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'Children of Men', the new Alfonso Cuaron sci-fi flick
I just saw this movie. It was fucking brilliant. I loved almost every second of this movie, even the ones I saw coming (like the "twist" after the thing with JMoore, who by the way was used perfectly in this movie, Pete OTM).
Both Clive Owen and Michael Caine have this supreme EASE with whatever they're doing on screen, it's kind of terrifying. And God, SO FUCKING HARROWING.
― The Android Cat (Dan Perry
Dan and everyone else OTM. "Harrowing" is the best word to describe those action sequences. Plus, I love how arbitrary the series of events are: companions you think are going to help Owen are rubbed off sudddenly, wrenchingly, while characters you assume are peripheral suddenly step in. I also admire how Owen isn't given any cute character tags other than that he once had a kid who died young: he's a smarter-than-average guy suddenly thrust into a situation beyond his control.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn
First impression: This movie was the best movie I've seen all year, new or old.
Second thoughts: Well, yes, there are certain flaws.
Resolution: Grafts everything I liked about War of the Worlds (panic, confusion, brutality, relentlessness) with practically everything I liked about Titanic (same as above, only with unapologetic sentimentality), and it's a goddamned miracle that something of that sort could be so widely and rightly beloved.
My worst fears about it (i.e. the cinematography being so ostentatious that it grabs you by the lapels and shouts "I. AM. CINEMALANGUAGE.") were wiped away once I'd realized one shot had been going on for five, six minutes without my knowing it. Which certainly puts it above the one epic shot in The Black Dahlia.
― Eric H.
the long tracking shots are unreal. the action sequences are great because, while they owe a slight debt to Saving Private Ryan, they aren't indulgent; they aren't Michael Bay'd to death. ― don weinerI liked it fine, but based on all the rave reviews I was expecting something a little "smarter"/science fictionier. I wish there had been more focus on the infertility plot line, instead it was just a red herring to set up the one pregnant woman as the Macguffin, the treasure/secret code/whatever that has to be protected. Basically it was a fairly well-made action movie, and not much more. And that's ok.
Why was Julianne Moore so clean while everyone else was so grubby?
― n/a
Because she's Julianne Moore. I think it's in all her contracts.
― tracerhand
I'm eager to see it again.
― Dr Morbius
This film is incredible.
One of the things I loved was how unobtrosive the long uncut scenes were. They weren't showy so they managed to bring a sense of immediacy and naturalness to the film. I was increasingly drawn into this film. It was so physical and the narrative was a simple alegory, but the details were beautiful.
― Fluffy Bear Hearts Rainbows
i just saw it tonight and can't wait to see it again; to me it felt like an action version of an octavia butler novel or something. i also LOVE dystopic/ apocalytpic films, even bad ones, so i'm just really happy when one comes out and it's like pretty subtle (i.e. any other filmmaker would have focused on the drunken owen pouring his bottle into his hands to sterilize them like ten times more, made it obv. that this was a big choice for him).
arguments upthread about the religious symbolism seem bunk for the most part, though the more i chew on it the more they might be true, at least a *little* bit (this isn't frickin 'stephen king's the stand' by any means which i watched on sci-fi channel last night thinking it was a bio-disaster film until i realized it was basically a 'left behind' movie) when i read on imdb where the title comes from:
"Lord, thou hast been our refuge: from one generation to another. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever the earth and the world were made: thou art God from everlasting, and world without end. Thou turnest man to destruction: again thou sayest, Come again, ye children of men. For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday: Seeing that is past as a watch in the night."
― Michael J McGonigal
I thought it made complete sense that the annoying Ballard/Moorcock/prog-loving guy you knew in college would grow up to be a self-styled Last Man On Earth who barricaded himself in Battersea with whatever art he could pillage. The only way that scene could have been improved was if he was blasting King Crimson all over London and not just inside his lair.
― Elvis Telecom
#2
Children of Men
Alfonso Cuarón
2006
United States/United Kingdom
(1401 points, 50 votes, 5 first place)
― ('_') (omar little), Thursday, 11 February 2010 23:37 (sixteen years ago)