Sunshine

[Variety of Cells]

If this film was brought up in another topic I don't feel bad for bringing it up again, because it deserves its own. 

I am talking about Sunshine.  Not Little Miss Sunshine, this is a sci fi film that is currently on limited release.  And I must say, it was well worth the 11 bucks I paid to see it here in New York. 

It was beautiful.  It took something that has been done many times; a crew in space on a mission to save the world; made it very plausible, amazing to watch, and gave you interesting characters as well.  In the film, the sun is dying.  The earth is starting to freeze over, so they have sent out a crew to create an explosion inside the sun, a spark that will create a new star inside a star.  All of the special effects worked.  The blending of models and cgi was seamless on the big screen.  But it wasn't only explosions and special effects that made it pretty, the film makers went ahead and gave the film its own style and feel. 

The characters were also well developed, believable, and interesting.  Even the 'villains'.  I'll wait to talk more about that until some more people have seen it.

Though I was most impressed with the sound design.  It's hard to describe without going on for paragraphs, but it deserves its own line in my review.  Pay attention to it if you watch it. 

I haven't seen a ton of sci fi, so I am interested to see what some of the sci fi buffs here think.  I patiently await some one to discuss the film with.

[mrbasehart]

Good, isn't it?  It had a pretty wide release here, and while I had some problems with the final third of the movie, it completely nailed the atmosphere and tension.  The sound and fury of the climax is pretty intense in a big auditiorium, which some found off putting, but I thought was completely appropriate for the movie.  It's also incredibly beautiful in places - where the crew gather to watch Mercury pass across the light of the sun - and the effects for a relatively small budgeted movie are brilliant.

[Variety of Cells]

It had a small budget?  Well now I respect it exponentially more. 

There's been lots of talk in the torture porn thread about how much violence and gore you should see.  This film is a great example of less is more.  That's how a scary villain should be done.  The scene where he's in the hollo deck type room; creepy and beautiful.

[mrbasehart]

It had a small budget?  Well now I respect it exponentially more. 

There's been lots of talk in the torture porn thread about how much violence and gore you should see.  This film is a great example of less is more.  That's how a scary villain should be done.  The scene where he's in the hollo deck type room; creepy and beautiful.

Well, relatively, for the kind of movie it was: $50 million.

The villain was the problem I had with the film, actually.  It just seemed a little absurd that the guy had managed to live like that for god knows how long and still have the uber-strength to take on the crew.

Apart from that, I really enjoyed it.

[Variety of Cells]

If he wasn't introduced as he was, I probably wouldn't have liked him either.  But I liked his style.  I could buy that he lived that long on his own.  And fanatical devotion to a cause can give you strange strength.  Though I don't really understand why he didn't kill himself after his crew died, unless he knew that they would send another ship and his mission was to destroy it.

I can see how he might rub you the wrong way.  If I would have actually seen him, I would probably agree with you.  But I saw just enough, and heard him talk just enough to buy it.  My disbelief was successfully suspended.  And I found him scary to boot.

[Junkyard]

Dammit, this film doesn't appear to be playing anywhere in Wisconsin!

[Sinflux]

I saw it over the weekend and pretty much agree with everything you said.   I absolutely loved it, it's my new favorite dramatic sci-fi movie.

[Junkyard]

I just saw it! It turns out it did come out in Wisconsin, just a week later than other places.
Especially good points:
Unpredictable: I really thought the psychologist would be the one to go crazy.
Chris Evans: Okay, I forgive you for FF1 AND 2. Good job being the only smart person on the ship.
No cheap thrills. No out of place comedy, no sex, all in the interests of making a film where things happen as they really would, and it WORKS.

[SmilinJackRoss]

I can't wait to see this...I know nothing about it, only that it's a Danny Boyle film.  And that is enough for me, he's fantastic.

[starfighter]

   I fall into the minority on this one.  I went into it today, expecting to like it and it just all fell apart for me, especially in the final payoff.  I was considering retitling it "Angst in Space" with the occasional outburst of hammy acting from practically everyone.  What a cliche it is to have two guys fight while the female crew talk about the testosterone levels.
     I couldn't tell the difference between the score and the noises they're supposed to be hearing in the ship. Out of the whole crew, only one person was capable of fulfilling the ultimate mission?  How about a little cross-training during a 7-month voyage?
     Between "Silent Running," "Alien," "2001," and "2010," this movie really showed its references but I wonder if it really had any scientific advisors.  Your mileage may vary, but this movie let me down.

[Junkyard]

The "Only You Can Do This" thing did bother me as well. Like you said- Crosstraining. You don't go into space to re-ignite the Sun with only one person who knows how to light the fire.
Plus, if he was so important, why did they let him out to repair the panels earlier on?

That was the one big flaw in the film. The testosterone thing was pretty understated, as a cliche.

Well, I guess I'd call the excessive use of Shaky Cam a potential flaw, actualy. But besides that, a solid movie.

[SmilinJackRoss]

I was extremely disappointed in the final twist with the madman running around the ship.  What a silly cliched cop-out ending.  I was enjoying the movie immensely up until that point.  I still love Danny Boyle, and this is still one of his better films, but the super-sneaky-scabby-uber-christian murderer was totally out of place.

[BathTub]

Bollocks, Bollocks, Bollocks, Bollocks.

Gah this was almost a good film. I almost enjoyed it.

I can forgive 1 oxygen garden. that was ok. I can forgive 1 door/docking hatch. The artificial gravity, not an issue at all. But Freddy Kruger totally shat all over the film. Living on the ship without leaving a damn trace that he was there (apart from dust) for 7 years? And taking Capa by surprise, in the middle of an empty enormous  room? I'm guessing Capa had to throw the bomb in manually at the end because Icarus was dead, but that whole bit seemed a bit strange too.

[anais.jude]

Bollocks, Bollocks, Bollocks, Bollocks.

Gah this was almost a good film. I almost enjoyed it.

I can forgive 1 oxygen garden. that was ok. I can forgive 1 door/docking hatch. The artificial gravity, not an issue at all. But Freddy Kruger totally shat all over the film. Living on the ship without leaving a damn trace that he was there (apart from dust) for 7 years? And taking Capa by surprise, in the middle of an empty enormous  room? I'm guessing Capa had to throw the bomb in manually at the end because Icarus was dead, but that whole bit seemed a bit strange too.

yea, that zombie aspect really effed the movie up

[a pretty girl is like]

I agree that the third act morph into a slasher film was disconcerting.  It was still a good slasher sequence though.  Danny Boyle is a master at creating and sustaining tension.  True tension not just fake loud noises scares.