Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990)
Yeah, I see what you're doing here, and no, I don't care. It's all too Waiting For Godot for me. Fifteen minutes in I had a headache.
Approach with caution.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Should I Waste Two Hours On This?: Sunshine
Sunshine (Fox Searchlight, R)
I blame Alien. That movie gave us an oft repeated sci-fi formula which goes like this: big space ship + small crew + the future + a dangerous mission = impending doom. It might not be the most original concept anymore, but Sunshine takes the formula to new heights.
The small crew in question was charged with reigniting our dying sun. After years in space, and when they’re just days away from completing their mission, they get a most unlikely surprise. They also entrust a major decision to their ship’s physicist, Capa (Cillian Murphy), who admittedly isn’t sure which of their two choices is better. Once Capa announces a verdict, though, the crew is on their way to a task much different from the one they planned for.
Because of the science fiction prescription, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that things will go from bad to worse to pretty damn fucked up really fast, and all the audience can hope for is to have fun getting there. Thanks to director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland (both of 28 Days Later fame), we do.
Boyle fills the screen with dazzling and disturbing images: the sun rising slowly over the ship’s horizon and incinerating a man trapped outside during a spacewalk, a nuclear reactor sparking to life, and a white room flowing with a crew member’s spilled blood. The visuals of Sunshine have all the more impact because while everything is futuristic, the technology and characters are still relatable.
For instance, there are few Star Trek moments in Sunshine. As stunning as the sight of the space ship is, it’s not much more super-charged than the kinds of space travel we have now. They do have something holodeck-like aboard their ship, but the experience isn’t fully interactive. And after a couple of years seeing the same people everyday, the crew is going a bit (understandably) batty.
The credit for this goes to Garland, who also smartly populates the crew with the right mix of likeables, crazies, ultimately-unsuitables and villains. Among the cast, all work well for their parts. Murphy continues his streak of strong, silent types who are forced to prove their worth. Michelle Yeoh is her usual steely, gorgeous self as the calm and very practical Corazon.
The biggest revelation in the cast for me was Chris Evans. He gives believable effort to tough, efficient Mace, and shows us that maybe there’s more to him than the grinning man-whoredom of Johnny Storm (The Fantastic Four).
I blame Alien. That movie gave us an oft repeated sci-fi formula which goes like this: big space ship + small crew + the future + a dangerous mission = impending doom. It might not be the most original concept anymore, but Sunshine takes the formula to new heights.
The small crew in question was charged with reigniting our dying sun. After years in space, and when they’re just days away from completing their mission, they get a most unlikely surprise. They also entrust a major decision to their ship’s physicist, Capa (Cillian Murphy), who admittedly isn’t sure which of their two choices is better. Once Capa announces a verdict, though, the crew is on their way to a task much different from the one they planned for.
Because of the science fiction prescription, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that things will go from bad to worse to pretty damn fucked up really fast, and all the audience can hope for is to have fun getting there. Thanks to director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland (both of 28 Days Later fame), we do.
Boyle fills the screen with dazzling and disturbing images: the sun rising slowly over the ship’s horizon and incinerating a man trapped outside during a spacewalk, a nuclear reactor sparking to life, and a white room flowing with a crew member’s spilled blood. The visuals of Sunshine have all the more impact because while everything is futuristic, the technology and characters are still relatable.
For instance, there are few Star Trek moments in Sunshine. As stunning as the sight of the space ship is, it’s not much more super-charged than the kinds of space travel we have now. They do have something holodeck-like aboard their ship, but the experience isn’t fully interactive. And after a couple of years seeing the same people everyday, the crew is going a bit (understandably) batty.
The credit for this goes to Garland, who also smartly populates the crew with the right mix of likeables, crazies, ultimately-unsuitables and villains. Among the cast, all work well for their parts. Murphy continues his streak of strong, silent types who are forced to prove their worth. Michelle Yeoh is her usual steely, gorgeous self as the calm and very practical Corazon.
The biggest revelation in the cast for me was Chris Evans. He gives believable effort to tough, efficient Mace, and shows us that maybe there’s more to him than the grinning man-whoredom of Johnny Storm (The Fantastic Four).
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