Incredible that a busy last few days of work, sleep and frivolity allow me enough time to catch two theatrical releases in one day! The Simpsons Movie, it goes without saying, is near eeeeeexcelent LOL You need not be a die-hard, haven't-missed-an-episode (I've missed only three!) fan nor a novice to enjoy the years and millions of buckaroons spent by Matt Groening and company on a film version of America's most hapless animated family.
The movie, really, is just an extended episode. What else could you expect? It crams appearances by practically every primary, secondary and tertiary character into the 80-plus minutes. But aside from quick sight gags and throwaway dialogue, The Simpsons Movie dares not push the boundaries. It doesn't need to after all these years. The plot is simple enough and yet rather familiar: Homer's incompetence (in this case, VERY improper disposal of pet pig crap) further condemns the less-than-friendly environmental status of Lake Springfield, leading governmental wackjobs to seal off Springfield with a dome with the ultimate intent of wiping it off the map.
There are subplots, which here measure even less irrelevant than they typically do in an average TV episode, such as Lisa falling madly for an Irish transfer student who's articulate, plays the guitar and has a soft spot for her soft spot -- the ecology. Then there is Marge's growing ever more tired of Homer's failures and Homer's tenuous relationship with Bart. Ultimately, it's up to Homer to pull the family together and save the world.
It's fun to catch the usual on-screen nuances, movie/TV references and socio-political satire (yes, there's a President Schwarzenegger and a pretty good early dig at the Fox Network). It may not be a laugh riot to everyone, but even as the opening weekend box office shows, The Simpsons remain a force to be reckoned with in the American (and global) satirical consciousness. D'oh!
After that, I got serious with Sunshine. It's intriguing to see how a genre-hopping director such as Danny Boyle is going to tackle a particular subject matter. I still believe his debut Shallow Grave is near brilliance. Trainspotting was pure fun in a gritty, gotta take a shower and detox afterwards way. 28 Days Later reinvigorated the zombie genre. So, how is Boyle's first shot at serious sci-fi. Pretty good, for the most part.
The plot? Some 50 years into the future our sun is found to be acting less than stellar, resulting in a total winter across the Earth. A spaceship (appropriately called Icarus I) was sent years earlier to the sun with a "bomb" of sorts meant to reignite it, in a sense. But Icarus I never made it, having lost contact with Earth. The fate of the crew remains unknown.
A crew of eight seemingly stunning 20 and 30-somethings are aboard Icarus II, holding a similar mission in tow. Passing by Mercury, they accidentally pick up the long-lost distress call from Icarus I. The crew of Icarus II then disobey a movie rule: NEVER follow up on a distress call from another spaceship whose fate remains unknown.
The navigator, however, screws up his calculations for a new trajectory path. Everything aboard Icarus II goes downhill from there, one tragic mishap after another. Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland (who penned 28 Days Later) put in some thrilling action sequences. But they also focus on the metaphysics of the mission, which is really a kamakaze journey. Each crew member reacts differently not only to his/her muted lifestyle, but to the tragic mishaps and even the logic of the mission itself. As a video of a member of Icarus I bears testament, Earthlings' science is no match for God's will. If God wants to sun to flame out WAY sooner than we thought, there's not much we can do about it.
Some good performances abound, particularly from Cillian Murphy as the physicist who sees something awesome about the task of creating one star within another; Chris Evans, who's tongue in cheek as Johnny Storm in Fantastic Four gets very serious and stoic; martial-arts specialist Michelle Yeoh, who does not once literally kick ass, but really demonstates her subtle acting acumen; and Cliff Curtis as the psychologist whose rec time is sitting on a filtered observation room getting the best (and worst) suntan ever.
Sunshine does take a slight 2001: A Space Odyssey and slasher-film-type turn toward the end. Depending on your inclination, this may or may not thrill you. I could've done without the suddenly tossed plot device. Nonetheless, Sunshine - like Solaris - is a thinking man/woman's sci-fi he or she can enjoy without blowing up something real good.
