SPIDER-MAN 3: Seduced By The Dark Side

SPIDER-MAN 3 (sci-fi adventure)
Cast: Tobey Maguire, Kristen Dunst, Thomas Haden Church, James Franco and Topher Grace
Director: Sam Raimi
Time: 139 mins
Rating: * * * (out of 4)
WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? The third instalment of the "Spider-Man" franchise takes the story into "Star Wars" territory, with Spidey getting ‘seduced’ by a ‘dark side’. This seems to have come the way of Superman – in the form of a meteor of gooey black gel that crashes into Earth from another galaxy.
Now, if you are thinking that the script-writers are rummaging in the ‘box of movie cliches’ for plot ideas, yes, "Spider-Man 3" can be rather predictable, and even a little long-winded. However, director Sam Raimi has upped the ante in the special effects department and his awesome sequences of the shape-changing Sandman would probably blow you away. If, somehow, you feel disappointed with the plot of this sequel, it is probably because Raimi had made the two predecessors so fantastic that expectations inevitably run high for this one. No, "Spider-Man 3" is not disappointing. It just gets bogged down a bit by a heavily-laden plot, repetitive sequences and some recurring jokes...

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) seems to have everything going for him and (Kristen Dunst). He has been given a special ring by his Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) so that he can pop the question to MJ at a posh French restaurant. However, a blob of black goo drops from outer space, latches on to his Spidey suit and generally fouls things up for him by enhancing his powers and corrupting his ego. From here on, his relationship with MJ hits the proverbial rocks.
If that is not bad enough, he has to contend with escaped convict Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church) who transforms into the formidable shape-changing Sandman; wrestle with his buddy Harry Osborn (James Franco); and ward off Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), the new photographer at the Daily Bugle who is also changed by the black goo into the nasty Venom.

HIGHLIGHTS & LOWLIGHTS: Fighting three villains – and himself – may be too much for Spidey but it can also be a strain on the movie as Raimi seems to be trying to cramp everything into the plot. With so many things going on, we are distracted from the main characters, especially the juicy love triangle among Parker, Mary Jane and Harry Osbourn.
Some of the other subplots are equally engaging, like Parker’s tryst with his beautiful course-mate Gwen Stacey (Bryce Dallas Howard). However, it also gets the short shrift when it is quickly dismissed so that Spidey can get to other matters at hand. Yeah, if we feel letdown, it is because Raimi gives us such glimpses of delectable plot dishes, only to take it away before we can digest them. While he had maintained a wonderful balance between stunts and story-telling in the first two efforts, he seems to be in quite a hurry here.
The saving grace is the cast, though. Maguire and Dunst have definitely grown accustomed to their roles – and each other – and it is delightful to see them together again. Church and Grace have fleshed out their roles convincingly as ‘accidental’ villains, and many of us would feel pity for them. Ms Howard also proves she is not just ‘eye candy’ and has made good use of the little on-screen time she has. The only one who looks rather ‘lost’ is Franco, the poor rich boy who can never get the girl or anything he wants.

THE LOWDOWN: There is no doubt "Spider-Man 3" will do well in the summer box-office stakes. After watching the ‘origin’ of Sandman sequence, you will realise that Raimi and his crew have made good use of the budget. Welcome back, Spidey!

WEEKEND PIC April 27 - 29

Your Guide To The Weekend Viewing

1. WILD HOGS (comedy with Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy) Rated: * * ½ (out of 4): This mid-life road trip plot is so lame that it would make you cringe. However, there are some laughs and fun provided by the veteran cast, especially Macy.

2. THE NUMBER 23 (mystery thriller with Jim Carrey and Virginia Madsen) Rated: * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): This thriller, about Jim Carrey's obsession with the number 23, gets embroiled in tedious explanations and will ultimately leave viewers dissatisfied. Blame that on Joel Schumacher's uninspired direction.

3. TMNT (actioner with Patrick Stewart, Sarah Michele Gellar and Zhang Ziyi) Rated * * (2 stars): This 'sequel' of sorts tries to take the Ninja Turtles franchise closer to the dark look of the comic book series. However, it is still a kiddie flick with few surprises for adults.

