Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
The Cinecultist's Weekly Movie Pick: Eco Disaster Edition
By
Karen Wilson
Published Jul 19, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Karen Wilson
Published Jul 19, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Sunshine
(directed by Danny Boyle)
Sweltering in the humidity today it's hard to imagine being so upset about the sun going out, but that's the horrific premise in Danny Boyle's excellent new sci-fi fantasy Sunshine, which is out this weekend. The movie is set 50 or so years into the future, as the crew of the Icarus II are about to move outside of communication range on their voyage to the sun. The ship is loaded down with nuclear bombs to drop on our dying star in the hope that it will reignite and continue to sustain life on earth. However, a pall hangs over the multi-cultural crew as the first Icaraus mission mysteriously disappeared at about this distance from home.
As in Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris, Boyle uses the plot structure of a journey into space to explore some of the odder nooks and crannies in the human psyche. Of course there are latent jealousies and neurotic tics in the crew members and as they get closer to their mission's end, everything goes a bit haywire. However, the ship's sensitive physicist Capa (Cillian Murphy) is trying desperately to hold it together since he's ultimately responsible for pushing the button to ignite the bomb. As the death count rises and disaster looms, the film's tension becomes palpable. Murphy and the rest of his cast mates such as Rose Byrne, Michelle Yeoh and Chris Evans, all give wonderful, complex performances. There's some kidding in the dialogue about sci-fi movies picking off one crew member at a time, so you know this is a film that's aware of its genre. Also the visual effects Boyle was able to muster on a relatively small $40 million budget are impressive and believable. After the runaway success of Trainspotting, Boyle almost got swallowed up by the Hollywood machine but if he continues to make smart and strong little movies like Sunshine he'll become known as true film artist.
Other movies coming to a theater near you this weekend include Adam Sandler and Kevin James going gay in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, another movie version of the hit Broadway musical based on a John Waters movie Hairspray, Milos Forman's artist tale Goya's Ghosts, and the depressed convenience store worker flick Cashback.
Tagged
adam sandler
Andrei Tarkovsky
As
bomb
broadway
Chris Evans
Chuck
cillian murphy
danny boyle
death
film
gay
hollywood
I Now Pronounce You Chuck
john waters
Kevin James
Milos Forman
movies
rose
Rose Byrne
the future
the sun
theater
Karen Wilson
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
In the algorithm age, NYC college radio DJs are still broadcasting the funky stuff
We dropped by WNYU to see what the next generation of radio DJs is up to. The answer is "Br00tal Beats To Study/Relax To."
By
James Ramsay
Published Oct 22, 2026
A Queens prop shop shutters, bunnies find a home uptown, and more openings and closings
Highlights of shifts in the city's business landscape.
By
Hannah Frishberg
Arts & Entertainment
A Queens prop shop shutters, bunnies find a home uptown, and more openings and closings
Highlights of shifts in the city's business landscape.
By
Hannah Frishberg
A new film invites you to eavesdrop on one of the greatest conversations in NYC history
By
Sonia Rao
The Knicks are NBA champions. Now they have to start dressing the part.
By
Sonia Rao
Will Barnes and Noble in the East Village spell doom for smaller shops? It's complicated.
By
Sonia Rao
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .