Sunshine [Blu-ray]

If you liked Event Horizon, you’ll probably like Sunshine.

Sunshine is a 2007 science fiction psychological thriller film directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland. Taking place in the year 2057, the story follows a group of astronauts on a dangerous mission to reignite the dying Sun. The ensemble cast features Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Rose Byrne, Michelle Yeoh, Cliff Curtis, Troy Garity, Hiroyuki Sanada, Benedict Wong, and Chipo Chung.My feelings towards the pace in which this film moves is stained with ambivalence. It’s very clear from the start that the conflict at hand - the sun dying and needing to be charged - needs to be approached in a timely manner for the sake of all humanity; despite this, the audience is not made explicitly privy to the amount of time this mission must be completed in. The absence of this information removes an expected amount of urgency from the actions these characters are taking, and ultimately makes some of the decisions they make harder to understand and even harder to justify.In regards to the special effects - I’m not blown away, but I wasn’t necessarily expecting to be. Moments that are overwhelmed with light are balanced out with those that are shrouded with darkness; while some have commented on how cheesy some of these effects are, I think it's fair to insert a reminder that these obscurities serve some purpose when the metaphorical value of them is considered. (Possible spoiler?) Individuals in this story that have the largest preoccupation with being able to “look into the sun” ironically stray the farthest away from the mission and are ultimately quite literally and figuratively blinded by their obsession. Even more ironically so - it is darkness that helps some of the least likely of characters avoid their demise when being pursued by a mysterious and nefarious intruder.Decisions made by the casting and directing department - mainly, the decision to have all of the actors live amongst each other and research information related to their roles as a form of method acting- is reflected in the comfortable nature in which they interact. In addition to this, the characters themselves talk and behave in a way that is expected and is an indicator of some amount of expertise given the overall context. The downside, however, Is that calamity is not met with some amount of meaningful commentary or explanation that your average audience member can relate to and this undermines some of the presumed competency these characters are meant to have. I fear that the enjoyment one may get out of this film is in some way directly related to the amount of direct experience people have with the subject material….and whether this says more about the monotony of my life or the quality of this film - well, I’ll never know.The individual performances alone by all of the actors hold their own weight; the emotional appeal is visceral on its own and ultimately makes this watching at least once. Because of points I already made it is unfortunate that these performances - despite all of their power and potential - subsequently feel disconnected and don’t demand the attention and investment they more-than-likely deserve.Because I believe in being completely honest about my biases, I will just end by saying: my shallow obsession with Cillian Murphy has been reaffirmed by his icy-blue stare and his buttery-smooth voice.Not the highest of recommendations by far -But still a recommend experience.

This movie started out great... minor problems that became clear later in the movie dealing with character motivation, but that's where the 4/5 comes into play. For most of the run time this movie is like Armageddon but towards the end (I don't know if the writer got on a Hellraiser bend or just started hitting the drugs) but the movie tries to implement 'cosmic horror' elements and it just doesn't really work. Things happen, driven by really stupid character decisions, that lead to the big problems that the crew has to overcome in order to fulfil their mission and save the world. For instance (without giving much away): Two crew members have to go outside the ship to repair things; the captain and one other member are needed... and out of the blue someone volunteers another member and the whole scene is a bit... What!? Where the hell did that come from? You can volunteer other people?? Look... the acting is pretty good, and the special effects are great, its not like this is some Saturday morning ScyFy channel movie... But then towards the end it goes all Hellraiser in space with a naked dude sunburned a-hole to elbows running around preaching about God, and ending humanity. This movie would've been really good if they had omitted that crap at the end.Overall worth a watch.p.s. (personal rant ahead) I'm getting really sick of stupid Hollywood writers trying to implement 'cosmic horror' when they don't understand atmosphere, character motivation, plot structure, or even existentialism for that matter.STOP READING AND JUST WATCH THE MOVIE!!!

Strange with many twists & turns that kept me watching.

And afterwards, it just sort of falls apart. Without spoilers, I do GET what they were going for however the way the editing / specific editing tricks were done just kind of wrecks this giant revelation. You will know it when you see it.Which is a giant shame, because honestly most of this movie is superb. Excellent acting, even Chris Evans! Actually he might be the best one in this whole movie- though Cillian Murphy is easily runner-up.Give it a watch, absolutely, but I don't think it's a coincidence that most people had the same reaction to the ending that I did.

