Britain is also extremely densely populated. I mean London isn't city, it is a designated area of a constant never ending sprawl that covers a quarter of the country. Not a lot of people realise this fact. I think that more than the island part is why Britain was surviving, there is no isolated areas at all, except in far north of Scotland, which is probably where the human project was, on an island up there (or as I immediately though, Iceland, kind of an Atlantis allusion there)
This movie sounds really, REALLY dystopian. I wanna kill myself for reading this thread. All it needs is dead puppies.
Actually, it's funny you should mention that...
[spoiler:715fc26c1e]I really liked the way the director used pet animals as sort of a replacement for children. You noticed almost everyone in the film had a pet cat or dog, so it's pretty obvious the animals aren't having any trouble reproducing. I pleasantly surprised none were killed though; I hate seeing animals (especially dogs) die in film.[/spoiler:715fc26c1e]
thegloaming on
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SirUltimosDon't talk, Rusty. Just paint.Registered Userregular
edited January 2007
When I originally saw the trailers for this, I thought that it would be a novel concept, but probably wasted once the initial cool factor ran out. Boy was I ever wrong.
Even though I missed the first twenty minutes or so, the movie had me engrossed the entire. I got so into it at times tht I found it impossible to take my eyes of the screen, much less whisper something to my friend beside me. When it was all over I was just left witha feeling of "Wow...that was a good movie. Everything was so well put together...and just worked."
[spoiler:eb6b7108e4]I really liked the way the director used pet animals as sort of a replacement for children. You noticed almost everyone in the film had a pet cat or dog, so it's pretty obvious the animals aren't having any trouble reproducing. I pleasantly surprised none were killed though; I hate seeing animals (especially dogs) die in film.[/spoiler:eb6b7108e4]
[spoiler:eb6b7108e4]I also liked how most of the animals seemed to gravitate toward Clive Owen. Like they knew he was a provider and protector. I also found it funny while he's listening to the Fishes that one of the kittens living there started climbing up his leg and purring. [/spoiler:eb6b7108e4]
On the subject of death and daemons disappearing: arrows sure are effective in Lyra's universe. Seems like if you get shot once, you're dead - no lingering deaths with your daemon huddling pitifully in your arms, just *thunk* *argh* *whoosh*. A battlefield full of the dying would just be so much more depressing when you add in wailing gerbils and dogs.
I figured that the whole world hadn't gone all to shit and Britain wasn't the only "safe place" left, and that it was just propaganda and all that bs government feeds it's people.
Then why were all the refugees trying to get in?
They only seemed to be other europeans, sure maybe Britain is the last "safe place" in europe, but I doubt it is like total chaos everywhere with all the governments being overthrown and Britain being the last one. It's most likely just propaganda the government is showing their people to show that what they are doing is right and they are needed.
They weren't Europeans.
[spoiler:2ff72b8dbd]Maybe you missed it but Kee was African, Julianne was American and a great deal of the people in the internment camp were Middle-Eastern Muslims. In the opening sequence you see a brief flash of New York city with a mushroom cloud over it. Clive Owen asks Julianne about her parents and if they were in NYC "when it happened". She says yes and he replies "I'm sorry."[/spoiler:2ff72b8dbd]
So no, it isn't propaganda, the world is going through a lot of shit and only small, isolationist dictatorships have survived, the only example being Great Britain.
I know that in the other parts of the world is tough too, but it seems like the government is trying to make it's people think that this is the last baston of hope, even though there are bombings and lots of touble in britain too. I doubt that it is complete shit in the U.S, Canada, and Russia or other big countries with the governments done and everything is almost destroyed.
It's not propaganda, the US are in deep shit: the last standing town over there is Jericho.
[spoiler:0565cd8364]I really liked the way the director used pet animals as sort of a replacement for children. You noticed almost everyone in the film had a pet cat or dog, so it's pretty obvious the animals aren't having any trouble reproducing. I pleasantly surprised none were killed though; I hate seeing animals (especially dogs) die in film.[/spoiler:0565cd8364]
[spoiler:0565cd8364]I also liked how most of the animals seemed to gravitate toward Clive Owen. Like they knew he was a provider and protector. I also found it funny while he's listening to the Fishes that one of the kittens living there started climbing up his leg and purring. [/spoiler:0565cd8364]
[spoiler:0565cd8364]I've been wondering what the importance of animals liking Theo was. Seems like that aspect was shown a lot but I don't really know if there's any more to it than just "Oh he's a provider, he'll take care of things, he doesn't want to hurt you."[/spoiler:0565cd8364]
Syphilisaurus on
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Big DookieSmells great!DownriverRegistered Userregular
I figured that the whole world hadn't gone all to shit and Britain wasn't the only "safe place" left, and that it was just propaganda and all that bs government feeds it's people.
