Checked out an advanced screening tonight. Was expecting a sci-fi yarn along the lines of a 28 Days Later or 12 Monkeys, but by the first 15 minutes, my jaw was already hitting the floor. This flick grabs you by the doublesack (or cameltoe) and takes you for a long-line theme park ride.

This is the complete package. Solid acting, directing, cinematography and writing. An almost flawless piece of work. Actually, make that flawless, I can't think of anything I didn't like about it, except the whole believability factor, but it's science fiction, so who cares. The entertainment factor is supremely high, and suprisingly, so is the intellectual component. There's a lot of to take in, so I'll be seeing it again at some point.

I haven't been this geeked about a sci-fi joint for a long, long time. This is the real deal. I do not lie. Most definitely hit this.

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*Effasig*

there's one scene that might be the most technically impressive five minutes of war film ever shot. it's where clive owen is running around a war zone looking for a woman and her baby (no spoiler-o), in and out of buildings, through crowded chaotic streets, etc, and all manner of craziness is going on, explosions, gunfire, tanks, people yelling and whatnot. but the thing is, that whole 5-minute scene was shot in one continuous take, no cuts. remember how impressed you were by that scene in goodfellas where ray liotta is escorted into the club and he's walking through the building, greeting everybody in the club, from the kitchen staff on down, and the scene goes on for two or three minutes and never cuts away until he's seated? remember how you thought, man, it must have taken a week of shooting for everybody (including cameramen, sound, etc) to hit their marks perfectly in one three-minute take? this scene in children of men completely blows that and every other one-take scene out of the water. imagine the first five minutes of the saving private ryan beach landing done in one continuous shot. it's that amazing.

"i smack clowns with nouns, punch herbs with verbs..."

but there's still a spoiler in your post dude

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the warzone scene wasn't the only impressive long take. there were at least 4 that i can think of, though the war one was likely the most awe inspiring:

a) the war
b) the scene at the beginning when they're in the woods and the car comes crashing down the hill all the way until they get rid of the police (ONE TAKE)
c) the escape from the FISH house (including the sneaking out)
d) the birth of the baby (from the time he enters the room until the kid actually pops out, which blows my mind)

the movie is one of the most impressively directed movies i've ever seen and easily the best movie i saw all year

>b) the scene at the beginning when they're in the woods and
>the car comes crashing down the hill all the way until they
>get rid of the police (ONE TAKE)

But the way the camera spun around after the big event in that scene impressed the hell out of me.

From Slate

"...the cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubezki, helped create a special rig that allowed the camera to swivel 360 degrees around the interior of the car."
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flick should get cinematography award or something

that was intense

>b) the scene at the beginning when they're in the woods and
>the car comes crashing down the hill all the way until they
>get rid of the police (ONE TAKE)

http://twitter.com/AyeDreezy

The scene at the end where they are walking out the building with baby and everyone just stops what they are doing in awe was sweet as well.

***Spoilers***

I haven't seen the film yet, but I've read that the new issue of American Cinematographer has an article on Lubezki's work on the film and that some of the long take sequences were blended. Not sure if that means CGI additions (major or minor) or the long take was built of shots put together like Bonfire of the Vanities.

***End spoilers***


.
.
.
.

at one point, there was BLOOD/RED DYE ON THE CAMERA LENSE!!!!
and then the next moment, after sweeping past a dark area, it
was gone..........

_______________________
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__gigs__
__stuff__

he cheated.

you can tell because as the camera follows Clive Owen on the bus, some blood splatter hits the camera and remains present until he enters the building... but while we never a see a cut, the blood splatter disappears once inside. so there was most definately a cut there.

though the scene in the van when they are being chased was 1 take and just as impressive.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

www.itsallthewaylive.net

www.twitter.com/allthewaylive

I was thinking he cheated too, but couldn't that have been the result of switching to a different lens mid-shot? Rotating camera lenses?

Possibility, no?

In an article, Cuaron said they digitally erased the blood b/c they (he and Lubezki) felt that keeping the blood on the lens would call attention to the long take instead of the plot and story at those moments...that it would distract and lessen the impact.

that would be one fucking fantastic video "photoshop" job to
take the blood out of ALL OF THAT TIME OF FOOTAGE!

_______________________
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_______________________
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__stuff__

Haven't seen the film yet myself. It just opened here yesterday.

