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An Evil Drunken Stepdad Bathes In Danny Boyle's SUNSHINE!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
A while back, I posted an article reminding people about this film, and linking to its official website's exclusive first look at footage from the movie I'd been really curious about this project: a space epic from the director of TRAINSPOTTING and 28 DAYS LATER sounded mighty intriguing. But...would it work?
As it happens, Evil Drunken Stepdad just wrote in with some answers; he recently got a look at a not final edit of the film.
The verdict? "Great but flawed".
Several people have alluded to the film having something of a "supernatural" element. I 'd love to know more about this, as the image I'm conjuring is pretty much SOLAR CRISIS meets EVENT HORIZON. That can't be right, can it? Certainly it's not. PLEASE don't let that be right....
Here's Evil Drunken Stepdad with his thoughts...
Hey AICN folks, lemme get one thing straight, I LOVE Danny Boyle. I think Trainspotting was a disturbingly real look at the lifestyles of a druggie, growing up it was one of my favorites (maybe because at that age R rated films were taboo for me), and I thought that 28 Days later was a kick in the ass for zombie films, the ignition that got the genre on the right track again. I’ve always dug his unique and original style of direction, and in today’s world of cookie-cutter by the book films, any originality in films makes me give it extra bonus points. Films like Sin City, Sky Captain, and Kill Bill, all great films, but made that much better because of their willingness to be different, and Danny Boyle is the head of that field.
So when I went to see clerks 2 (freakin’ loved it by the way), I got an invite to see a new film simply referred to as “untitled” at a “secret location”, I signed right up. 24 hours later we were loading onto a bus and taken to Fox studios in LA, where we were greeted and told that the film we were going to see was Danny Boyle’s new film Sunshine, and I couldn’t be happier. It was still under construction, and many of the effects were still incomplete. I’ll keep this as spoiler free as possible.
The film revolves around the crew of the Icarus II, a space station charged with the mission of “re-activating” the sun. In the future, the Sun is beginning to die, and the only way to keep it going is for the Icarus to deliver a secret payload into the core and fuel the fusion sequence. You may be wondering “what happened to the Icarus I?” Well to be honest, we don’t know. We know that it disappeared right before it was about to deliver the payload, and as the Icarus II is nearing it’s target location, they pick up a distress beacon.
In the first part of the film, the movie works very well as a solid science fiction movie. It explores the horrors of space without using aliens, the duties of humanity towards one another, and self-sacrifice for the greater good. But when the film adds the supernatural element, it becomes a thriller/mystery of the highest caliber.
SPOILER ALERT!!!
The Icarus II is severely damaged, and forced to dock with the remains of Icarus I, and it’s here that the supernatural element is added. What happened to the crew? Who sabotaged them? So many questions, not enough answers!
END SPOILERS
So I thought this was a great film, but flawed.
The great things about it were the cast, Cillian Murphy is as resplendent as ever, and Hiroyuki Sanada was amazing in his underplayed role, just like Last Samurai. But the real treat of the film was the surprising turn from Chris Evans, that’s right folks, Johny Storm is back. While he was the one bright spot in the Fantastic Four (or so I thought), he is truly in his element in this film, a role so utterly well done that I like him all the more for it, I gotta watch this kid now. The rest of the cast does a good job, but it’s these three that really stood out in my mind.
As I said earlier, this is a great sci-fi film, but the suspense is what really kicks it over the edge into possible greatness. Coupled with Boyle’s direction style, this film comes out like 2001 on crack. Sadly, this is one of its’ greatest strengths and biggest weaknesses, but it’s not because of the movie, it’s because of the audience. The worst thing about my generation is that we can’t accept a good movie unless it is unoriginal and uninspired. I saw true movie geeks there like myself licking up every moment of the film, but I also saw a lot of people my age not into it at all. If it doesn’t have Matthew McConaughey trying to swoon (insert popular young actress here), then girls of my generation don’t like it. If it doesn’t have (insert generic action star here) trying to avenge the death of his partner by going outside the law, then guys of my generation hate it. Kinda sad, but true, I mean listen to the music we like, pathetic! I heard one guy my age say the words “Event Horizon was WAY better man!” nuff’ said.