Then why were all the refugees trying to get in?
They only seemed to be other europeans, sure maybe Britain is the last "safe place" in europe, but I doubt it is like total chaos everywhere with all the governments being overthrown and Britain being the last one. It's most likely just propaganda the government is showing their people to show that what they are doing is right and they are needed.
They weren't Europeans.
[spoiler:8cab761d1b]Maybe you missed it but Kee was African, Julianne was American and a great deal of the people in the internment camp were Middle-Eastern Muslims. In the opening sequence you see a brief flash of New York city with a mushroom cloud over it. Clive Owen asks Julianne about her parents and if they were in NYC "when it happened". She says yes and he replies "I'm sorry."[/spoiler:8cab761d1b]
So no, it isn't propaganda, the world is going through a lot of shit and only small, isolationist dictatorships have survived, the only example being Great Britain.
I know that in the other parts of the world is tough too, but it seems like the government is trying to make it's people think that this is the last baston of hope, even though there are bombings and lots of touble in britain too. I doubt that it is complete shit in the U.S, Canada, and Russia or other big countries with the governments done and everything is almost destroyed.
It's not propaganda, the US are in deep shit: the last standing town over there is Jericho.
I tend to think the title relates to the repurcussions of humans
aquabat on
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Big DookieSmells great!DownriverRegistered Userregular
edited January 2007
Part of the title's significance is to point out that there aren't any children of men. The infertility crisis is kind of what kicked off the whole "world going to crap" thing in the first place. Also, I think it's a bit of a biblical allusion. Jesus refers to himself many times as the "Son of Man", and he is obviously portrayed as the savior of mankind in the new testament. In this movie, the baby could be considered a savior of mankind simply because of the fact that she exists, so there is a little bit of a parallel there.
The exact term "Children of Men" is even used once in Lamentations 3, which discusses God's punishment of mankind as well as his ultimate redemption of them. I'd say the movie is a pretty good representation of this idea. That's just how I saw it, anyway.
I guess I'll be a nay sayer here. I thought the movie was ok but I was expecting much much more. If I walked in expecting a action movie I might not have been disappointed. I was envisioning some sort of complex plot in the movie. I do understand where people are coming from with the idea that the minimalist take on the movie is spectacular. Though I think it was good with its minimalism, I think it lost any sort of plot because of it. I was expecting more than [spoiler:9b3d076153]We must get to the boat z0mg!!!one!
I thought they could have expanded on the killing of Julian and why the group she was with thought it would have been horrible to show the government they had a child. I know they /sort of/ tried to explain it but I thought it was a half assed explanation. And no, I do not think the journey getting to the boat was a real plot, it was just an intricate action movie. I really did like the subtleties and symbolism which greatly added to the movie but it didn't make it good IMO. Throwing symbolism everywhere is not a replacement for having an actual character driven plot. Before everyone cries "omg it had a plot!", I will say it had a plot but it was more event driven or objective driven than it was character driven[/spoiler:9b3d076153]
CommunistCow on
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
[spoiler:8cb53fcee6]We must get to the boat z0mg!!!one!
I thought they could have expanded on the killing of Julian and why the group she was with thought it would have been horrible to show the government they had a child. I know they /sort of/ tried to explain it but I thought it was a half assed explanation. And no, I do not think the journey getting to the boat was a real plot, it was just an intricate action movie. I really did like the subtleties and symbolism which greatly added to the movie but it didn't make it good IMO. Throwing symbolism everywhere is not a replacement for having an actual character driven plot. Before everyone cries "omg it had a plot!", I will say it had a plot but it was more event driven or objective driven than it was character driven[/spoiler:8cb53fcee6]
Yeah, and what the hell is up with Lord of the Rings? Some midgets taking a ring to a volcano? Snooze-fest!
I guess I'll be a nay sayer here. I thought the movie was ok but I was expecting much much more. If I walked in expecting a action movie I might not have been disappointed. I was envisioning some sort of complex plot in the movie. I do understand where people are coming from with the idea that the minimalist take on the movie is spectacular. Though I think it was good with its minimalism, I think it lost any sort of plot because of it. I was expecting more than [spoiler:596dea0b6b]We must get to the boat z0mg!!!one!
