Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-24 20:58:07

Sunshine...See it in Blu-Ray

This review is from: Sunshine [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) You need to see this movie. See it in HD for the maximum effect. If you like sci-fi, or if you just like movies, this is one of the best from 2007!

2012-05-24 13:54:04

This is a Great film! (Spoilers in my review)

This movie was outstanding! it was slow to start but it was so Visually stunning that I never took my eyes off it. I did have one big problem with some of the people. To be earth last hope and the best we had for the job they certainly became stupid fast. To use a movie line, "The needs of the many out weight the needs of the few." No way do I buy that the smartest people in the world would take a chance the last chance there was to ave the world and blow it because they felt the need to rescue a few people. Yeah they justified it by saying they needed the other package but the underline thee was to save the crew from the other ship. So that was my biggest problem with this movie. So that being said the picture redeemed itself in the last half, with suspense and action! I enjoyed it tremendously! And yes as others have said the ending will blow you away!

marvin-prather 2012-05-20 02:59:42

Artful film with exquisite soundtrack.

Danny Boyle's latest science fiction foray doesn't disappoint. You willfind his films, as a whole, to be artful and insightful, marryingstrong imagery and symbols with actors who truly seem "made for thepart."Composer John Murphy teams up with electronic act "Underworld" tocreate an ethereal soundtrack that *breathes* soul into this movie. Iwould be a fan of this film even without the soundtrack, however thissoundtrack creates moments rather than simply scenes. Sadly, due tolegal wrangling (as always, somehow, seems to be the case withspectacular soundtracks), it looks as though the soundtrack will neverbe released. There have been false starts and random snippets ofinformation stating that the soundtrack has (for over a year now) hasbeen "on the verge" of release. I doubt we will actually see it'srelease as it will, ultimately, be as elusive as the soundtrack to"Rock & Rule," and like the latter, I, for one, would kill for a copy.I recommend seeing this film if nothing else for the seamless marriageof image and music.

Terrydoodle 2012-05-19 17:42:25

Refuge in Darkness

Sunshine, directed by Danny Boyle, is only a visual and psychologicaljourney, not an emotional one. Chris Evans, from Fantastic Four,surprisingly gives a realistic and convincing performance as to how anastronaut would act in the face of the end of the world. Whattremendous pressure they must feel, but unfortunately no one other thanthe human torch conveys this. Capa (Cillian Murphey), in one scene,explains that he doesn't fear death, but his explanation only makes mefeel like his character has no will or motivation to live. This comesacross as bad acting rather than subliminal character development. Thecomputer generated imagery enhances the confused story that makes for aso-so experience. Notice how I say that the story is confused, it doesnot know what it is and therefore suffers from a failure to presentitself well. More on the story later. The sun is a character of its own; constantly we are being shown solarimages that convey its sheer power. In the observation room, a meerfive percent of sunlight exposure can blind you. The filmsscreenwriter, Alex Garland, and Danny Boyle are said to have disagreedover the meaning of the screenplay; Garland finds it as a reference tothe search for God, while Boyle finds it representing global warming.The film's villain is really the the sun, where tragedy and confusionis based in light and the audience find refuge in the dark. Boylereferences tackling this concept as "quite a challenge because the wayyou generate fear in cinema is darkness." It is rare when a sciencefiction film tries to convey deeper meaning. The film, I would say, is split into three acts: the first is characterinteraction during a calm period, the second is the accident and thequest to fix it, and the third is the twist where everything is turnedupside down. We have all seen poor attempts at this science fictiondisaster genre like The Core, but never before has a film like thisthrown in such a disastrous twist that completely flushes itself downthe toilet. Alex Garland has certainly got some explaining to do. My main problem with this film is my lack of interest in the charactersand the horrendous plot twist that turns this philosophical journeyinto a sub par slasher flick. This is a great film for fans of Boyleand the genre, but how much you let the third act disappoint you is,well...up to you. 7/10.