There are problems with the film however, albeit limited in view of the good things. The first is the supernatural element itself. The film does such a good job of making you wonder what the hell is going on that when it actually enters the film, it’s kinda disappointing. It’s really not all that intimidating or scary when you get down to it, and they don’t explain what drove this type of behavior in the first place. Another problem deals with the scares of the film Boyle uses 2 types of scares, subtle and spooky environments (done perfectly), and ear-drum popping jolts. The former are by far more effective, and I’ve always thought that loud noises were never very effective when inducing scares.
All in all though, I really liked this film, and I can’t wait to see what you guys think about it. I’d highly recommend it, Danny Boyle fan or not. If you decide to print this, call me…
Evil Drunken Stepdad.
Thanks for your message, Evil.
SUNSHINE is scheduled to hit theaters March 16, 2007.
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Don't be hatin' on Event Horizon!
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since I'm FIRST! (?)
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Oh, please...
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Lay off. Yeah, I said it. I liked the movie.
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That is all.
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how can this guy go from suspense thriller, to drug flick, to the beach that wasnt bad, but wasnt great, but bounce back to deliver a solid horror flick, to a sci-fi flick?!? thats the kind of filmmaking that i would like to see more directors do.
so hopefully they dont butcher the vision of this contempory genius. cant wait to see it. -
Seeing as how you can't even make it all the way through a subject line without a glaring typo.
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...I have for Event Horizon. I still make a point of catching that every time it comes on cable and am cusrious if a director's cut exists (although not quite curious enough to look it up, I suppose). It's quite atmospheric and creepy and there are some very solid performances in it. I htink most folks just hate it because Anderson directed. Not exactly fair, but understandable, I suppose, given his other crimes against cinema. As for this movie, I'm sorry, but my suspension of disbelief ends when they call the first manned mission to the sun "Icarus." Obviously the person who named the film in this world of the fiction has a passing familiarity with mythology (otherwise why pick that name for something that flies near the sun?) and, if that's so, then naming the craft Icarus is essentially wishing disaster on the mission. It would be like naming your new St. Bernard Cujo or your baby boy Hannibal Lecktor. It's just too stupid to be believed.
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Because that's about as soon as we'll need to worry about the Sun starting to kill us off. And what the hell is this "magic payload" supposed to be, that can magically re-ignite the Sun? Just to replenish the hydrogen needed to restart the core would require a payload weighing, oh about a hundred septillion tons.
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in case you were wondering.
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I haven't bought it yet, but I hear that the Special Edition DVD has loads of documentaries and things (including deleted scenes) which might answer that question.
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the sun is really Aborted Child Fetuses!
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...A Life Less Ordinary and Millions. He has hits and misses, but Danny Boyle is without a doubt versatile.
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...is terrible. Just had to speak for the naysayers.
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until it started being silly. And Sean Pertwee was "Facking Awful!" I don't care if your dad is a timelord. Mine's a policeman...
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I like Danny Boyle! the man's a gent! I almost walked into him at the cinema in Brighton ages ago and while I stood trying to figure out how come i knew this guy he smiled politely said hi and i walked off saying to my other half 'Fucking hell! that's the guy who directed Trainspotting!', and he probably comforted his little girl and said don't worry dear the strange man's gone now! lol! anyway I like his movies too, obviously Trainspotting, Shallow Grave, 28 Days later and even Millions which is essentially a kids film although I don't think A life less Ordinary works all that well at least he shifts gears and genres with each film he makes and he's the closest we've got to someone like Kubrik. Sunshine looks shithot! I can't believe it's in any way comparable to Event Horizon which stunk of piss and that was before I knew who Paul Anderson was! Anyway i like the look of it and the cast is great and Boyle can get into characters heads really well and I don't mind the ship being called Icarus, surely they know it's a very risky mission flying so close to the sun and therefore it's aptly named! what would you call the ship? Snowball!?
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I'll agree with you up to a point. The film begins to unravel when Dr. Weir comes back as a bald ceno-lite. Up until then, I loved it. Sure, it's trash, but it has a few good scares, good acting (mostly), a creepy atmosphere, and wonderful production design.
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Look up run-on sentence in the dictionary. Jesus Christ...
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...is when they de-scramble the video log of the crew and see images of some really sick, twisted stuff (cannabalism, etc). Then Laurence Fishburne just shuts it off and says "we're leavin'" That was hilarious. Oh yeah, and this Danny Boyle film looks like Solaris all over again.
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More than half the movie works, and several scenes are genuinely scary. Unfortunately it mostly unravels towards the end. I think someone (the Director/producers?) couldn't really decide what type of movie they wanted.
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I love me some freaky sci-fi and I'm hoping this delivers.
