... And this was the case with Sunshine (2007) directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland. I'd been really impressed by clips that I had seen of the film and as a self confessed sci-fi aficionado I could see elements of various sci-fi films, such as 2001 - A Space Odyssey, 2010, Alien/Aliens, ... Read review
Their mission.... to save the world Fifty years from now the sun is dying and mankind ... more
is dying with it. Our last hope: a spaceship and a crew of eight men and women. They carry a device which will breathe new life into the star. But deep into their ...
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Sunshine is a three-part drama co-written by Craig Cash and Phil Mealey the team behind ... more
the BBC's hit comedy Early Doors and co-writers of the BAFTA award-winning The Royle Family. Starring Steve Coogan (I'm Alan Partridge Saxondale) Bernard Hill (Lord Of The Rings) and Lisa Millett (Drop Dead Gorgeous Blackpool) Sunshine is the bittersweet story of three generations of the Crosby family. Bing has been fascinated with gambling since he was a child. Bernadette was his childhood sweetheart and in spite of his addiction they have become a couple. The family is completed by their eight-year-old son Joe and Bing's father George. The relationship between grandson and grandad is a golden one - based on absolute trust and mutual affection. But Bing's gambling spirals out of control his losses reach unsustainable levels and the only thing left to lose is his wife and son.
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Starting at the beginning of the twentieth century and continuing to the present day ... more
'Sunshine' is an emotive drama tracing three generations of a wealthy Hungarian Jewish family. Ralph Fiennes plays three challenging roles in this beautifully filmed study of the rise and fall of a prosperous family of winemakers in the face of Imperial Fascist and Communist oppression. Mother and daughter Rosemary Harris and Jennifer Ehle provide outstanding support and Istvan Szabo received a Golden Globe nomination for his subtle and skillful direction.
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Production Year: 1977 - Action/Adventure - Director: Clint Eastwood - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring:Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney
Action/Adventure - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Jack Ging, Marla Heasley, Lance Legault, Melinda Culea, Mr T, Dwight Schultz, Dirk Benedict, George Peppard, Carl Franklin
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Advantages: Visually stunning - potentially a great film Disadvantages: Just not quite as good as it should have been
...this was the case with Sunshine (2007) directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland. I'd been really impressed by clips that I had seen of the film and as a self confessed sci-fi aficionado I could see elements of various sci-fi films, such as 2001 - A Space Odyssey, 2010, Alien/Aliens, Event Horizon even from those clips and to be honest as films that I (and many others) have and continue to enjoy felt that Sunshine had the potential, if ... ...what you actually see and Sunshine has a good go at this but it would have been better if they had just taken one theme and explored it or just had a thriller. There are too many clues and loose ends flying around and then you have that "what is reality and what is a dream?" twist. But rather than you feeling confused but satisfied to remain so, you just feel that the film is confused because it lacks the class of the films that it tries ... more
As is usually the case, I see a film advertised and think "that looks good - must go and see that" and then for one reason or another I find that I end up putting it on our DVD rental list because it's no longer being shown at our local cinema. And this was the case with Sunshine (2007) directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland. I'd been really impressed by clips that I had seen of the film and as a self confessed sci-fi aficionado I could see elements of various sci-fi films, such as 2001 - A Space Odyssey, 2010, Alien/Aliens, Event Horizon even from those clips and to be honest as films that I (and many others) have and continue to enjoy felt that Sunshine had the potential, if it was as good as the clips led me to believe, to be placed in the same league. But there in lay the problem - it had to be as good as the clips and unfortunately it wasn't. Don't get me wrong it was an entertaining 107 minutes and compared to the mediocre sci-fi churned out over the last few years it wasn't bad but it wasn't up there with the big boys and it wasn't up there for so many reasons.
The story is quite formulaic but in itself that isn't a problem. It is another Earth is in danger of catastrophe and to avert the danger a group of "experts" go off in a vessel (in this case a space craft) with a "bomb" which will need to be delivered to stop something or to start something to save the world. Chuck into the mix the usual near disasters, crew members dying off, a little bit of a signposted twist (I should mention this mission had been tried 7 years earlier but had gone wrong and contact had been lost with the Icarus I - anyone care to remember their greek mythology?), crew members sacrificing themselves and the faint whiff of a successful mission and that is essentially it. In this instance, Earth is in a solar winter due to the Sun dying - this by the way is meant to be in 2057 - and said experts go off on the space craft Icarus II with a solar bomb to fire into the Sun and create a star within a star and restore light and energy to the planet. When we join this series of events the mission is well on its way and coming up to where (and quite inaccurately but it does add to the tension) the crew would be out of communications range with Earth and coming up to the point at which the first mission failed.
