Children of Men

[joyfulgirl]

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.

I agree. I'm not quite getting all the talk about this being a classic. I thought it was just another entertaining film, and a very good one at that.

 

[Irvine511]

i've seen three well-reviewed movies since last Thursday -- The Queen, Little Children, and Children of Men -- and while all had very strong points and moments of greatness, i can't say that any of them were truly great films.

i think the two best films i've seen this year remain "little miss sunshine" and, now, "the queen" (the best of the three). also, "the departed."

i'm a little bit disappointed with the movies this year. last year was much stronger, imho, even in the acting where you had three superlative lead performances (philip seymore hoffman, joaquin phoenix, and especially heath ledger and i'm not saying that just because i'm a gay).

here's hoping "pan's labrynth" and "notes on a scandal" and even "dreamgirls" can knock my socks off.

 

[joyfulgirl]

i've seen three well-reviewed movies since last Thursday -- The Queen, Little Children, and Children of Men -- and while all had very strong points and moments of greatness, i can't say that any of them were truly great films.

i think the two best films i've seen this year remain "little miss sunshine" and, now, "the queen" (the best of the three). also, "the departed."

"The Queen" was my favorite movie of the year.

 

[the rockin edge]

i saw it last night, i really liked it. maybe not quite amazing like i was expecting based on some reviews i read, but very good nonetheless.

 

[No spoken words]

Still my favorite film of the year, despite some of the flaws. I also saw The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine and The Queen....The Queen probably has my favorite acting performance of the year, hands down, for Helen Mirren. Loved The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine, but, none of these films had me saying "wow" after the film like Children of Men did. Sometimes the power of a film, for me, transcends its flaws. I am not sure if it is a classic or not...time usually sorts out the classics from the rest....but, for me, best theater experience I've had in a while.

 

[deep]

"The Queen" was my favorite movie of the year.

i think mirren is one of our great actresses

however "the queen" is way over rated

i think mirren did better work in "Elizabeth 1" 4 hours on hbo


also, some early "prime suspects" are much better work than "the queen"
i think there may be a "diana" factor in all of this

I do expect her to clean up in awards

 

[deep]

here's hoping "pan's labrynth" and "notes on a scandal" and even "dreamgirls" can knock my socks off.

I think you will enjoy all of these

dench (notes) out does mirren (the queen) imo

pan's is the same director as "devil's backbone"

and "dreamgirls" is very entertaining


i wonder if some are expecting too much from "children of men"?

 

[U2Fanatic4ever]

You never said you wanted to see it!!

Just razzin ya!!

 

[joyfulgirl]

i think mirren is one of our great actresses

however "the queen" is way over rated

i think mirren did better work in "Elizabeth 1" 4 hours on hbo


also, some early "prime suspects" are much better work than "the queen"
i think there may be a "diana" factor in all of this

I do expect her to clean up in awards

I was indeed knocked out by Helen Mirren in the HBO movie "Elizabeth 1" and she is one of my favorite actors. But I thought she was brilliant in "The Queen." It's not easy to communicate so much, so clearly, with just the subtlest of expressions. The way she conveyed the Queen's internal struggle was just perfect. The screenplay was smart, the supporting cast was great (the actor who played Tony Blair was wonderful as was his wife), I loved the direction, the pace of it, everything. When I say it was my favorite film of the year, I mean that for me it was a completely satisfying film experience without the usual exciting plotline and visual stimulation. I'm also a big Stephen Frears fan in general. So I don't think it was overrated at all. It just isn't everyone's taste.

 

[No spoken words]

I heard 2 people at work today complaining about how boring "The Queen" was. Geez. Really disappointing. It's like, for some people, if something does not get blown up in the first 15 minutes they deem it to be a waste of time. I like action flicks, but, would rather see a nuanced performance like Mirren's in "The Queen".

 

[corianderstem]

Aw, they were just bummed they didn't get to see Diana bite it in the car crash.

 

[No spoken words]

Aw, they were just bummed they didn't get to see Diana bite it in the car crash.

You see right to the soul of these people. But that's what you get when you work in the entertainment business in LA, not sure what I was expecting. They probably are looking to see if they can greenlight "The Queen 2 - Diana lives".

