say two-paws up.