Aint No Sunshine

Eight astronauts travel the surprisingly long distance between the Earth and the sun to jump start the dying star in Danny Boyle's thriller Sunshine. It seems the light source for the entire galaxy is fading, plunging the Earth into an extended winter and it is up to the crew of the Icarus to revive it by dropping a couple hundred tons of nuclear bombs on its surface. On the way, they encounter several problems, including trying to rescue a previous ship that was lost during its mission and whose crew is suspected to be dead.

Sunshine combines elements of Alien and 2001: A Space Odyssey into what is one of the most terrifying films in years. Absolutely everything that can go wrong for this valiant crew of scientists and pilots does go wrong, and every minute of the film is tense and thrilling. It is beautifully shot by Danny Boyle, whose last film, 28 Days Later, which was filmed in digital, looked like an voyeuristic, aesthetic nightmare. The silence and bleakness of space is captured so incredibly, along with its vastness and sheer destructive capability. The sun's heat and deathly cold, emptiness of space are contrasted so expertly that the viewer can feel the intensity. Cillian Murphy and Michelle Yeoh are just a few of the cast members that give excellent performances, although it seems only particular ethnic groups were selected for this important trip, because the entire cast is either Japanese or American.

This is not a typical special FX-soaked, sci-fi thriller with no redeeming values. Sunshine is easily the sleeper thriller hit of last year, combining beautiful cinematography, excellent acting and edge-of-your-seat action. Even those who are not fans of of the horror or sci-fi genre will find something they like in this movie, which has so many dimensions working for it.

Something to Sink Your Teeth Into

There’s something about a toothed vagina that will make every guy cringe and every girl snicker quietly to themselves. And the plot of Teeth can pander to both of these audiences: on the one hand it is a misogynistic tale of man’s worst foe, a vagina that fights back against unwanted intruders and must be destroyed and conquered by the ultimate hero. On the other hand, it can be seen as a heroic tale of female empowerment over an andocentric universe that devalues female sexuality as either prude or sluttish. The film has the potential to play to either of these ideas, or both, very powerfully, but falls far short of either of these goals.
The movie’s protagonist, a young girl committed to saving herself until marriage, is horrified to discover her terrible attribute when the urges of her young, abstinent boyfriend become too much for the both of them to handle. She begins to wonder about her new-age genetic mutations (possibly caused by the two giant smoke stacks behind her quaint suburban dwelling that pour out pollution) and seeks the advice of the trusty internet to answer her questions. She finds that her situation is common in pre-Christian mythology and that she must find a hero to conquer the problem, and searches many available suitors, including her own adopted brother, to try and tame the beast inside her.
In the end, she decides to use the curse, or gift, to her advantage, and help to tame a world soaked in male hyper-sexuality. Teeth is very well-made and filled with talented actors who do their best to ham it up, but falls short of their goal of a smart, campy thriller and end up with a slow and brutal film that makes you squirm uncomfortably. While a novel idea, Teeth can certainly be missed.

O: What did you think of TEETH?

L: Its ok. the girl was good. its mean spirited as fuck. the scene with the dr is ridiculous

O: Yea it doesn’t really seem to go in the direction I thought it would its pretty slow and punctuated with brutal moments

L: Like how we doin with the girl getting raped and molested so many times. like come on. ill just watch last house on the left

O: Haha I know the relationship with her bro and his ass fetish

L: Dude what a fucking stupid movie.

O: It was really well made and a good idea but it didn’t really do it

L: Yeah. fuck teeth.