4. SPIRIT OF THE VICTIM (Thai horror with Pitchanart Sakakorn, Apasiri Nitibhon and Penpak Sirikul ) Rated * * (2 stars): A convoluted plot, incorporating a film-within-a-film makes this Thai effort a run-of-the-mill thriller with a few scares.

5. THE HILLS HAVE EYES 2 (suspense thriller with Michael McMillan, Jessica Stroup, Daniella Alonso and Jacob Vargas) Rated * ½ (1.5 stars): This sequel to the 2006 remake is just a lame excuse to load viewers with blood and gore. It is filled with cardboard characters whom we do not care about.

'Jangan Padang Belakang' To Release in Singapore

APRIL 24 – Local horror "Jangan Pandang Belakang" is set for the biggest release of a Malaysian movie in Singapore on 3 May at a record 12 locations.

David Teo of Metrowealth Movie Productions, the producer of "Jangan Pandang Belakang", said that the prints (film reels) for Singapore have been specially made with Mandarin and English subtitles.
"We are going head-on against "Spider-Man 3" which will be opening in Singapore at the same time," said Teo. "With the release of the movie in 12 locations, we are actually covering the whole of Singapore."

Teo said "Jangan Padang Belakang" has collected RM5.91 million in its 20 days at the cinemas. This is just RM250,000 short of breaking the all-time Malaysian box-office record of RM6.1 million set by "Sembilu 2" in 1996.

"We are confident the movie will surpass the RM6.1 million mark soon," said Teo.

"Jangan Pandang Belakang" (or ‘Don’t Look Behind’) raised eyebrows with a record-breaking collection of RM410,000 on its opening day. From then on, there was no looking ‘behind’ as it continued its reign at the top of the local movie chart throughout its second weekend.

'Apa Khabar Orang Kampung' to Release in Singapore

APRIL 24: The banned local independent movie, "Apa Khabar Orang Kampung", will be released in Singapore on May 10, its director, Amir Muhammad, announced yesterday.

The movie will be released under its English title, "Village People Radio Show", at the Cathay Picturehouse in Handy Road, Singapore, and will be shown for at least two weeks.

Amir said the movie has been passed uncut by Singapore censors but it is rated NC16 (content not suitable for children under 16).

"Apa Khabar Orang Kampung", a documentary about the former members of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), was banned by Malaysian authorities in February. The 72-minute film, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival last February, features interviews with about ten Malay members of the now defunct CPM who are living in exile in southern Thailand.

This is the second film by Amir which has been banned since May last year. His earlier movie, 'Lelaki Komunis Terakhir', was initially approved for limited screenings by the Censorship Board but was eventually banned by the Internal Security Ministry because the semi-musical documentary was deemed "insensitive" to Umno's 60th anniversary celebrations last year.

WEEKEND PIC April 20 - 22

Your Guide To The Weekend Viewing

1. WILD HOGS (comedy with Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy) Rated: * * 1/2: (out of 4): This mid-life road trip plot is so lame that it would make you cringe. However, there are some laughs and fun provided by the cast, especially Macy.

2. THE NUMBER 23 (mystery thriller with Jim Carrey and Virginia Madsen) Rated: * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): This thriller, about Jim Carrey's obsession with the number 23, gets embroiled in tedious explanations and will ultimately leave viewers dissatisfied. Blame that on Joel Schumacher's uninspired direction.

3. TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (actioner with Patrick Stewart, Sarah Michele Gellar and Zhang Ziyi) Rated * * (2 stars): This 'sequel' of sorts tries to take the franchise closer to the dark look of the comic book series. However, it is still a kiddie flick with few surprises for adults.

4. SHOOTER (action thriller with Mark Wahlberg, Michael Pena, Kate Mara and Danny Glover) Rated * * * (3 stars): Structured like TV's "24", this fast-paced conspiracy thriller has familiar characters and cliched moments. But there are lots of twists and thrills to delight most action fans.

5. SUNSHINE (sci-fi thriller with Michelle Yeoh, Chris Evans and Cillian Murphy) Rated * * ½ (out of 4): There is a nice build-up to this plot about a mission to nuke the Sun back to life but it gets into predictable ‘slasher territory’ midway.

