200 Movies, 1 Woman, 1 Blog

Sunshine, 2007, UK/USA

Recommended by: Deepayan

This post contains mild spoilers regarding the tone of the movie.

This was a wonderful movie. The last thirty minutes are definitely the weakest moments of the movie, but it’s still an intense science fiction and psychological thriller. One of the things I love about science fiction is how it looks at humanity, and the human thought process. Sunshine definitely does this.

In Sunshine, a group of eight people are on a ship headed to the sun. They have a large weapon (or payload) with them, that is meant to revive the dying sun. They are close to the drop off point when they receive a distress beacon from the original ship sent to do this mission. When they go to rescue the potential inhabitants and take their weapon, disaster strikes in a number of ways.

The movie features an ensemble cast including Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne and Chris Evans. The movie also features Cliff Curtis, who also acted in Trauma; a show that I enjoyed…until it was cancelled. Curtis was by far my favourite actor on the show, so I was thrilled when he appeared in the movie.

One of the best aspects of the movie was the way it looked at death and sacrifice. Is killing someone or leaving them to die okay when all of humanity is at stake? Or does doing that remove one’s humanity, thus, negating the very thing you’re trying to save? It made me think about how I’d react under the same circumstances. I have a terrible fear of death, so it’s impossible to know how I’d react when I’m facing certain death. I’d like to think I’d sacrifice my life to save humanity. Another idea that is presented is the importance of human life when faced with destruction. In order to preserve human life, human life becomes secondary to a mission. It’s kind of a sad thought, but it also makes sense.

I did have a problem with the last half hour, as I stated earlier. The change is very abrupt. It goes from being a brilliant psychological thriller to a slasher movie. The intensity remained, but some of the heart didn’t. I think that the ending could have been achieved without resorting to slasher horror. I do realize that the idea of isolation and despair is being examined towards the end of the movie, but was it really necessary? I think it could have worked without it. In fact, I think the movie would have worked far better without it.

The special effects were so beautiful. I watched it in HD, and I’m very glad I did. The shots of the sun were amazingly realistic. The movie was a fairly low-budget movie, but Danny Boyle sure does a lot with a limited amount of money. This is Boyle’s first science fiction movie, but it still felt like much of his other work. I’ve noticed that he tends to examine human nature quite a bit. This movie was all about human nature and how we react in extreme circumstances. It was very thought-provoking, and I wish I’d watched it with someone just so I can have a discussion about it afterwards. I am sure I will watch it again someday, because it was such a joy to watch.

I actually really love science fiction. I haven’t watched enough of it over the course of this project. I love artwork that depicts science fiction or fantastical elements (which explains pretty much every computer wallpaper I’ve ever used), and I love science fiction literature and movies. Anyone have any recommendations?

127 Hours, 2010, USA/UK

As I’ve stated before, I’m trying to watch as many of the potential award-nominated movies this year and early next year. I’d heard a ton of positive buzz about James Franco’s performance in the movie, so there was no way I was going to miss it. Even if I had to go by myself. And have my dad drive me there, because I had no vehicle to get to the theatre (thanks dad!).

This was a very hard movie for me to watch. For starters, I’m a little bit claustrophobic. I don’t particularly like being in tight spaces, so it makes me feel nervous when I see a movie character in a tight space. I’m also super squeamish, which became a major issue during the movie.

127 Hours is about Aron Ralston’s escape from a canyon. In 2003, Ralston was hiking in a canyon when a boulder pinned his arm to the canyon wall. He couldn’t dislodge it, and the area he was in was remote, so he was unable to yell for help. Eventually, he cuts his own arm off in order to escape.

This movie shouldn’t have worked. Franco is on-screen, by himself, for about 90 per cent of the movie. That’s a huge amount of pressure on one actor. It made me think of Cast Away, which had a similar premise. Franco gives a magnificent performance, and deserves an Oscar nomination, at the very least. I felt fear, anguish, and joy at many times throughout the movie, and it was because of the wide range of emotion and depth that Franco portrays. See the movie for his performance.

The movie was also beautifully shot. A variety of different types of cameras were used. Franco used a handheld camera to shoot video diaries, so much of the footage has a grainy look to it, but it works well. I noticed that the movie breaks all of the standard shooting “rules” that I learned about in TV class. Zoom shots are used throughout. But it works, because it emphasizes just how little space Aron had to move. I actually thought about how awkward it must have been for Franco to shoot the movie. He was in a very tight, enclosed space for hours every day, and he had a camera in his face for much of that time. It must have been very uncomfortable.

I first heard about Ralston’s story many years ago. I was young at the time, and couldn’t imagine cutting my own arm off to survive. I thought that I would rather die than do such a thing. But I don’t think I truly appreciated the power of human will. It would be extraordinarily difficult to just stay there…waiting to die. If you’re going to die anyway, why not do whatever you can in order to survive? After all, pain can’t last forever. I’m sure it must have hurt like hell, and I’m sure the days he was trapped in the canyon were the worst of his life, but at least he’s alive and able to grow old with his family.

That being said, I never want to have to find out if I’m able to cut my own arm off.

I loved the movie, but I don’t think I’d be able to watch it again. It’s a very uncomfortable, painful experience, but it’s rewarding and inspiring. It’s worth seeing, even if you only ever want to see it once. It’s a movie you’ll remember for the rest of your life. Check it out!