2012-05-15 01:13:12

Good Story/Good Cast negated by a Lousy director

A good director with a good cast can take even a bad story and make a decent film. This movie had a wonderful cast and the story was original. This movie was marketed as a scifi thriller and I believe the screenplay was probably good. The first thirty minutes of the movie lived up to its expectations. However the movie quickly degenerated into a B slasher movie courtesy of Director Danny Boyle. Danny Boyle took what could have been a good movie and ruined it. Despite his critical acclaim he has never done anything original. 28 Days Later and its sequel were just variations of dawn of the dead. This movie is no different. It is almost exactly like the 1997 movie "Event Horizon". This movie would have been so much better without the shaky camera angles and extreme close ups that made the action sequences impossible to follow. A good director can build suspense and thrill you without using hokey camera tricks and gore. Put this one in the category of "Had great potential" and dont waste your time.

2012-05-14 22:37:00

I wish this was smarter

I like Danny Boyle as a director. I thnk that he's done some wonderfully offbeat films and his next projects out always come as a surprise as he leaps from genre to genre. First off, lets start with this title as a blu-ray hi-def transfer: solid, easily 4 to 4.5 out of 5 stars for the picture quality (PQ). Fox has done a good job here, especially with all the flare present within the film (this is a film that centers around the sun after all - I find that flares created some problems in older HD releases but this seems to have been ironed out over the last few months). The audio quality (AQ) is fantastic with a 7.1 lossless track it is just sublime. Now, we'll move to the film itself. There's no denying that this film is beautiful to look at and the FX are top notch. The acting is fairly solid all around with some really good turns by the Japanese sensation, Hiroyuki Senada as Capt. Kenada, Cliff Curtis as Dr. Searle, and Chris Evans as Mace. Evans was a rather large surprise as I've found him often to be a bit too tongue-in-cheek for my tastes. However, he turns in a good performance with the material that was given to him.And here lies the problem. The material on display in the form of the screenplay by Alex Garland has some flashes of brilliance, but overall there are just too many ideas missed or ideas brought up that are just flat out stupid, possibly for the sake of developing more action beats. Some examples of this are: a) the location of the hydroponics garden - why have any windows whatsover exposed, it's not like these plants are going to see natural sunlight as your ship is stuck behind a massive shield of mirrors. In fact, hydroponics would probably be at the hub of any long-mission space ship and would be one of the most protected areas of this ship. b) you've got a ship, a reactively intelligent ship/computer (i.e. it provides answers and questions during routine query by the crew) but this ship/computer, which has displayed unconscious concern (I'm not saying that the ship/computer is AI or anything) in the first scene with Dr. Searle (it tells Searle that he cannot lower the filter while he's watching the sun to above 3.1% after he asks for 4% because of harmful conditions), this ship/computer is unable to catch fairly simple miscalculations that result in the mirror-sheild being damaged because the crewmember in charge of these calculations "forgot" to reset the shield. And I'm just getting started here. There are so many dumb and/or cliched moments in this film that could've been so much more effective if the writer and director has just asked some simple questions. I understand the need to keep this type of production commercial, but there are numerous possibilities that this story offers up that are never explored or glossed over (i.e. Searle's exploration into the psychology of the sun - sure Pinbacker displays some aspects, but it is rarely thoughtful or philosophical in nature as it appears to be set up by Searle at the beginning of the film). I would recommend seeing this film, and again, it's beautiful to watch and listen to on a great Home Theater system, but this cannot be viewed as anything but a film with loads of potential but mostly remains mediocre in its storytelling.

