Comments on: Children of Men Blu Ray Review

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 04:34:24 +0000

Intense political thriller
Great political thriller, with a minor sci-fi presumption thrown in – people can’t reproduce anymore. Towards the end there is a superb street level combat scene.

By: conniecox

conniecox — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 16:57:50 +0000

Don’t bother….
Who knew the apocalyptic future could be so talky and BORING??? If this is the future-we’re all going to bore one another to death.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:57:49 +0000

Good, not super great but well worth watching.
Many of the bleak scenarios presented in this movie, like demonization and persecution of "illegal" immigrants, are seen today. Granted, they haven't reached the level displayed in the movie, but that's just a formality.

I found myself drawing so many comparisons to modern day society as I watched the film. The enviromental decay depicted in it made me think of what we are currently doing to our planet; a protest march through an immigrant concentration camp made me think of the current Palestinian crisis; random klllings of people interned in the camp as they attempted to run across a street reminded me of similar killings in Sarajevo, Bosnia during the height of its ethnic war; the abundance of dogs everywhere in the film as companions to lonely people reminded me of New York City, where so many people have dogs in tiny little apartments to cope with their lonliness (in a city of 8 million), etc.

I've often felt artists are the great prophets of society. They create work based on what knaws at their souls, not based on loyalties to religious, poliitical, or ethnic ties. The futuristic scenario presented in CHILDREN OF MEN is a futuristic vision as seen through the apocalyptic lens of a masterful filmmaker.

It was not a happy romp like Shreik and there were parts I would have liked to have seen improved but it is still a very good movie, check it out.

By: revelationmagazine

revelationmagazine — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:02:48 +0000

Children of Men: A World Without Children's Voices
The apocalyptic premise of this loose adaptation of the P.D. James novel The Children of Men holds that fertility has hit zero for nigh on two decades, and that as a result the world order is collapsing. Opening with the news that the youngest living person in the world has been murdered at the age of 18, it swiftly and skilfully establishes a dystopian vision of a near future Britain--a police state wherein society is just barely maintaining its fabric. Present day fears and tensions such as those surrounding terrorism and immigration are extrapolated to a terrifying endgame in a world without hope, and a quiet seaside town is transformed into a warzone. Stark and arresting in its imagery and with no holds barred representations of violence, some incredibly long and complicated continuous shot sequences add to a gritty documentary feel. Clive Owen's perfectly judged hero of the piece is a broken man who falls into the role of protector to what might be the last hope for the future of the human race, and as violence rages all around him, it's notable that he never once picks up a gun himself. From the central story through superb acting from a cast that includes some big names in fairly minor supporting roles, through to its powerful direction and cinematography, this film is a work of art that is quite literally stunning in every sense.

--Adam Chamberlain
Revelation Magazine

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:23:01 +0000

Not too Bad
I originally watched children of men of HBO awhile ago, and i just had to to buy it. The director did an excellent job in directing the movie and in my opinion the camera work does this movie well.

What i would wish for however is that the begging of the movie didn’t just drop you into the near future. It adds to the effect of the movie that’s just what i would like. He also did an awesome job in shoot em up (or something like that)

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:17:58 +0000

Another Shaky Camera
This is another in the latest style of movie making – idiotic hand-held camera. Many of the scenes are so shaky they made me dizzy. I’ll never understand why any director would think this is so cool. To me, it destroys the movie. Also, the story made no sense.

By: gina1998

gina1998 — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:34:39 +0000

Bad Sound Editing
The story is a neat idea, but the bad sound editing made it difficult for me to understand much of the dialogue.
Very realistic look at how bleak the future could be in this apocalyptic movie. Well done, but not being able to understand the dialog turned a good story into blehh...

Watch it with the sound turned up. Could barely hear it.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:57:25 +0000

One of my favorite movies of all time hits the spot on Blu-Ray
The Movie:

The Apocalypse. A subject of many debates and dreaded talks. When will the world end, and how? No one will ever know, even though the Mayans had a good date for it (2012.) Children of Men is an apocalyptic thriller, but it differs from many of the ones out already. In this film, the apocalypse is brought upon us not by famine, or a plague, or the supernatural, but in the cease of human birth. The premise is of despair, and the film evokes it perfectly. Directed by Alfonso Cuaron, this films puts you in the middle of the collapse of unity in the world. Britain is the only place on Earth that is still under government control, and all of the illegal immigrants are considered refugees, which are being thrown into “fugee zones,” reminiscent of concentration camps during WWII. Theo (Clive Owen) gets involved in a mission by a group of renegade fighters lead by Julian (Juliane Moore,) Theo’s ex-wife, who want to help secure the first pregnant woman in 18 years, who also happens to be a refugee. With the help of his best and only friend, Jasper (Michael Caine,) Theo will do all he can to save the life of the girl, in the process finding redemption for the ghosts of his past. The events that follow are nail-biting tense, and one of the final scenes in the film, which is an 8 minute long shot done in ONE take, help secure the tension of the film. The vision that Cuaron puts on display is original and, in my opinion, amazing. You know it’s the future, since you will see many neon signs and LCD displays all throughout the city, yet it’s not too sci-fi, so you won’t see flying cars or talking robots. Having this sense of realism mixed with sci-fi elements grounds the film, making it a more believable 2027. The visual effects here are extremely well crafted, specifically (minor spoiler) the birth of the baby. Also, add the amazing performances by Clive Owen, Juliane Moore, and Michael Caine, and you have a film for the ages.