 

[corianderstem]

Diana lives, is 500 feet tall, and stomps through Paris in pursuit of the paparazzi who may or may not have caused her car crash!

I just wonder what they were expecting. It's called "The Queen." Were they expecting to see QEII leading a car chase through London? Or screaming, "NO MORE WIRE HANGERS EVAHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

 

[No spoken words]

I think they were hoping for more CGI in the film, maybe for Elizabeth to transform into a robot.

I work with some good people, but I also work with a parade of assclowns.

 

[corianderstem]

I work with some good people, but I also work with a parade of assclowns.

I love the word "assclown," but the thought of a whole parade of them is even more awesome.

 

[No spoken words]

I love the word "assclown," but the thought of a whole parade of them is even more awesome.

Sadly, I have a way with curse words and negative sentences in general. Would that I had some skill with words beyond that, but, I simply do not.

A parade of assclowns is a funny thought, though, if I may say so.

 

[Pearl]

I saw it last night, I thought it was good, but I wish some part of the story were more developed.

I also don't think Juliane Moore should've been considered one of the stars of the movie when she's killed off so early on. I think Michael Caine should've been placed ahead of her; he had a bigger role.

As for "The Queen" that was one of the better films I saw last year. I really hope Helen Mirren wins the Oscar for that movie.

 

[No spoken words]

I think most of the complaints I've heard about the film center around not developing certain plot lines, enough....and it's hard to debate that. For me, it didn't detract too much from my enjoyment of the film, but I do recognize the validity of the point. Agreed on Moore/Caine.

Mirren will win.

 

[corianderstem]

I went to see "The Departed" today, and it had a preview for "Children of Men." I was baffled by the preview - you'd think you were going to see something at least a little uplifting, if the music and narration were anything to go by.

Whoever chose the music for that trailer should be fired.

 

[No spoken words]

I saw the trailer many months ago, and so I do not remember it that well....my mind was made up to see the film long before seeing the trailer, though. What music was played?

And, did you like the Departed!?!?!? If we can gush (myself included) about The Queen in this thread then we can give some love to Scorcese.

 

[corianderstem]

I don't know what the music was in the trailer - I didn't recognize it as being from the film itself, but that's pretty common to use other music in a trailer. It just sounded like it was implying it would be a rather uplifting story. Violent, but with more hope than I actually thought was in the movie itself.

I loved The Departed! It was pretty damned bloody, but I was very engaged in the film. Great performances.

 

[No spoken words]

Glad you liked the Departed. The scene towards the end, by the elevator, wow...I actually said out loud "Damn!" at some point during that scene.

Yeah, Children of Men aint exactly uplifting. I said aint.

 

[corianderstem]

There was some laughter at the elevator scene near the end, just because it was just too much at that point. I found myself feeling the same way. A little bit of "oh come on!" and a little desensitized.

It was almost ridiculous. It was the one part of the movie I didn't like.

 

[No spoken words]

I think my "damn" was shorthand for "jesus christ that's a little over the top, but, still..." I cannot say I did not like it, but, was not necessarily my favorite scene. Violence and many Scorcese films go hand in hand. Hope he gets an Oscar, finally.

 

[corianderstem]

Yeah, I'm gunning for him for his long-deserved Oscar. If he wins this year, I'll be relieved. Better this one than his past two films. The Departed is better than both The Aviator or Gangs of New York, both of which also garnered him Oscar noms.

 

[No spoken words]

I agree that it's better than both, but I liked both of those, too, esepcailly Gangs. I wish he could make a Gangs Director's cut.....apparently, Miramax really fucked with the film, changed a lot of things, made him add some voiceover stuff where he did not want it, etc. There will never be a Director's cut, but it would be cool to see what he really had in mind....and, Daniel Day Lewis' performance in that film blows me away.

Good luck Scorcese, win one and you'll now be tied with Three Six mafia for Oscars won, much to Jon Stewart's delight!

 

[Lancemc]

Say this film again last night. And believe me. It's even better a second time around...I cought soooo many little details I never noticed the first time around, including more of the amazing soundtrack.

 

[impy13]

What music was played?

Hoppipolla by Sigur Ros

That's all I know for sure.

 

[No spoken words]

Hoppipolla by Sigur Ros

That's all I know for sure.

In the trailer?

 

[impy13]

Yes, in the trailer.