pisarenco-a 2012-05-13 21:02:51

Worst movie I've seen this year

This was a total disappointment. It's genre is named Science Fiction,but there is absolutely nothing "science" about it.- Acting: 8/10 (really nice, no problem here, but also no cases whereoutstanding acting was observed) - Plot: 1/10 - Effects: 4/10 (few of them were pleasant to watch or even relevant) - Science: 1/10 (absolutely nothing seen here is according to science)Details: Vacuum has temperature which instantly freezes anybody? After someseconds in outer space without protection, cold hazard has the hardesteffect? When radiation hits panels, they vibrate? Intensive radiationwhich hits metallic object instantly burns them and make themaccelerate like it's atmosphere re-entry? When the mainframe of aspaceship traveling at high speeds in space suddenly stops, the shipsuddenly ... enters orbit? In an orbit the size of the sun, theysuddenly stumble upon a lost ship they sent out 7 years ago, and haveenough fuel to dock with it? A nuclear bomb the size of Manhattan canlight up a star from its surface? In 50 years our sun will give lesslight (what? our pollution got to the sun and somehow tampered with itszen?)? When the sun lights up, you can see how it spreads around earthlike some kind of city whose lights got back on? And what's with thefission effects, like fireflies running around for a few seconds? It'san oversize nuclear bomb, not a hologram generator.Ugh... Horrible. I ended the movie with my eyes half open and a"WHAT?!?!" expression on my face. Couldn't stand not rate this.

2012-05-13 09:39:08

you will love it or hate it

ok i personal loved this film. it has become one of my all time favorites but besides the point here are my thoughtsthis film is for people that pay close attention. i mean if u want a movie u can get into this is it.pros1. great story2. visual effects are awesome3.cast in one of the best in awhile4.good for watching over and overcons1.not a date movie2.i didnt really like the camera jumpin around towards the end but it did add to the suspence overall i thought the film was well done and i wish i could have seen it in theaters a lot of my friends love it and some hate it. like my title you will love it or hate it.

lastliberal 2012-05-12 17:49:37

For seven years I spoke with God. He told me to take us all to Heaven.

Spectacular visual experience in this movie as director Danny Boylekeeps things moving along with a stellar cast that includes CillianMurphy and Michelle Yeoh.The eternal question of who is important to completing the mission, andyou gets left behind is a critical part of the film. The mission isparamount and comes before anyone, even if it means elimination of acrew member to conserve oxygen.Things start to get hairy as a supernatural presence is on board theship, and the film turns from Sci-Fi to horror.Music was perfect for the film, and everyone did a very good job withtheir characters.

2012-05-12 02:30:48

Shines Brightly Enough

Great visuals, competent acting and swift pacing help smooth out the rougher edges of this interesting sci-fi/thriller/survival mash-up.The film offers little in terms of background, casting you immediately into the final days of a desperate mission to save earthly life by re-igniting a dying sun. Our intrepid space travelers soon face one disaster after another and the prospects for survival, much less completing their mission, look grim. To make things worse, they uncover a new horror in what remains of their sister ship, lost years ago while undertaking the same mission.As science goes, what is shown in Sunshine seems to have at least some foundation in theoretical physics, unlike say, Star Trek or Star Wars. Maybe your Ph.D physicist friend will roll his eyes every now and then, but by and large the whole set-up is believable. Boyle handles the dangerous beauty of space with exceptional skill and many of the visuals are truly beautiful.Sunshine isn't perfect - the spare back story makes you feel like you started a film mid-reel and most of the cast doesn't get enough screen time to flesh out their characters. Boyle's furious pacing keeps the action moving along briskly until the final scene, so you're enjoying yourself even if you're a little lost.Ultimately, Sunshine is a welcome offering from an industry that mostly ignores serious, or 'fact-based', sci-fi. I'd like to see more of the same and can recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good sci-fi flick.On a somewhat related note: It was cool to see C. Murphy from '28 Days Later' share screen time with Rose Byrne (who would soon star in '28 Weeks Later').

webmail-36 2012-05-04 22:51:46

What a load of tosh

I paid Sky Movies £3.95 for this - I really had hoped for somethingvaguely entertaining. I am embarrassed that I allowed myself to beconned into coughing up for such a load of drivel. Shame on Sky forcharging for this – it really ought to be consigned to the bottom ofthe loss leader basket at the local video store.It was a sort of cross between 2001 and a rather bad 'SchmaltzyAmerican Hero Movie". 2001 was a little hard to follow and the originalSolaris was obtuse, but at least they broke some new ground.This film was totally incoherent, meaningless and lacking in any dramawhatsoever.It was obviously a misguided homage to 2001, but lacked any of it'ssubtlety and intelligence. "Plan 9 from Outer Space" had a moreengaging plot.One can only assume that the director, producer and scriptwriter hadtaken huge quantities of mind altering substances (they were funded bythe UK National Lottery) during the making of this film, as all of themwere clearly confused throughout.The worst thing is that someone whose writing I had previously admired,Alex Garland (writer of "The Beach"), is credited as writer.He may well have got well paid – but he's lost all credibility as aserious writer after this.