Another space craft is on a mission to save the Earth and human life on it. It has been done been done before and will, no doubt, be done again. For me Sunshine works rather better than other takes on the theme. For one, Danny Boyle knows how to make interesting films, he is good at showing interhuman relationships. Especially when the humans are in situations of extreme stress. As the crew on a years-long, and quite possibly suicidal, space mission would be. Also, the cast is fantastic with all the actors putting in stellar performances.The DVD has the best extra features I've yet come across. The absolute standout is the feature length commentary with Dr Brian Cox of the University of Manchester, familiar to those who watch science programs on British TV, who acted as scientific advisor for the film and seems to have been involved to a huge degree, not only advising on scientific facts, but also as the model for Cillian Murphy's character. Once you see both the real scientist and the actor in the featurette, the casting of the chronically young looking Murphy as the physicist who alone can save the world all of a sudden seems perfectly natural. Listening to Cox's commentary on a second viewing was an absolute revelation. Many things that didn't initially make sense to me (down to the somewhat ominous name of the Icarus space craft) made perfect sense after listening to his insights and explanations. Also, he is used to speaking in public/on camera and is very good at explaining scientific facts in a way and language understandable to the average layperson. This is one DVD definitely worth buying.Extra features included (product reviewed:  Sunshine [DVD] [2007 ]) - Danny Boyle director's commentary - Commentary by Dr. Brian Cox of the University of Manchester - Web Production Diaries (making of, behind the scenes, interviews with cast and crew) - Deleted Scenes (including Alternate Ending) with Danny Boyle commentary - Trailers (theatrical teaser, theatrical trailer) - Short Films ("Dad's Dead" directed by Chris Shepherd, "Mole Hills" directed by Dan Arnold) Sunshine [DVD] [2007

At around a fiver for a 1080 presentation this disc is great value, but it’s surely one of the most (recently) desirable but overlooked films to have not yet received a pristine 4K transfer. Sunshine is low budget apparently, but you’d never know it such is the quality of visuals, design, score, performance and direction. The solid ensemble cast works well but there are a couple of moments when you wonder if this team really is mankind’s best, last hope, but not as pronounced as, say Prometheus, where the crew seem intent on their own demise. As a genre film there are many familiar moments or ‘callbacks’ - Alien, the great Event Horizon and of course 2001 are all referenced either indirectly or with similar albeit feasible plot developments.This Blu-Ray presentation is straightforward; on insertion the disc just gets straight to Fox’s fanfare with no warnings (hallelujah!) no trailers (hurrah!) and, oddly, no main menu. There are some extras, best of which are the insightful deleted scenes narrated by Danny Boyle. Overall direction is tight, with particularly effective directional tricks utilised to effectively take us into the existential and metaphysical, which only a handful of science fiction films have managed so far. The film is always a joy to behold, but as others have said, the final few panels are disconcertingly downbeat - very odd. I wonder if a director’s cut is warranted? This BD transfer is clean and detailed but there’s some inevitable mach banding and fringing during the solar moments, which frankly ask a helluva lot from any format. As with any space film, these scenes will blow you away on OLED in HDR. Ultimately the quality and timbre of Sunshine leaves you yearning for a proper 4K treatment, and this must surely be one of the most eligible spectacles to warrant a director-approved mastering to benefit from HDR grading and Dolby Atmos to showcase the outstanding score and sound design. Its unrelentingly a Five star film with one lopped off for the material exceeding the medium.

Interesting space horror. The film evokes strong elements of fear and dread with its views of a cold and desolate outer space. It is interesting to see the sun so close in its magnificent glory. Although it is an interesting thought provoking film, there could have been a bit more of a background to the reasoning behind their mission. The plot follows a group of space missionaries as they embark on the task of reigniting the dying sun.

In short. I saw this when it was released and thought it was brilliant. I’m happy to add it to my blu ray and 4k collection of classic films of many genres because it really is worth having for the great cast, story and soundtrack. I really do find blu ray and 4k blu ray to be superior to streaming. Therefore if you really like a film then I recommend a copy in hard format because the quality is superior and also it cannot be cut and censored as some streaming services do.

Why they chose to go the way they did with the third act is beyond me, it let the entire movie down and was unessesary as the movie was great up to that point, if it was sabotage from a crew member they should have told the Icarus 1 story instead.