WILD HOGS: Laugh and Cringe Comedy

WILD HOGS (comedy)
Cast: John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence, William H. Macy and Marisa Tomei
Director: Walt Becker
Time: 95 mins
Rating: * * ½

WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL? There are good news and bad news to this "City Slickers"-on-Harleys comedy. First, the bad news: the plot is geriatric and derivative, and seems to verge on the ridiculous at every twist and turn.
The good news is that there are many laughs to be had, watching the A-list cast hamming it up like their lives depended on it. So if you lower your standards a bit, you may even find some fun in this comedy about four over-the-hill guys going on a road trip as a treatment for their mid-life crises.

WHAT’S IT ABOUT? Doug (Tim Allen) is a dentist who finds a huge cavity in his ego: he is so dull his son would rather play ball with someone else’s dad. Woody (John Travolta) is a hotshot deal-maker who has just lost his wife and business. Bobby (Martin Lawrence) is a plumber who is trying to fix a leak in his dream by trying to write a book, and Dudley (William H. Macy) is a computer nerd who has problems relating to people, especially women.
In short, these suburban guys are facing mid-life crises. The solution, as suggested by Woody, is to leave all their frustrations and disappointments behind and go on a road-trip from Cincinnati to the Pacific coast – on their beloved motorbikes. Imagine, one week of pure freedom, minus the missus and even their cell phones!

HIGHLIGHTS AND LOWLIGHTS: From here on, the "City Slickers" schtick applies. The ‘Wild Hogs’ burn down their tent, get mistaken for gays (by a highway cop played by John C. McGinley), and run foul of a real Hell’s Angels gang called the Del Fuegos, led by a mean dude named Jack (Ray Liotta). On the bright side, one of them falls in love (with the small town diner-owner played by Marisa Tomei) and they even get to play ‘slap the bull’ with a real bull!
Yes, there are plenty of cricks and cracks in this uneven comedy and some of them may even make you cringe. Like watching the flabby four taking a skinny-dip bath in the park; like watching Travolta at one of his worst performances of his life, and Liotta trying to do a foaming-at-the-mouth routine. On the other hand, Macy is a gem here and he gets most of the laughs, including the girl.
Director Walt Becker, who of "Van Wilder" fame, tries to compensate for the amateurish script by providing some surprise cameos. Look out for Kyle Gass doing a Pussycat Dolls number, and a certain ‘Mephistopheles’ from "Death Rider" doing his turn as a town saviour.

THE LOWDOWN: Yup, I laughed a bit and cringed a lot at the antics of these Wild Hogs. If you plan on riding with ’em, please leave your brain at the cineplex’s door.

WEEKEND PIC April 13 - 15

Your Guide To The Weekend Viewing

1. SUNSHINE (sci-fi thriller with Michelle Yeoh, Chris Evans and Cillian Murphy) Rated * * ½ (out of 4): There is a nice build-up to this plot about a mission to nuke the Sun back to life but it gets into predictable ‘slasher territory’ midway.

2. TURNING PAGES (psychological thriller in French with Deborah Francois, Catherine Frot and Pascal Greggory) Rated: * * ½ (2.5 stars): A revenge story with a subtle twist, this one has a nanny worming her way into the heart of her boss who had wrecked her dream of playing the piano. Slow but engaging.

3. SHOOTER (action thriller with Mark Wahlberg, Michael Pena, Kate Mara and Danny Glover) Rated * * * (3 stars): Structured like TV's "24", this fast-paced conspiracy thriller has familiar characters and cliched moments. But there are lots of twists and thrills to delight most action fans.

4. HANNIBAL RISING (prequel with Gaspard Ulliel, Gong Li and Rhys Ifans) Rated: * * (2 stars): This prequel to "Silence Of The Lambs" and "Red Dragon" turns out to be a cheap, cliched tale of vengeance as a young Hannibal Lecter (Ulliel) tracks down his sister’s murderers, one by one.

5. JANGAN PANDANG BELAKANG (horror thriller in Malay, with Pierre Andre, Intan Ladyana and Khatijah Tan) Rated: * * ½ (2.5 stars): You will get a few well-aimed jolts in this story about a man’s probe into his girlfriend’s apparent suicide. You have to tolerate the poor sound system, though.

