tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580771530471531574.post3934254662990703593..comments2023-07-12T09:16:45.437-04:00Comments on The Cinema: Gems of a genre: Sunshine and PaprikaTed Pigeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04789041055263853568noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580771530471531574.post-10756216807979811712008-08-22T10:34:00.000-04:002008-08-22T10:34:00.000-04:00Sunshine made me feel like I actually touched the ...Sunshine made me feel like I actually touched the Sun and burned.<BR/><BR/>And that is probably the highest point of any art.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580771530471531574.post-30481833220837787862008-02-11T10:37:00.000-05:002008-02-11T10:37:00.000-05:00Hey, Daniel. Nice to see you again.I would agree t...Hey, Daniel. Nice to see you again.<BR/><BR/>I would agree that <I>Sunshine</I> is probably Boyle's best film. It amazes me that it hasn't gotten much mainstream critical attention at all. It's amazing how "logic" in cinema still drives a great deal of film criticism. I don't get it, but a lot of critics crave tidyness and consistency in films.Ted Pigeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04789041055263853568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580771530471531574.post-52842497810041142702008-02-10T08:22:00.000-05:002008-02-10T08:22:00.000-05:00Sunshine was one of my absolute favourite films of...<I>Sunshine</I> was one of my absolute favourite films of the last year. I more or less agree with your ideas about it - it's astonishing as a purely sensual experience and in terms of the existential questions it raises to a quasi-transcendental level. I think it's easily Boyle's best film and I'm disappointed (though hardly surprised) that it hasn't received more mainstream critical attention.Daniel Vellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02099442012010439440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580771530471531574.post-49017708265043871222008-02-05T11:03:00.000-05:002008-02-05T11:03:00.000-05:00Thanks for the comments, guys.Joseph: I have seen ...Thanks for the comments, guys.<BR/><BR/>Joseph: I have seen "Sunshine" featured on a fair amount of blogs and other review sites, which is re-assuring, but I was thinking more of journalistic critics when I wrote this. In terms of the critical establishment, the film was largely forgotten. Thankfully, online writers have recognized it, which I find encouraging as blog writing becomes a greater factor in film criticism.<BR/><BR/>Benjamin: I suppose it depends on how one envisions the effect of "revisionist" genre pieces on the genres themselves. Some would say that they are separate from the genre (which would go back to that "genre as box" perspective). I think films that are outwardly or subtly reflexive on a given cinematic style is an effort within a genre to expand its capacity.<BR/><BR/>Terms like "revisionist" are definitely reductive, which is why I prefer "reflexive." No matter the term, though, when we are at a point at which we recognize a schism between what a genre was and what it is now, it's almost impossible for a film of that genre not to be reflexive or revisionist in some ways, whether it honors that genre's classical traditions or subverts them. <BR/><BR/>What I liked about <EM>3:10 to Yuma</EM> was that is was both revisionist and classical at the same time. Mangold created a universe firmly entrenched in genre tradition also feels contemporary in its aesthetic; which is particularly difficult for a genre like the western. It captures the timelessness of the genre, but also its flexibility toward particular cultural and social spaces.Ted Pigeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04789041055263853568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580771530471531574.post-48856941194249341902008-02-04T15:06:00.000-05:002008-02-04T15:06:00.000-05:00I've always had real problems labeling the return ...I've always had real problems labeling the return of a genre as "revisionist," simply because it displaces certain myths or re-negotiates the iconography. This is particularly true with the Western. Unforgiven and 3:10 to Yuma have been dubbed modern "revisionist" westerns because of their attention to details absent in "classical" westerns: more realism, more respect to various groups of people.<BR/><BR/>But I don't consider these films to be meta-commentaries on the genre itself. They represent new visions of the West from our current historical point of view, but revisionist seems like the wrong term.<BR/><BR/>Excellent blog! Keep up the great writing and inventive posts.<BR/><BR/>Ben<BR/>www.aspectratio.wordpress.comBenjamin Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07813068328694837011noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580771530471531574.post-56625381389695731752008-01-31T23:59:00.000-05:002008-01-31T23:59:00.000-05:00"Sunshine" hit my favs of the year at number 7. Yo..."Sunshine" hit my favs of the year at number 7. You've been reading the wrong people, Ted! Kidding. I've actually seen "Sunshine" pop up in quite a few year end lists, mostly from blogs littered around here and there, but there are admirers out there. I love how it shifts genres so courageously, as well as being one helluva great sci-fi film.Joe Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10160822944514723178noreply@blogger.com