Sunshine

From the first shot of Sunshine, where an apparent zoom-in on the sun turns out to be something completely different, director Danny Boyle is on his way to one of the finest science-fiction films of the last 20 years. While the movie references some great sci-fi directors (most notably Stanley Kubrick and Ridley Scott) with its visuals, it is an entity unto its own, a solid 107 minutes of wonderment. This establishes Boyle, once and for all, as one of our great directors. It’s the year 2057, and a spaceship called Icarus II is propelling its eight-person crew toward our dying sun. In its payload is a really big bomb meant to reignite the star and end snowball fights during summertime in Los Angeles. A great cast, including Cillian Murphy and Chris Evans, combine with a fantastic story and incredible visuals to make this one a must-see. It’s one of the best science-fiction films since Close Encounters of the Third Kind.