I thought they could have expanded on the killing of Julian and why the group she was with thought it would have been horrible to show the government they had a child. I know they /sort of/ tried to explain it but I thought it was a half assed explanation. And no, I do not think the journey getting to the boat was a real plot, it was just an intricate action movie. I really did like the subtleties and symbolism which greatly added to the movie but it didn't make it good IMO. Throwing symbolism everywhere is not a replacement for having an actual character driven plot. Before everyone cries "omg it had a plot!", I will say it had a plot but it was more event driven or objective driven than it was character driven[/spoiler:596dea0b6b]
I guess I'll be a nay sayer here. I thought the movie was ok but I was expecting much much more. If I walked in expecting a action movie I might not have been disappointed. I was envisioning some sort of complex plot in the movie. I do understand where people are coming from with the idea that the minimalist take on the movie is spectacular. Though I think it was good with its minimalism, I think it lost any sort of plot because of it. I was expecting more than [spoiler:fa0b99cbc9]We must get to the boat z0mg!!!one!
I thought they could have expanded on the killing of Julian and why the group she was with thought it would have been horrible to show the government they had a child. I know they /sort of/ tried to explain it but I thought it was a half assed explanation. And no, I do not think the journey getting to the boat was a real plot, it was just an intricate action movie. I really did like the subtleties and symbolism which greatly added to the movie but it didn't make it good IMO. Throwing symbolism everywhere is not a replacement for having an actual character driven plot. Before everyone cries "omg it had a plot!", I will say it had a plot but it was more event driven or objective driven than it was character driven[/spoiler:fa0b99cbc9]
People keep talking about "symbolism" and shit but that's really not the driving force of the movie. The power of the movie comes from the depiction of a very, very scary world that is all the more disturbing because it is so believable, and one that is more convincing because it works in the background rather than being shoved under the magnifying glass with too much exposition and explanation. The plot of the movie is a single important event, a single lens through which we can see the world and the events therein, and one that demonstrates various core human values even in such a scary world, etc etc, blah blah.
The symbols are unnecessary and really not that important to the movie, IMO.
Aphex' Bucephalus Bouncing Ball as old hippie zen music. That's all the movie needed to win me over.
[spoiler:7221f723cc]I thought the scene where the fighting stops was like a punch in the gut, it was such a tangible reversal. However plausible or not, I found it disorienting (in a good way) to move so quickly from the madness of bullets flying everywhere to the same exact people staring silently in awe. Something about that rung quite true with me. Ever gotten news that a good friend or sibling died? It felt almost like that.[/spoiler:7221f723cc]
Yeah, and what the hell is up with Lord of the Rings? Some midgets taking a ring to a volcano? Snooze-fest!
Nice straw man. I did like the Clerks II depiction of LoTR, but honestly it did have a decent amount of character development and themes decentralized from the main "get the ring to the volcano" plot.
CommunistCow on
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
[spoiler:7fa25984a2]Ok, so the long extended takes were awesome. I loved them and they were worth the price of admission alone.
Acting was great. Totally didn't expect Julian to die, and that was a great scene. The slowest escape scene ever was cool; it's comforting to know people still drive manuals in 2027.
I loved the last 30 minutes.
However, there was a bit too much shaky-cam where there shouldn't have been. Ok, it's not an action scene, your doing a slow track in, get the dolly out please, or at least get a steadicam rig. It looked like the camera was on the guys shoulder for some of the shots.
I liked it a lot, but I found the world infertile a bit too implausible and the combination of the shakey cam was a bit annoying.
But the action scenes were totally worth it.
Also, the Ruby Tuesday cover sucked. Give us back the Stones![/spoiler:7fa25984a2]
[spoiler:9749ba4746]Ok, so the long extended takes were awesome. I loved them and they were worth the price of admission alone.
Acting was great. Totally didn't expect Julian to die, and that was a great scene. The slowest escape scene ever was cool; it's comforting to know people still drive manuals in 2027.
I loved the last 30 minutes.
However, there was a bit too much shaky-cam where there shouldn't have been. Ok, it's not an action scene, your doing a slow track in, get the dolly out please, or at least get a steadicam rig. It looked like the camera was on the guys shoulder for some of the shots.
I liked it a lot, but I found the world infertile a bit too implausible and the combination of the shakey cam was a bit annoying.
But the action scenes were totally worth it.
