Danny Boyle’s new sci-fi thriller Sunshine is about a team of astronauts epic quest to stop the sun from dieing; this article is about my epic quest to see Sunshine. Ok so my “quest” is not really epic nor really a quest but I heard that words like epic and quest get peoples attention so I’m going with it.

The Journey / The Arrival
Having nearly forgotten we had booked tickets for the film my brother and I took to the streets and towards the train station. I with my Playstation Portable blasting Japanese rap group the Teriyaki Boyz, and my brother staring dimly into the nothingness. We boarded the train and were off; I took out my PSP and started playing the hilarious new game Chili Con Carnage and my brother (who had forgotten to charge both his Nintendo DS and his PSP) continued to stare dimly into the nothingness.

We arrived at Melbourne Central, and quickly went up to the cinema level and straight to Nandos as we were absolutely starving. This is where I got a pleasant surprise because who should be in line next to me but star of The Bazura Project, Lee Zachariah. I introduced myself (he already knowing about the site due to this) and we chatted about the show, the site and the movie we were there to see. He mentioned they were working on the second season of the show now and that they had something big planned but as much as he wanted to he couldn’t divulge any information about it. Being the pathetic journalist I am I didn’t bug him any further and after getting his Nandos he left to see the film. After waiting a ridiculous amount of time for our Nandos, my brother and I proceeded to the cinema.

Entering the cinema I noticed three things. Firstly Australian actor Brendan Cowell leaning against the wall, I thought this odd because he wasn’t actually in this film. Secondly I noticed Shannon Marinko co-host with Lee on the Bazura Project in an aisle seat near by. I introduced myself and asked if he was looking forward to the film, he replied that he knew nothing about it except the basic plot and channelled everyone in the audience when he said he just hoped it wasn’t as horrible as The Core. Finally I noticed that there were no seats within a days hike and proceed up to the back row where although the view of the screen was good, it would be incredibly easy for me to mistake Danny Boyle for the event host or even an empty chair.

The Viewing
The film started and I was enthralled, it thrust us quickly into space with no sappy goodbyes and no Armageddon-esc romantic scenes. It was quickly apparent this film was much more of an actual space thriller then first thought by many (The Core 2: Electric Boogaloo).

As I was enjoying myself this is where things went cockeyed (literally), when the film entered a new scene that was entirely backwards, sound and all, and that it appeared to be the ending action scene. For the first couple of minutes I thought nothing of it as myself and majority of the people there thought it was a dream sequence. Five to ten minutes later the film stopped and the event host came out to apologise for the mix up and that apparently the reel was in backwards but not to worry it will be fixed in just five or so minutes.

Fifteen minutes later she came out again to say that it will just be ten more minutes; twenty minutes later the film finally started again… with no sound. The sound was fixed quickly and with that everyone noticed that we had no idea what was going on as they had started it up at the wrong part of the film. Again the film was stopped and again the host came out and apologised, this time to say there will be a fifteen minute intermission as they fix the reel.

The Intermission
I went to the toilet and got a frozen coke. When I returned I spoke with Lee and Shannon again and played some Chili Con Carnage until the now incredibly annoying lady came back to tell us that they won’t be showing the rest of the film and that they were moving straight to the Q&A. Frustrated I bitched to my brother and the stranger next to me, who looked very familiar and I was unsure if he was famous or was my primary school gym teacher.

The Q&A
Finally the Q&A started and the great and powerful Danny Boyle stepped out followed by surprise guest the talented and beautiful Australian actress, Rose Byrne. As there were no recording equipment allowed (and my memory sucks) I can only tell you that the Q&A was entertaining and involved Danny Boyle telling a joke about how studio employees call him “governor” and mean “cunt”, and Rose Byrne shocked and entertained us all by announcing loudly that this had been a “complete fuck up.”

And with that it was over. Overall I was disappointed but that had nothing to do with the movie itself. I heartily recommend Sunshine, it may be ruined for me but I can still see it was an excellent film. If you like a good thriller, sci-fi, or you enjoy films like Event Horizon, go see this movie. You won’t be disappointed… unless of course it’s played backwards.