Gravity

Two astronauts (Sandra Bullock, George Clooney) are stranded in space when a debris storm demolishes their space shuttle and wipes out the rest of the crew. Director Alfonso Cuarón, who co-wrote the script with his son Jonás Cuarón, has crafted one of the great white-knuckle thrillers of all time—as airtight as the pressure suits the astronauts wear, without a wasted syllable and just enough featherlight touches to keep the tension from becoming entirely unbearable. Despite Clooney's presence, it's a virtual one-woman show for Bullock, and she's as brilliant as the movie itself, showing the panic, despair, hope and hopelessness in her character's struggle to survive. The story is so riveting that Cuarón's virtuosic touches go almost unnoticed, but they're there, with stunning visual effects to boot.