{"id":604706,"date":"2026-02-21T01:27:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T01:27:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/604706\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T01:27:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T01:27:16","slug":"danny-boyles-apocalyptic-sunshine-plus-the-best-movies-in-l-a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/604706\/","title":{"rendered":"Danny Boyle’s apocalyptic ‘Sunshine,’ plus the best movies in L.A."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hello! I\u2019m Mark Olsen<\/a>. Welcome to another edition of your regular field guide to a world of Only Good Movies.<\/p>\n

This week we lost two towering figures with the deaths of Robert Duvall and Frederick Wiseman.<\/p>\n

Duvall, who died at 95<\/a> at his home in Virginia, was known as an actor for roles in films such as \u201cThe Godfather,\u201d \u201cApocalypse Now,\u201d \u201cTo Kill a Mockingbird\u201d and countless more. As a director, his work included \u201cThe Apostle\u201d and a handful of other projects.<\/p>\n

\"An <\/p>\n

Robert Duvall in the movie \u201cApocalypse Now.\u201d<\/p>\n

(CBS Photo Archive \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The movies team published a list of 10 of our favorite performances<\/a>, including \u201cTender Mercies,\u201d for which he won an Academy Award, as well as \u201cNetwork,\u201d \u201cThe Great Santini\u201d and \u201cWidows.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wiseman, who died at 96<\/a> in Cambridge, Mass., directed more than 45 documentary features beginning with 1967\u2019s \u201cTiticut Follies\u201d on through 2023\u2019s \u201cMenus-Plaisirs \u2014 Les Troigros.\u201d<\/a> His work was known for its rigorous examinations of systems and institutions, giving viewers insights into why things functioned the way they did.<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

Frederick Wiseman, photographed at the Venice Film Festival in 2014.<\/p>\n

(David Azia \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe institution is also just an excuse to observe human behavior in somewhat defined conditions,\u201d Wiseman told the Associated Press in 2020. \u201cThe films are as much about that as they are about institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tribute screenings have already started to pop up in tribute to Duvall, with presumably more for both men on the way.<\/p>\n

\u2018Sunshine\u2019 in 35mm \"A <\/p>\n

Rose Byrne in the 2007 movie \u201cSunshine.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Alex Bailey \/ Twentieth Century Fox)<\/p>\n

The collaboration between director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland has yielded an ongoing examination of societies in varying stages of collapse, lately in their recent revival of the \u201c28 Years Later\u201d<\/a> series. Among their other works is 2007\u2019s \u201cSunshine,\u201d<\/a> which, while seen as something of a disappointment on initial release, has only grown in esteem in the years since. The Academy Museum<\/a> will screen the movie on 35mm Friday in the Ted Mann Theater.<\/p>\n

In 2057, Earth is freezing as the sun has begun to die. An international crew of astronauts \u2014 including Cillian Murphy, Michelle Yeoh, Rose Byrne<\/a>, Hiroyuki Sanada, Benedict Wong and Chris Evans \u2014 are dispatched with the improbable mission of reigniting the sun. When they encounter another ship along the way, things begin to go very wrong.<\/p>\n

In his review, Kenneth Turan wrote<\/a>, \u201cNot reflected in a synopsis is the way screenwriter Garland has made \u2018Sunshine\u2019 a thoughtful genre film, one with philosophical concerns about God, man and morality. It\u2019s not for nothing that Icarus\u2019 talking computer echoes Hal of Stanley Kubrick\u2019s \u20182001: A Space Odyssey.\u2019 Garland and Boyle also have devoted time and effort to character psychology, to making the members of the Icarus\u2019 crew into recognizable people and not Hollywood stick figures. \u2026 All these good things enable us to buy into \u2018Sunshine\u2019s\u2019 story for a considerable span, creating a palpable tension that underlines that no one should feel safe in the far reaches of space.\u201d<\/p>\n

John Horn also wrote an extensive production story<\/a> on the film. Referring to delays in the editing process, which caused a delay in the film\u2019s release, Boyle said, \u201cNo director, unless they are contractually obligated, will ever go back and do a sequel set in space. When I finished it in January, I would have said no, it wasn\u2019t worth it. Because I fell out with everybody. To make these movies, you have to be so uncompromising and scorch all of the ground in front of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Slamdance Film Festival \"A <\/p>\n

Vondie Curtis-Hall in the movie \u201cThe Projectionist,\u201d the opening night film of the 2026 Slamdance Film Festival.<\/p>\n