_
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http://preptimeposse.blogspot.com/

~~~~~~~~~~~~

www.itsallthewaylive.net

www.twitter.com/allthewaylive

They applied the effect gradually so the average viewer wouldn't notice. Pay close attention to whenever Clive runs through a darker area. The blending speeds up in those spots.

And Cuaron and Lubiezki did cheat on that particular shot. They shot this scene five times and blended it together. They did not cheat on the scene inside the car, though.


"Being the bigger man is overrated." -- Huey (The Boondocks)

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V.

---
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DROkayplayerâ„¢

****************
we are the champions

It was the first time that PD James wrote in this genre. She's a mystery writer who is ancient. Seriously, she's like 85 or something, and this one was written maybe ten years ago. So she was pretty old when she wrote it.

I like it a lot. In fact, I don't think of myself as much of a mystery reader, so I hadn't read any of her books, but when this one came out it was reviewed so well that I picked it up. Since then I've read a fair number of her mysteries, but Children of Men remains my favorite.

the movie does it justice.

Perhaps you can tell us next week.

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*Effasig*

gave me a gift certificate for *one* admission to an AMC theatre.

I mean, my first thought was that I should give it back because they obviously need it more than I do.

My second thought was that those assholes think I can't get a date.

My third thought was that I hate the AMC theatre closest to me. With a passion.

My fourth thought was that maybe I'll see a mainstream film for once, lol.

I was checking for it and then it just kinda fell off the radar.

********************************

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"You probably wouldn't worry about what people think of you if you could know how seldom they do!" - Olin Miller

that is all.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It's about the blanket.

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just a thought

just a thought
______________________________________________________________________
1. When the Levees Broke 2. The Departed 3. Dreamgirls 4. Little Miss Sunshine 5. The Prestige
6. Miami Vice 7. Marie Antoinette 8. Inside Man 9. Brick 10. Tristram Shandy

Didn't I diss you 6 months ago, or something?

You really should be over it by now

Cute try, though
______________________________________________________________________
1. When the Levees Broke 2. The Departed 3. Dreamgirls 4. Little Miss Sunshine 5. The Prestige
6. Miami Vice 7. Marie Antoinette 8. Inside Man 9. Brick 10. Tristram Shandy

Was on the fence when the trailer came out a long time ago buttaaah after reading reviews like these & the ones on rotten tomatoes + Clive Owens involvement, I'm sold

Saw it last night and whoa. Intense is the right word. I was rendered speechless.

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I was more impressed w/ the weed smokin scene between Clive & Caine than I was w/ all the technical wizardry.

Had no idea Danny Huston was in this & I wish he had more screen time.

Clive continues to impress tho so the movie was worth it for his involvement alone. His delivery of certain lines in this movie are just dead on perfect.

It's easy to forget that this is a futuristic sci-fi film w/ the production desgin & set pieces as even the futuristic cars looked rather modern or even outdated in some instances. But I liked the way that the look of the film conveyed that even this desirable Brittish society had regressed. I think the more I think about it, the more I might like it after the fact.

Was that a Roots Manuva song Jasper was bumpin when the car 1st pulls up to his stead? And has Micheal Caine already received some lifetime acheivement award? Because if not, he's looooooong overdue for one. Dude's been absolutely flawless in the last 3 flicks I've seen him in. The previous 2 being The Prestige & Batman Begins.

Peter Mullan kills it as Syd. If William Hurt can get an Oscar nomination for his limited screen time in History of Violence then...nah nevermind. He cracked me up in his initial scene tho.

yeah, that was roots manuva. i guess in 2027, they listen to ninja tune and radiohead...

and syd KILLED it. dude was fuckin hilarious

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R.I.P. 3rd i

then it just kinda fell of the radar. Stopped seeing things about it, still haven't seen a trailer on tv... I'm happy it'll be out soon.

--

"You can't beat white people. You can only knock them out."

GREAT MOVIE! yes the war scene had me like ....WOW!

I was saying to myself like yo this is better than most war movies.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=17897

my cousin downloaded it a while back...haven't checked it out yet.

-----------------------------

HEY KIDS, (BUY MY) COMICS!! https://www.mythworldemedia.com/store

not tying to act like a movie expect but it will be so much better seeing it on a 70 ft screen than a computer screen.

Theo is wearing a "London 2012" fleece zip up later in the movie? That a reference to the '12 Olympics?

among many nice touches...

what I really love is that they didn't try to make it look all future-geeked. obviously many of the same buildings and things will still be around.