fertilecelluloid 2012-05-04 05:13:01

A stupid, dumb, badly directed mess

Danny Boyle, the director of "Trainspotting" and "28 Days Later",delivers one of the year's stupidest movies. Humans take a spaceshipcarrying a bomb to the dying sun so they can blow it up and a secondsun can be created. If you think that sounds ridiculous, you'll have abad time laughing at and being bored by this turd. The crew of theIcarus 2 are a boring, one-dimensional bunch you care nothing for.Boyle makes no attempt to sketch their backgrounds, but relies on longlooks and pretentious close-ups. His idea of emotional conflict ishaving two male characters pummel each other while the females look oncondescendingly. The special effects dominate and get more and moreludicrous. For example, when the sun finally explodes, the surviving"hero" is not bowled over or annihilated by the blast. Instead, hebecomes some sort of god. This is a muddled, unfocused, badly directedmisfire. The performances are bland and Boyle arrogantly refuses toexplain half the junk he's throwing at us. He's real big on out offocus, smudged images and annoying barrages of sound. In the end,you're left shaking your head and wondering how the hell this rottenscript got funded. There is no sunshine to be had here.

housetohaunt 2012-04-30 07:24:56

pretty package - shame about the aftertaste

I saw this film at the Natfilmfestival (Nightfilm festival) here inCopenhagen Wednesday night, and I was very nervous. nervous becausethis film could go both ways: it could be a stunning vision withemotions and a thought provoking storyline... or it could beArmageddon...and about half way in, it hit me: this film blows. everything has beenseen before. the only thing missing is a song by Aerosmith... which wasall I had in my head half an hour after watching this film. the onlyreason i don't give 1 out of 10 is because of the sets which werestunning.I expected much more from Danny Boyle and that Cillian fella... bummer.

Habus 2012-04-29 13:55:14

Very nice movie experience

Do you remember The Core? Where bunch of people went down to earth coreto "fix" it? Well, after few years I saw that flick, there were theserumours about another movie about a bunch of people, who fly to('ahem') SUN to "fix" it. Starring Chris Evans. My reaction to all thisinfo was like "get the hell outta here!" Until this year, I didn't knowanything more about this movie, since my friend recommended it'ssoundtrack. So looked up this "Sunshine" title and... whoa, DannyBoyle? OK... And what a nice surprise it was! I gave it 9/10, it justneeded one point down for some similarities with Event Horizon, 2010and maybe other sci-fi space movies. But still, very moving. And eventhough the idea of blowing a bomb in the sun (to "fix" it:) sounds soimprobable and corny, this movie makes the case look like possiblemission. And Dr. Brian Cox from CERN as a science adviser for thismovie is a solid confirmation for that. Recommended.

gmicdon 2012-04-26 22:05:38

Pure Tedium

This is the most tedious and boring film I've seen in a long time. Thisfilm started off okay, as your thinking, "anytime now its going tostart" unfortunately it never did, and after an hour, half the cinemawas dozing off. The only reason are group didn't leave was because wemay have woken someone up. If you are determined to see this filmplease save yourself some cash and wait till its on TV.I would suggest a film called Event Horizon though some don't like itI've always found it a good film and Sunshine seems to have leechedsome ideas from it. I guess if you haven't seen Event Horizon this filmmight bearable, but if you have your wasting your time. If you like films that have no plot and are exceedingly predictable, orif you require a sleep aid then please go see it, if not then save yourmoney and doing else.