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What, I should repsect that awful vanity-riddled snooze fest?
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they fly around the sun, mission completed, only to find themselves in 1986 San Francisco! "Double dumbass on you!"
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...for the ship than Icarus (as in "Snowball's chance in hell of success"). At least it remains hopeful that the whole thing won't be yet another futile lesson in man's hubris over the technologies he's wrought. How about Intrepid? Or Hot Shot Part Deux? Really, just about anything would be less conveniently foreshadowing than Icarus. And I agree with both bryce and Doc P. on where Event Horizon starts to come apart at the seams. It feels like there should be more movie there to justify the abrupt shift in tone, which is why I was curious about the special edition DVD and any deleted materials. I put it on the same level as Silent Hill, which I'm positive lost about an hour of footage around the place where they inserted that expository film within a film flashback that just pulled me right out of the story. I'd like to see what the movie(s) would've looked like wihtout the conventional time constraints...not that I think they'd be classics, but they're so close to being good films even as released. I can't help but be curious.
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my full stop key's all sticky!
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Love that bit. Also, I almost shit myself the first time I watched that scene where Weir is crawling through those green-lit shafts and the lights begin to flash on and off, and suddenly his dead, eyeless wife is right next to him.
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I wanted to like it so bad but just couldn't get into it. Now, faced with the prospect of rewatching it, I always put it off and watch something else.
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Freaky shit central. Also Liked the opening spinning zoom shot. If watched on the big screen it makes you pretty dizzy. (Even if it is a 2001 rip off.)
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...we have some cool sci-fi to look forward to!
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There is NO "supernatural" element. Spiritual yes. Psychological yes. Existential yes. Supernatural no
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...new sci fi project automatically get compared to solaris on the talkbacks? come people, there are plenty of shitty sci fi movies out there to compare.
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Event Horizon here. Hence the TB direction. Going somewhere in a spaceship, another spaceship is already there from a previous mission, newbies dock with first ship, freaky shit starts. All three have that as a common story thread even though (hopefully) they are all very different movies.
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Event Horizon was one of those rare miracles when a runaway production gets slapped together by committee and actually turns out halfway decent. The original script had a vague ending involving that got changed into what we saw after a shitload of test screenings. If Anderson ever did do a director's cut he'd probably just fuck up INHO one of the best horror films of the last decade.
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enjoyed it. It's kind of cool that this guy can bounce around from genre to genre like that and still pull off enjoyable films. I'm definitely interested in seeing this one.
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Sci-Fi is all about them 'splosions and chase scenes in vaguely futuristic looking sets. Science Fiction is about big ideas, philosophy and science. Hopefully this will be a science fiction film.
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Someone did NOT just post under the name "Pazuzu2k". zfisk/homewrecker is going to have a field day with your ass. Way to go, genius. ;^)
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"Johnny Storm is back?" gimme a break, douchebag.
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no its not a masterpiece, but in the realm of quiet-scene-that-abruptly-has-a-loud-noise-from-out-of-nowhere horror movies its not too bad. seeing it in a theater with the sound fucking amped to 11 didnt hurt.
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Actually, I think Event Horizon is one step higher on the scale of cheap scares than that. Most nu-horror films today do the sudden-jump-cut-screech-sound-combo thing which is the lowest of the low since it relies entirely on the shock of sudden changed visuals and jarring audio. It's base, cowardly and stupid. Most of Event Horizon's sudden scares at least arrive in an atmosphere of dread. The film has enough faith in itself that it alludes to something scary just about to happen before springing it on its viewers. It's not like the Boogeyman "reimagining", Darkness Falls or any of those other cheap-ass shitburgers with boo-out-of-nowhere shocks.
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Somehow, 'Solaris' sounds like a sci-fi flick. 'Sunshine' doesn't. It needs a title change. Other than that, I'm DEFINITELY gonna give this a go because Danny Boyle is such a diverse filmmaker. And not 'diverse' as in only people on crystal meth can enjoy it.
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Merrick has no talent...Everyone on this board sucks !!
Please email all hate mail to me at nikkifinke@deadlinehollywood.com
Please I would like to hear how much I suck. Email me now!! -
28 Days Later was trash. Solaris was a major pile of crap. Sunshine may be both, or it may be neither, or it may be a little like mom and a little like dad.
