Children of Men - (Children of Manthas)

[TheStuboy]

HERE BE SPOILERS

Imagine its 2029 A.D. Earth is on the brink of destruction, with the terrorism threat ever growing, and another big factor, human infertility. Thats right, humans have been unable to reproduce now for 18 years. This has thrown the world into chaos, and Britian stands alone, as the lone survival from the terrorism. New York has been decimated by a nuclear bomb, and pretty much any other major city has been whiped off the earth, except london.
Thus is the premise behind Children of Men.

Directed by a Mexican director, its a breath of fresh air to see something so original, so cutting edge in cinema. This is because films like this are rare in this day and age. We're used to seeing the same old stories rehashed with crappy actors, and shitty writing, but not Children of Men.

Clive Owen is the everyday person in this film. We are unsure of where he works, but everyone has a TV in their cubicle, and its tuned to the BBC. Everyone in the world mourns as the youngest person still alive tragically dies. Clive uses this as an excuse to skip work, only to be captured by an anti human gang headed up by his ex wife Julianne Moore. She wants Clive to know something special howver, there is a young girl who is pregnant. His mission becomes to protect her, any way he can, and they must escape to the illusive Human Project, which is trying to restore humanity to where it was.

This may sound confusing but it really isn't. Just watch the movie, I don't give it justice.

Along the way, Clive runs into his friend Michael Caine, who is a pot smoking guru, and who loves people to pull his finger.

I won't give anything else away, the story is too intricate to do so.

HERE ENDS THE SPOILERS

This film is certainly different. I at first thought that it took a long time to get going, but then I was pleasantly surprised when it took off and didn't stop till the end.

I was blown away at how several of the scenes were pulled off. There were at least three scenes that were extremely intricate, but didn't have a single cut in the camera.

The story as I said is very original. I got into it more and more, although I did think the ending was a little disappointing. Maybe thats just me.

The acting seemed very natural, like it would in real life. Everyone looks and acts like this is a grave situation, and they'll do anything to return life to the way it once was.

The film also has a very gritty look and feel, which complements the situation even better. I found the scenes before the ending to be very powerful, and reminiscent of the end of Saving Private Ryan.


Children of Men, dispite having a slow start, and an ambiguous ending, gets 3.5 stars out of 4.


Caine: Pull My finger! Hurry, HURRY!!!! Damn, I'll do it myself.
Everyone else: PU You old fart, you smell like strawberry farts.


Obviously, the meaning of this film is that the value of human life has no price. Terrorism for any reason, is just plain stupid.


BTW I saw this film last night at the 10:25 show.

[Kaing of Kaings]

Ell, yesterday I had the privilege of seeing Children of Men. Now let me tell you all about it.

I wont tell you the story since Stuboy pretty much lays it out. Stuboy did get one thing wrong though. Julianne Moore's character wasn't an anti-human terrorist, she was a pro-illegal immigration terrorist. In another word, she was against the government because the government was locking up all illegals and putting them into concentration camps. She was against that and she wanted their freedom.

This movie is probably one of the more powerful movies I have seen this year. I thought the story was neat and the setting was fascinating. It was a lot more effective than another England goes Insane in the future movie that came out last year. That movie is called V is for Vagina....I mean Vendetta. This movie is 10 times better than that campy piece. Anyway, I thought the acting was good in this too.

Clive Owen did a good job as the kind of guy who goes from being just a normal guy to a man with a purpose. His character definitely draws you in. The girl who is with child was good too along with the fat lady and the other supporting cast.

Like Stuboy said, there are at least 3 scenes in the movie that are filmed all in one long camera swoop, like Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia and Boogie Nights, are really effective. These scenes are intense especially at the end which reminded me of the ending scene of Saving Private Ryan. They were just as effective too.

This movie was directed by a Mexican named Alfonso Cuaron who did a good job and deserves to be in the best director category with Martin Scorcese.

Unlike Stuboy, I thought the very end of the movie was neat and effective. Overall the movie was very good and I think it is ties with the best film of 2006. The other best was The Defarted. Children of Men gets 3.75 stars out of 4.

P.S. Listen for "In the Court of the Crimson Kang" in this Movie.





Michael Caine: "I will hold you close with a thankful Fart....Now come now and pull my finger again or I will sing all of the Muppet's Christmas Carol songs."

[TheStuboy]

Yeah I forgot to mention that court of the crimson kang is in this movie. Its almost the entire song too, and it switches from being normally heard to over speakers inside that one building.