Children of Men

[No spoken words]

I love Seattle....just thought things like snow or ice were really really rare up there.

Good luck against the Bears, though, I don't think you'll need much luck, you have the better team.

You can yell in this thread any time. And, Clive will wait for you.

 

[corianderstem]

Ah, Clive. I knew he was a good man.

Now I must turn up my heat and prepare for tonight, in which it's going to get below 20 degrees. But at least I got to see the comet when the sun set!

But yeah, snow and ice are rare up here. Outlying areas get some snow in the winter, particularly in the foothills of the Cascades, but we've had two major snowstorms this winter that have pretty much brought all of Seattle and its suburbs to standstills. One was captured on Monday Night Football when the Seahawks played Green Bay - I'm sure many people tuned in, saw the snow and said, "Huh, I thought they were playing in Seattle tonight ... not Green Bay!"

Anyway. Please carry on with the movie discussion. I'll just be over here all bundled up and praying for summer.

 

[No spoken words]

I watched the beginning of that game from work and called a friend in the area to confirm that I was not just tired and such.

Anyway indeed......Ok, now the movie talk must carry on!

 

[DreamOutLoud13]

Saw it last night. Amazing. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect (all I really knew about it was what I'd seen from the TV trailers), but I'd heard it was good, and I was very impressed. Alfonso Cuaron is just incredible. I want it on DVD, like now.

And omgwtf the giant pig! I was so excited/amused/impressed by it that I couldn't pay attention to anything else during that scene. I just kept going "WTF ANIMALS!"

 

[corianderstem]

So I'm walking home from the bus stop after work, going to do some errands, and I walk by the neighborhood theater. Guess what opened there today?

I just got back, and ... well, that was bleak. And depressing. And violent. But so very, very excellent. I'm not really sure what to say about it.

I think I was most affected by the final title card, with the sounds of you-know-what accompanying it.

I'm so glad I braved the 20 degree weather and went to see it. So amazing.

Oh, and I Clive Owen.

 

[No spoken words]

So I'm walking home from the bus stop after work, going to do some errands, and I walk by the neighborhood theater. Guess what opened there today?

I just got back, and ... well, that was bleak. And depressing. And violent. But so very, very excellent. I'm not really sure what to say about it.

I think I was most affected by the final title card, with the sounds of you-know-what accompanying it.

I'm so glad I braved the 20 degree weather and went to see it. So amazing.

Oh, and I Clive Owen.

Serendipity summoned you today, and you heeded the call...good work.

It sure was all of the adjectives you used, and more. Glad you thought it was excellent, though.

I'm sure Clive appreciates your love....

 

[corianderstem]

It was fate ... I didn't take my regular bus. Had I taken my regular bus, I wouldn't have seen the marquee on the theater, and I would have assumed it was still "Night at the Musem," "Casino Royale" (which I'd still like to see) and "The Queen" (which I did see, and really enjoyed).

Yay for the Majestic Bay theater. A great little locally owned theater. Within walking distance! Whoot.

I hope this movie gets the accolades it deserves. I know some of the usual suspects have started giving out their film awards. Has "Children of Men" won anything?

 

[No spoken words]

I've not really noticed if it has, or has not, won anything. Hopefully it will.

Fate, serendipity, destiny....however you term it, you were woven into the fabric of a bigger plan today....a cinematic plan. That sounded just about as stupid as can be....and yet...it remains, such is the strength and depth of my conviction in my own stupidity.

I enjoyed Casino Royale, even if there are some major plot issues. I also saw the Queen, at a more artsy theater, and very much enjoyed...Helen Mirren deserves awards.

I salute the Majestic Bay theater and vow to visit it upon my next visit to the Pacific Northwest, which should be between this very moment and June.

 

[Lancemc]

My favorite scene in the entire movie is...





***SPOLIERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T SEEN ENTIRE MOVIE***









The final scene where Kee, her baby, and Theo are sitting in the boat by the bouey surrounded by the fog.

The dialog here is probably the best throughout the entire film. What with Theo telling her to keep the baby close at all times, and her naming her after Theo's son moments before Theo's (beautiful) death.

The part that really got me about this scene, and possibly the most stunning detail of the entire film for me is when they're talking here and several bomber jets fly over in the clouds and the camera follows their path back to the city where all you see of several quick flashes of orange in the fog where the bombs land.

THAT was my most moment of the entire movie, and the absolute perfect, most beautiful way to end it. That final seen was a real slap in the face, punch in the gut, and emotional kick in the nuts. And then BOMB, title screen again. Awesome.

Fucking instant classic film.

 

[corianderstem]

Yeah, I loved the starkness of the title screen at the beginning and the end.

SPOILER SPACE






I was so glad Theo didn't have any profound dying words or anything like that. He was just gone. Of course, it wasn't that kind of movie, where anyone dying had any profound words for their loved ones or whatever.

I also liked that there were little flashes of humor throughout, like a few of the one-liners (never a cheesy one-liner ... again, not that kind of movie), and the scene with the egg.

 

[No spoken words]

Agreed on the humor....I don't think the film would have felt as ......human, I guess.....to me, without the flashes of humor.....and maybe some of the jokes were doubly funny at first because going in I did not expect them. Theo's character was not capable of really saying anything too profound...he was just an ordinary guy thrust into an extraordinary situation. Damn, I could talk about this movie ad nauseum.

 

[deep]

I was so glad
didn't have any profound dying words or anything like that. He was just gone. Of course, it wasn't that kind of movie, where anyone dying had any profound words for their loved ones or whatever.

