It's been a while since a science fiction film captured our imagination and emotions the way 2001: Space Odyssey and Alien did. The promotion of Danny Boyle's Sunshine often refers to the the aforementioned classics, and not without reasons.
The year is 2057, and our Sun is dying, and Earth has entered an ice age. After the first attempt failed seven years before, a group of scientist-astronauts were sent to re-ignite the star. The Sun is destroying itself from the inside by a dark matter, and the astronauts are to deliver a payload (basically a nuclear fusion bomb) the size of Manhattan to the center of the Sun.
They've traveled for 16 months in a ship called Icarus II: they have a self-sustaining life support system (home grown food, recycled water, replenished oxygen, etc.) But being cooped up for such a long time makes the crew lose perspective from time to time. As they reach Mercury, they receive a distress signal from the previous crew on Icarus I. They decide to divert their course to unite with Icarus I, trying to reclaim their payload as a backup. Things go terribly wrong when navigation officer Trey (Benedict Wong) makes a serious mistake. When they finally arrive at Icarus I, the mission runs into serious trouble -- not only is their own survival in jeopardy, but the fate of the human race is in question as they are Earth's only hope.
The international cast is excellent. As physicist Capa, Cillian Murphy (Breakfast on Pluto) shines with his broody, understated performance as the man with the mission-critical responsibility: he is the only person who knows exactly how to operate the bomb. Conflicted, uncertain, and soulful, the character comes to life in Murphy's impeccable hands. As Mace, Chris Evans (Fantastic Four) shows his dramatic chops as the aggressive astronaut whose only concern is the success of the mission. Murphy and Evans play off each other very well.
Japanese superstar Hiroyuki Sanada (The Last Samurai) is effectively determined, sullen, and heroic as Captain Kaneda. Cliff Curtis (Live Free and Die Hard) is interesting as inquisitive Searle. Rose Byrne (Marie Antoinette) gives a sincere, sweet, and strong performance as Cassie. Michelle Yeoh (Memoirs of a Geisha) is solid as biologist Corazon, the nurturing mother figure in the cast. Benedict Wong (Code 46) is heartbreaking as the navigation officer whose mistakes put everyone and the mission in danger. Troy Garity (After the Sunset) effectively show the lack of spine as communication officer Harvey. And Mark Strong (Stardust) has a mostly "unseen" role as Captain Pinbacker of Icraus I.
Written by Alex Garland (28 Days Later), the script retains the somber, dire tone of his previous films. The first half of the film is wonderful, probably one of the best sci-fi in recent years with its intelligent dialogue, exquisite setups, interesting character studies, and moody settings. One can see the parallels between Sunshine and, say, 2001: Space Odyssey and Alien. The premise is somewhat far-fetched, but Garland explains it just well enough to suspend our disbelief. The psychological aspect of the film is also spot-on, leaving us with a tense feeling through and through. The film also brilliantly examines themes such as duty, destiny, leadership, heroism, humanity, and spirituality.
Unfortunately, the story takes on a bizarre, and uneven turn after the characters arrive at Icarus I. And the tone of the film changes from a pure man vs. nature disaster sci-fi to a man vs. man horror/thriller. And that switch disappoints, not only because it's incredulous, but also for the derivative execution. The story loses its focus and the plot stretches its credibility. That's when the film tries too hard to be Alien.
Director Danny Boyle (28 Days Later) brings a beautiful vision to the production. The special effects are spectacular, and the moody sets hark back to the greatest sci-fi films in history. Boyle also effectively uses techniques such as extreme close-ups, suspenseful camera angles, colors and lighting to great effects. The first half of the film truly is a masterpiece, one of the best for the genre. Unfortunately, Boyle also falls prey to the second half of the story, resorting to fast cuts, shaky-cam, jerky camera movements and confusing action sequences. The film also loses its vision by following a more standard slasher-horror approach and hurrying toward the denouement (which is actually rather eloquent on its own). The result is uneven at best, and contrived at worst.
Over all, Sunshine is the the gem it could have been, because of the last act. Yet, it is a great departure from the garbage Hollywood is doling out every year. The first two-thirds of the film is an excellent reason to see the film on the big screen. It's just a shame that the sunshine flames out at the end.Stars: Cillian Murphy, Cliff Curtis, Rose Byrne, Chris Evans, Michelle Yeoh, Benedict Wong, Troy Garity, Hiroyuki Sanada
Director: Danny Boyle
Writer: Alex Garland
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
MPAA Rating: R for violent content and language
Running Time: 108 Minutes
Ratings:
Script – 8
Performance – 8
Direction – 8
Cinematography – 8
Music/Sound– 7
Editing – 7
Production – 8
Total – 7.8 out of 10
Chuck Levine (Adam Sandler) and Larry Valentine (Kevin James) are two Brooklyn firefighters. And straight. Larry is a widower with two young children, and Chuck is a big-time womanizer. When Larry discovers that the only way he can change his pension beneficiary from his wife to his children is by getting married again, but the only person he can trust to take care of his children is Chuck. So Larry concocts a plan: he and Chuck could pretend to be a gay couple and claim domestic partnership.
