The MoFo Top 100 of the 2000s Countdown

I found Sunshine to be well-crafted, beautifully-shot, engagingly-acted, and modestly exciting and suspenseful. I recommend the film, but I also found it to be unoriginal, occasionally uninvolving and straining to be significant.

I'll admit that I don't know anything about the graphic novel, but I'm not "reviewing" the novel. I can't explain it to you, but something about the beginning of Watchmen completely rubbed me the wrong way. The montage over the opening credits seemed to lavish a lot of money and F/X to explain to me that I was in an alternate universe, but I usually take all movies as an alternate universe. When the credits ended, I was already rebelling against it, thinking it was much ado about nothing, and trust me, I never have these kind of thoughts for movies of most any kind after about 10 minutes. Anyway, then the film started to actually introduce the characters and I found them to be completely uninvolving, so I scrunched down in my seat a bit and decided it was going to be a long haul of a movie.

Eventually, I got used to the characters, even if I never cared about most of them, but the film played out with some fun acknowledgements to the old Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon serials, especially in the heroes' uniforms and modes of transportation (the "Archie"). On the other hand, the non-hero sides (the more human) of the characters didn't really strike me as interesting enough to be the focus of a movie, no matter how many there were and how many versions of them there were. However, Snyder's style and seeming love of the material did make the second half of the film play out more entertaining to me, so it's a mixed bag but a . I'm going to shut up about it now because I'm just spinning my wheels.

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Only seen Watchmen, it was an okay movie, not a fan of it myself

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Moviefan1988's Favorite Movies
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I like Sunshine. It’s a good serious sci-fi movie that we don’t a lot of anymore.

I saw Watchmen before I read the comic and thought it was fine. Reading the comic made me realize it’s supposed to be a satire and the movie kinda missed the mark on that front. The HBO Watchmen show is damn good too for what it’s worth.

Sunshine was #23 on my ballot. Through its high levels of suspense and the various technical qualities (the visuals and the terrific soundtrack), it's able to craft a variety of exciting and thrilling sci-fi/action sequences which, instead of having diminishing returns when you rewatch them, actually maintain their emotional and technical power and, in some ways, get better for me the more I watch the film. Interestingly enough, this is actually the first film I ever reviewed and, by that means, the film which got me into film, so it holds a nostalgic place in my heart. I'm not as down on the film as I was several years ago (it use to be in my top 5 favorite films of all time), but I still respect the hell out of the film's craft.

It's hard talking about Sunshine though without mentioning its love-it-or-hate-it final act. Granted, its final act won't work for everyone, but I'm a big fan of it. If you pay close attention, you'll see that the final act is alluded to earlier in the film with how the sun acts as a drug for the crew members who view it the most, how Searle's face shows more and more wear and tear as the film goes on, the foreshadowing when they find a video broadcast from a crew member on Icarus 1 in the middle of the film, and how there's an implication that the closer you are to the sun, the more it warps your mind. The tonal shift might be too much for some people when they watch it the first time, but knowing that the final act is part of the point of the film and that its not just some run-of-the-mill idea that was introduced right on the spot might make it an easier pill to swallow. Plus, the Capa's jump scene in the final act is an outstanding scene which ranks among my favorite science fiction scenes ever, so that alone makes it impressive. Personally, I think the final act is just as strong as what comes before it, though I can understand someone not enjoying it.

I haven't seen Watchmen.

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23. Sunshine (#88)
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25. The New World (#99)

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I've seen both films this time, but voted for neither.

Sunshine is a film I've been meaning to rewatch ever since I first saw it. I remember thinking it was just okay, but seem to have no recollection of the ending. However whenever I consider watching it again, my roommate manages to convince me not to.

I wasn't impressed by Watchmen when I saw it in theatres, and when I rewatched it later, I had a similar opinion. I definitely prefer the HBO series.

Seen: 6/14

My List:
08. Mother (2009) - #96
25. Bon Cop, Bad Cop (2006) - 1-pointer

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Watchmen was my #22

Coulda sworn I put Sunshine on my list as well but seems I overlooked it.

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I wrote this in another thread awhile back, but it's really been kind of amazing how, over the last few years, Sunshine has kinda disappeared from discussion. It's a really good movie that deserves a lot more attention, but I think it just disappeared into the many disaster/space-themed films that've come out in the last decade or so, even while it doesn't really feel like any of them and describing it as such doesn't even seem accurate, tonally.

