Children of Men

Adam! · Post by **Adam!** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 4:43 pm

Holyfuck see this.

A+. And I never give A+'s
[size=0]No, I am not pluralizing with an apostrophe: that is an admittedly abusive contraction of "A+ scores". I also didn't end that sentence with a period; why didn't you point that out, too?[/size]

stylonpilson · Post by **stylonpilson** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 4:46 pm

It is a great film. I liked the long, single-take sequences. And the ambush incident had me on the edge of my seat like nothing else I've ever known.

I agree that it is a must-see.

Adam! · Post by **Adam!** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 5:16 pm

stylonpilson wrote:long, single-take sequences

This can't be emphasized enough. The movie's elaborate action sequences are done in long (5 - 10 minute!) unbroken takes with sometimes hundreds of people on screen, and often filmed with a handheld camera. I actually have no idea how the did some of this stuff.

Calfborg · Post by **Calfborg** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 11:34 pm

I loved this movie. It's got a fantastic atmosphere and the visuals are so genuinely grimy and bleak. The single-take action scenes are really a joy to watch and although there's so much going on, they still feel understated. Definitely recommended.

glennny · Post by **glennny** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 11:44 am

WOW, I can't believe people liked this movie. The biggest problem was the hand held camera work. I got motion sickness, made me physically ill to watch. 2ndly, the whole thing was very predicatble, did you ever really think the child wasn't going to survive until the end? This had a great premise and I was hoping they would explore the politics and philosophy of the premise a lot more. Instead it was a big chase scene with a lot of violence. I have a rule that I violated in going to see this movie, I should've known better. Anytime a movie advertises itself by comparing itself to another movie it's usually crap. This was "this generation's Blade Runner". Blade Runner is a fantastic film, I wish I never saw Children of Men.

gets a big F from me.

WeaselSlayer · Post by **WeaselSlayer** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 8:46 pm

You're a fucking idiot and I have no qualms in saying that.

WesDavis · Post by **WesDavis** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 4:54 am

I might have to agree. Children of Men was fantastic. Who cares if it was predictable? Not every movie has to make you think. I prefer a movie that makes me feel, and that movie did just that.

I am not ashamed to say, there was one particular scene in the movie where the action stopped, near the end, that was breathtaking.

glennny · Post by **glennny** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 4:58 pm

Not every movie has to make you think. I prefer a movie that makes me feel....

I agree, this did neither for me. I thought all lthe characters were pretty thin. There was no memorable dialog for me either. I suppose the hand held stuff really colored my expirience. I did think the cinematography was pretty great, if only I could see a smooth motion version I might like it for that reason alone. I realize this is my problem, I have no artistic problem with it, just a physical reaction to it.

This isn't the 1st time I've had unpopular opinions about films, I genrally don't like action films, or plot driven films. I like character development and dialog. This felt a lot like watching someone play a 1st person shooter game for a couple hours.

How did this film make you feel? Which characters did you really care about? Was any of the dialog memorable to you?

To each his own.

anti-m · Post by **anti-m** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 11:51 am

I'm with you Glenny!

Well, actually, I loved the cinematography/handheld camera work. I also really enjoyed the first 30 minutes or so.

I enjoyed the movie as a whole much less once we got to the "first -person-shooter" section...which was, unfortunately, the bulk of the picture.

I give the pyrotechnic camerawork an A+ but the movie itself a B.

I'm also a notorious "hater of movies that other people love." I have astronomical/unrealistic expectations, I guess.

a bebop a rebop · Post by **a bebop a rebop** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 3:55 pm

I went into this expecting to hate it (the trailers and the potentially-ridiculous plot) and it kicked me in the gut not a few times. I loved the camera-work, I'm not particularly knowedgeable of cinematography in general and even I couldn't help but notice how impossible so many of the long-takes were (MAYBE SPOILER: the one-take birth scene? amazing).

And then we got a lot of Half-Life 2, I'm a big fan of the game and couldn't help but notice a ton of similarities.

Plus I was honestly emotionally involved with at least a couple of the characters MAYBE SPOILER so the director's habit of killing them off abruptly was totally jarring.

A-

raisedbywolves · Post by **raisedbywolves** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 9:59 am

This is my second favorite movie of last year, after Pan. If it doesn't win an Oscar for cinematography, something is very wrong. <b>A</b>

fodroy · Post by **fodroy** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 2:38 pm

I saw this with Korean subtitles on the plane. I had a hard time breathing in that one scene toward the end. I don't think a scene in any movie has ever hit that hard for me. A+