Also, the Ruby Tuesday cover sucked. Give us back the Stones![/spoiler:9749ba4746]
God your dumb. First you criticize the cinematography and camerawork of the film, you cant do that. Then the idiotic "The world infertile was a bit too implausible." WHY? WHAT? WHEN? WHERE? Im sick to fucking death of people like you, flu pandemic, sci-fi, future, movie - GAH DIE.
God your dumb. First you criticize the cinematography and camerawork of the film, you cant do that. Then the idiotic "The world infertile was a bit too implausible." WHY? WHAT? WHEN? WHERE? Im sick to fucking death of people like you, flu pandemic, sci-fi, future, movie - GAH DIE.
Well aren't you just full of rainbows and sunshine?
I hope you are being extremely sarcastic. Oh and I hope you didn't criticize the camera work in Bourne Supremacy. Just because the cinematography was the vision of some great director or cinematographer doesn't mean it is unassailable.
CommunistCow on
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
[spoiler:15c9a109b4] I thought they could have expanded on the killing of Julian and why the group she was with thought it would have been horrible to show the government they had a child. I know they /sort of/ tried to explain it but I thought it was a half assed explanation.[/spoiler:15c9a109b4]
[spoiler:15c9a109b4] I took the ambiguous motives of the Fishes as a sign that the people in the organization had been fighting for so long that they had lost sight of what they were fighting for. For me this added both a sense of disgust and a sort of sympathetic human falliabiltiy to the group.[/spoiler:15c9a109b4] But maybe I'm reading way much into a small thing in order to make up for the short comings of a movie I really liked. I dunno.
hugh on
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Big DookieSmells great!DownriverRegistered Userregular
edited January 2007
Some of the people in this thread are really defensive of this movie, and I really don't know why. I mean, sure it was a good movie, but it wasn't that good.
Some of the people in this thread are really defensive of this movie, and I really don't know why. I mean, sure it was a good movie, but it wasn't that good.
I'm not going to argue that this movie is Best Picture or anything but the reason I think a lot of us are defending it are because we caught the subtle explainations the movie gave while other people are getting really critical in the details.
The movie's a pretty great dystopian flick. No doubt in my mind there. Those of us that enjoyed it probably feel obligated to explain why while those who didn't are compelled to do the opposite. If someone expains their dislike and there's a way we can answer some questions they might have had or explainations they may have missed we'll probably do it for the sake of hoping they'll learn to enjoy the movie too.
[spoiler:8f3a056417]Ok, so the long extended takes were awesome. I loved them and they were worth the price of admission alone.
Acting was great. Totally didn't expect Julian to die, and that was a great scene. The slowest escape scene ever was cool; it's comforting to know people still drive manuals in 2027.
I loved the last 30 minutes.
However, there was a bit too much shaky-cam where there shouldn't have been. Ok, it's not an action scene, your doing a slow track in, get the dolly out please, or at least get a steadicam rig. It looked like the camera was on the guys shoulder for some of the shots.
I liked it a lot, but I found the world infertile a bit too implausible and the combination of the shakey cam was a bit annoying.
But the action scenes were totally worth it.
Also, the Ruby Tuesday cover sucked. Give us back the Stones![/spoiler:8f3a056417]
God your dumb. First you criticize the cinematography and camerawork of the film, you cant do that. Then the idiotic "The world infertile was a bit too implausible." WHY? WHAT? WHEN? WHERE? Im sick to fucking death of people like you, flu pandemic, sci-fi, future, movie - GAH DIE.
I saw this last night. Didn't pick up on nearly as much as you guys did, but I have to agree it's incredible.
[spoiler:c71601938f]As some already said, begining reminded me alot of Half Life 2, with the fences, cages, the train station, and even that "base" or whatever when they're up on the roof with the newspaper covered room reminded me of the Citadel. [/spoiler:c71601938f]
I loved the overall feel of the movie, and it seemed very realistic in terms of the language and emotion.
[spoiler:c71601938f]Especially the "everyone stop fighting theres a baby" scene. I particularly loved how as the soldiers came up the stairs they were completely ready to shoot until they heard the baby crying, as opposed to coming up already seemingly knowing. It also didn't feel quite instant that they stopped shooting for me. It felt as though people up top stopped shooting, and as more and more people saw the baby it slowly drew to a close.[/spoiler:c71601938f]
I expected the movie to be more of a science type film (you know the kind I mean, where its mostly explanations and talk) and found the concept of an infertile planet quite interesting, hence why I went to see it. I truly had heard nothing about this film beforehand, and expected a borefest, but what I found instead was possibly the best action movie I've ever seen. (I usually don't enjoy action movies, so I think the few slower scenes really helped me enjoy this one) I absolutely loved how video-gamy it felt.
