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 The Children Of Men Oscar Clean-up Club 
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Vagina Qwertyuiop
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Post The Children Of Men Oscar Clean-up Club
I know there's already a thread about Children of Men in this section. But "Will the Children of Men break the Sci-fi curse?" is more of a vague, cynical query than an outright club. It's no secret how much I liked Children Of Men. I think it's a masterpiece - nay, possibly the best film I've ever seen. The sheer artistry knocked my socks clean off, plus Clive Owen is so dreamy.

Here are the awards I can see it getting nominated for. The ones I think/hope it will win are in bold.

Best Director:
Alfonso Cuaron


(Iffy. It probably is still Scorsese's year. But the direction in Men so overpowers Scorsese's in The Departed, there's a chance for an upset)

Best Picture:
Children Of Men


(Cuaron's consolation prize for missing out on director?)

Best Actor:
Clive Owen

Best Supporting Actor:
Michael Caine

Best Supporting Actress:
Claire-Hope Ashitey

Best Cinematography:
Emanuel Lubeszki


(There's no way Lubeszki isn't walking home with this)

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Alfonso Cuaron

Best Editing:
Alfonso Cuaron
Alex Rodriguez


Best Production Design:
Jim Clay
Veronica Falzon
Geoffrey Kirkland


Best Sound Editing:
Whoever edited the sound.


Best Sound:
Whatever the other sound award is.

So who's with me? Children Of Men for BP and BD.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Club Leader:

Snrub

Bonafide Club Members/Underlings:

Moviedude
Shack
Gullimont Kyro
Squee
Madgez
Matatonio
loyalfromlondon
Mr. X
Filmo J. Bondo
Carlinhos Brown
MikeQ
Dr Jam
andaroo.temp
Kypade
Agent X

Honorary Club Members/Underlings

Something Awful.com
David Poland
ThriceDamned
ASD
Getluv ("I do think this is a good movie")
Kris Tapley

Club Enemies

Mood-Swing Jon
My Mum
My Step-dad

Club Village Idiot

TonyMontana


Last edited by Snrub on Tue Jan 09, 2007 7:23 am, edited 24 times in total.



Wed Nov 29, 2006 4:12 pm
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Pure Phase
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Sorry, but no.

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Wed Nov 29, 2006 4:29 pm
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ahhhh, so cute.

No (pending me actually viewing the film, which is set for Sunday).


Wed Nov 29, 2006 4:30 pm
Vagina Qwertyuiop
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It should be noted that membership is extremely exclusive. Once the bandwagon arrives no jumping will be allowed. So join before the buzz heats up, or forever hold your peace!


Wed Nov 29, 2006 4:46 pm
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I belive it'll be winning at least one Oscar, with the possibility for more. I think BD is very very likely and BP is also possible so yes, count me in!


Wed Nov 29, 2006 8:13 pm
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Children of Men forever! :biggrin:

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Wed Nov 29, 2006 8:23 pm
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Vagina Qwertyuiop
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Ah, two members strong. Already we have more supporters than any other KJ movie Oscar club this year!


Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:01 am
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Vagina Qwertyuiop
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Looks like David Poland is out.

David Poland wrote:
Finally, one more film, which has quickly become the most overrated movie of the holiday season, Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men. In this case, this is not the filmmaker's most expensive film. It is hard to find a budget higher than that of a Harry Potter franchise film. But it is certainly the biggest budget for one of Cuaron's personal films. And that is, essentially, what this futuristic action epic is... remarkably personal... and like our minds in real life... lost in the excitement of the moment and unable to ever come together to make the case that it so desperately runs after for an hour and forty minutes.