2012-04-26 03:21:48

Sperm fertilizes egg

Reviewer Altman comes closest when he asks "where does their gravity come from in this 2001-look-alike spaceship?" but when 2001: A Space Odyssey was released, at least somebody picked up on the sperm-appearing Discovery swimming in space. Sunshine's imagery is much more explicit, but a search among hundreds of Amazon reviews (and Ebert is clueless) for a hint of recognition fails. Perhaps viewers are too distracted by the numerous logical and fundamental scientific flaws in the plot and script to see the core concept.

Lawrence Kennedy 2012-04-25 15:22:05

A good film – 8 out of 10.

If you liked Sci-Fi movies like 2001, The day the earth stood still andK-Pax you should enjoy this type of Sci-Fi movie, however if you prefergreat action packed Sci-Fi movies like Armageddon and Aliens then thismight not be for you.Going into this movie I kept thinking of the movie The Core, restartthe earths core spinning... restart our Sun from fading...I needn't worried about comparing the two films any further. Sunshineis more 2010 (the sequel to 2001) with a touch of Event Horizon. I wentand saw this movie last night while on holiday in Sydney, Australia! Agreat choice in cities for watching this movie in! This was a goodmovie, worth watching but not what I would call brilliant or amasterpiece; everything was great in this philosophical and suspensefulSci-Fi flick from the stunning visuals and design, superb acting, boldediting right through to the incredible modern music score. Greatcreative directing in putting it all together! The first two thirds ofthe film takes you on a fantastic ride with the final third of themovie introduces a horror element and some bold editing which got theaudience in the entire cinema whispering to one another.However I felt the script could have been improved……. and if you canput this aside (SPOILERS BELOW) as quickly as I did you will enjoy thismovie.SPOILERS A) We have been sending probes and satellites into spaceremotely for the past 40 years. Why was the crew needed for thismission? Surely the payload could have been sent remotely B) Could anuclear payload the size of Manhattan really achieve anything in theSun, the theory of how this would work wasn't really explained? C) Withthe spacecrafts computer being able to tell the crew exactly whereeveryone is, wouldn't it have alerted them to the fact that an unknownperson had bordered the spacecraft while docked with the oldspacecraft? or to the fact that a crew member had committed suicide orpossibly been killed while another was being murdered? Instead thecomputer waited until it was asked a direct question.