Everything about the film is designed to add suspense and a sense of claustrophobia and cabin fever almost. In a way the sci-fi films I mentioned above were like this and they were great but this lacked something. From a scientific point of view it wasn't too bad apart from there being a few tension building stretches of fact (like it being in 2057 and being out of communication range and a few inconsistencies in how much sunlight/heat it takes for different people to get incinerated). The story wasn't bad. The lack of background isn't a problem as you are met with a voice over and it is fairly self explanatory early on but you don't get presented with a set of well established characters. You don't feel that they have been in each others presence for years - they just lack a bit of familiarity. And really the events of the story don't quite add up or at least are rushed and you feel that you don't quite get the answers that you want.
Visually this film was magnificent. The sets were impressive - they gave that oppressive, cramped up feel of so many other famous sci-fi craft and yet you still felt that the scale of the ship was huge. There wasn't much you could say about the costumes (well except for the gold lamee space suits which seemed right for this type of mission) as there was no obvious affiliation to a particular agency or organisation - they were just normal looking clothes. The cinematography focused on the characters with few panoramic shots but quite a few extreme close ups to compound that feeling of claustrophobia. But it just lacked the background intensity of Alien and films of that persuasion. The special effects were stunning and very bright and at times used impressively to add question marks over reality and dreams. But as I often say great special effects a good movie does not make - although the Sun, the whole point of this film, was very much the star (no pun intended) of the special effects show. The score by Underworld was excellent and gave scenes the right pace without being overpowering. The directing was sharp and intense and you had that feeling of being in amongst the crew, like you did in Alien, and at the same time observing. There are little tricks used in amongst this claustrophobic directing style such as subliminal flash images but it doesn't really work as the explanation is too obvious before you even find out what the images are referring to - we're not talking Fight Club flashes here! All in all it had all the building blocks in place but it just made a house for the film and not a home.
The cast didn't provide any acting performances of real note to add any real sense of human feeling, tension or suspense. They weren't bad - a mix of the fairly well known but younger talent and the never heard ofs. There wasn't really a weak performance - there were just a few weak characters. Like the rest of the film you just feel that the cast were placed together and didn't really gel and that is partly because none of them had an amazing character to play - the characters were too normal in a way. A few of them like Mace (Chris Evans), Dr Searle (Cliff Curtis) and Corozan (Michelle Yeoh) had that spark about them so you could imagine why they had been picked for this mission but that was more to do with the actors than the characters. And short of knowing that Capa (Cillian Murphy) was the guy who built the bomb, and as such was supposed to be quite key to the whole plot, you would struggle to know why he was there. The other characters you either didn't care about or just seemed surplus to requirements. Even though the whole film only has 13 actors in it and one of those you never see as they are the voice of the ship's computer, you still feel like a few could have been trimmed.
You see I think this film tries too hard. The film potentially has a strong story which could be exciting and have all the elements of a good action thriller set in space but that seems to take a backseat whilst the film seems to be exploring the theme of man playing God and whether when your time is up - whether that is as an individual or a planet - is it really up? Can science triumph over God and is the success or failure of the mission likely to determine the answer? Then there are scenes saying "life will out" and characters that you are not sure if they are messengers from God, Satan or if they have just gone mad. Like many films you can theorise about events and characters or about symbolism and what you actually see and Sunshine has a good go at this but it would have been better if they had just taken one theme and explored it or just had a thriller. There are too many clues and loose ends flying around and then you have that "what is reality and what is a dream?" twist. But rather than you feeling confused but satisfied to remain so, you just feel that the film is confused because it lacks the class of the films that it tries to emulate.
In a way the film could have done with being longer (you don't hear that much do you?) so that the human angst's and situations and themes that arose could have been explored better and created a tension level on a par with some of the greatest sci-fi/psychological/horror films. But instead it skipped along and didn't take time to create specific areas of tension where it was needed most. Even when you find out what happened to the original Icarus and the consequent scenes following, you find yourself asking "what happened to so and so?" because what should have been the focus and the real suspense/tension/horror goes off screen for 10 or 15 minutes. And when it does come back you think it's only there as an after thought. And that is where this film falls down. It is trying to tackle too much and does not provide enough depth to put it in the same league as some of the films I have previously mentioned.
I'm not saying that this wasn't a pleasant way to wile away an evening - it was. And I'm sure that others will watch it and go "that was brilliant". But it wasn't as good as it could have been and it also wasn't an awful "guilty pleasure" film either. I couldn't watch it over and over because it wasn't satisfying enough and the sad thing is that you can tell that they really tried to make this film stand up with the best of them. Visually it had a "WOW" factor and potentially it had a strong basis to work on but even that wasn't enough to put this film up with the greats for me.
