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Sunshine (2007)
This week marks the release of 28 Years Later, the much-anticipated sequel to the modern zombie classic 28 Days Later that will reunite original director Danny Boyle, screenwriter Alex Garland, and star Cillian Murphy (who were absent from middle movie 28 Weeks Later). Many may not know the trio also collaborated on Sunshine, an outer space melodrama screening at Cinema 21 on June 20 and 21.
The sun is dying in the once-distant year 2057, and the crew of the Icarus II undertakes the perilous mission of delivering a massive bomb to reignite the star’s heart. Our heroes make an unexpected detour when they come across the remnants of the last ship that attempted this journey, inviting catastrophe with every deviation from their plotted course.
Sunshine is surprisingly dark for a movie named for light. Crewmates die one by one as the survivors are left to deal with the weight of their remaining responsibility, or fall to despair as one’s murderous warpath shifts the third act to a gruesome thriller. Yet there’s beauty in it—Boyle and his team make a near-religious experience of getting up close and personal with the center of our solar system, buoyed by an effervescent score by John Murphy and British techno group Underworld.
Sunshine bombed like the Icarus II’s payload on initial release (it didn’t help that Fox dropped this one a week before the studio’s summer tentpole, The Simpsons Movie), but it’s since earned a reputation as an underrated sci-fi journey that deserves to be experienced on the big screen. Cinema 21, June 20 and 21.
Also Playing:
Cinema 21: Sunshine (2007), June 20. The War of the Worlds (1953), June 21. Cinemagic: Eyes Wide Shut (1999), June 21 and 23. Magnolia (1999), June 20. Risky Business (1983), June 21 and 24. Rain Man (1988), June 22 and 24. Collateral (2004), June 22 and 23. Cult Classics: Nothing but Trouble (1991), June 22. Clinton: Paradise Lost (1974) and The Adventures of Sylvia Couski (1974) double feature June 18, Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers (1972) and Paris Is Burning (1990) double feature June 19, But I’m a Cheerleader! (1999), June 20. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), June 21, Union (2024), June 23. The Color of Pomegranates (1969), June 24. Hollywood: Batman Forever (1995), June 20. Tales from the Crypt presents: Demon Knight (1995), June 20. Sister Act (1992), June 21. Sorry to Bother You (2017), June 22. Going Down (1982), June 23. Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965), June 24. Tomorrow: Everything, Everywhere, All at Once (2022), June 21. Interstellar (2014), June 21. The Parent Trap (1998), June 22.