jaredmobarak 2012-04-24 19:41:42

When he chooses for us to die, it is not our place to challenge God…Sunshine

Boyle's newest film Sunshine just enhances his oeuvre even more,bringing out, what in my opinion is, his finest achievement to date.This sci-fi thriller is equal parts 2001's psychological quandary,Event Horizon's supernatural foreboding, (although not as integral tothe final act as some detractors of the film say it is), and Sphere'sstir crazy cabin fever— with a little Armageddon bomb in space worldsaving. Sunshine is a feat in technological expertise, sci-fi rhetoric,visual beauty, and an acting clinic from its ensemble cast of actorsbetter known for supporting roles in the past.Writer Alex Garland has crafted a story pitting man vs. God/science vs.creation. While I agree with this point as many have discussed, I don'tagree with the simplicity of it. People have been pointing out thatthis is a tale of Atheism since how can we mortals take our lives inour own hands by using science to resurrect the sun? If God has calledtime on our existence, wouldn't it be our utter disregard for his ownbeing to decide to go against his will? I refuse to believe the film isas simple as that because of all that is shown through its duration.For one, if we are to accept Greek mythology, it was Prometheus whogave us fire against the will of Zeus and to his own demise of infinitetorture at the hands of vultures. The Gods have been fighting as far ashow to handle us humans and if they had to take sides to fight for oursurvival, can't we always fight against those Gods that have said ourtime is up? Also, if God created us with the mental capacity to createscience and ways to go against nature, isn't it his will to rise up tohis challenge and fight?We are given many moments of religious epiphany as well, at the handsof the Icarus II's crew. These are the men and women risking theirlives to save Earth and make a new star within our dying lifesource.Therefore they are supposed to be the atheists blatantly disregardingthe clock of our existence's final chime. By looking at the sun throughtheir ship's observation deck they are putting themselves one stepcloser to that God which they believe in. The sun's rays, which baththe deck with light and encompass those watching, become a shower ofGod's love and mesmerize those sitting before it. However, while thisis true for people like Searle, the ship's psychiatrist, and Kaneda,the ship's captain, it is not for Icarus I's captain Pinbacker. Whilewatching the video logs of their predecessor's mission's demise, wefind that the old captain had an epiphany of God's will and decided toallow the sun's rays to consume them and turn them back into the dustfrom whence they came. The power held inside the sun is both life anddeath depending on one's deepest beliefs. What is killing humanity andputting them into nuclear winter is also the only hope they have leftfor survival.The story is, for lack of another word, simple at its core. While thesun dies, so does life on Earth. After a failed attempt to create a newstar with physicist Capa's stellar bomb, he and a new crew mine theEarth of its final resources to construct one last bomb to do the job.They take flight on the two-year journey to the sun in order to dropthe payload and fly back home hoping the bomb works and creates a newsun. The actual plot then, is the final leg of the journey to the sunand their attempts to succeed with the mission while also survivingthemselves to see what their bravery has wrought. It is only when theydiscover the Icarus I on their way do they begin to question moralityand the sacrifices needed to save millions at the cost of a handful.Through it all, Boyle infuses a wonderful visual artistry to counterthe heavy struggle between crewmembers and the thoughts withinthemselves. The use of light is astonishing as the screen is filledwith lens flares, double exposures, motion blurs, stark chiaroscurocontrasts between dark and light, and the use of transparent glass toshow people as reflections and also layered through the fields oflight. However he created the sun, Mercury, and the spark that willhopefully create a new star, is amazing to behold. The sun is literallyGod-like in is construction and composition and plays perfectly intothe meaning that he and Garland wanted to express.Being a psychological thriller, though, means that superb acting isnecessary for us to care for these people and accept their motives.This cast does not disappoint at all. Cillian Murphy is great as usual,familiar faces Rose Byrne, Michelle Yeoh, and Troy Garity are allrealistic as too, but it is the others that surprise with theiremotional work. Hiroyuki Sanada portrays strength and poise ofcharacter with his stoic face, Benedict Wong is devastating as themathematician they all need to depend on, and Chris Evans is the realdiscovery, showing us how good he can be. While doing films like TheFantastic Four, Evans is usually the cocky funny man with one-noteperformances, not here though. His character is the one thatunderstands the severity of their situation and is able to make thetough decisions for the success of the mission, no matter what theoutcome of his own life. It is his mentality of self- sacrifice, at thecost of his own huge ego, that really shows what the film is about.Accepting your own death for the life of an entire world shows thestrength of your being, whether or not you need God to get you to thatpoint or not.

Siloty 2012-04-22 08:26:58

decent

until last approx 45 mins i bought this movie hoping it would be good.i liked the idea of the sun dying and hoping a bomb would reignite thesun again.the first lot of the movie was really interesting and easy watchingwhich i enjoyed. then they found the Icarus 1 which was still fineuntil the whole mood of the movie changed because of what they pickedup.after that i just really lost interest in the movie. OK i mean they hadto put something in it to actually make stuff happen in the movie, buti didn't like the idea they had.other than that a decent sci-fi movie that i'm sure most fans of thegenre would enjoy.

spikbet-1 2012-04-21 21:23:50

A Spellbinding Epic!

After seeing this last night in Boston, I have to say, I was trulyblown away by it. Danny Boyle has now proved his reputation as a greatfilm maker with his great attention to detail and sense of imagination.Along with that comes the great acting of the cast, especially byCillian Murphy and Chris Evans. If you can get into the story, youactually get the same feeling of fear and lack of sanity that thecharacters get from the outside space and when Pinbacker finally comesinto the picture. All of which is wrapped up in some of the most epic,spectacular, and grandest imagery ever put to film. Not in a long timehave I seen a great science fiction movie that actually opened up thegenre to any imagination!