Wezoin on
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Raneadospolice apologistyou shouldn't have been there, obviouslyRegistered Userregular
Amazing movie. I actually teared up a few times during the movie. Granted, I was in a pretty emotional state due to family affairs when I walked into the theater, but I was struck by how much thought and effort went into making the movie resonant. The actions scenes were excellent. They were unexpected, which made them so much more real.
And to the naysayers: If this movie was... "okay," then honestly, what movies these days are great? I'm not defending the movie in a vicious manner, I'm just suprised at the sensitivity to 'blatant' symbolism and the like.
This is a three (maybe and a half, if you're feeling very generous) star movie at best. Yes, Clive Owen is brilliant. Yes, there is a lack of original science fiction in cinema. Yes, it's a very interesting plot idea. Yes, the cinematography is stunning.
A lot of the other acting is pretty average. The dialog isn't anything special. The symbolism isn't so much blatant as it is just plain silly. The ending is pretty bland, predictable, and uninteresting.
It's not bad by any stretch of the imagination - but it is just good, and decidedly not great.
Amazing movie. I actually teared up a few times during the movie. Granted, I was in a pretty emotional state due to family affairs when I walked into the theater, but I was struck by how much thought and effort went into making the movie resonant. The actions scenes were excellent. They were unexpected, which made them so much more real.
And to the naysayers: If this movie was... "okay," then honestly, what movies these days are great? I'm not defending the movie in a vicious manner, I'm just suprised at the sensitivity to 'blatant' symbolism and the like.
I dunno, Blood Diamond got me more on an emotional level than this one did.
If we want to talk about "fantastical" movies, I'd say The Green Mile is way better than this was.
I'd say the main attraction to CoM was the awesome set design and the killer action scenes. Taking the movie as a whole though, it was above average; not great.
[spoiler:fa25e0a360]I liked it a lot, but I found the world infertile a bit too implausible[/spoiler:fa25e0a360]
...What? It's a Sci-Fi movie. I suppose you found The Matrix implausable, too?
:shrug: Sure, but The Matrix is very obviously science fiction. CoM was very realistic, it didn't feel very sci-fi, so the suspension of disbelief was harder to come by for me.
I'm sorry, I can't imagine how in the world earth could become sterile and scientists unable to find out why or figure out a cure. In a movie that is presented in such a realistic fashion, this really took away from it for me.
I loved The Prestige and I thought it was brilliant, but part of me was still bothered by you know what.
[spoiler:e216fd4efc]I liked it a lot, but I found the world infertile a bit too implausible[/spoiler:e216fd4efc]
...What? It's a Sci-Fi movie. I suppose you found The Matrix implausable, too?
:shrug: Sure, but The Matrix is very obviously science fiction. CoM was very realistic, it didn't feel very sci-fi, so the suspension of disbelief was harder to come by for me.
I'm sorry, I can't imagine how in the world earth could become sterile and scientists unable to find out why or figure out a cure. In a movie that is presented in such a realistic fashion, this really took away from it for me.
I loved The Prestige and I thought it was brilliant, but part of me was still bothered by you know what.
It's just my personality I guess.
You're probably not going to enjoy Sci-Fi movies if you can't learn to suspend your disbelief better.
And the movie never addressed how the infertility happened, it just showed the effects of it on society.
It came from a thread in SE++ (maybe G&T, but I think SE) where you tried out some game and were like "I officially suck donkey balls at this" I just editted a little for a bit nicer of a misquote.
Saw it with a buddy of mine. It has received so little press/advertising here in my town I'm surprised the theatre even had it.
And boy, I'm glad it did.
Absolutely loved it. Only thing I had a problem with was the shakey camera. Made my eyes hurt after awhile. Reminded me of the Blair Witch Project, just not so bad.
Plausible or not, the cries of the baby and the reactions were incredible. Especially one nameless soldier who sees/hears the child and realizes the scope/impact of what he's seeing, and begins calling for a cease fire. Then, the reactions (some incredulous, some religious) of the soldiers as they walk through unmolested. While I wouldn't have minded the 'apc escort' or at least some men staying at a distance to protect them, my suspension of disbelief was in no way shattered by the raw shock I could imagine them feeling, and then the rpg goes off and the battle becomes the foremost thing on their minds once more, if nothing else than to prevent any possible harm coming from it towards the child.