HANNIBAL RISING: Cheap Slasher Flick

HANNIBAL RISING (thriller)
Cast: Gaspard Ulliel, Gong Li, Dominic West and Rhys Ifans
Director: Peter Webber
Time: 108 mins
Rating: * * (out of 4)

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? Let’s face it. Whenever we talk of the criminal genius, Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal Lecter always springs to mind. Hopkins has made Hannibal into such a deliciously enigmatic ‘gentleman serial killer’ that he is etched in our minds as the iconic villain. Why, Hopkins even upstaged poor Jodie Foster in "Silence Of The Lambs" – and spawned two sequels, "Hannibal" (2001) and "Red Dragon" (2002).
Now, here is a movie about Hannibal Lecter WITHOUT Hopkins – and you can figure out what it is up against, especially the huge audience expectations it has to fulfil. Granted that "Hannibal Rising" is an ‘origin story’ about Hannibal’s childhood and his formative years, Hopkins could not have taken on the role even if the producers had wanted him to. Expectedly, this effort by Peter Webber can only go down the way of ‘Limbo Rock’ (how low can you go?) – especially with a wooden Gaspard Ulliel in the title role…

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? The movie opens promisingly with the Lecter family getting caught in the war in Eastern Europe in 1944. Young Hannibal (Aaron Thomas) and his sister Mischa (Helena Lia Tachovska) watch helplessly as their parents are killed in a battle between a Nazi air-plane and a Russian tank. Later, the siblings are captured by a gang of vicious Lithuanian looters who decide to have Mischa for dinner. Of course, these events traumatise the boy, and eight years later, when Hannibal (Ulliel) goes to Paris to live with his uncle’s widow, Lady Murasaki (Gong Li), he develops a taste for blood and revenge. In a way, Murasaki helps to hone his ‘carving skills’ – teaching him the use of her samurai sword and the Japanese tradition of chopping off heads of the enemies.
From here on "Hannibal Rising" starts sinking into cheap slasher territory that not only demystifies the Lecter legend, but also turns it into a laughing stock. First off is the head of the local butcher who has racially insulted Murasaki. At this point, our ‘hero’ has not yet developed the taste of Chianti to go with human meat, but not to worry. There are lots more to come – as Hannibal goes after each of the Lithuanian thugs who had consumed his sister.

HIGHLIGHTS & LOWLIGHTS: With such a lame script (from the critically-roasted novel by Thomas Harris who also did the screenplay), we would expect a compromise in the cast’s performance. No such luck, though. You would get better acting from a ventriloquist’s dummy than from Ulliel. Dominic West, who plays the investigating French Inspector Popil, has such pedestrian dialogue that he can do nothing to enhance the action. Thank goodness for Gong Li, who helps to add exotic spice to the proceedings. There is a hint of some sexual liaison between Hannibal and her Murasaki but this is not developed. Gong Li remains eye-candy in an otherwise bland and dark film.

THE LOWDOWN: Hopkins has made Hannibal into such a charismatic genius that "Hannibal Rising" may present fans of the iconic villain a problem: How to erase such a disappointing movie from their minds so that they can still relish the memory of his exploits. Get themselves sloshed on Chianti and red meat, perhaps?

TURNING PAGES: Arthouse Thriller

TURNING PAGES aka THE PAGE TURNER (drama)
Cast: Deborah Francois, Catherine Frot, Pascal Greggory and Julie Richalet
Director: Denis Dercourt
Time: 88 mins
Rating: * * 1/2 (out of 4)

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? A ‘page-turner’ is someone who sits beside a pianist (or other musician) and turns the pages of the music score at the appropriate time. This may be a minor role but a little mistake on the page-turner’s part can cause a major hiccup in a concert performance.

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? This French thriller by Denis Dercourt is about what happens when a page-turner wreaks vengeance on someone who had destroyed her passion for the piano. Melanie Prouvost (Julie Richalet), the daughter of a butcher, is a self-absorbed 10-year-old who plans to be a concert pianist. She trains hard for a conservatory exam but when the chief examiner, Ariane Fouchecourt (Catherine Frot), distracts her from her performance, she gives up the piano for good.
Years later, we find Melanie (now played by Deborah Francois) working as an intern at a law firm. Coincidentally or not, her boss happens to be Jean Fouchecourt (Pascal Greggory), the husband of the uncaring chief examiner, Ariane. One thing leads to another and Melanie finds herself volunteering as a nanny in the Fouchecourt mansion, helping to tutor their son, Tristan (Antoine Martynciow), and later offering her services as page-turner for Ariane, who is also a concert pianist.
From her vengeful attitude and chameleon-like expressions, we know that Melanie has something sinister planned for highly-strung employer – despite Ariane’s kindness and dependence on her. Now, how is Melanie going to ‘turn the tables’ on her boss?

