This is part of a continuing feature where I rent old or out of the way movies from Family Video or watch them on Netflix and then review them for you. This will be a curated list. Few of these films will be movies I didn’t enjoy, but I look forwad to your feedback on these reviews.
A movie that I enjoyed (perhaps quite a bit more than its 2-star netflix rating gives it) on Netflix is the Europa Report. It’s another one of these scifi films that’s cheap enough to make on an indie budget because it all takes place inside a capsule. Now, I’ll say this. Don’t watch The Europa Report unless you’re in the mood for something a little bleak.
The movie opens showing that we are seeing mission footage from a disastrous mission, the first mission of its kind, in which humanity was sent to investigate one of Jupiter’s moons for evidence of life. The tone of this movie is very understated. You don’t fall into the issue that some movies have that put a bunch of actors in a box, where their whole lives are melodramatic and they’re always shouting at each other and on the brink of a fist fight. These are professionals who are on a mission. You get an understated sadness after a valuable crew member dies and an air of depression comes from the crew. They argue about the mission from time to time, but reasonably and like scientists.
But there are some really interesting acting choices throughout the film. There is a point in which a character (pictured above) is in grave danger and the performance is perfectly given to be ambiguous. In an earlier scene you get terror and sadness, but at a later reveal it turns out to be something else.
I was surprised how much I liked this movie. If you have the attention span to watch a movie that’s a little slow developing, it will pay off. The characters are believable, and the journey is worth the watch. There are a few plot issues, moments where you would think a team of astronauts wouldn’t do the thing that furthers the plot.
But if you’re in the mood for something sad and depressing, or you just like scifi, this movie is definitely worth a watch.
The Thoughts of Jonathan Sonantis 