I mean, did you see the amount of shit that hit the building mere seconds after the battle started back up? Perhaps it's just a little fuzzy to me, but it seemed like they just unloaded everything they had into it at that moment.[/spoiler:22407c818e]
Forar on
First they came for the Muslims, and we said NOT TODAY, MOTHERFUCKER!
Amazing movie. I actually teared up a few times during the movie. Granted, I was in a pretty emotional state due to family affairs when I walked into the theater, but I was struck by how much thought and effort went into making the movie resonant. The actions scenes were excellent. They were unexpected, which made them so much more real.
And to the naysayers: If this movie was... "okay," then honestly, what movies these days are great? I'm not defending the movie in a vicious manner, I'm just suprised at the sensitivity to 'blatant' symbolism and the like.
I dunno, Blood Diamond got me more on an emotional level than this one did.
If we want to talk about "fantastical" movies, I'd say The Green Mile is way better than this was.
I'd say the main attraction to CoM was the awesome set design and the killer action scenes. Taking the movie as a whole though, it was above average; not great.
It was very odd. I never get emotional during movies. Except when I watched "My Dog Skip" as a youngish child. I have a soft spot for doggies, especially jack russel terriors.
I can't really debate the merits of movies that well since I never view them with a critical eye. I just 'experience' them, if you will. If it's a shitty movie then I'll leave angered and frustrated like everyone else, but a movie like CoM just can't be spoiled for me without glaring and horrible mistakes. I can't see what would make this movie only an 'above average' rating, so I'm puzzled by such ratings. But that's what this thread is for, eh?
I think perhaps people that are puzzled by some of the things in the movie or regard them as implausible don't get that they are references to fairly recent events in the UK. Things like the burnt cattle seem mostly to be references to the foot and mouth crises that have happened a few times, where we were pounded with constant images of piles of livestock carcasses being burned. Also, the detainment of illegal immigrants has been a major, major issue; a lot of the stupider newspapers suggesting that camps like the ones seen in the movie should be formed. Britain has repeatedly come closer to fascism than most people in the US and elsewhere seem to think.
I loved the movie, and yeah, I felt the ending maybe wasn't as strong as it could have been, but man, it was better than 'above average'. Making my girlfriend cry? Not too difficult. Making me cry? Yeah. I'm usually an insensitive bastard. This film is good.
I'm sorry, I can't imagine how in the world earth could become sterile and scientists unable to find out why or figure out a cure.In a movie that is presented in such a realistic fashion, this really took away from it for me.
Um, what? I can. Aids? Scientists aren't magicians, it is entirely feasible, especially in the world of sci-fi, even realistic sci-fi, to imagine that a disease, or virus, or ailment, arises in the future which stumps scientists. Our technology and understanding simply might not be advanced enough to decipher it. It confuses and infuriates me that you'd be presented with this premise and go "I FIND THAT DIFFICULT TO BELIEVE SIR - GOOD DAY." And aside from that its just so not the point, the point of the film is the impact on society, highlighting our nature through this event, how we'd react.
But I think the whole Green Mile and Blood Diamond comment has sealed it for me. This movie was simply to subtle for you, Im calling you dumb, you enjoy Hollywood films with overt emotional overtones.
When you say its 'above average' you seem to indicate that there are so many of these films, and its just another one in the line, a throwaway experience like the Island or I-Robot or something. But the reason its being received so well is because its such a rarity, a detailed, rich and understated movie, perfectly paced and presented, written, acted and directed superbly.
If your confused as to why its getting so much praise, pick one of the 144+ positive reviews at rotten tomatoes and read it, there are 14 or so negative ones that you can look at too, but you get my point, this film has a lot in it for most people, a lot to enjoy and appreciate.
Posts
Actually, it's funny you should mention that...
[spoiler:715fc26c1e]I really liked the way the director used pet animals as sort of a replacement for children. You noticed almost everyone in the film had a pet cat or dog, so it's pretty obvious the animals aren't having any trouble reproducing. I pleasantly surprised none were killed though; I hate seeing animals (especially dogs) die in film.[/spoiler:715fc26c1e]
Even though I missed the first twenty minutes or so, the movie had me engrossed the entire. I got so into it at times tht I found it impossible to take my eyes of the screen, much less whisper something to my friend beside me. When it was all over I was just left witha feeling of "Wow...that was a good movie. Everything was so well put together...and just worked."