HIGHLIGHTS & LOWLIGHTS: "Turning Pages" is partly an art-movie and partly a psychological thriller set along the lines of Alfred Hitchcock’s "Rebecca". Writer-director Dercourt keeps the atmosphere at the Fouchecourt household looking ‘normal’ while allowing a sense of class-envy and conspiracy to simmer in the background. Every time Melanie moves about along the lonely corridors of the mansion, we sense that something is afoot, but we cannot be sure what she is plotting against her unsuspecting boss.
An incident involving Tristan at the indoor swimming pool turns out to be a red herring; and a groping incident gets covered-up rather quickly. However, when Melanie’s coup de grace is unravelled at the end, it turns out to be somewhat of a letdown. Granted, it is a subtle and clever plot trick but it lacks the dramatic impact that would have made this a memorable movie.
The cast, especially Frot and Francois, are both effective and impressive. Francois, whose facial expressions can suggest calm and menace at the same time, evokes tension every time she is onscreen, while Frot is suitably pathetic as her victim. Dercourt has also included a catchy classical score to accompany the drama – and this should delight music lovers.

THE LOWDOWN: "Turning Pages" is not for the action movie fan, but it is engaging enough as a revenge drama – and its lead star, Deborah Francois, would definitely turn heads on any street.

WEEKEND PIC April 6 - 8

Your Guide To The Weekend Viewing

1. SHOOTER (action thriller with Mark Wahlberg, Michael Pena, Kate Mara and Danny Glover) Rated * * * (3 stars): Structured like TV's "24", this fast-paced conspiracy thriller has familiar characters and cliched moments. But there are lots of twists and thrills to delight most action fans.

2. CATCH AND RELEASE (romantic comedy with Jennifer Garner, Tommy Olyphant and Julliette Lewis) Rated * * 1/2 (out of 4): There is No Wedding But A Funeral in this lame rom-com about a bride who gets to learn more about her late husband-to-be when she starts dealing with his estate. A movie miscast and misdirected.

3. PERFUME: The Story Of A Murderer (psychological thriller with Ben Whishaw, Dustin Hoffman and Alan Rickman) Rated: * * * (out of 4): A dark, brooding and macabre tale about a man who kills just to get that perfect 'essense' for the ultimate perfume. Not everybody's cup of tea, though.

4. THE HITCHER (thriller remake with Sean Bean, Sophia Bush and Zachary Knighton) Rated * * (2 stars): A totally unnecessary remake of the 1986 flick that starred Rutger Hauer as the title character. Instead of tension and dread, we get gore and two-dimensional roles.

5. MEET THE ROBINSONS (animated futuristic adventure voiced by Angela Bassett, Tom Selleck, Harland Williams, Laurie Metcalf) Rating * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): An animated kiddie-styled "Back To The Future" adventure with a sprinkling of "The Matrix" and "Terminator". It is about an orphan named Lewis who gets whisked off to the future by a 'Wilbur Robinson'.

'S'KALI' Screened in US Varsity

April 3 2007 - Local indie movie "S'kali" was recently screened for students and faculty members at Towson University in Maryland, USA, as part of the university's course syllabus and to familiarise the Americans with movie-making in Malaysia.

The screening, on March 28, was attended by the movie's director, Arivind Abraham, and cameraman Benji Lim, who both fielded questions from the audience after the screening. Arivind told this blogger via e-mail that the event was actually a ‘guerilla tactic’ of sorts to break his movie into America, especially since Lim is doing a film course at the university. The screening was arranged by the Media Production Association of Towson University although some students, including many Malaysians, had already seen the movie as part of their World Cinema course module.


