Page 1 of Children of Men

Went to see this at the cinema last night.

I;m struggling to come up with any sort of opinion on it. I cant really say I liked it or that it particularly had me gripped / really interested but for some reason I cant bring myself to pan it and just say it was crap

anyone else seen it? opinions?

I thought it was brilliant, really well made and has some of the most blindingly effective use of CGI that I`ve seen (it`s so good you won`t notice it until you think "there`s no way they could have done that"). It`s really gritty, and excellently directed by Alfonso Cuaron and Clive Owen is brilliant, an actor who is getting much better with age. Michael Caine is quite funny too, adding a bit of comic relief (not forced mind).

It`s quite a fascinating concept for a film. I haven`t read the book, but they did a pretty good job of creating what the world might be like if something like that ever happened.

I`d be surprised if this wasn`t in my top 10 of 2006 by the end of the year.

I`m with Chewie on this one; it was really further evidence that Alphonso Cuaron is one of the most talented filmmakers currently operating. The set design, creating a distopian futursitic Britain, was stunning as it was perfectly believable. As Chewie said, Clive Owen was excellent and Michael Caine`s small contribution to the film was pitch-perfect.

David Beckett

See maybe this is my problem. I dont sit and critique films in that sort of a way. I dont really care who directs them etc etc

I just want the film to keep me interested / make me laugh / get me involved etc etc and I just dont think I got that from this film and hence I think thats why I kind of lean to the "not great" side of the fence I seem to be stuck on

That`s strange because, after the slow build up, it kept me interested and involved the whole way through. I don`t know whether the religious allegory was intentional but if it was part of the plot then I`m glad it was understated and the film was left as a sci-fi/thriller.

David Beckett

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See maybe this is my problem. I dont sit and critique films in that sort of a way.

I don`t know what you mean by that. From what you`ve described you look for exactly the same as what I do in a film; involvement, immersion, etc, call it what you want but it`s the reason I like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, where a world is perfectly realised with characters you can recognise or at least understand. It`s what all good films have and that`s what I see the director`s main role being, to create a world that is immense, and use the camera as the keyhole for the audience. It doesn`t matter who the director is to me, but I think it`s just common geek talk to reference the director when he/she does a good job, and Cuaron is a pretty well known talent now.

And I thought Children of Men was really well done, and didn`t waste anytime introducing the world. Although it helps that I like futuristic dystopian films, and this had some similarities to those films of the 70s such as Soylent Green, The Omega Man, THX 1138, etc. It also did a pretty good job of keeping an intense atmosphere, especially after the scene with the reverseing car and motorbike :o

I`m always wary when it comes to watching dystopian films that are made in the UK, as I always feel bummed out (not in a gay way ;) ) at the end of the movie.

I get sick of the there is no hope for any of us, attitude the British filmmakers love to make for example, 28 Days Later, which was basically an alternative take of the BBCs 70s drama Threads, only instead of a nuclear attack it was with a virus, but still had the same we`re all doomed message at the end of the movie.

Don't get me wrong I like films with a bleak ending, but there has to be a line where you don`t want the audience to feel worthless and suicidal, which the British filmmakers are experts at making ever since the kitchen sink dramas of the 60s.

Now I`m thinking of seeing an upbeat movie today, so I`m trying to decide what to see, the following choices are: Talladega Nights - The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, The Black Dahlia, Dirty Sanchez: The Movie, Little Miss Suns***e, or Click.

floyd

I`d go with `Little Miss Sunshine` although I haven`t seen `The Black Dahlia` and am not in a rush to see the others. As for British dystopian films, you only have to look at `Brazil` to see that they can be masterpieces.

David Beckett

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you only have to look at `Brazil` to see that they can be masterpieces.

Which also had a bleak and depressing ending.

floyd

If you didn`t like that ending, watch the `Love Conquers All` version! :p

David Beckett