Y Tu Mamá También (2001)

Who's in it?: Diego Luna (Open Range, Rogue One), Gael García Bernal (Coco, Mozart in the Jungle), and Maribel Verdú (Pan's Labyrinth).

What's it about?: Two teenage bros (Luna and García Bernal) take a road trip with a grown-up woman (Verdú) and learn something about themselves.

How is it?: It's fascinating to contrast Y Tu Mamá También with Alfonso Cuarón's previous film, Great Expectations. Expectations is all about sensuality through what you can't see, but only imagine. That's a lot of what the story is actually about and it's certainly the approach that Cuarón takes to presenting it.

Mamá, on the other hand, leaves nothing to the imagination. The story is about sex, specifically as thought about and experienced by its male protagonists. Cuarón appropriately presents it with as much subtlety as teenaged boys approach sex: none at all.

Taking nothing away from Cuarón's thoughtfulness about his material (I like how there's no easy, clean wrap up; this is a messy tale) and his amazing skill in presenting it (the road trip through Mexico is beautiful), Mamá isn't for me. I hated spending time with Luna and García Bernal's characters and though my heart went out to Verdú's, this really isn't her story.

Rating: Two out of five worried women.

Great Expectations (1998)

Who's in it?: Ethan Hawke (In a Valley of Violence, The Magnificent Seven, The Kid), Gwyneth Paltrow (Se7en, Emma, Iron Man), Anne Bancroft (Treasure of the Golden Condor, The Graduate, Honeymoon in Vegas), Robert De Niro (The Untouchables, Midnight Run, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein), Chris Cooper (Lonesome Dove, The Bourne Identity, The Muppets), and Hank Azaria (The Simpsons, Friends, Mystery Men)

What's it about?: An adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel about the life of an orphan, but set in contemporary times.

How is it?: Emmanuel Lubezki's photography is a highlight as usual. He's won enough Oscars to make that an understatement, but Alfonso Cuarón (who directed this, which is why I'm watching it again) was an early collaborator with Lubezki. In Great Expectations, Cuarón brilliantly communicates the sensuality of Finn (Pip in the book) and Estella's relationship through camera placement, focus, scene blocking, and pretty much every other tool in his kit except dialogue and gratuitous nudity, which are what less talented directors have to rely on.

What keeps it from being a favorite film of mine is the story itself. I've never read Dickens' novel, so I don't know who to blame, but I get tired of Dinsmoor and Estella's shenanigans way before Finn does, meaning that I also get impatient with his continued submission to their cruelty. Cuarón is so good at including me in Estella's seduction of Finn that I feel why it would be tough for Finn to move on, but I really want him to and though SPOILER his patience ultimately pays off, I'm not satisfied that the reward is worth the lifetime of suffering.

I could be thinking about it wrong by phrasing it in terms of reward for Finn, but Estella isn't a complete enough character for me to see her point of view clearly. There's a great scene where she talks about Dinsmoor's training and what that's done to her, but it's not enough. I want more of that.

Rating: Three out of five seductive socialites.

A Little Princess (1995)

Who's in it?: Liesel Matthews (Air Force One), Eleanor Bron (Help!, Absolutely Fabulous), and Liam Cunningham (First Knight)

What's it about?: A young English girl named Sara (Matthews) enters an American boarding school when her father (Cunningham) goes to war. But her positive outlook is challenged when her dad is reported dead, his finances frozen, and the school's sour headmistress (Bron) changes Sara's status from privileged student to persecuted servant.

How is it?: This was my second time seeing this version of A Little Princess (there's a 1939 adaptation starring Shirley Temple that's also quite good). I watched it back in the day mostly because it was directed by Alfonso Cuarón, but also because it's based on a book by Frances Hodgson Burnett, author of the enjoyable gothic novel for children, The Secret Garden.

A Little Princess is absolutely lovely and I fell for it just as hard the second time. Sara is an amazing character who proves that her optimism and kindness are not tied to her circumstances. Some horrible things happen to her, but she's a source of light and warmth to everyone she meets. Especially other girls in the school who are struggling. Sara insists that all girls are princesses, which sounds trite and naive until it becomes clear that what she actually means is that all girls have value, even the ones causing her to suffer. It's a moving example of loving one's enemies and as soon as I finished it, I contacted my local bookstore to order a copy of the novel.

Rating: Five out of five hardy heroines.

Sólo con Tu Pareja (1991)

Who's in it?: Daniel Giménez Cacho, whom I didn't know from anything else. Also very many other talented actors whom I also didn't know.

What's it about?: When a philanderer (Cacho) two-times the nurse who's processing the test results from his latest physical, she sends him a fake report that says he has HIV. Just in time for him to for really for true fall in love with his new neighbor.

How is it?: In addition to Danny Kaye, I'm also going to work through Alfonso Cuarón's filmography this year. He's been one of my favorite directors for a while, but there are key films of his that I haven't seen and I want to correct that. I want to move him to Favorite Director of All Time, but that claim needs some validating.

Sólo con Tu Pareja (English translation: Only with Your Partner) was Cuarón's first feature film, but you can't tell that from looking at it. It's impressive. Leave it to Cuarón to direct a comedy about AIDS and suicide that's both moving and funny. Cacho's character is a lech, but he's also super charming and I understand why he's so successful at seduction. The film is beautiful to look at too, with photography by three-time Oscar winning cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (Gravity, The Bird Man, The Revenant). Considering the subject matter (which I felt bad laughing about), Sólo con Tu Pareja is an amazing achievement.

Rating: Four out of five pleasant players.

Gravity (2013)

Who's in it?: Sandra Bullock (Bionic Showdown, Demolition Man) and George Clooney (Return to Horror High, Return of the Killer Tomatoes!).

What's it about?: A novice astronaut (Bullock) is stranded in Earth's orbit without a ship when a space shuttle mission goes horribly wrong.

How is it?: My default setting is to have zero interest in movies about people stuck alone in one setting for an hour-and-a-half. Though I've heard good things, I've never seen Castaway, Open Water, or that one with Ryan Reynolds buried alive. That's why I resisted Gravity when I first heard about it, even though it stars two of my favorite actors and was made by one of my favorite directors.

The pull of Bullock, Clooney, and Alfonso Cuarón became too powerful though, especially when paired with almost universally great reviews and a serious admonition by the right people to see it in 3D. I'm almost as disinterested in 3D as I am in watching a person try to stay alive for an entire film without any antagonists, but when other people who don't care for 3D tell me that that's the way I need to see a movie, then I usually listen. And I'm glad I did.

Though the action of Gravity all takes place in Earth's orbit, it's not just 90 minutes of Sandra Bullock floating in space, which is what I sort of feared. She has plenty to do as she tries to make it back to solid ground and there are lots of complications to prevent her from getting there. Sometimes you don't need a bad guy.

There's also some light character development as Bullock - because of some trauma in her past - has to remember why it's even important to live. This is the weakest part of the movie, but it does drive her character's emotions which in turn gives her some great scenes that remind me why she's one of my favorite actors. George Clooney doesn't have to stretch as much, but he's perfectly charming as the more seasoned astronaut who commands the shuttle mission and it's not his movie anyway.

As thrilling as the story is though, the real treat is the way it's presented. Cuarón mixes live performance and CGI seamlessly to create some amazing and breathtaking shots. They really do need to be seen in 3D though to appreciate their full glory and should be viewed on the largest screen possible. I don't know how much Gravity will reward multiple viewings, but it's a powerful, immersive experience and needs to be seen the right way at least once.

Grade: Four out of five debris clouds.