It is a remarkable occasion that all three of the Mexican Justice League of Directors have films in theaters not only in the same year, but all in the same season. One look at the most successful of the three films, Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth, reminds you of how all three directors have similar, but varied skill sets and that their voices split at the heart. Del Toro is the most emotionally raw, even when doing big stunt and gross effects, the giant heart of a child (and we all hope the Guillermo's heart remains oversized in spirit and not literally) is always on display. Gonzalez Inarritu is clearly the intellectual of the group, able to deliver powerful emotion on screen, but always stepping back not only to treat the characters as pieces of a chess board, but to remind the audience that he, not they, are in control. (I look forward to him growing out of this limitation.)

Cuaron works right in the middle. His work, even in Harry Potter, has an unmistakably sexual scent to it. As disappointing as Great Expectations was on one level, there was something kinky about it... something that gave greater depth and range to both Paltrow and Hawke than we have really ever seen them display before or since (the exception being Paltrow as Sylvia, though it is always an odd estimate of a performance in a biopic.) Y Tu Mama Tambien screamed its sexuality out, but then took us somewhere even more profound, turning lust into a lust for living... surviving. The puberty buttons were popping all over Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. His characters are always human, vulnerable, searching. But there is a certain lack of sentimentality.

Children of Men is as well made as a movie can be made. It's the near future. The world is in isolationist chaos due to disease. And the human race has stopped being able to procreate.

Wow... what a set up (care of novelist P.D. James).

But with the money to do virtually whatever he could think of on screen, what did Cuaron focus on? The production design, some great actors creating harsh but compelling characters, and basically a long chase movie with the human clock of the very pregnant woman who they hope will give birth for the first time in the species in over a decade.

But what is the movie about?

All of us who love movies have seen many variations on the movie Cuaron delivers. Ironically, The Good German is not far off. Grit, action, moments. But the question remains... so what?

Children of Men is not a movie about an intelligent species dealing with the pressing fear of its own extinction.

Children of Men is not a movie about the inhumanity of man to man, though that is a constant theme, as Cuaron evokes every historical memory of state oppression from the jewish holocaust to Abu Gharib.

Children of Men is not a movie about how people who desperately need to share in hope in order to survive are too caught up in their petty daily grind to see that it is about more than that, and in the process destroying the hope they are so desperate for.

Children of Men is not a satisfying action movie, moving the McGuffin from one place to another against all odds, to a satisfying conclusion.

Children of Men is all of those movies... and less. So in the end, it is lacking in basic human emotion... basic human logic... and never really explores the themes it keeps throwing in our faces.

The defining moment of the film is the eight minute long (or however long) handheld shot that follows and leads our hero through all kinds of action that is almost impossible to imagine as one shot... and which is completely unnecessary as anything other than an act of showing off. Unlike the famous shots in GoodFellas and Touch of Evil, the shot doesn't change or set a tone for the film. It happens in the third act and would have been just as effective for audiences had it been done in a bunch of edits. Yes, bravo. Well done. And so what?

I would have loved any of the films that Cuaron was chasing here. I love the performances, especially of Michael Caine and Clive Owen. But many of the other excellent actors here are absolutely wasted (especially Chewi Elijofor) because they don't get to do more than their individual scenes.

Seeing the film again on DVD, it was improved. Some of the "huh?" moments made more sense. And this kind of action film plays really, really well on TV. It is a vastly superior episode of 24. But as a film, it never fights its own most important battle... the battle of emotion and meaning. There are plenty of poignant moments, but they don't ring more bells as the story moves along because the poignant moments become story points instead of emotional landmarks.

And it's too bad.

It's certainly a much superior exercise to another well intended and unopened disaster that some whackos are still touting as Oscar bait involving a rock and a human liquid. But when movies like this open and underperform expectations or hopes, all kinds of excuses are made. But I believe that people who don't dissect a movie like I do (and you might) can feel these holes in the product. They can be dazzled. In a film like Sin City or Kill Bill, they can enjoy the wind on their face, even if the work fills no part of their soul. But Children of God wants to be more than that thrill ride and it really isn't. So you get so-so word of mouth. Subtle disappointment. And a wait for DVD attitude.

