The Big Picture: Sunshine After turning horror trendy again in 28 Days Later (writes Ian Nathan), Danny Boyle damn near does the same for sci-fi with this gripping, scientifically plausible mission to reignite a dying Sun crippled by a collision with "Dark Matter". The feel is far more Alien and 2001 than anything Jedi-like, with Cillian Murphy and crew attempting to kick-start our sun by hurling an atom bomb of unimaginable magnitude into it. However, not killing each other first would help. On a relatively tiny budget for this genre, the special effects are pretty impressive. full-scale catastrophe Boyle and his screenwriter Alex Garland had immersed themselves in astrophysics beforehand, and luxuriate in the stunning visual possibilities of viewing the dying star up close.
 | | The dying star up close |
Boyle's method is to create an entire movie as if it were the third act of some greater story, ramping up the tension from the start as one foolhardy decision expands like a virus into full-scale catastrophe. A liaison with the ship of a previous mission that has mysteriously disappeared, tips events into a confusion of horror movie shocks and generally unexplained weirdness. The idea is to send you out perplexed and chattering over possible solutions, but the salty authenticity that made it so rich is lost in space, and a superb sci-fi movie becomes merely a very decent one. also out: Ice-rink hi-jinks are the order of the day in Blades of Glory, a lively sports comedy that sees Will Ferrell and Jon Heder become figure skating's first male duo. Energetically milking its cool high concept in a series of rib-tickling dance routines, it tends to freeze over when the twirling stops. If the movie misses out on gold, though, the leads' offbeat chemistry at least guarantees it a place on the podium. Eastern promise falls short of the mark in The Messengers, a mishmash of Asian frights and Hollywood hogwash that does nobody any favours. Stylish Hong Kong directors The Pang Brothers (The Eye, Bangkok Dangerous) try to inject some real terror into this Stateside tale of a teenager who starts seeing ghosts when her family downsizes to rural North Dakota. But judging by the evidence of studio tampering, the Pangs have their own Hollywood horror story to tell... elsewhere:
 | | Aishwarya Rai: the Provok'd wife |
Set in London in the late 80s, Provoked is inspired by the true story of Punjabi housewife and mother, Kiranjit Ahluwalia, who was freed by the British judicial system in a landmark case that redefined the plight of battered women. Director Jagmohan Mundhra casts Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai as the lead and manages to pull off a first - a film in which you actually forget the former Miss World's good looks and empathize with her portrayal of a victim turned victor. Caiman (Il Caimano) is a curious beast, one minute baring its teeth for political satire and the next, warmly embracing humanity and all its foibles. Silvio Orlando plays a producer whose latest film merges with the story of his own life. Italian director Nanni Moretti examines his responsibility to free speech as well as to his family, with mixed results. It's messy, but that said, not without its charm. finally: Finnish director Aki Kaurism盲ki finds humour in the oddest places in Lights in the Dusk (Laitakaupungin Valot), a bleak but somehow warming drama. Gary Oldman and Alfred Molina are on top form for Prick Up Your Ears, the true story of playwright Joe Orton and his untimely demise. A black-clad gunslinger searches for meaning in El Top (The Mole), an ultra-surreal western that helped kick-start the Midnight Movie phenomenon. And Israel's female street-patrollers come under the spotlight in the arresting drama Close To 91热爆 (Karov La Bayit). RELATED LINKS: |
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