Sunshine was my #6 film, and my review of it is here.

Well, the extended version of an already lengthy movie, Watchmen, is considered much better than the original. Which means I need to set away five and a half hours for movies today because I plan on watching Batman vs. Superman, too. Beautiful, helpful weekends.

Another pair of pretty good first time watches not in a hurry to see them again movies.

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I really like Sunshine, and while I get why some people aren't pleased that its tone shifts, I actually see it as just fulfilling something that's been building the whole time. I also think that the cast is really great.

I saw Watchmen in the theater and while I probably would have thought it was just fine, the people around me were NOT into it, which left an impression. After about the 30 minute mark, the vibe in the room was just one of disappointment and impatience.

In relation to Watchmen, does anybody know where I can find the theatrical cut of Batman Vs. Superman? All these sites are giving me are the extended version (I'm not sitting through 3 hours of it), and I don't remember what the thread for streaming recommendations was called. PM me if you have a link.

This time I've seen both. I don't remember much about Sunshine, but I'm pretty sure I didn't like the change of tone (or genre) towards the end. I guess it was OK, but it's one of those films I've been meaning to watch again.

Watchmen, on the other hand, is probably the best comic book adaptation ever. I like Snyder's style, and in here he's in top form. The extended version is even better. I had this at #5 on my ballot.

Seen: 6/14

My Ballot:
5. Watchmen (2009) [#87]
25. Harry Brown (2009) [1-pointer]

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Yeah a big +1 from me on that. Someone said don't read the clues but if you go through the thread in order as you normally would you're going to see them or at least see people's guesses, which seem to be correct most of the time, making the reveal redundant when they do get posted. That's at least my perspective.

edit: As for the movies I really like Sunshine but it didn't make my list. I tried rewatching Watchmen after the tv series but didn't really get through it for whatever reason. I don't dislike it but more split on it, pros and cons

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Two very good film that didn't make my list!

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Watchmen was great, smart and entertaining, 8/10 from me. I didn’t like Sunshine at all, a 5/10.

I'd like Sunshine more if it didn't go so batsh*t-crazy in the final third, only an 'ok' watch for me. Never been much of a fan of Watchmen. At least the diet is going well now though.

Seen: 7/14 (Own: 5/14)


Faildictions (millennial edition v1.0):
86. Coraline (2009)
85. Quills (2000)

Still sounds a little like hate, but one step at a time, I suppose.

No votes. I've seen Sunshine at least a couple of times and thought it was solid stuff, but I don't think it's really stuck all that well over the years (and I say that as someone who's willing to forgive its third-act twist, at least enough to roll my eyes when the allegedly superior Interstellar pulled a pointedly similar trick). Boyle crafts a lean mean genre exercise, sure, but maybe too lean and mean for its own good.

Watchmen, on the other hand...hmm. I guess we're still in the early days where cult gems can crack the tail end of the list with just a handful of high votes, but even by those standards I wasn't expecting Watchmen. Even though I saw it three times in theatres and gave it a 4/5 review and watched it as recently as this year (first time watching the ultimate cut to boot, though that was very much a "one and done" experience where the extra material arguably subtracted more than it added), I would not consider it a favourite. The book is one of my all-time favourite pieces of literature and it's fascinating to see how Snyder rapidly alternates between nailing and bungling the adaptation process on a scene-by-scene (sometimes even cut-by-cut) basis, which does make the film a vital artifact within the superhero sub-genre but not something I'd consider a genuine classic on its own terms.

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Still not sure what I think of that. I like it more (or dislike it less?) than I did the first time. But more to the point, the rest of the films is so good that I could hate a scene or two in it thoroughly and still remain deeply impressed with the film as a whole.

In particular, I think of Sunshine as one of the films that showed the next generation of filmmakers what they could do with something less than a blockbuster budget. The sense of scale and scope it generates with so little is kind of amazing.

The fact that its music has found its way into other people's trailers for a solid decade straight says a lot about its overall quality, too. The score is exceptional.

It's not that long ago that I've seen Sunshine and I can't remember a single thing about it.

I've not seen Watchmen.

Danny Boyle's Sunshine was #71 on the MoFo Top 100 of the Millennium List. Snyder's Watchmen did not place.

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