Gravity

Gravity blew me away with its amazing visual effects and the contrast of space and claustrophobia. I have an inexplicable fascination with space movies (not quite the likes of Star Wars and Star Trek, even if I do enjoy the latter, but those that are more grounded in reality) such as the films focusing on the Apollo missions, the documentary on the 2003 Colombia space shuttle accident and the more science-fi-ey Moon and Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. I have been equally awestruck and chilled by the immensity of space and man's efforts towards scientific progress.

Space - the final frontier, as Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles called it - is equal parts majestic and equal parts threatening. I held my breath as Sandra Bullock's character spun out of control in the vast expanse, harrowed by the loneliness evoked. Space figured as the third character in a small cast; a force that threatened survival while being a space to survive in.

The failures and catastrophic series of events in Gravity left me pondering on the insignificance of man in light of greater forces.

Of course, there was also the whole birth sequence that many made reference to. I guess it is only appropriate since people are changed when confronted with their own mortality and powerlessness.

So far, my top three movies of 2013 are Cloud Atlas, Pacific Rim and Gravity, in no particular order. What is yours?