Two very interesting sci-fi dramas from Europe on Netflix, recently got releases in the U.S. - one that was completed for over 4 years ago! Mr. Nobody (2009!!) is the most expensive Belgian film in history. It has a fascinating trailer, great production & effects, one that immediately evokes a hybrid of Cloud Atlas and Benjamin Button. The film is obviously a labor of too-much-love for the director and its story of a 118 year old mortal in the year 2092 examining all the choices he made eventually pounds you with complexity and possibility until you just dont care. I LOVE philosophy, fibonacci spirals, and examining alternate life paths (Donnie Darko!!) in movies, but this film is too hyper, too complicated, and at 2 1/2 hours, ultimately too much. But watchable if you are game for this kind of genre. How I Live Now (2013) features young love blossoming in the English countryside while a limited World War 3 breaks out in the region thanks to a mysterious nuclear detonation near London. This also had an intriguing trailer, but the film just never lives up to its promise. Its not a really bad film, it just has no energy, especially the last half hour which comes to a lazy end with no particular insight.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 19:38:29 +0000