Sunshine [Blu-ray]
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Movie Reviews of Sunshine [Blu-ray]
Movie Review: Great movie!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Played fine on my Sony Blu-Ray player. Looks and sounds amazing. One of my favorite movies of the past few years. Original and entertaining.Movie Review: ONE OF THE BEST MOVIES IN BD
Summary: 5 Stars
Movie itself: 5 stars
Picture quality: 5 stars
Audio quality: 5 stars (The mix is amazing)
Extras: 4.0 stars
Movie Review: Blu-ray: SUNSHINE' spots one of the most vibrant looking films that sports an awesome soundtrack and hours of special features.
Summary: 4 Stars
Director Danny Boyle ("Slumdog Millionaire", "Millions", "28 Days Later", "The Beach" and "Trainspotting") had been inspired by classic sci-fi films such as "Solaris", "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Alien" and now it was his opportunity to direct his own sci-fi film.
"SUNSHINE" is a British sci-fi film released in theaters back in 2007 and featured a screenplay written by Alex Garland ("28 Days Later" and "The Beach"), music by Underworld ("Vanilla Sky", "The Beach", "Batman & Robin" and "Trainspotting") and cinematography by Alwin H. Kuchler ("Proof", "The Deal" and "Code 46").
The film would revolve around an Earth saving mission set by Earth's Icarus II who have set out towards the sun. Because the sun is dying, Earth has previously sent the crew of the Icarus to detonate an experimental nuclear bomb in order to reignite the sun. But somehow, something happened to the crew of the Icrarus and thus, two-years later, a new crew of the Icarus II need to finish their mission to reignite the sun.
The film would be different than most films as the talent would comprise of International talent which Director Danny Boyle wanted to showcase how mankind has evolved in their space programs. Also, each actor had to go undergo method acting and in the film, the crew of the Icarus II had lived together for 16 months. So, in order to capture that, the talent had to live together and take part in space and scuba training, zero G training, operating a Boeing 747 flight simulator and taking a tour through an actual nuclear submarine. Also, to watch films such as "The Right Stuff" and "For All Mankind" plus researching the effects on a ship's crew while in space .
VIDEO & AUDIO:
"SUNRISE" is one of those films that will be noted for its picture and audio quality. The film is presented on Blu-ray via 1080p High Definition (aspect ratio 2:35:1) with an AVC @ 16MBPS. Although the film takes place in the far reaches of space and there is rarely any interaction with anyone outside the ship, simply as this film is not a "Star Wars" or "Star Trek" type of film, each time Icarus or its crew are shown near the sun or interacting with the sun to crew walking through the corridors, colors are well-utilized.
Despite being in space, there is great use of certain colors, not through clothing design but through various lighting. The sun showcases the amber orange and reds, while the corridors and engine or oxygen planting areas showcase blues and greens. Blacks are nice and deep and overall, picture quality is solid. There is grain seen through the film but I would rather have film grain than overuse of DNR and this film looking soft.
As for audio, awesome utilization of audio. Great use of the front channels for the Underworld score, center channels for dialogue, LFE is heavily used throughout the film and surround channels are quite immersive. Overall, the DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack for "SUNSHINE" is exceptional and you literally hear the audio all around you.
The film is also presented in English, Spanish and French Dolby Digital 5.1.
As for subtitles, "SUNSHINE" is presented with English SDH, English, Spanish, Cantonese and Korean subtitles.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
"SUNSHINE" comes with quite a number of special features. Include are:
* Commentary by Director Danny Boyle - An entertaining commentary in which Director Danny Boyle talks about the visual and audio experience of the film and setting up certain scenes and what he wanted the talent to accomplish.
* Commentary by Dr. Brian Cox, The University of Manchester - A scientific commentary by Dr. Brian Cox who was a science consultant for the film and discusses which scenes are real to science and the scenes that are more or less not possible and made for the purpose of the film's story.
* Deleted Scenes - Featuring optional commentary by Danny Boyle - Featuring optional commentary with Director Danny Boyle, a total of 12 deleted scenes including an alternate ending which are featured in two major parts. Here is what is included:
1. PART 1 - Play Chess "It Really Takes It Out of You"
2. PART 1 - Washing carrots in the oxygen garden
3. PART 1 - Coolant Redirection
4. PART 1 - Cooking
5. PART 1 - Wake-Up
6. PART 2 - Demolished Oxygen Garden
7. PART 2 - Searle Meets Capa
8. PART 2 - In Deeper Space Than We Are
9. PART 2 - Prepping for Docking
10. PART 2 - Rough Docking Procedure
11. PART 2 - Fight and Then We Die
12. PART 2- Alternate Ending
* Web Production Diaries - Featuring a total of 22 web production diaries (ranging from 2-5 minutes long). Featuring interviews with Director Danny Bole, the cast and crew and involvement with "SUNSHINE", especially the training and experience the cast had to go through. You can play all or watch each web production diary separately. Included are:
1. Danny Boyle Introduction
2. Danny
3. Zero G Flight
4. Cillian
5. PRe Viz
6. Science of the Sun
7. Hiroyuki
8. Troy Garity Harvey Introduction
9. Voice of Icarus
10. Michelle and Oxygen Garden
11. Anita Screens
12. Alwin Kuchler
13. Cliff Curtis
14. Bumps and Stunts
15. Benny
16. The Science of Space Travel Physiology
17. Space Suit
18. Rose Intro
19. Love Letters
20. Chris Evans
21. VFX
22. Big Bangs
23. The Science of Sun Death
* Short Films -(7:35) Two short films which include "Dad's Head" directed by Chris Shepherd and "Mole Hills" directed by Dan Arnold. Director Danny Boyle talks about how he likes to utilize short films on special features and give these shorts some recognition.