(Slamdance Film Festival)<\/p>\n

The Slamdance Film Festival<\/a> has launched its second year in Los Angeles, running through Feb. 25 with screenings at the DGA, Landmark Sunset and 2220 Arts + Archives. The virtual edition of the festival will run from Feb. 24\u2013March 6 on the Slamdance Channel.<\/p>\n

The festival opened with the world premiere of Alexandre Rockwell\u2019s \u201cThe Projectionist.\u201d Starring Vondie Curtis-Hall along with Kasi Lemmons and Kevin Corrigan, the film tells the story of a lonely film projectionist confronting his past.<\/p>\n

Rockwell, who, in 1992 won the Grand Jury prize at Sundance with \u201cIn the Soup,\u201d lauded Slamdance as \u201ca festival that embodies the vital spirit of independent film better than anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among other notable titles in this year\u2019s program is \u201cThe Untitled Ruby Slippers Documentary\u201d directed by Seth Gordon and Nikki Calabrese, the story of the theft and recovery of one of the most famous pieces of Hollywood movie memorabilia. Gordon\u2019s \u201cThe King of Kong\u201d<\/a> premiered at Slamdance in 2007.<\/p>\n

Points of interest<\/p>\n

\u2018A Thousand and One\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

Teyana Taylor in the movie \u201cA Thousand and One.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Aaron Ricketts \/ Focus Features)<\/p>\n

Teyana Taylor is an Oscar nominee for her performance in \u201cOne Battle After Another.\u201d (She\u2019s also a recent guest on \u201cThe Envelope\u201d podcast.) She got that role after \u201cOne Battle\u201d director Paul Thomas Anderson saw Taylor\u2019s performance in \u201cA Thousand and One,\u201d<\/a> written and directed by A.V. Rockwell. Vidiots<\/a> will show the movie Saturday.<\/p>\n

In the film Taylor plays Inez, recently released from jail in New York City and attempting to reconnect with her son who has been in the foster system. When an opportunity presents itself, she impulsively abducts him and tries to get them set up in a new life together.<\/p>\n

In her review of the film<\/a>, Katie Walsh noted that Taylor \u201cbrings to her astonishing performance the coiled physicality of a panther ready to pounce.\u201d Walsh added, \u201cThe film is utterly absorbing, anchored by the unpredictable performance of Taylor, playing a hopelessly complicated, but deeply caring woman. When faced with dire circumstances, she survives, then dares to imagine a life for Terry beyond the cycle she\u2019s experienced, forging a family unit she never had.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sonaiya Kelley spoke to both Rockwell and Taylor about the film<\/a>. Taylor said of the part, \u201cI was drawn to the role before I even read the whole script. \u2026 A lot of the emotions I put onto Inez were real emotions from real triggers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Don<\/b>t Look Back\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

Bob Dylan in the documentary \u201cDont Look Back.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Criterion Collection)<\/p>\n

As part of an ongoing series, the Academy Museum<\/a> will show D.A. Pennebaker\u2019s 1967 \u201cDont Look Back\u201d<\/a> in the David Geffen Theater with doc director Joan Churchill in person to introduce the film.<\/p>\n

A pioneering work of cinema verit\u00e9, the film tags along on Bob Dylan\u2019s 1965 tour of England, capturing a period of heady creative evolution. As Dylan plays a series of shows, he is also seen in various hotel rooms, cutting down journalists and others with a self-regarding wit.<\/p>\n

As Charles Champlin said in his 1967 review, \u201cThe technical shortcomings deliberately enhance the atmosphere of claustrophobic chaos surrounding a pop idol on tour. And this, after all, is what the film is about. \u2026 [Dylan\u2019s] milieu and its hangers-on are by no means uniformaly attractive. But after this skillful and exhaustive piece of film reportage, no one need ask what it and they and he are really like. The camera has become an X-ray.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hello! I\u2019m Mark Olsen. Welcome to another edition of your regular field guide to a world of Only…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":604707,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[42125,42126,1582,276,7652,42127,2882,42128,42129,21183,2961,224,2444,5337,42124,3196,6166,2433,637,103],"class_list":["post-604706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-angelina-jolie","tag-barry-jenkins","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-david","tag-dead","tag-drama","tag-evil","tag-good-work","tag-killing","tag-la","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-times","tag-losangeles","tag-lovers","tag-movie","tag-series","tag-short-film","tag-times","tag-world"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116106025140830318","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=604706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604706\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/604707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=604706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=604706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=604706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}