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Post by Return of the Thin Olive Duke on May 20, 2016 3:02:59 GMT -5
SunshineDir. Danny Boyle Premiered July 20, 2007 I don’t remember Sunshine coming out in theaters. I do remember seeing the trailer at the beginning of every Netflix DVD in 2007...and skipping over it. The only time I’ve heard someone talk about it was to say that it was just like an episode of Doctor Who that came out that same summer. I know which episode he was talking about, and it isn’t. For some reason, the world just kinda missed Danny Boyle’s follow-up to the critically acclaimed 28 Days Later, and since I’ve made a point of seeing every wide-release film from a name director, I gave it a shot. In the year 2057, Robert Capa (Cillian Murphy) is a physicist onboard the Icarus II. Its mission: to reignite a prematurely dying Sun that has plunged the Earth into a severe ice age by detonating a massive, untested nuclear weapon. The ship's increasing proximity to the Sun has begun to have a deleterious effect on the crew, especially hard-nosed engineer Mace (Chris Evans), when the Icarus II comes across its long-lost predecessor, the Icarus I. What appears to be a miraculous discovery may cost the crew their mission, their lives, and the survival of all life on Earth. In an era that saw science fiction lose relevance in favor of classical fantasy, Sunshine is an utterly engrossing throwback to the darker, spiritually- and environmentally-themed sci-fi of the 1970s, and in turn feels much like a precursor to cult films like Moon and Beyond the Black Rainbow. What could have been a bloated ensemble piece devotes its 111-minute running time to being one of the darkest– and best– thrillers of 2007 so far, with an overall effect that can only be described as cosmically invigorating. Sign This Was Made in 2007While the technology of Sunshine may be futuristic, the aesthetic is emphatically reminiscent of the 2000s, which I rather like. No point in distracting us with pointless knicknacks. Additional NotesThe film has an unexpected connection with my favorite author: Boyle got a feel for visualizing the godlike power of the Sun by reading Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything, at the time his most popular book. Next Time: I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
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Post by rimjobflashmob on May 20, 2016 8:31:04 GMT -5
I haven't seen this one since it came out, but I remember being very disappointed by the latter half of the film. It just felt like it dove headlong into slasher movie territory for unnecessary reasons, as if the perils of the mission itself weren't enough. Like if halfway through The Martian Matt Damon found out that someone else also missed the rocket but was also a rock zombie.
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Post by Superb Owl 🦉 on May 20, 2016 8:39:55 GMT -5
I've never heard of this movie, but it sounds like something I would have liked. Weird.
I'm actually sort of excited to hear your thoughts on Chuck & Larry. That may have been my "I've officially aged out of Adam Sandler" movie, the message of it is really confused and garbled, and it's probably to blame for making "Kevin James, Movie Star!" a thing. Lots of material to work with there.
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Post by Return of the Thin Olive Duke on May 20, 2016 11:18:13 GMT -5
I haven't seen this one since it came out, but I remember being very disappointed by the latter half of the film. It just felt like it dove headlong into slasher movie territory for unnecessary reasons, as if the perils of the mission itself weren't enough. Like if halfway through The Martian Matt Damon found out that someone else also missed the rocket but was also a rock zombie. That's probably what keeps it out of "classic" status for me, but it's definitely a cinematic experience like the best of them, and which most movies curiously don't seem interested in.
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Post by Return of the Thin Olive Duke on May 20, 2016 12:56:15 GMT -5
I've never heard of this movie, but it sounds like something I would have liked. Weird. I'm actually sort of excited to hear your thoughts on Chuck & Larry. That may have been my "I've officially aged out of Adam Sandler" movie, the message of it is really confused and garbled, and it's probably to blame for making "Kevin James, Movie Star!" a thing. Lots of material to work with there. I was already disenchanted with Sandler by then, at 17, and never saw another Happy Madison film after Anger Management. Lest that come off as overly snobbish, however, it must be said that there was a brief period when I defended the quality of Eight Crazy Nights to my mother after making her suffer through it in the theater. You might have to wait a while for that review, as once more, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry is listed as having a "very long wait" on Netflix (read: we don't have it here, but we might take pity and ship it to you from our Texas distribution center if you keep it at the top of your queue for a couple weeks). Last time this happened, it was License to Wed, hence the current glut of reviews, and considering my current progress, it wouldn't be surprising if I've written all the remaining July reviews and most of August before finally getting it in the mail.