* A Brilliant Vision: Enhanced Viewing Mode with the Filmmakers of Sunshine - This feature is only for Blu-ray players that have picture-in-picture enabled and during the playback of the film, people can watch various behind-the-scenes footage and interviews. (note: If your Blu-ray player is set to bitstream, you will need to manually change the audio to LPCM to get audio for the picture-in-picture segments). Included are:
1. Icarus Kitchen
2. Designing Icarus/Kaneda's Room
3. Zero Gravity Rehearsal
4. Oxygen Garden Fire
5. Stunt Jump Through Space
6. Cast Preparing for the Film
7. Pinbacker's Makeup
8. Mace Fixes Mainframe
9. Space Suits
10. Payload Shutdown
* Journey Into Sound: Surround Sound Enhancement - This feature is only for Blu-ray players that have picture-in-picture enabled and allows the viewer to manipulate the dialogue from four different scenes: Searle in observation room, Capa speaks with Icarus, Capa discovers Pinbacker and Capa battles Pinbacker.
* Theatrical Trailer - Included are the theatrical teaser (1:54) and trailer (1:59).
* Fox on Blu-ray
"SUNSHINE" is an interesting film. One one side, it's quite creative of how the scenes are cut, some may find it creative, so may find it annoying.
The storyline is the same. The first half of the film features a clear plot of the crew trying to survive and accomplish their mission, the story switches gears in the second half of the film as it goes from survival film to horror/slasher film.
In a way, when I was watching the film, I was expecting a cross between "2001' and even "Solaris" but the film changed and next thing you know, things just change and everything becomes dark and bleak.
As a Blu-ray release, "SUNSHINE" has so much going for it. Awesome picture and audio quality and hours of special features. But as a film, knowing the kind of films that Danny Boyle has done, I guess you can say that there are surprises in store for the viewer.
But for those expecting a film about a crew trying to defy the odds and survive their mission, as the first half of the film seemed as if "SUNSHINE" was heading that direction, Danny Boyle rips the carpet right under your feet and gives you something different for the second half.
Some may be upset of how the film just changes to a horror/slasher film but I think that for those who enjoy Danny Boyle and Alex Garland's work, it's best to assume that they know quite well of how to change the situations of their films and give us a darker side to the characters or their environment.
With that being said, "SUNSHINE" is such a beautiful film that is meant for a High Definition release and its immersive audio soundtrack enforces that. But it all comes down to the viewer and what they're open to. I personally enjoyed the first half of the film but the second half was not what I was expecting and thus, became disappointed because of the change of direction. But I should have known better, knowing that Director Danny Boyle was at the helm, Boyle is one of the top director's known for his film and surprising audiences. So, it's never good to feel that the characters will always be safe and there always has to be some sort of uneasiness on the viewer's part that bad things are more than likely going to happen.
And those who appreciate Boyle's previous work and want a near perfect transfer of the film, will definitely enjoy this Blu-ray release. "SUNSHINE" is one of those love it or hate it films. It's hard to deny a film that looks and sounds great and comes with so many special features and all that went on behind-the-scenes. This is a solid Blu-ray release but it all comes down to a person's overall view of the film and how they take it all in.
But I do feel that fans who appreciate and love Danny Boyle's work will definitely enjoy this film and this Blu-ray release.
Movie Review: Set the controls for the heart of the sun
Summary: 4 Stars
What a marvellous, but flawed, piece of cinema. Flawed in a good way, like a flawed hero: flawed in a way that makes it all the more necessary to see.
Sunshine, like the name of the spaceship it centres around ("Icarus II" - it being number II is just inspired - implication: haven't you learned your lesson?) has large elements of Greek tragedy and human hubris: it is probably no accident that the premise of the film is quite preposterous: that a small band of humans are sent to kick-start the dying sun by firing a nuclear device "the size of Manhattan" at it. No matter that the sun, itself really just a giant nuclear reactor, is billions of times the size of Manhattan - a point repeatedly made by Danny Boyle in establishing shots of the spaceship, and the planet mercury, dwarfed by the colossal inferno that the crew are flying towards.
Boyle's cinematography is exquisite: there are number of timeless set pieces which convey utterly the forlorn weediness of homo sapiens in the face of the almighty grandeur of the cosmos. Elsewhere the screen rendering is inventive and at all times eloquent and elegant. There is some amusing implausibility embedded (and not just the film's very premise: for example: gravity seems to come and go with air pressure), but none which can't be happily thrown into the suspended disbelief bucket for a couple of hours. This is a very thoughtful and stylishly composed film, and one that would render far more impressively on a cimema screen than at home on a television (which, alas, is where I saw it). The music is intelligent, too, with reminiscence of Brian Eno's Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks.