[spoiler:eb6b7108e4]I also liked how most of the animals seemed to gravitate toward Clive Owen. Like they knew he was a provider and protector. I also found it funny while he's listening to the Fishes that one of the kittens living there started climbing up his leg and purring. [/spoiler:eb6b7108e4]
It's not propaganda, the US are in deep shit: the last standing town over there is Jericho.
Oculus: TheBigDookie | XBL: Dook | NNID: BigDookie
By the way, the whole movie was fantastic.
The exact term "Children of Men" is even used once in Lamentations 3, which discusses God's punishment of mankind as well as his ultimate redemption of them. I'd say the movie is a pretty good representation of this idea. That's just how I saw it, anyway.
Oculus: TheBigDookie | XBL: Dook | NNID: BigDookie
I thought they could have expanded on the killing of Julian and why the group she was with thought it would have been horrible to show the government they had a child. I know they /sort of/ tried to explain it but I thought it was a half assed explanation. And no, I do not think the journey getting to the boat was a real plot, it was just an intricate action movie. I really did like the subtleties and symbolism which greatly added to the movie but it didn't make it good IMO. Throwing symbolism everywhere is not a replacement for having an actual character driven plot. Before everyone cries "omg it had a plot!", I will say it had a plot but it was more event driven or objective driven than it was character driven[/spoiler:9b3d076153]
Yeah, and what the hell is up with Lord of the Rings? Some midgets taking a ring to a volcano? Snooze-fest!
People keep talking about "symbolism" and shit but that's really not the driving force of the movie. The power of the movie comes from the depiction of a very, very scary world that is all the more disturbing because it is so believable, and one that is more convincing because it works in the background rather than being shoved under the magnifying glass with too much exposition and explanation. The plot of the movie is a single important event, a single lens through which we can see the world and the events therein, and one that demonstrates various core human values even in such a scary world, etc etc, blah blah.
The symbols are unnecessary and really not that important to the movie, IMO.
[spoiler:7221f723cc]I thought the scene where the fighting stops was like a punch in the gut, it was such a tangible reversal. However plausible or not, I found it disorienting (in a good way) to move so quickly from the madness of bullets flying everywhere to the same exact people staring silently in awe. Something about that rung quite true with me. Ever gotten news that a good friend or sibling died? It felt almost like that.[/spoiler:7221f723cc]
Nice straw man. I did like the Clerks II depiction of LoTR, but honestly it did have a decent amount of character development and themes decentralized from the main "get the ring to the volcano" plot.
Acting was great. Totally didn't expect Julian to die, and that was a great scene. The slowest escape scene ever was cool; it's comforting to know people still drive manuals in 2027.
I loved the last 30 minutes.
However, there was a bit too much shaky-cam where there shouldn't have been. Ok, it's not an action scene, your doing a slow track in, get the dolly out please, or at least get a steadicam rig. It looked like the camera was on the guys shoulder for some of the shots.
I liked it a lot, but I found the world infertile a bit too implausible and the combination of the shakey cam was a bit annoying.
But the action scenes were totally worth it.
Also, the Ruby Tuesday cover sucked. Give us back the Stones![/spoiler:7fa25984a2]
Well aren't you just full of rainbows and sunshine?
I hope you are being extremely sarcastic. Oh and I hope you didn't criticize the camera work in Bourne Supremacy. Just because the cinematography was the vision of some great director or cinematographer doesn't mean it is unassailable.
[spoiler:15c9a109b4] I took the ambiguous motives of the Fishes as a sign that the people in the organization had been fighting for so long that they had lost sight of what they were fighting for. For me this added both a sense of disgust and a sort of sympathetic human falliabiltiy to the group.[/spoiler:15c9a109b4] But maybe I'm reading way much into a small thing in order to make up for the short comings of a movie I really liked. I dunno.
Oculus: TheBigDookie | XBL: Dook | NNID: BigDookie
The movie's a pretty great dystopian flick. No doubt in my mind there. Those of us that enjoyed it probably feel obligated to explain why while those who didn't are compelled to do the opposite. If someone expains their dislike and there's a way we can answer some questions they might have had or explainations they may have missed we'll probably do it for the sake of hoping they'll learn to enjoy the movie too.
[spoiler:c71601938f]As some already said, begining reminded me alot of Half Life 2, with the fences, cages, the train station, and even that "base" or whatever when they're up on the roof with the newspaper covered room reminded me of the Citadel. [/spoiler:c71601938f]
I loved the overall feel of the movie, and it seemed very realistic in terms of the language and emotion.