The thing is, this was one of those great studio opportunities. Great young filmmaker. Tough idea. A supportive studio. And when these films flop - or are perceived as flopping - that is when the price is paid. But this year, it is not so much Those Great Unwashed who have and will come up short, but the films and filmmakers themselves. And that is sad.

I look forward to the next films of every one of the filmmakers mentioned in today's column... sincerely. And maybe some fiscal restraint will force more focused creativity. I hope so. And I hope that the industry will have a short memory about the year when so many great expectations got away from us.


Though judging by the spelling mistakes, sentences that make little to no sense and the fact he occasionally gets the title wrong (Children of God?), I can only assume that he was drunk when he wrote it. In which case, I forgive you David. Honorary member!


Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:12 am
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Jordan Mugen-Honda
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Based on my own judgement of this being in my top 3 of the year I'll have to join Snrub in his crusade. Children of Men shall clean house on oscar night.


Thu Nov 30, 2006 8:18 am
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Vagina Qwertyuiop
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Excellent. Our numbers are growing.

If KJ members' opinions accurately reflect those of aging academy members like I think they do, a lot of naysayers are going to be surprised come Oscar night.


Thu Nov 30, 2006 10:11 am
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The French Dutch Boy
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Wow, there are a lot of errors in that review Snrub, and I can't believe he called it Children of God! Did he see the right film? lol. It's weird to see this written by a professional critic, since such mistakes should never, ever be present in the review.

I'm gonna ignore Poland and hope the others are right. Hehe. Selective hearing.... or reading I should say. I would love if this film jumped out of nowhere and become a possible threat for awards.

Peace,
Mike.


Thu Nov 30, 2006 2:49 pm
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Vagina Qwertyuiop
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MikeQ. wrote:
Wow, there are a lot of errors in that review Snrub, and I can't believe he called it Children of God! Did he see the right film? lol. It's weird to see this written by a professional critic, since such mistakes should never, ever be present in the review.


I think my favourite spelling error is "Chewi Elijofor".


Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:01 pm
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IM IN!

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Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:07 pm
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Vagina Qwertyuiop
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From the comments after Poland's drunken Men-slam:

ThriceDamned wrote:
I have now seen Children of Men twice in three days. It is without a shadow of a doubt, the very best, most affecting, most poignant and brilliant film I've seen this year. I literally sat stunned with tears in my eyes at the end. It firmly placed Cuaron for me among the very best filmmakers working today.

I don't remember many films that have as successfully created a believable futuristic society on the brink of collapse as this one. All the little touches, from the way people don't care about pollution anymore (believing they're the last generation) to the way everybody keeps pets to make up for the lack of children. A million little touches that solidified the world for me.

The long, uninterrupted takes totally transported me into the film, to the point where it plays more like almost a documentary than a film. On both occasions I've seen it, I'm just instantly sucked into it. I haven't really had this kind of reaction to a movie since I first saw City of God.


Hear, hear! ThriceDamned, though I do not know you and though you do not post on these boards, consider yourself a bonafide member of the Children Of Men Oscar Clean-up Club!


Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:22 pm
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Jordan Mugen-Honda
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The middle paragraph is the one i most identify with. The cinematography gong should just be given to Children of Men now.


Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:35 pm
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Vagina Qwertyuiop
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Gullimont-Kyro wrote:
The middle paragraph is the one i most identify with. The cinematography gong should just be given to Children of Men now.


Here's another one that spends more time than I can be arsed to debunking Poland's review:

ASD wrote:
As for Children of Men I respectfully disagree about lack of basic human emotion. It uses its high concept premise as a jumping off point for a world in complete and utter despair with nothing left to live and hope for, where the totalitarian government looks for scapegoats, having long abandoned trying to solve the problem that's legitimately plague them (immigrants are the problem! huh, funny that) yet in following Owen's cynical drunk (a total Bogart performance) as he has to put aside his own disillusionment for something greater than his own detachment.