The Blu-Ray:

Video:

Man, as soon as I put this baby in my PS3, I knew I was in for a treat. The detail in the picture is outstanding! In the outdoor shots, you can see every branch in the trees on the outskirts of Jaspers house, and inside of his home, all of the objects are finely represented. I noticed some pretty deep blacks, and the colors are vivid and sharp. Even though this is a “cold” film, and the main pallete is “steely,” when it wants to shine, it does. 5 out of 5.

Audio:

This mix is just bombastic and awesome! The opening bombing scene had some amazingly deep bass, and the unique alarms and music in Jaspers home did as well. This film excels in dialogue, and it was always intelligible. Pans and directionality are perfect, and I never had an issue with volume control, which was an issue I had with “The Incredible Hulk,” which was also a Universal release. The film gave my bass a workout, so I say “Thank you, Universal.” Another 5 out of 5.

Overall, this film is one to be seen. After watching it at least 5 times, there were things that I missed from prior viewing. Watch and enjoy this stellar film, and reference quality Blu-Ray.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 30 May 2009 23:03:24 +0000

Children of Men - Blu-ray Info
Version: U.S.A / Universal / Region Free
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
VC-1 BD-50 / AACS / Advanced Profile 3
Running time: 1:49:14
Movie size: 30,543,541,440 bytes
Disc size: 34,288,519,429 bytes
Total bit rate: 37.28 Mbps
Average video bit rate: 25.90 Mbps

DTS-HD Master Audio English 3611 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3611 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS Audio French 768 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
DTS Audio German 768 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
DTS Audio Italian 768 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
DTS Audio Spanish 768 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
DTS Audio Spanish 768 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
DTS Express English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / 24-bit
DTS Express English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / 24-bit

Subtitles: English (SDH), English, Chinese, Dutch, French, French (Text), German, German (Text), Greek, Italian, Italian (Text), Korean, Portuguese, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish (Castilian Text), Spanish (Latin American), Spanish (Latin American Text)
Number of chapters: 17

Special features are presented in Standard Definition.

#Deleted Scenes (2m:21s)
#Featurette: The Possibility of Hope (27m:14s)
#Children of Men - comments by Slavoj Zizek (5m:44s)
#Under Attack (7m:35s)
#Theo and Julian (4m:39s)
#Futuristic Design (8m:37s)
#Visual Effects: Creating the Baby (3m:06s)
#U-Control - PIP

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 25 May 2009 08:17:10 +0000

A Horrifying Vision Of How The World Could End
Alfonso Cuarón's "Children of Men" is a horrifying vision of how the world could end if no more children were born. Extremely provocative, this film made me realize how important children are to our future. Without them, the world becomes psychologically insane before dying a physical death.

Mother Nature has imposed her own form of birth control on mankind. At first, a few women began miscarrying, then hundreds more until it became a world-wide epidemic. It is now the year 2027 and a child has not been born in eighteen years; despair and grief has led the world to the brink of total destruction. Every country, except Britain, seems to have collapsed. The British government has launched a campaign to rid the country of all illegal immigrants known as Fugees. One of these Fugees is a pregnant girl, Joy. Theo Faron (Clive Owen of "Derailed") struggles to help her get safely to a boat owned by Operation Humanity. Unfortunately, a terrorist group, the Fishes, wants to use Joy's baby as a pawn for its diabolical plans against the British government.

"Children of Men" is highly recommended for fans of apocalyptic, end-of-the-world horror. Extremely tense and war-like in its graphic depiction of street violence, this film is highly emotional. Not easily forgotten, it will leave you asking, "Could this really happen?" One touching scene that made me cry was when Joy's baby was being carried out of a destroyed building. The tenants stood spellbound, gaping and murmuring, "A baby. A baby," as they remembered a world that was long gone. A political statement as well as a disaster film, "Children of Men" should be added to your science fiction/horror/adventure collection.