Chuck reluctantly agrees. All is going well until the city starts to suspect the legitimacy of their claim. They consult a lawyer, Alex McDonough (Jessica Biel), who happens to be a hot babe. Chuck has to hide his attraction toward Alex while trying to convince Alex that he and Larry are indeed a gay couple. To seal the deal, Chuck and Larry go to Canada to get married. Meanwhile, investigator Clinton Fitzer (Steve Buscemi) watches them with a hawk's eye. So Chuck moves in with Larry and the kids. Words get out, and now they have to deal with the homophobia thrown at them from their colleagues as well as the community.
Adam Sandler (
As the object of Sandler's affection (or lust), Jessica Biel (
Written by Barry Fanaro (
Reuniting with Adam Sandler, director Dennis Dungan (
Still, do we need another "drop the soap" joke and gratuitous male nudity? Not to mention the stereotypes. I know, stressing the stereotypes and ignorance sounds funny. But when you see that all gay men are either sissies or drag queens, or all women are lusty sex objects, or all straight men are bumbling idiots, you just can't help but find it offensive, even in the context of a comedy. There's nothing funny about tiresome old jokes. They do try to shoehorn some sensitivity messages in the film ("gay people are people, too" or "love is love") but they come as almost an afterthought. The whole point of the movie is to make teenage boys laugh, and they sure are not going to laugh at themselves. For example, the recurring "yuck factor" of two guys kissing only serves to make the audience go "Eww!" A blast to the past, isn't it?
The misogyny and racism presented in the film are just as bad as the gay jokes, and I am not sure where the filmmakers really stand. Jessica Biel's character is naive, clueless and all boobs and ass. I find it nauseating that they cast Rob Schneider (uncredited) as a Canadian-Japanese wedding coordinator. Granted, Schneider is part-Asian but the casting choice is not the problem -- the problem is that they have to stress every demeaning Asian stereotype. Why does he have to be Japanese? For no other reason than that funny-looking Asians with funny-sounding accents are supposed to be funny. Now, that's offensive.
After Cedric's death, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is having trouble coping. An attack by the Dementors, while Harry is spending the summer with the Dursleys, forces Harry to use magic in front of the muggles. Harry is promptly expelled from Hogwarts for violating the wizardry code of conduct. An underground group of witches and wizards, who call themselves the Order of the Phoenix, come to the rescue. There, Harry unites with his godfather, Sirius Black (Gary Oldman).
Harry's expulsion is overturned at a hearing at the Ministry of Magic. However, the Ministry of Magic does not believe Harry when he says Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) has returned. They send Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) as the new teacher of Defense Against Dark Art to interfere with Hogwarts matter. Forbidden by Umbridge to defend themselves, Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron convince Harry to go underground and form a group called Dumbledore's Army and teach themselves. When Umbridge discovers Dumbledore's Army, she forces Dumbledore to resign and she takes over Hogwarts with an iron fist.
Meanwhile, Harry is having nightmares, and in one of them, he feels that he is the one who attacks Ron's (Rupert Grint) father. When Harry dreams that Voldemort is attacking Sirius at the Ministry of Magic, he's determined to rescue him, despite Hermione's warning that it may be a trap. Once there, they're trapped by the Death Eaters until the Order of the Phoenix shows up. A battle ensures.
Daniel Radcliffe (
Gary Oldman (
Imelda Staunton (
Writer Michael Goldberg (
Director David Yates (
Salvatore Mancuso (Vincenzo Amato) is a poor, widowed farmer from Sicily. He's tired of his meaningless life and decides to leave for the United States to find his twin brother. He's heard the tall tales about America: money that grows on trees, rivers of milk, and vegetables as large as donkeys. He coerces his two sons, Angelo (Francesco Casisa) and Pietro (Filippo Pucillo), together with his mother Fortunata (Aurora Quattrocchi), to come with him on the long journey. Angelo is on the verge of becoming a man, and Pietro is too stubborn to talk. Fortunata just wants to stay home, but she comes along to help bring her twin sons back together.
On the ship, Salvatore meets mysterious Lucy Reed (Charlotte Gainsbourg), a British woman desperate to find a husband so she, too, can enter America. Lucy has a lot of suitors, but for some reason, she chooses Salvatore, who is only too happy to oblige. Once they arrive at Ellis Island, they go through a series of trials and tribulations and face the possibility of being deported. Only a small island has the power to separate them from their dreams.
Multilingual Charlotte Gainsbourg (
Aurora Quattrocchi (
The story, written by director Emanuelle Crialese (
Crialese captures these moments with fine details, without hitting us over the head with overt sentimentality. In fact, I applaud him for not subjecting us to tired, sentimental shots of, say, a boat passing by the Statue of Liberty. His sparse script and languid style, however, might have dragged the film down a bit. Also, we don't get to know too much about these characters, especially Lucy Reed, so at times it's not easy to care about them.
Yet, as a portrait, the film brings us fully into the world of immigrants. The sequence at Ellis Island, in particular, is fascinating to watch. One can only imagine what our ancestors had to go through to find a new life in a new world. The film reminds me of my own struggles, though not as harsh as depicted in the film, when I immigrated to the U.S. While the film on the whole is not quite golden, Crialese is spot on in capturing the feelings of dread, uncertainty, excitement, and doubt.