Movies - Children of Men

[Scrivener]

This film finally hit wide release this week, and if you haven't seen this yet - you need to. Some of the scenes in this movie are quite simply impossible. Technically, impossible - as in, there is no physical way they could have shot those sequences. I say that because much of the film is composed of long, unbroken, continuous shots. These shots can put you a tiny, cramped, intimate automobile... or follow our characters through crowded war-torn streets... for as much as fifteen minutes at a time!!! If someone blew a line... if someone missed their queue... you would have NEVER been able to attempt the shot again. Period. I can't wait to watch the special features on the DVD over and over and over again to see how they accomplished what they did. This movie should exist.

So technical wizardry aside (and GOD is it wizardry), what these shots accomplish is giving the film a very real, documentarian, you-are-there feel that you have never experienced before. I don't care if you've seen every war movie ever made - you've never seen this. Vibe-wise, it's very similar to the darker science fiction movies... Dark City, Blade Runner, Soylent Green, 1984. There is no doubt in my mind that Children of Men is going sweep the Oscars like crazy - so do yourself a favor and beat the hype to the theatre.

10/10

[Supreme Cmdr]

I saw this yesterday and have very mixed feelings about it. It seemed long and drawn out.

As to the technical wizardry, yep, its got that in spades. Now I see why they couldn't reshoot that part in the movie where there was blood on the camera lens. Remember that part during the combat sequence at the apt. building? I was wondering about that, but it all makes sense now.

9/10