Still trying to muster the oomph

"...Yet “Oblivion” is worth the trip. There are two reasons for this. The first is the cinematography of Claudio Miranda, who won an Oscar for his work on “Life of Pi.” Clearly, he is the man to go to for transcendent physical grace when your metaphysics won’t quite wash. If you like having your breath snatched, wait for the head-on shot of Jack’s swimming pool—a long, transparent tub, slung low beneath the house, and viewed by night so that we can trace the figures frolicking within." — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker

It's right on the edge. It's sci-fi so Kate won't go with me. And there's the plot, by all accounts. And yet those cloudscapes — filmed and then projected onto a wraparound screen behind the actors, the way they used to do rear projection — look gorgeous: "The most beautiful set I've ever been on," said Cruise. I have a weakness for cloud cities, like Swift's Laputa or The Empire Strikes Back's Bespin. They're so golden age, pre-space-flight, back when getting things airborne seemed the big miracle and jet-packs a must. I guess if I can make it through Antonioni's Beyond the Clouds, I can make it through this.