kind of funny to see an old dude (Caine) into Roots Manuva.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

*Effasig*

That old dude will be us in 2027....

In the future, "oldies" will be The Roots and stuff.

guess ah gotta read the book to understand some parts but...

why did Chiwel (sp?) want the baby?
what happens to the girl once she gets to this Human Project?

review: good movie! def made up for the yawn of good shepherd saw couple'a days earlier

>guess ah gotta read the book to understand some parts but...
>
>why did Chiwel (sp?) want the baby?

i thought it was to rally the uprising around the baby. to have more ppl join fish even.

>what happens to the girl once she gets to this Human Project?

thats the big question.

..|.,

If you still don't know what Jade Typhoon is, click here:
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Please answer why they wanted the baby?

Was Julianne Moore's death an accident or a conspiracy?

Was the Midwife in it too? How did they find the safehouse?

>Please answer why they wanted the baby?

they wanted the baby so they can prove that immigrants arent worthless. and they could recruit more ppl (british and immigrants) for fish/the uprising.

>Was Julianne Moore's death an accident or a conspiracy?

julian wanted to give the baby to the Human Project (whatever that is) and the other Fish members wanted to keep the baby as a point of rally. so yes they killed julian and made it look like a robbery gone bad.

>Was the Midwife in it too? How did they find the safehouse?

i thought she was part of it as well. she kinda didnt matter at the end.

..|.,

If you still don't know what Jade Typhoon is, click here:
http://jadetyphoon.blogspot.com/ (WS)

>julian wanted to give the baby to the Human Project (whatever
>that is) and the other Fish members wanted to keep the baby as
>a point of rally. so yes they killed julian and made it look
>like a robbery gone bad.

they shot Julian through the winshield and could've easily hit Kee, then when they were escaping the FISH house they were like "Don't shoot at the car, Kee's in there!"

___________________

Mar-A-Lago delenda est

n/m

I'll assume they made sure Kee was sitting on the far right of the car, the midwife inbetween and Theo directly behind Julian to absorb the bullet should it pass through

however, when they go to shoot Theo they could have easily killed Kee as well.

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well, to me because it was so subtle and powerful at the same time.

when they go to the abandoned school and the girl is sitting in the swing while theo and that other lady were inside looking out at her. there's a hole in one of the windows so you can see the girl outside on the swing. it's shot in a way that the girl actually looks like a child in the womb.

i thought that was dope.

but this movie had some of the most technically sound scenes this year.

great movie.

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http://computerstupid.blogspot.com/ (updated 12/17/06)

>when they go to the abandoned school and the girl is sitting
>in the swing while theo and that other lady were inside
>looking out at her. there's a hole in one of the windows so
>you can see the girl outside on the swing. it's shot in a way
>that the girl actually looks like a child in the womb.

I didn't notice that but I'll check for it next time I see it as I have to see it again.

--------------------------------------------------------------
My Ish....
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Totally blew me away. Clive Owen is the illest.

Anyone know where I can get the info about a national/world wide release or something?

--

"You can't beat white people. You can only knock them out."

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I was just blown away far more than I ever anticipated.

this movie is being hard slept on.

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*Effasig*

It's been on limited release thus far and isn't it opening in more cities (wide) starting tomorrow?

It's doing well on many year-end lists and the festival circuit was buzzing earlier.

At least it's not opening in the two Regals (ugh) near me.
And isn't Regal the largest chain in the US?

It just so happens I'll be in Boston this weekend though and I'll be doing all I can to see it.

And actually, if I remember correctly, it will only be in one Boston theater. So it must be one of those slowly expanding wide releases.

And don't forget The Prestige in a close third.

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1)First, why such a limited release? While I don't think this has "BLOCKBUSTER" written all over it, it sure seems like this may have cost a decent amount of money to be showing in so few venues.

2) Second, did anyone else feel a correlation of sorts between Theo and Noah (from the Bible)? To begin, fifteen minutes into the film we see the Pink Floyd pig hovering outside of Theo's cousin's window. Obviously this stresses "ANIMALS." More than once, dogs would remain by Theo's side, as cited by the man at the farm who commented on the dog being comfortable around Theo. Furthermore, when Theo realized that Key was pregnant, she was standing in a pen of young cows, implying that unlike humans, animals are still fertile. To top it off, as the world collapses around him, Theo is pursuing a boat. Just a thought maybe, but I thought it was pretty explicit.