#Gabriela Cowperthwaite

[hannibals-cheekbones]

I.S.S. (2023), Dir. Gabriela Cowperthwaite

[brokehorrorfan]

I.S.S. will be released on Digital on February 6 before hitting Blu-ray and DVD on March 12 via Decal Releasing. The 2023 sci-fi thriller is currently in select theaters.

Gabriela Cowperthwaite (Blackfish) directs from a Blacklist script by Nick Shafir. Ariana DeBose, Chris Messina, John Gallagher Jr., Masha Mashkova, Costa Ronin, and Pilou Asbæk star.

No special features are included. Read on for the trailer.

Tensions flare in the near future aboard the International Space Station as a worldwide conflict breaks out on Earth. Reeling from this, the astronauts receive orders from the ground: take control of the station by any means necessary.

Pre-order I.S.S.

[cantsayidont]

More hateration holleration. No poster art; I didn't like any of these movies and don't feel like looking at their posters again.

ABOUT HIM & HER (2023): Experimental romantic drama, set in 1989 and "based on a true memory," about an unnamed man (Callan McAuliffe) and an unnamed woman (Cristina Spruell) who are accidentally connected by a phone company mishap. Over a series of subsequent long-distance conversations, they become emotionally entangled and eventually agree to meet, but they're both so afraid that finally seeing each other face-to-face will shatter their delicate intimacy that they spend the entire second half of the film trying to avoid looking at one another, even though they both desperately want to. The characters' interactions are carefully staged throughout (at first, they're just voices, and we don't get a look at either of their faces until they're both in the hotel room), but this initially touching conceit eventually becomes SO contrived that the story's genuine poignancy is undercut by a growing resentment at being jerked around in such a heavy-handed way. This is perhaps the ultimate romantic idiot plot: Despite their insecurity, the characters are both skinny, conventionally attractive, straight white cisgender adults of similar age and class; the only thing keeping them apart is their reluctance to (literally) just open their eyes, and there's no reason to assume that even a failure of nerve on that front would be irreconcilable save for the filmmakers' stubborn commitment to the melancholy bit. (The end credits claim that the lead actors never saw each other or even learned each other's name until the film's premiere.)

I.S.S. (2023): Upsettingly grim apocalyptic drama — not really a thriller, though billed as one — about six astronauts aboard the International Space Station, three Americans (Ariana DeBose, Chris Messina, and John Gallagher Jr.) and three Russians (Masha Mashkova, Costa Ronin, and Pilou Asbæk), whose respective governments order them to turn on each other as nuclear war breaks out on Earth. Well-acted and generally well-made, but there's little real suspense because an unbearably bleak outcome is always a certainty, making the fates of the individual characters a more or less moot point; the only leavening factor the script can offer is a contrived subplot involving an experimental treatment for radiation poisoning, which is clearly too little, too late in the face of the global nuclear holocaust the characters see unfolding on the surface below. A stressful downer that makes Lars von Trier's nightmarish 2011 end-of-the-world movie MELANCHOLIA seem like a screwball comedy by comparison.

PARALLEL (2024): Unconvincing sci-fi drama, cowritten by stars Aldis and Edwin Hodge (and based on a 2019 Chinese film) about unhappy spouses Vanessa (Danielle Deadwyler) and Alex (Aldis Hodge), who are staying in a remote lake house with Alex's brother Martel (Edwin Hodge) as they struggle to come to grips with the recent death of their young son. The woods surrounding the house are also a nexus of parallel timelines, where alternate versions of the characters seek to supplant one another in what they hope will be better versions of their previous lives. It's nice to see this kind of sci-fi allegory with an all-Black cast, but it doesn't really work dramatically, marred by an over-reliance on exposition and some rather arbitrary rules (which the characters accept far more readily than it seems like they should under the circumstances) that make the plot's rapidly escalating violence hard to swallow. Aldis Hodge comes across well as always, but Deadwyler's part doesn't allow for much emotional nuance, and Edwin Hodge is stuck in an awkward third-wheel role.

PASSAGES (2023): Glum, dishearteningly biphobic French drama about a married man called Tomas (Franz Rogowski) who spurns his husband Martin (Ben Whishaw) for a younger woman called Agathe (Adèle Exarchopoulos) and then attempts to retreat to Martin after Agathe becomes pregnant, eventually managing to alienate them both. Why either was ever interested in him in the first place is never very clear, as Tomas is unattractive, solipsistic, and thoroughly unsympathetic (though Martin is no prize himself, leaving Agathe as the most tolerable character basically by default). All of the characters are thinly drawn, and some interesting directorial choices can't make up for the film's conspicuous lack of warmth or its aggravating determination to equate Tomas's bisexuality (a word the script studiously avoids) with his consuming selfishness and inability to commit emotionally.

