Sunshine

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: July 27, 2007

DVD Release Date: January 8, 2008

Plot 411: Because the sun is dying and the Earth and mankind will freeze to death, a group of scientists and astronauts are sent into space to jump-start the sun.

Review: Now let me just start by saying that I'm not too fond of the sci-fi genre in general. But this movie was pretty interesting as well as a little difficult to follow. I understood the basic concepts - that these people have a bomb that they need to deploy so the sun can get started. However, throughout the movie, it was hard to follow some of the things they were doing. I'm not sure if it's a matter of mentally not following (as in they need to explain more through dialogue) or visually not following (as in I just don't know what I'm looking at because a) I'm not into sci-fi and b) I'm not technical or scientific at all). In any case, after watching the special features I was able to get beyond just the action of the film and understand the movie a bit more deeply. The movie dealth with human interaction and emotion. The crew knew this was a mission that may not go well and that death was a definite possiblity. This film showed us how people were able to (or not) deal with this and their close proximity of each other. That in itself was the interesting part. I should also note that there were some pretty established actors in this film; not huge movie stars but recognizable actors - Cliff Curtis, Michelle Yeoh, Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne and Chris Evans.

Watch It: If sci-fi and psychological thrillers are your thing or if you are into space because there are really beautiful shots of the sun and the light as it filters through the shuttle.

Skip It: If you're a die-hard sci-fi fan as I don't think there's enough of the good stuff to hold your attention. Space is just a setting. The real drama is going on inside the characters' heads and their interaction with one another.

Trailer: