Children of Men

[jcaffoe]

this film is absolutely mind blowing, best picture contender.

Towards the end of the film there is a 7-minute action sequence with no cuts.

no cuts.

only took 4 takes.

that alone deserves a standing ovation.

[2b BOY]

I HAD to see it, because a reviwer claimed it was the Bladreunner of 21st century. I don't know about that, but it certainly was very good.

The action was the most realistic I've ever seen in a movie as well. Plus, the main character never used a gun :D...

[Vulgar`]

There were too many aims for audience laughter - I liked it. The pregnant female was the best element of the movie.

[Shizzle]

Awww, i so wanna see this movie!

[oracrest]

This movie was badass. The most believable and well concieved dystopian setting I have seen yet. Right up there with 28 Days Later in that respect.

A very interesting concept to be sure, and well executed. Not too much was explained, and it didn't feel like too much effort was used to provide a context for me as a viewer, just sort of thrusts you into the world. Kept me thinking the entire time.

[Inkfish]

I found it to be really interesting, i loved all the little details put into the world, starting from the windshield GUI to the floating pig from the Animals album by Pink Floyd (really nice touch)
http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/3511/animalshl6.jpg
The whole Quietus business gave me the shivers though.

[seba_boi]

I might see this tomorrow or Monday... I usually like long takes, and you just hyped it up for me... (which may or may not live up to it ;))...

[0kelvin]

Just got back from seeing this and it was mindblowingly awesome. I love how intense the action was, without ever relying on spectacle. The one car chase was more heart pumping than any chase I've seen in the last few years, and the cars are in neutral the whole time!

I assumed there were some invisible cuts in the final combat scene (mostly because the blood on the lens disappears after a while), but apparently it was all one take. That's fucking amazing.



0kelvin

[Darktwin]

This movie has to be the best movie I've seen in a while. I really enjoyed the timing of this film. The movie had a very fluid pace to it. I wasn't finding myself asking questions to why this is happening or what does this have to do with the film.

It had a very real quality to it, I really couldn't predict what was going to happen next like in most movies that are released today. The movie also didn't have any cliche heroes. The sequence of events were great. the last resistance scene was amazing. This movie really showed how fragile and cheap life can be when events make a turn for the worst. Like what others have already stated very few cuts overall in this film. Emotionally powerful and inspiring. Don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen it yet. Lets just say I walked out of the film satisfied that I recieved my moneys worth.

[jcaffoe]

also I have to say I want Guernica in my dining room.

[Jason Snair]

Incredible movie. I really loved the hell out of it. I found it exceptionally suspensefull, sometimes shocking, epic, sad and even uplifting too. I liked the realism, the grittiness and even the obvious and sometimes hidden religious overtones. I was quite scared too at times. Not because the movie was scary in a "boo" sort of way...more like, it caused me to think about current world affairs and how it could go this way in real life.

I also really liked that the cg was barely visible, if there was any used at all. (I think mostly it was just used for background large-scale city television screens and maybe a matte painting or two)

I had no idea where the movie was headed, even near the end. And I liked that. I was literally on the edge of my seat, with the exception of once or twice sinking back in despair.

Oh and Michael Cane was amazing.

[JAG.]

man ive been waiting to see this for so long.. and it seems ill have to wait some more cuz its not in my city yet wtf?? but no im super psyched about it.. - JAG

[2b BOY]

I don't know if anyone mentioned this. But, did you guys realise that the baby was all CG?

[silver surfer]

I assumed there were some invisible cuts in the final combat scene (mostly because the blood on the lens disappears after a while), but apparently it was all one take. That's fucking amazing.0kelvin
You are right about that. The whole film was packed with CGI shots. But the good thing about it: you couldn't tell where. For example the scene where the motorbike crashes the car incolved two CGI-characters+bike, the birth of the baby, backplates, the flying pig etc.. The splattered blood on the lens happened accidently and they had to remove it digitally. Indeed there were a few "hidden cuts" in the showdown sequence towards the end of the movie whenever a character wiped the screen or the camera was moving around a corner. But I wouldn't have noticed without knowing before. Still some of the shots were pretty long and very well choreographed. Clive Owen and Michael Cane were awsome...

[CaptainInsano]

this movie was exhilirating. I haven't been so revved up during a movie since Fight Club. And the philosophical connotations were delivered with the same brute violence and despair. The action was superb, and the 7 minute no-cut scene toward the end was simply beautiful, full of gut wrenching violence and a disturbing hush... it almost brought a tear to my eye when all the soldiers stopped fighting. The scene said so much about humanity, what makes us human, and what we truley value.

The best movie I've seen in years.

[DavePalumbo]

sweeet. just saw it, thought it was great

[sweetoblivion314]

amazing movie.

Though i did find it interesting that they where able to save the entire building and Pig balloon from the animals album, but couldnt save the Michelangelo's Pieta and only got 2 El greco's.

[seba_boi]

amazing movie.

Though i did find it interesting that they where able to save the entire building and Pig balloon from the animals album, but couldnt save the Michelangelo's Pieta and only got 2 El greco's.
Did they say they lost the Pieta?... I must've missed that and I only saw Michelangelo's David... Truth be told, I couldn't understand them with their British accents during the beginning of the film (especially Michael Caine)... I adjusted to it, since they all miraculously spoke clearer to me by the end... :D

[JAG.]

thet movie is absolutely inceredible. i dont think ive had that good a time at a movie in years. superb.. and indeed the cinematography and choreogrphing were great.. thats what made the experience so involving. and yes many parts of it were obviously CG. i'll watch this again.. - JAG

[ruzkin]

Wow, this is still playing? I thought it was fantastic... back in October or so. Did Aus get it first or something?

But yes, that final single cut action sequence had me blowing all over the seat infront of me.

[Snowsfall]

I thought it was pretty good, no bladerunner, but still good.
The action sequence was jaw dropping though.

[DavePalumbo]

well, comparing any movie to Bladerunner is a ballsy move, but it got me in the theater and I wasn't disappointed

[LaPalida]

This movie was awesome ... I would definitely see it again. Something about dystopic England... I just love it. BTW I am also reading the book now. It's good but very very different from the movie so far. Both are great in my opinion (although I haven't yet finished the book).

[Hookswords]

well, comparing any movie to Bladerunner is a ballsy move, but it got me in the theater and I wasn't disappointed

Same here. I thought that was a bold move, but it got me in the theater. I'd like more context on that quote. I think I can understand where they're coming from. I thought the movie was great. Very nice concepts. I really enjoyed the diverse culture overlapping. There was a lot of lines of dialog not in english that they chose not to subtitle. Not sure how I feel about that. I can understand that for the context of submerrsion for the viewer, but I still like to know what folks are saying. The subtle CG was very well done. Great sound production too. Excellent soundtrack as well.

[dkounios]

kick ass movie. very well done and belivable.
definately gonna be buyin it when it hits
shelves.

[Nerahla]

I didn't mind the lack of subtitles, I thought it was the perfect amount of immersion.

I'm generally an easy person to immerse, because I'll allow myself to be immersed, but I find in dystopian movies I tend to hold myself back because it is not a pleasant immersion. I categorize and objectively observe.

But I couldn't do that in this film, it was impossible. The actors were too personal, too charismatic and believable. The world was so realistically drawn that the suspension of disbelief was second nature.

I am also a very very huge fan of Clive Owen, who caught my eye in Gosford Park and I've followed him ever since.

I was very moved by the very quiet and subdued message of hope in this movie. That humanity is worth saving. Beyond all the fighting and dying was this sliver of truth about us - that we cherish life and it is worth cherishing.

I thought the scene of the dilapidated elementary school was one of the most powerful in the movie.

[Andy P]

Definitely the best movie I've seen in a long while. It excelled where so many other movies failed in so many ways, I won't bore you with how much I'm in love with this film. Danm, what a great movie.

[Ian Mack]

I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it but did anyone else find the ending to be terrible? a little abrupt and cookie-cut in the happenings?

[Kian]

Sorry Ian but I can only completely disagree. I was completely on the edge of my seat the whole way through the film.
I was also on the edge of crying my eyes out at points. A truly brilliant film. The kind that sticks with you for a few days. One you cant stop telling people to see.

And yeah, imo one of the best uses of CG in a film ever. Great cast and story, GO SEE IT!!

[Aly Fell]

Just bought this on DVD today and watched it this evening with my girlfriend, and we both thought it was superb. What a bleak view, but horribly recognisable all the same. There's a little short movie on the DVD explaining the use of long camera takes and a little bit on the CG, like the green screen on the sides of the double deckers for animated adverts. The ending was abrupt, but really fitted the movie somehow. Think I'll watch it again tomorrow.... :) Wish I'd seen it on t'big screen though...

[Undertow]

Just bought this on DVD today and watched it this evening with my girlfriend, and we both thought it was superb. What a bleak view, but horribly recognisable all the same. There's a little short movie on the DVD explaining the use of long camera takes and a little bit on the CG, like the green screen on the sides of the double deckers for animated adverts. The ending was abrupt, but really fitted the movie somehow. Think I'll watch it again tomorrow.... :) Wish I'd seen it on t'big screen though...
It's already out on DVD in the UK? It's only been out for a little over a month here in the states. Amazing film, definitely depressing though. It was so well written that the story line is believable in today's current events.

[Aly Fell]

It's already out on DVD in the UK? It's only been out for a little over a month here in the states. Amazing film, definitely depressing though. It was so well written that the story line is believable in today's current events.
We had it released in cinemas well before Christmas. It's usually the other way around, we get movies shown here sometimes months after the US get it. I guess this is because it's a pretty British movie, even though Alfonso Cuarón is Mexican.

[seba_boi]

Just bought this on DVD today and watched it this evening with my girlfriend, and we both thought it was superb. What a bleak view, but horribly recognisable all the same. There's a little short movie on the DVD explaining the use of long camera takes and a little bit on the CG, like the green screen on the sides of the double deckers for animated adverts. The ending was abrupt, but really fitted the movie somehow. Think I'll watch it again tomorrow.... :) Wish I'd seen it on t'big screen though...
Are there any director's commentary included?... I wouldn't mind hearing the director's input and influences especially with the use of animals althroughout the film...


BTW, the R2 DVD cover for Children Of Men sucks... (No offense to the designer)

[Aly Fell]

Are there any director's commentary included?... I wouldn't mind hearing the director's input and influences especially with the use of animals althroughout the film...


Doesn't look like it... :( just the short film. Maybe there'll be a 'special edition'...

[GriNGo]

I found it to be really interesting, i loved all the little details put into the world, starting from the windshield GUI to the floating pig from the Animals album by Pink Floyd (really nice touch)
http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/3511/animalshl6.jpg
The whole Quietus business gave me the shivers though.

I though I saw that somewhere! Thanks for the heads up inkfish. & about the movie, I just saw it yesterday. It just mesmerized me. Fucken kick ass, spooky and just awesome... full of stuff you just don't expect or imagine, but so realistic at the same time. I would tell you what exactly, but I don't wan't to mess with people who haven't seen it yet. What I thought was excellent is the "expanded universe" the movie storyline has. I want to see nuked NYC, and how the rest of the world went to shit. I want to see how those artworks were recovered, etc. I also love the inmense amount of details the movie has. I mean the David has a fucken mechanical leg! And Guernica is in that fortress dining room. During the whole movie I just wondered and imagined on how that sort of stuff came to be. That concentration camp was also damn well done. So well done, I just couldn't help comparing and finding similarities with certain parts of my hometown! The end was simple, but I was slightly dissapointed after seeing the the marvelous events and happenings that progressed towards it. Not that it was bad, I just basically never wanted the movie to stop. Anyways, it's a top notch film. Sincerely, I take my hat off to everybody who got involved in the project. extras and all. I left the theater with my heart pumping hard: & that's a good sign. :confident

[Interceptor]

Just saw it based on Romance's recommendation. I thought it was great, really great. Near apoclolyptic, not pretentious at all.

[Molly]

...this film had me on the edge of my seat...the long continuos scenes made it so for me..and the preganant girl was funny...Clive Owens just the dogs bollocks...

Mx

[hito]

"just the dogs bollocks"

is that a good thing? or a bad thing?

[Mr. Visions]

sadly I just saw it and was a tad bit disappointed. The beginning was a bit hard to get into and the story telling seemed a bit choppy. The last bit of the movie was great though some of the scenes were stunning. But collectively, it didn't meet all the hype to me.

- V

[Hookswords]

"just the dogs bollocks"

is that a good thing? or a bad thing?

I think that's a good thing. Like: "That's the cat's ass"

[young paddy1]

I think you'll find it's more like the mutts nuts.


I thought it was a pretty damn good film, probably only people from britain would get the funny side of the ending being where it is. The place is renowned as a retirement town.

the little tweak in the middle was pretty obvious but other than that a sweet ass movie

[xxEnder]

i liked the movie overall, but i have to admit im not a fan of the ending or at least how it was paced, but overall an intense gripping movie.

[Aly Fell]

Are there any director's commentary included?... I wouldn't mind hearing the director's input and influences especially with the use of animals althroughout the film...


BTW, the R2 DVD cover for Children Of Men sucks... (No offense to the designer)

Update on the extras released with the DVD. They've just released a 'special edition' here in Blighty with loads of extras! (don't you just love them when they do that after you've bought the first edition without them). Well this sucker'll wait till a second hand copy comes up on eBay, as I loved the movie but ain't paying for it again! Gits, in the nicest possible way!

[seba_boi]

Update on the extras released with the DVD. They've just released a 'special edition' here in Blighty with loads of extras! (don't you just love them when they do that after you've bought the first edition without them). Well this sucker'll wait till a second hand copy comes up on eBay, as I loved the movie but ain't paying for it again! Gits, in the nicest possible way!
I hope, hope, hope, hope hope that they release that version here... (with a better cover of course)....

And yes, I do hate DVD double dips.... I just bought Casino Royale and I found out just last night that an Ultimate Edition will be coming out as well with deleted scenes and commentary!... *roll eyes* (we don't have a roll eyes smilie?!)

[Aly Fell]

... *roll eyes* (we don't have a roll eyes smilie?!)

:rolleyes: ;)

[Bhrazz]

definitely the best 2006 movie in my book=)