Arivind and Benji at the screening at Towson University, Maryland, USA

"The association had decided to arrange a screening for a wider audience within the university," Arivind said, adding that Americans seemed to appreciate the nostalgic feel of the movie, more than audiences in Europe had."They seemed to identify strongly with a lot of the themes and characters. The Americans are familiar with the social-political context in Malaysia. There also was a genuine appreciation for the professionalism displayed in such a low-budget indie flick," he said.

Why Towson University?

"In some way, this is a grassroots tactic in which we are trying to get the film shown in the US. There are no plans as yet to release it in the US commercially. The plan for the US is more by word of mouth and submission to various festivals in the country," he said."Our cameraman Benji Lim is finishing his final semester on movie-making here. They have a very strong film department and heritage, especially with people such as (director) Barrry Levinson coming out from this area."

"S'kali", which was released locally in June last year, is about a group of school friends on the verge of going their separate ways to pursue further studies and to start their career. It starred Davina Goh, Jayaram Nagaraj, Derek Ong, Angeline Rose and Zimy Rozan.

As for Arivind’s other plans, he confided: "I’m seriously planning to move to Los Angeles at some point next year to break into writing for American television."

SUNSHINE: Dim, Cliched Sci-fi Caper

SUNSHINE (sci-fi adventure)
Cast: Rose Byrne, Cliff Curtis, Chris Evans, Cillian Murphy and Michele Yeoh
Director: Danny Boyle
Time: 103 mins
Rating: * * 1/2 (out of 4)

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? You have got to suspend your intellectual and common sense faculties when you watch "Sunshine". The plot, about a space mission (set 50 years into the future) to fly to the dying Sun and ‘nuke’ it back to life, demands an awful lot of ‘narrative licence’ on the part of the scripters. We all know that the Sun would die out some day but 50 years from now?
Also, we have to ‘buy’ all that scientific mumbo-jumbo about its spaceship, ominously named ‘Icarus 2’, hurtling towards the sun, protected only by a huge shield that deflects the sun’s rays. Now, even if that were scientifically possible, the name of the spaceship (from Greek mythology) would definitely give the plot away…

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? When we join the Icarus 2 mission after 16 months into the journey, we learn that the first Icarus spaceship has 'disappeared without a trace'. On board are eight scientists and astronauts, including a biologist named Corazon (our own Michele Yeoh) who provides the crew with fresh air and food from her Oxygen Garden.
However, right from the opening, Murphy’s Law (that anything that can go wrong will go wrong) applies – and we get the usual squabbles and relationship tension from the space-travellers led by Capt Kaneda (Hiroyuki Sanada). With a couple of hotheads like physicist Capa (Cillian Murphy) and flight engineer Mace (Chris Evans of "Fantastic Four") brawling like
schoolchildren, we wonder how these guys get picked for the mission in the first place.

HIGHLIGHTS & LOWLIGHTS: True, these human entanglements help to sustain the movie until the next ‘big problem’ unravels, but we feel no sympathy for most of the crew and stay detached from their mission. The dialogue, by Alex Garland, is pedestrian and trite, and whatever hint of an on-board romance between navigator Cassie (Rose Byrne) and another crew member soon fizzles out for want of proper development.
The biggest problem for "Sunshine" is predictability. You would know, by the bankability of the actor or actress, who would last longest in the movie – and you don’t have to watch the whole series of Star Trek movies to know that something from the first Icarus mission is going to crop up and mess up the mission. Trouble is, the subplot also messes up the movie big time. The first two-thirds of the movie go reasonably well like "2001: A Space Odyssey" (complete with its sweet voiced Hal-like computer) but the third act takes the effort into cheap "Slasher" territory.
To be fair, director Danny Boyle (of "Trainspotting") seems to have a good thing going in the first half, especially in the technical department. Cinematography (by Alwin H. Kuchler) is first class, with stunning visuals of space stations, passing planets and solar glare. The cast are solid too, especially the Asian members like Sanada, Yeoh and Benedict Wong (as
Trey) who provide most of the heart-rending sequences.

THE LOWDOWN: For all its production values, "Sunshine" could have been a great sci-fi flick if Boyle had tried something new instead of resorting to cliches and cheap shocks to get our attention. It may be rather risky but the pay-off would be a sci-fi adventure that really shines.