Beneath The Outer Shell

a funny thing happened the other day in the while i was driving to see "Sunshine" for the third time...yeah third!

i gave the other songs on the latest Smashing Pumpkins album, Zeitgeist a good working through in my ears and directly my mind. something actually clicked and i have a new feeling towards the bitter review i gave to half the album the day it was released...a month ago today.

the other songs i didn't like stood out and blew me away, after i let go some initial negative feelings and reactions. this happens all the time...just ask my friends. the songs in question...as sadly as that is now, are as follows:

That's The Way (My Love Is)
Starz
Neverlost
Come On Let's Go
For God And Country
Pomp And Circumstances

that's half the album. and i loved to skip those songs since day 2. i would occasionally force myself to listen to them, but it just never worked. i hated them and thought that they ruined the, otherwise fantastic, album.

the album is so different than anything they have done before. they reinvented their sound a bit...bare with me...just try and think back when YOU first heard that distortion used in Chreub Rock when Kennedy debuted the music video on MTV back in...(before the internet was really useful) 1993.

well, that sound is far gone and the good thing i've realized is that Billy Corgan loves to NOT sound like Smashing Pumpkins. if they wanted, they could have released many Siamese Dream's. Corgan did write 40 songs for the "Siamese Dream" recording session, which is just a 13 song album. that's a lot of songs for an album session if ya ask me. so my point is that ya gotta get used to the newly reformed sound of the Pumpkins with every album. it's not always easy for me. case in point.

here are some of the lyrics from the other side of "Zeitgeist":

ya know...there are sci-fi movies every year that come to the big screen. most of which are either sequels themselves or are in line for "going to have a sequel soon". occasionally, there is a film that almost definitely will NOT have a sequel. most of these are easily forgotten. ummm, remember "Red Planet"? well, unfortunately, i do. point made.

but now, "Sunshine" falls into the category of "will never have a sequel". for that reason alone, it's got to be a bit more intriguing than Matrix 4, Star Wars 9, and Harry Potter 12...right?

"Sunshine" is a GREAT science fiction film made by the director who did the perfectly crafted "Trainspotting" and "28 Days Later".

from the opening scene, to the familiar space suits themselves, to the overall tone and psychedelic feel to the movie...i couldn't help but keep thinking of Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" and Ridley Scott's "Alien". "Sunshine" clearly doesn't hide the fact that those 2 movies are behind some of the ideas in this film..and that's actually a great thing.

"2001: A Space Odyssey" has been my all time favorite sci-fi film simply for the dramatic realism Kubrick always nails with his movies. "Sunshine" re-creates that trippy tone throughout the film. the only drawback may be a bit of "overload" with the storyline, but overall the movie is too cool to miss if ya ask me.

"Sunshine" is about, as i try not to delve too deep as to not give away anything, the sun and the fact that it dieing...the sun is in danger of completely burning out. there is an ice age on earth and there is yet but only one hope for all of mankind. a spaceship with a special BIG bomb attached to it. the bomb and ship are on their way to the sun to drop off the "payload". the expected result is that the bomb will sort of jump start the sun and allow it to continue burning as we see it today. the crew plans on returning home years later.

there are so many cool scenes and intense emotional sequences that i find it hard to narrow the list down to a few to tell you about. one of my favorite scenes is where the crew gets their first look at the planet Mercury as it scrolls across the sun. it's a beautiful scene with perfect music and is shown at just the right pace. it gave me chills BOTH times i saw the movie. in fact as i write this...i'm itching to see the damn movie again. [checking the movie times right now]

that reminds me...the sun itself in the movie is one of the highlights that continuously keeps the movie in the amazing category. it's hard to describe, but the special effects of the sun make it look as real as you could imagine the sun looking...especially when you are so close. the sun turns out to be big a beautiful character itself. this is even more clear after watching a number of crew members who have a deep, and sometimes disturbing fascination with the sun. some even fantasize about dieing in pure sunlight. this movie is kinda disturbing in a very awkward way.

there is a LOT of drama in "Sunshine" and the 3rd act of the movie is kinda filled with a lot of "WTF's". HOWEVER, i have seen this movie twice now and even with a hectic and ridiculous end sequence, it's STILL a really good movie. to put it simply, i HIGHLY recommend this film to anyone who thinks the idea is somewhat intriguing. or if you liked "2001", or "Alien" and you are in the mood for a movie that takes itself VERY seriously..."Sunshine" is definitely for you.

psychedelics recommended...but not essential