[spoiler:c71601938f]Especially the "everyone stop fighting theres a baby" scene. I particularly loved how as the soldiers came up the stairs they were completely ready to shoot until they heard the baby crying, as opposed to coming up already seemingly knowing. It also didn't feel quite instant that they stopped shooting for me. It felt as though people up top stopped shooting, and as more and more people saw the baby it slowly drew to a close.[/spoiler:c71601938f]
I expected the movie to be more of a science type film (you know the kind I mean, where its mostly explanations and talk) and found the concept of an infertile planet quite interesting, hence why I went to see it. I truly had heard nothing about this film beforehand, and expected a borefest, but what I found instead was possibly the best action movie I've ever seen. (I usually don't enjoy action movies, so I think the few slower scenes really helped me enjoy this one) I absolutely loved how video-gamy it felt.
I was not aware of this
And to the naysayers: If this movie was... "okay," then honestly, what movies these days are great? I'm not defending the movie in a vicious manner, I'm just suprised at the sensitivity to 'blatant' symbolism and the like.
A lot of the other acting is pretty average. The dialog isn't anything special. The symbolism isn't so much blatant as it is just plain silly. The ending is pretty bland, predictable, and uninteresting.
It's not bad by any stretch of the imagination - but it is just good, and decidedly not great.
If we want to talk about "fantastical" movies, I'd say The Green Mile is way better than this was.
I'd say the main attraction to CoM was the awesome set design and the killer action scenes. Taking the movie as a whole though, it was above average; not great.
I'm sorry, I can't imagine how in the world earth could become sterile and scientists unable to find out why or figure out a cure. In a movie that is presented in such a realistic fashion, this really took away from it for me.
I loved The Prestige and I thought it was brilliant, but part of me was still bothered by you know what.
It's just my personality I guess.
And the movie never addressed how the infertility happened, it just showed the effects of it on society.
It came from a thread in SE++ (maybe G&T, but I think SE) where you tried out some game and were like "I officially suck donkey balls at this" I just editted a little for a bit nicer of a misquote.
And boy, I'm glad it did.
Absolutely loved it. Only thing I had a problem with was the shakey camera. Made my eyes hurt after awhile. Reminded me of the Blair Witch Project, just not so bad.
Go see it.
[spoiler:22407c818e]It was beautiful.
Plausible or not, the cries of the baby and the reactions were incredible. Especially one nameless soldier who sees/hears the child and realizes the scope/impact of what he's seeing, and begins calling for a cease fire. Then, the reactions (some incredulous, some religious) of the soldiers as they walk through unmolested. While I wouldn't have minded the 'apc escort' or at least some men staying at a distance to protect them, my suspension of disbelief was in no way shattered by the raw shock I could imagine them feeling, and then the rpg goes off and the battle becomes the foremost thing on their minds once more, if nothing else than to prevent any possible harm coming from it towards the child.
I mean, did you see the amount of shit that hit the building mere seconds after the battle started back up? Perhaps it's just a little fuzzy to me, but it seemed like they just unloaded everything they had into it at that moment.[/spoiler:22407c818e]
Like, silence.... silence then RPG!
Then everyone just blows the shit out of the building.
It was very odd. I never get emotional during movies. Except when I watched "My Dog Skip" as a youngish child. I have a soft spot for doggies, especially jack russel terriors.
I can't really debate the merits of movies that well since I never view them with a critical eye. I just 'experience' them, if you will. If it's a shitty movie then I'll leave angered and frustrated like everyone else, but a movie like CoM just can't be spoiled for me without glaring and horrible mistakes. I can't see what would make this movie only an 'above average' rating, so I'm puzzled by such ratings. But that's what this thread is for, eh?
I loved the movie, and yeah, I felt the ending maybe wasn't as strong as it could have been, but man, it was better than 'above average'. Making my girlfriend cry? Not too difficult. Making me cry? Yeah. I'm usually an insensitive bastard. This film is good.
But I think the whole Green Mile and Blood Diamond comment has sealed it for me. This movie was simply to subtle for you, Im calling you dumb, you enjoy Hollywood films with overt emotional overtones.
When you say its 'above average' you seem to indicate that there are so many of these films, and its just another one in the line, a throwaway experience like the Island or I-Robot or something. But the reason its being received so well is because its such a rarity, a detailed, rich and understated movie, perfectly paced and presented, written, acted and directed superbly.
If your confused as to why its getting so much praise, pick one of the 144+ positive reviews at rotten tomatoes and read it, there are 14 or so negative ones that you can look at too, but you get my point, this film has a lot in it for most people, a lot to enjoy and appreciate.