That's not to say it is massively coherent: perhaps by deliberate intent, Boyle poses big questions but is less interested in answering them. This is a time-honoured tradition in "intelligent science fiction" of course - some would say it's a characteristic of the very best films in the genre (for example Solaris and 2001: A Space Odyssey, both of which Sunshine resembles in significant ways).
That said, and for all its visceral beauty, in Sunshine it is often difficult to make out exactly what is going on, or why. Icarus II experiences malfunctions which necessitate two astronauts taking a space walk to assess and repair damage: it isn't clear what caused the damage, how they're getting along with fixing it, or why events transpire they way they do. There are several plot developments which aren't sufficiently trailed, and it felt to me that this was a case of rushed exposition rather than design. While there are no obvious flaws in the special effects as presented, you do get the sense they've been filmed carefully so as not to over-expose their limitations: blurring, jarring jump-cuts, lens flare and so forth are creatively employed. As a result, you have no choice but to let the ambiguity and incoherence wash over you and enjoy the film for the questions it asks and the images it presents, rather than a coherent statement of a narrative arc.
This becomes harder to do as the film reaches its conclusion, where it becomes more character and plot driven than in the early exchanges. Here the rushed exposition does let the film down: None of the characters are particularly well expounded (there is an early fight between two of them that is never explained), and a little bit more attention to back story might have helped clarify the narrative intent. Sunshine isn't an overly long film, and you do sense a "director's cut" adding in some of this back story would make a difference. Searle's character, for example, definitely had more scope for depth than was ultimately expounded, and more attention could have been paid to the plight of Icarus I.
The Amazon readership has marked Sunshine very harshly: Perhaps they expected something like Armageddon: This is definitely at the other end of the science fiction spectrum. It is a film which would repay re-watching for sure.
Olly Buxton
Movie Review: Trying to reignite our dying sun
Summary: 4 Stars
"Sunshine" is an involving, entertaining movie with a fascinating premise.(see plot info below Spoilers warning below if you want to find out more about it). The visuals are often stunning and the style of the film succeeds often even when the content (in the form of Alex Garland's script)doesn't. Although a bit uneven (particularly the last third of the film where there is a dramatic shift in tone and focus in the story), "Sunshine" is one heck of a ride for science fiction fans.
SPOILERS:
A form of proto matter called a "Q ball" has disrupted the sun's ability to produce energy. It's slowly cooling off most of life on Earth could die. The crew of the Icarus II (the ship no doubt named with a bit of irony)are sent to detonate a device powered by compressed dark matter in the heart of the sun blowing apart the "Q ball" and, essentially, restarting the sun.
As they reach Mercury they have a number of accidents that prevent them from completing their mission. Luckily the crew finds the remains of the first ship the Icarus I which disappeared en route and can use its materials to complete their own. That's when disaster truly strikes putting their lives and mission in danger.
Although this isn't quite as powerful as "Trainspotting" or as compelling as "28 Days Later", Boyle's film has plenty of tension and suspense. For those science folks keeping track Boyle does take liberties with the science to rachett up the level of suspense in a number of scenes but the film stays remarkably accurate for most of the science content(and given that Q Balls are still theortical and their existance hasn't been confirmed).
The film stumbles a bit by the last third with an unexpected plot twist that alters the direction of the film but Boyle and Garland manage to recover nicely bringing the film to a satisfying conclusion. The visual effects and production design are both quite stunning given the smaller than usual budget this science fiction film has. This film was, along with "3:10 to Yuma", "No Country for Old Men" and "Atonement" one of the highlights of last year.
The Blu-ray looks very good with a nice transfer and an often stunning audio mix. Update: Be aware, however, that there have been some reports of difficulty playing the disc and long loading times. It could be due to new copy protection codes there is no clear answer as to yet and Fox hasn't commented on the problems. I didn't have any problems but did have a longer than usual load time but it did play fine.
Also, some of the interactive special features are designed for 1.1 players (most current units are 1.0 as of 1/08 with only a couple of 1.1 models on the market)and may not play on 1.0 models such as the Samsung 1400 or some Panasonic and Sony models that are commonly stocked in electronic stores such as Bestbuy and Circut City).
We get two short films "Dad's Dead" and "Mole Hill" that use cutting edge techniques to tell their own fractured stories. We also get a commentary track from science advisor (and inspiration for the film)Dr. Brian Cox from CERN, Manchester University and director Danny Boyle discussing everything from the science to the changes that had to be make in the script due budget issues.
Also included are deleted scenes a similar but less dramatic alternate ending for the film and the original theatrical trailer. We also get a pip option for the film as well.
I'm not sure what Fox Searchlight was thinking when they released this film towards the end of the Summer blockbuster season of 2007 where it could (and did)get lost nor am I sure why the film wasn't given a wider release (or why the Fox marketing department did such a lousy job of promoting the film except for the website)but "Sunshine" reminds us of the fine line between life and death in the cold space that surrounds us.