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Why does this site always bash Event Horizon? How can one not dig Damian vs. Morpheus, butt nekked, latin-speaking satanic spacemen and a black hole straight to hell? That film was HARD, way harder'n Aliens 1, 3, 4, - vs. Predator, darker'n 2, better than Outland, Solaris, etc. Those of you who have only heard or assume it sucks, put up, rent out, light up, freak out. I love Boyle... only hope he's in 28 Days Later mode and that this doesn't become some sorta new-agey zzzzfest like Contact/Deep Impact/Solaris.
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I'm already sold. I love this cerebral high-scifi shit.
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Switching it up again! I really want this to be good. With all the SF coming out, I must say that it's about time we had a good vein of it coming out. Yea!
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I'm going back to bed.
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Event Horizone is the sequel, in which a jump drive test in Arizona shifts the entire planet into the hell dimension. Pinhead and Chatterer costar.
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Go inside, becuase it'll be getting dark soon, and they mostly come out at night. Meeewwwwstly. Bloody hell, when was the last time we had a good scary space movie? "Event Horizon" and "Pitch Black" don't count, because whatever their merits -- and I think that they're few -- those movies weren't scary.
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I bet in the end they all go home after they save the sun.
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Is the second worst modern film ever made. Right behind "Congo". The ONLY good part ws the opening shot. Everything after that ws downhill. No Lie. I don't care how disoriented you get, if you see your long dead, eyeless wife, dressed in a nightgown, light years from the planet she died on? There is NO WAY you're even confused for a SECOND! I've dropped before. I've shroomed. whatever. there are just some things that you go: "Yeah. That ain't real" And that, friends, is but one of many moments in that film. What a waste of time and effort that movie was... Please, may this be better!
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You mean to tell me that someone on this site is looking forward to that movie? I just saw the trailer tonight and experienced the most intense "WTF?" moment ever. Great premise: No chicks can have babies anymore. "I'll get you to The Human Project. I promise." OMG
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"But the real treat of the film was the surprising turn from Chris Evans, that
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Event Horizon is a great bad-movie! It's silly nonsense, but it's also freaky fun. Excellent special fx, great visuals, spectacular gore and Laurence Fishburn. Come on! To me, the true masterpiece in the genre is LIFEFORCE. But this is pretty good, too. In the right mood, with the right friends, after the right number of drinks, this movie is a blast. And I also learned Latin (save yourself....from Hell). Lookin' forward to Sunshine. Here's hopin' it doesn't suck.
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Tell me that scene where the first crew of the EH are fucking each other while ripping out their own innards, eyeballs, flesh...now that was a scene!
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If you didn't like him just cuz of Batman Begins (which I thought he was fantastic in considering how little Scarecrow is in the film) watch Breakfast On Pluto. Though I may not have used a phrase like "resplendent as ever," he's awesome.
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I had forgot about that freaky film! Lifeforce was an amazing movie!!! we dropped a load of magic mushrooms started to trip out and then watched this space vampire woman with the best tits ever walking around a spaceship for what seemed like an eternity! what a trip! had totally forgot about that experience! Event Horizon on the otherhand for me at least wasn't a good experience.
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...space vampires, alien starships, exploding bodies, zombies, Halley's Comet, Patrick Stewart, giant space bats, and the incredible Mathilda May fully nude through most of the film. They don't make 'em like that anymore.... *sigh*...
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...Henry Mancini's awesome soundtrack.
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but in a good way.
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Lifeforce was one of those films that was so odd. But the skin in that was great! - Event Horizon has a bunch of cool moments, why can't Anderson make more films like that? Any film that uses the music of The Prodigy is cool (except Charlie's Angels) - Of course everyone knows Icarus I was lost at Z'ha'dum ;)
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There's nothing supernatural in this movie.
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Good spot. Perhaps you also noticed that Teresa May is still a centerfold in 2047... ;)
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y'all forgot "Millions" between "28 days" and this! one of the BEST fucking kids movies I've seen in years, especially since it doesn't insult kids in the audience and has kickass music. (MUSE anyone?) Not that I don't like other choices in music lately, like Ben Folds in "Over the Hedge" but seriously...Rock On Mr. Boyle.
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was convincing me that this Mr P Anderson might actually be a talent worth watching. I enjoyed EH for what it was, Hellraiser in space with some good effects and good humour. I actually thought thta maybe if they gave this man some money there might be anotherg James Cameron inside waiting to get out.
Then he did Soldier... and Mortal Kombat.. and on and on... oh Jesus, how wrong could I have been? -
pity
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yeah, it is a pity
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