I agree
so many movies with close up. protracted death scenes are just silly


speaking of death scenes

pulp fiction may have one of the best

Travolta walking out of the toilet and just getting snuffed
in the first half of the movie, no less

 

[deep]

If anyone on here likes Clive Owen but has not seen Croupier.....go see it.

I agree completely

that film made me a fan for life
if any of you gals think he is hot

check out the younger Clive

btw,

it is on some cable channels this month

here are my listings in the O. C.

All showings of "Croupier"

Sun 1/14
8:00 PM Croupier 287 EMYSTP View program details

Mon 1/15
3:15 AM Croupier 287 EMYSTP View program details

Tue 1/16
7:20 AM Croupier 576 SCIN View program details

10:20 AM Croupier 575 SCINP View program details

3:15 PM Croupier 576 SCIN View program details

6:15 PM Croupier 575 SCINP View program details

10:45 PM Croupier 576 SCIN View program details

Wed 1/17
1:45 AM Croupier 575 SCINP View program details

Thu 1/25
11:45 AM Croupier 576 SCIN View program details


2:45 PM Croupier 575 SCINP

 

[Lancemc]

I agree
so many movies with close up. protracted death scenes are just silly


speaking of death scenes

pulp fiction may have one of the best

Travolta walking out of the toilet and just getting snuffed
in the first half of the movie, no less

I agree completely. I was so shocked when he was killed I literally couldn't close my mouth for a minute. THAT'S how you kill a main character. Real.

 

[redkat]

NSW I just saw it and you'll be happy to hear you don't owe me any money

I could use some cheering up though.

The cinematography was spectacular. Wonderful dialogue, I really enjoyed Michael Caines character.

 

[joyfulgirl]

I am probably one of the few who recognized the King Crimson music.

My friend and I grinned when we heard it. I had not heard that song in...wow, I don't know when.

We also grinned when we heard Radiohead's "Life in a Glasshouse" when Theo first visits Jasper. So it's official...Radiohead, King Crimson, John Lennon and The Rolling Sones stand the test of time.

So yeah, I just saw it and enjoyed it a lot.

 

[joyfulgirl]

Oh yeah, and "Croupier" was fantastic.

 

[LMP]

The 2nd best movie about an archaic London in the future of '06!

Behind V for Vendetta.

I loved this movie so much, you have no idea.

 

[Lancemc]

The 2nd best movie about an archaic London in the future of '06!

Behind V for Vendetta.

I loved this movie so much, you have no idea.

No, I definitely have an idea. This is a life-changing film. So is V for Vendetta. Those are the two best films of the year, and probably the two best of the decade so far as well.

 

[LMP]

I loved how this certain music played whenever a character died.

Do you know what music I'm talking about? It's almost this angelic-type of music.

 

[Lancemc]

I loved how this certain music played whenever a character died.

Do you know what music I'm talking about? It's almost this angelic-type of music.

I'll have to listen for that next time I see it. Which should hopefully be Wednesday.

 

[skjuls]

What a great movie this is!!

 

[U2Fanatic4ever]

What a great movie this is!!

hmph!! so you went and saw it without me!

 

[Tiger Edge]

No, I definitely have an idea. This is a life-changing film. So is V for Vendetta. Those are the two best films of the year, and probably the two best of the decade so far as well.

Yes, yes, yes!

 

[LMP]

Yes, yes, yes!

I can only think of V for Vendetta when I listen to Knights of Cydonia because of Knights of Venawesome.

Two of the best things of the year for me.

And did anyone else catch the Radiohead song played when Jasper and Theo smoke the Strawberry Cough for the first time?

Life in a Glasshouse

 

[Lancemc]

The soundtrack in Children of Men was unbelievably good. Just one more of the dozens of reason why this film is destined for classic-hood.

 

[skjuls]

What a great movie this is!!

You never said you wanted to see it!!

 

[prisz25]

I just saw this yesterday. It was absolutely wonderful! I loved every part of it. It gave me chills! I am going to watch it again soon.

 

[bollox]

funny that so many people should mention v for vendetta. a friend of mine also brought up this comparison, and i thought any relations between the two were superficial at best. probably since children of men did everything right that v for vendetta did spectacularly wrong.

v for vendetta struck me as something that a college freshmen who just read 1984 and saw the matrix/fight club way too many times would come up with. the source material is apropros, because it is a comic book dystopia in every sense of the word.

on the other hand, the cinema verite style of children of men gave it the immediacy and visceral impact of newsreel footage. this is what a dystopia should look like: bleak, dirty, shitty. both movies are stylized, but the realistic approach in children of men gave it a resonance and mood that v for vendetta couldn't hope to match. add to that the fact that the characters in children of men were far more believable/human. it struck an emotional connection that made the viewer care about the characters in a way that the other movie did not. it defies expectations at every point where the other one follows movie cliches.

so in summation, children of men : cinematic gold, v for vendetta: cinematic that crusty stuff that collects around your eyes in the morning.

 

[Irvine511]

I thought the direction was excellent, and Clive did a great job. Michael Caine did too.

Maybe I didn't think it was as amazing as I expected given the reviews I read. I think I expected too much Of course it's still quite a movie with some powerful and important messages and symbolism. It sure makes you ponder the future, especially considering the way things are in the present.

i felt the same way.

great filmmaking, but not quite a great film.

all the pieces were there, but there was so much left unexplained and underdeveloped and plot points dropped that it left me more puzzled than anything else.

that said, the final action sequence, the single shot of Theo trying to protect Kee in what was a virtual stand-in for Baghdad/Palestine was astonishing, nearly Speilbergian for the amount of visual information conveyed and the lucidity of the staging, chaotic without ever being incoherent.