Advantages: some quite stunning visuals Disadvantages: the plot's intriguing start takes a shift to the well-worn mediocre
...out into the darkness...
Sunshine starts off well at a slow, measured, and somewhat sinister pace. We join the world-saving team some 16 months into their mission - just as they are about to lose contact with Earth. By this stage they should be well used to each other, and indeed there is something of a sense of the characters being largely at ease in their relationships. Conversely, there doesn't seem to be a great deal of interaction given the ... ...bomb to a meteor; in Sunshine they push a bomb towards the sun. Meh.
And yet, I could perhaps forgive this - after all, there are no new tales under the sun (!), only variations, and Sunshine has at least tried to be a little different, even if it then largely gives up. However, we then hit the third change in genre, and things start getting 'spooky' - and more than a little confusing at points. I won't say too much about the whole end section, ...
Calypte 02.09.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sunshine (2007) DVD
Advantages: Outstanding effects, clever premise, good editing/cinematography Disadvantages: Loses direction in the last half-hour, some questionsgo unanswered
...in 2007. The result was Sunshine and, given his previous record, the relatively mute reception it received must have come as something of a disappointment.
Not least because it makes for a highly enjoyable hundred-or-so minutes viewing. It may have come with the same brand of glossy presentation and troop of photogenic actors that have come to typify such mediocre fare as Red Planet and Serenity, but with a complex and interesting storyline, thoughtfully-crafted ... ...tremendous - combining to make Sunshine one of the most visually attractive films of its type. Several scenes take us to Icarus Two's Observation Deck; an area where several members of the crew make visits to gaze morbidly at a filtered (though nevertheless empowering) image of the sun. Its ethereal quality and the psychological significance it imparts on the crew means it never feels misused - indeed, it comes to symbolise the sum-total of their ...
tom1clare 17.03.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sunshine (2007) DVD
Advantages: Visually stunning Disadvantages: A bit chaotic towards the end
The decision whether to watch "Sunshine", the newest collaboration between director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland, was always going to be an easy one. I'm a big fan of "Trainspotting", which was also directed by Danny Boyle and my girlfriend loves "28 Days Later", which was a previous joint project for the two. So with a Sunday afternoon with nothing much to do stretching before us and "Sunshine" having just opened, it was only left to decide ... ...not set our expectations too high.
Our sun is dying, condemning the Earth to a permanent Winter as its rays are no longer enough to provide heat. A crew of 8 have set off in Icarus 2 to try and drop a large bomb into the heart of the sun in an attempt to reinvigorate it and warm up the planet once more; they're essentially there to give the sun the star equivalent of a heart massage.
After several years out in deep space, there are a few tensions ...
Soho_Black 15.04.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sunshine (2007) DVD
Advantages: Stunning cinematic imagery Disadvantages: Poor final sequence
...and written by Alex Garland, Sunshine is a science fiction film that boldly goes where many have gone before and although it doesn't quite reach the stars, it will take you on an intense psychological journey with some awe-inspiring sunlit scenery. In 2057 the crew of Icarus II set off to save the earth from global cooling. Their mission is to reignite a fading Sun by firing a nuclear bomb into its heart and make a slow getaway in the form of a ten ... ...was apparently inspired to write Sunshine based on scientific ideas about the heat death of the universe, but much creative licence is used regarding the Sun's demise. It is true that the Sun will one day fade and die but this will not happen for an estimated five billion years and prior to this will have swallowed up the Earth as it transforms itself in to a Red Giant. In the film no astrophysical explanation is mentioned as to what is causing the ...
Zmugzy 11.09.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sunshine (2007) DVD
Advantages: Fantastic looking Disadvantages: A daft twist and lack of coherence
...it will have in mankind, Sunshine sets its stall exactly as it means to go on. A group of mismatched (aren't they always) astronauts - each experts in their own specific field - are aboard the second Icarus space shuttle. Upfront of said shuttle is a giant nuclear bomb which they will hurtle straight into the sun to reignite it. The challenge is to get there without using up all of their resources, and still have enough air to get them back to Earth ... ...When a tragic fire fuels up in their oxygen area, rather than lose 3 of their crew, they veer in a different direction to find the original doomed Icarus - which mysteriously disappeared and lost the entire crew with no explanation. But the discovery of the crew leads to a shocking revelation which tests the wits of the remaining astronauts. Danny Boyle moves into science fiction territory with mixed results. This is often a gloomy affair with very ...
bilbob20 17.09.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sunshine (2007) DVD