The long-steadicam shots are all part of the film's (intentionally) limited design. If I remember correctly there are no traditional master shots in the film and very few aerials. The long takes help maintain the immediacy. It really is just one man with nothing but his wits against (seemingly) the world.


ASD, consider yourself part of the club!


Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:42 pm
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Vagina Qwertyuiop
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I've decided to add loyal to the members list in advance, so sure am I that he'll fall head over heels in love with it.


Fri Dec 01, 2006 2:54 pm
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World of KJ officially has it at #10 on the Best Picture list, courtesy of Yours Truly.


Fri Dec 01, 2006 4:45 pm
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Vagina Qwertyuiop
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Mood-Swing Jon wrote:
World of KJ officially has it at #10 on the Best Picture list, courtesy of Yours Truly.


Bless you, Mood-Swing. Honorary member Mood-Swing, that is!


Fri Dec 01, 2006 5:05 pm
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Mood-Swing Jon wrote:
World of KJ officially has it at #10 on the Best Picture list, courtesy of Yours Truly.


Jon, looked over all your prediction picks on the mainsite. Very good. Nice blurbs, some humour, but I note of caution: Watch the spelling errors. Especially the names, Bard Pitt? And the amount of different ways you spell Forest's last name, etc. It makes what is otherwise excellent predictions and wriitting look much less professional. Anyways, good picks, and I like how you're not overlloking Painted Veil. I never even thought of that one. :smile:


Last edited by dolcevita on Fri Dec 01, 2006 11:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.



Fri Dec 01, 2006 10:24 pm
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Yeah I like this film and find myself still thinking about it even 5 or 6 weeks after seeing it. Ok count me in for a BD nom and a few other nominations including one acting nom for Claire-Hope Ashitey.

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Fri Dec 01, 2006 11:13 pm
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dolcevita wrote:
Mood-Swing Jon wrote:
World of KJ officially has it at #10 on the Best Picture list, courtesy of Yours Truly.


Jon, looked over all your prediction picks on the mainsite. Very good. Nice blurbs, some humour, but I note of caution: Watch the spelling errors. Especially the names, Bard Pitt? And the amount of different ways you spell Forest's last name, etc. It makes what is otherwise excellent predictions and wriitting look much less professional. Anyways, good picks, and I like how you're not overlloking Painted Veil. I never even thought of that one. :smile:


Thanks for the tip Dolce. My mom already caught a typo where I forgot the second "a" in "femme fatale." I really need to learn better proof reading. :glare:

And I never did thank you for your very nice welcoming PM you sent earlier. Thanks a lot. :biggrin:


Sat Dec 02, 2006 12:06 am
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Mood-Swing Jon wrote:

Thanks for the tip Dolce. My mom already caught a typo where I forgot the second "a" in "femme fatale." I really need to learn better proof reading. :glare:

And I never did thank you for your very nice welcoming PM you sent earlier. Thanks a lot. :biggrin:


You're very welcome, and no problem whatsoever. As you can see by the last two days, the site admin and owners always have their hands full with chaos. :wacko:

Even if it seems like a pain, just type them out quickly in word document. That will usually catch most blatant spelling errors. Then just copy and past it into the upload. When it become habitual, you won't even notice you're doing it, and its pretty good for spot proffing everything except for names of course. Good luck, and keep up the good job!


Sat Dec 02, 2006 1:22 am
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Vagina Qwertyuiop
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I knew you'd love it.

For all my jocular trumpeting of its Oscar chances here in this thread (and in others), I genuinely do feel that it's one of the best films I've ever seen. I was literally in awe the first time I saw it. And in the nine or ten times I've seen it since (which may be a little sad), it's only gotten better.


Sun Dec 03, 2006 5:34 pm
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Jordan Mugen-Honda
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Loyal likes. Sweet.


Sun Dec 03, 2006 5:35 pm
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