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Post by Superb Owl 🦉 on May 20, 2016 13:01:39 GMT -5
I've never heard of this movie, but it sounds like something I would have liked. Weird. I'm actually sort of excited to hear your thoughts on Chuck & Larry. That may have been my "I've officially aged out of Adam Sandler" movie, the message of it is really confused and garbled, and it's probably to blame for making "Kevin James, Movie Star!" a thing. Lots of material to work with there. I was already disenchanted with Sandler by then, at 17, and never saw another Happy Madison film after Anger Management. Lest that come off as overly snobbish, however, it must be said that there was a brief period when I defended the quality of Eight Crazy Nights to my mother after making her suffer through it in the theater. You might have to wait a while for that review, as once more, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry is listed as having a "very long wait" on Netflix (read: we don't have it here, but we might take pity and ship it to you from our Texas distribution center if you keep it at the top of your queue for a couple weeks). Last time this happened, it was License to Wed, hence the current glut of reviews, and considering my current progress, it wouldn't be surprising if I've written all the remaining July reviews and most of August before finally getting it in the mail. I like Netflix's commitment to at least trying to make re-consider watching the terrible comedies of 2007.
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Post by MarkInTexas on May 23, 2016 13:19:19 GMT -5
Have you checked with your local library? Even if your local branch doesn't have a copy of it, there are probably copies at other branches that can be sent for pickup at your local branch. Once I realized a few years ago that the local library had a far better selection of older and foreign movies than the nearby Blockbuster, and all for free, I never bothered to rent anything but the occasional game from them ever again (yes, I'm the reason Blockbuster went out of business). So, if you just can't wait to see Adam Sandler and Kevin James make a bunch of homophobic jokes but it's OK because they're really supportive of gay rights, that's a possibility.
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Post by Return of the Thin Olive Duke on May 23, 2016 13:57:33 GMT -5
Have you checked with your local library? Even if your local branch doesn't have a copy of it, there are probably copies at other branches that can be sent for pickup at your local branch. Once I realized a few years ago that the local library had a far better selection of older and foreign movies than the nearby Blockbuster, and all for free, I never bothered to rent anything but the occasional game from them ever again (yes, I'm the reason Blockbuster went out of business). So, if you just can't wait to see Adam Sandler and Kevin James make a bunch of homophobic jokes but it's OK because they're really supportive of gay rights, that's a possibility. I'd rather not have people know I'm watching it.
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Post by Superb Owl 🦉 on May 23, 2016 14:03:44 GMT -5
Have you checked with your local library? Even if your local branch doesn't have a copy of it, there are probably copies at other branches that can be sent for pickup at your local branch. Once I realized a few years ago that the local library had a far better selection of older and foreign movies than the nearby Blockbuster, and all for free, I never bothered to rent anything but the occasional game from them ever again (yes, I'm the reason Blockbuster went out of business). So, if you just can't wait to see Adam Sandler and Kevin James make a bunch of homophobic jokes but it's OK because they're really supportive of gay rights, that's a possibility. I'd rather not have people know I'm watching it. Are you on a first name basis with the library staff? Hell, even Des Moines Public Libraries have self check-out now.
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Post by King Charles’s Butterfly on May 23, 2016 14:52:15 GMT -5
To me, this film has always seemed dumb like The Core without being gleefully dumb like The Core.
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Post by Return of the Thin Olive Duke on May 23, 2016 15:40:29 GMT -5
King Charles’s Butterfly Apparently, Danny Boyle is something a physics geek and a lot of the ideas describe pass muster. Obviously quite a lot is done for the sake of moviemaking practicality, but the comparison to The Core is unfair IMO. Superb Owl 🦉 Are you guys really that eager for me to continue this series apace?
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Post by Superb Owl 🦉 on May 23, 2016 15:52:57 GMT -5
King Charles’s Butterfly Apparently, Danny Boyle is something a physics geek and a lot of the ideas describe pass muster. Obviously quite a lot is done for the sake of moviemaking practicality, but the comparison to The Core is unfair IMO. Superb Owl 🦉 Are you guys really that eager for me to continue this series apace? No, I just thought it was weird that you have no qualms about having such shitty movies in a Netflix queue that somebody is definitely keeping detailed data on, but are paranoid about being found out with the same DVD at your local library branch.
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Post by Return of the Thin Olive Duke on May 23, 2016 16:45:36 GMT -5
King Charles’s Butterfly Apparently, Danny Boyle is something a physics geek and a lot of the ideas describe pass muster. Obviously quite a lot is done for the sake of moviemaking practicality, but the comparison to The Core is unfair IMO. Superb Owl 🦉 Are you guys really that eager for me to continue this series apace? No, I just thought it was weird that you have no qualms about having such shitty movies in a Netflix queue that somebody is definitely keeping detailed data on, but are paranoid about being found out with the same DVD at your local library branch. It's a comfort thing. I'd rather not be confronted with it. And it'll only be a few more days before they relent and send it to me from Texas or wherever.
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Post by Return of the Thin Olive Duke on May 27, 2016 18:50:07 GMT -5
Me vs. Netflix Update
I have reviews written for nine movies now, including most of the August films, and Netflix still refuses to send me I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. It's been at the top with "very long wait" for the last two weeks, me having placed them at the top of the queue in anticipation that this exact problem would occur, but their stubbornness is even worse than usual.
Even stranger, they've received my last DVD, but apparently declined to send me anything at all at this time. That's new.
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