[cinemaquiles]

Conflito Rússia e EUA no espaço: a ficção irregular "ISS" (2024) com Ariana Debose

[watchingmoviesandshit]

I.S.S. (2023)

[di-kot-o-me]

Quietly and seemingly out of sight, governments, private investors and mercenaries are working to seize food and water resources at the expense of entire populations. They are driven by a simple understanding, a sober assessment by world leaders and the international intelligence community - food is power in the 21st century. As water and food conflicts are erupting around the world, the most vital resources on the planet are being weaponized and used to wage war. THE GRAB is a new high-stakes #thrillermovie combining hard-hitting #journalism from The Center for Investigative Reporting with the storytelling power of director Gabriela Cowperthwaite, director of #Blackfish, taking you around the globe to reveal one of the world’s biggest and least-known threats.

[milliondollarbaby87]

Our Friend (2019) Review

Going through tough times is when you really need a good friend, Dane proves over and over again to both Nicole and Matt that he is that person. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Continue reading Our Friend (2019) Review

[thecraggus]

I.S.S. (2024) Review

A lack of storytelling craft undermines I.S.S.'s decent cast and intriguing set-up. #Review

[fromthestacks]

I.S.S.

[awesomefridayca]

Podcast: I.S.S. & The Taste of Things

Greetings programs!  We’re back after a week away and talking about the new outer space set thriller I.S.S. and then catching up with France’s official submission for the Best International Feature Oscar, The Taste of Things.  Our opinions are both the same and different about both of these movies, and one of them garnered a pretty specific reaction from Matthew.  Join us!     Continue reading…

[greensparty]

Movie Review: I.S.S.

A small group of people on a ship or in a small space is always a good jumping off point for building tension and paranoia. Going back to so many films in John Carpenter's filmography (Assault on Precinct 13, The Thing, or The Fog to name a few) or Quentin Tarantino's more limited locale films (Reservoir Dogs and The Hateful Eight), you can use those limitations to build a small group of character's fear and anxiety. This week sees the release of Gabriela Cowperthwaite's I.S.S. from Bleeker Street Media, which does just that.

movie poster

The International Space Station is inhabited with astronauts and cosmonauts from both the U.S. and Russia. Back on Earth there's worldwide tension between these nations. Then the astronauts receive an order from their governments: take control of I.S.S. by any means necessary. That's about all I can say without spoilers.

DeBose is ready to take flight

There are definitely some genuine moments in this. Using the claustrophobia and isolation of a space station as a way to build on the tension the characters have is nothing new (i.e. 2001, Alien, Moon, the list goes on and on) but this felt like it was trying to say something about warring nations and U.S. foreign policy in the now and how that can spill over to other areas. It's a Cold War thriller in the same way that Rocky IV was, only without the 80s propaganda. I also did get a kick out of the sing-along to The Scorpions' "Wind of Change". It is an ensemble, but let's face it, the real star is Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose, who plays the newest astronaut on board. It's cool to see her doing something different than musicals. There's not a lot new here, but there's some thrills built on fear and who can anyone trust.

For info on I.S.S.

3 out of 5 stars

[cinefilesreviews]

I.S.S. (2024) Movie Review

Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s I.S.S. is a low-budget thriller set in the shoebox of a set replicating the International Space Station. The film sets out to be a slow-burn potboiler (despite a 95-minute runtime), where chummy colleagues are thrown into an international geopolitical dispute that sows distrust and paranoia. Kira Foster (Ariana DeBose) is greeted warmly by the crew of the space station,…

[jmunneytumbler]

'I.S.S.' Delivers a Killer Premise to Low Earth Orbit

'I.S.S.' Delivers a Killer Premise to Low Earth Orbit

You down with I.S.S.? (CREDIT: Bleecker Street/Screenshot) Starring: Ariana DeBose, Chris Messina, Pilou Asbæk, John Gallagher Jr., Costa Ronin, Maria Mashkova Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite Running Time: 95 Minutes Rating: R for Shockingly Blunt Violence Release Date: January 19, 2024 (Theaters) What’s It About?: The International Space Station orbits around the Earth as a triumph of…

[thenerdsofcolor]

NOC Review: Tense 'I.S.S' is Heavy-Handed but Entertaining

Ever since Gravity, it’s felt like there’s been a haunting prestige movie about realistic space exploration every single year. Not long after was Interstellar. Then The Martian, Hidden Figures, First Man, Ad Astra, Stowaway, etc. For subject matter meant to be about the unknown and unexplored, this subgenre seems incredibly and abundantly well tread. And that’s quite apparent in I.S.S, the latest…

[horrorpatch]

Sci-Fi Thriller I.S.S. Opens This Week!

From acclaimed director Gabriela Cowperthwaite (BLACKFISH, OUR FRIEND) comes Bleecker Street’s gripping sci-fi thriller, I.S.S., starring Academy Award-winner® Ariana DeBose, John Gallagher Jr., Masha Mashkova, Pilou Asbæk, Costa Ronin, and Chris Messina. I.S.S. opens in theaters this Friday, January 19. From The Press Release Synopsis:  Tensions flare in the near future aboard the…

[floorman3]

I.S.S. Review A Slick Looking Space Thriller That Doesn't Wow

“The Creation of The International Space Station (ISS) served as a symbol of United States and Russian Collaboration after the Cold War. The ISS is used primarily as a research facility where the crew makes advancements in medicine, technology, and space exploration. Today, both American Astronauts and Russian cosmonauts are living on board the ISS. The Soyuz Rocket Transports Astronauts From…