"Sunshine" -- is it any good?

[Lord Garth]

Here's the situation: my birthday is coming up in 10 days and I'm getting a Blu-Ray player that I'm not supposed to know about. Wink, wink. Despite what I'm not supposed to know, I'm being asked what movie I'd like to see.

Preferably, I want something made in 2005 or later, in order to watch something that was made with high-definition in mind. Even if someone counters with "well, movies more than a few years old can be seen just as well in HD", save it. I want to test out my new player with a new movie.

I went to Saturday Matinee and Best Buy to look at the Blu-Ray selections, and so I can see what I don't already have on DVD. Sunshine caught my eye but it seems to me to be one of those movies where I'd either think it's great or think it's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen.

Which one do you think it is?

 

[The Evil Dead]

You'd think the first two thirds is great and the last third is one of the most ridiculous things you've ever seen.

At least that seems to be most people's reaction, your mileage may vary of course.

At the very least, it's a gorgeous looking movie and would at least be very nice for checking out your new BluRay player with.

 

[James Bond]

You'd think the first two thirds is great and the last third is one of the most ridiculous things you've ever seen.

At least that seems to be most people's reaction, your mileage may vary of course.

At the very least, it's a gorgeous looking movie and would at least be very nice for checking out your new BluRay player with.

Agreed on all counts. I loved Sunshine, but the third act was very iffy, but not absolutely terrible. Fortunately, the first two acts are so incredible, that they make up for the third, and save the movie as a whole.

And yes, this movie looked absolutely amazing on just a standard DVD, so what does that tell you about a bloody Blu-Ray?

 

[Capt. Vulcan]

Haven't seen sunshine yet, but the trailer looks pretty gorgeous in HD.

If you're looking to test out that new blu-ray player, there isn't any better product than Planet Earth.

 

[Ethros]

Wow, two in the space of one week

 

[TK421]

Terrible movie. The most pretentious thing I've ever sat through.

Pretty though.

 

[Aragorn]

Is it just a rental or is it a blind buy movie?

 

[jbrinegar]

it was an okay movie in my book. Do you know what type of player your getting? Some of my players had some trouble playing sunshine without a firmware update so Id check your firmware version first to make sure it wont hang up your player if you get it.

Going on eye candy alone, some of the upper tier video quality movies on bd IMO are:

Casino Royale
Batman Begins
Live Free or Die Hard
POTC movies
Apocalypto
I, Robot
Black Hawk Down
Kingdom of Heaven
Pearl Harbor

Hopefully some films on the list are some you dont own and would like to. If your recvr is capable of decoding some of the high def audio youre in for a real treat.

Probably could look at avsforum and check out their tier system for video quality.

Regards, Jerry

 

[auntiehill]

"Sunshine" is NOT worth buying, IMO. It might be worth renting, as the effects are pretty good. What could have been a very intriguing, or even philosophically interesting story, dissolves into a third rate "monster" film. "Oh no! The Big Bad is after us!"

While normally that wouldn't piss me off so much, this film starts with such promise and potential, and proceeds to COMPLETELY and HORRIBLY drop the proverbial ball.

 

[Lord Garth]

Is it just a rental or is it a blind buy movie?

It would've been a blind buy but it looks like maybe this should be a rental.

 

[Aragorn]

High-Def Digest is a good site for Blu-Ray reviews. The movie reviews themselves are subjective, obviously, but you can get a pretty good idea of how they'll look and sound.

 

[BigFoot]

Here's my suggestion, post a list of DVDs that you already own and we can suggest what you should pick up on BD.

Some of my personal suggestions would be Casino Royale, The Prestige, Batman Begins, Blade Runner and Kingdom of Heaven (and of course both Underworld movies).

 

[Antihero]

I liked Sunshine. Right up until the part where it turned into a monster movie. Although the ending redeemed it a little. If you just want to see an amazing-looking movie in HD, it's not a bad choice.

Blackhawk Down and Kingdom of Heaven are both must-sees. And Cars is breathtaking.

If you can find Dark City, that's also worth watching. The Blu-Ray is supposed to be out now, although I couldn't find it myself.

 

[Maurice]

Sunshine was gorgeously photographed, but stupid in spades. It went from a clever idea to a 10 Little Indians body count. Pretty pictures but ultimately ugly underneath.

 

[Daedalus12]

If you want the best PQ I recommend the following.

Ratatouille
Cars
Pirates I to III
I, Robot
Live Free or Die Hard.
The Island (only released in the UK).
Shoot'em up
Crank
Lost Season 3

These movies are all reference quality. People should be using these titles for Blu-ray demos. The two titles in bold are what I consider as the two best ones among the best.

The PQ of the following are not quite as good but the difference is very very tiny.

The Rock (amazing PQ for a fairly old movie)
Blade Runner (the same as The Rock)
SpiderMan 3
Casino Royale
Apocalypto
No Country For Old Men
FF4: The Rise of Silver Surfer
Zwartboek (Black Book)
Sunshine (yes the PQ of this one was indeed excellent)
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Rambo
The Fifth Element (not the discontinued copy but the 2nd remastered Sony release)
300 (The first Blu-ray I got myself)
3:10 to Yuma
Batman Begins

 

[Lord Garth]

Here's my suggestion, post a list of DVDs that you already own and we can suggest what you should pick up on BD.

Batman Begins
The Brave One
Cloverfield
Flightplan
The TV Set
Thank You for Smoking

 

[Faldor]

I really did not like Sunshine, it wanted to be a 'hard science' film ala 2001 and then had a space ship go and try to bomb the sun to make it work right... wtf?!

 

[Aragorn]

Batman Begins
The Brave One
Cloverfield
Flightplan
The TV Set
Thank You for Smoking

If you like those films, then obviously they'd all be good to own. But those last two titles aren't on Blu-Ray. Obviously something like Batman Begins and Cloverfield will look great. Do you have a high def sound system to go with the TV? Because that's where Batman and Cloverfield might impress you even more.

If you're just looking for something to show off the Blu-Ray and high def picture, lots of colors and/or lots of daylight will do the trick (for movies with good transfers, anyway). Superman Returns, The Phantom of the Opera and Pirates of the Caribbean look amazing. And Pixar cartoons are a no-brainer.

 

[Starbreaker]

I bet Sunshine looks amazing on Blu-Ray, but don't expect much on the plot side.

 

[CommodoreKong]

I just watched Sunshine a few days ago and I enjoyed it. When I bought it the guy I bought it from told me that

Spoiler: Act Three

the third act turned into a slasher film

so I was prepared for that and I really enjoyed it.

I bought it as part of Blockbuster's 4 for $20 sale, so of course the price was right for the movie.