Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with two short reviews, both on kid-centric films. The first is Alfonso Cuaron's fucking great adult sci-fi flick CHILDREN OF MEN (CLICK HERE TO READ MY REVIEW!!!) and the other the new work from Aardman, their first fully CG animated feature, FLUSHED AWAY! The FLUSHED AWAY review is very small, but it apparently made our spy laugh his "ass out." That's good right? I don't know if I'd want to laugh my ass out, but I guess it's no worse than laughing it off. Anyway, enjoy the reviews!
Hi Harry! Well, two weeks ago I had the opportunity to see these films. If you are interested here's what I think about them CHILDREN OF MEN I'm a great admirer of Alfonso Cuaron. Like his fellow country men Guillermo del Toro he has made Hollywood films (Harry Potter and the yada yada yada) and personal ones (Y tu Mama Tambien) and he has succeeded with both of them. "Children of Men" is based on a P.D James, unread by me, and is major depart from the style we are used to see in Cuaron's films. First, it's filmed in England with a gritty, hand-held camera work and also it's a science fiction movie. It's set in the year 2027 where all the population on Earth in sterile and the human race is dying. Clive Owen is a bureacract who runs into the first pregnant woman in several years that could be the renaissance of the species. That's the plot. Cuaron films these futuristic tale like Gondry filmed "Eternal Sunshine..". Dirty, like it's the present but with a few details that tell that we are in the future (massive LCD's, electric cars, and so on). Also he stages several scenes a la Brian de Palma without cutting particularly the assault on the car (shot from inside all the ride, like Spielberg in War of the World, but better) and the climax with a steadicam following Clive Owen entering a building and climbing the stairs (I'm being vague here because it's the end of the movie). He choreographs these sequences flawlessly, something we are not used seeing in his style of filmmaking. The third act it's like "Escape from London" but very realistic (I'm talking about an England city walled where the Government sends his scum there, in this case, illegal immigrants.) There is a strong political point in this movie beginning with the deportation of immigrants, to the fascist cops and also there's a big "fuck you" to peace organizations who sometimes thwart their speech and turn to the dark side. Although billed second, Julianne Moore's character appears briefly. One of the main characters is the pregnant woman, here played by Clare-Hope Ashitey. It's a very tough role and she pulled it with great success. I liked the movie. In some parts, it's very obvious on the political side and has a thin plot. But Cuaron has proven that he is one the greatest Latin American directors by focusing on the directorial part replacing holes on the story. I almost forgot, Michael Caine's role, a smoking pot fart-joker is a delight. FLUSHED AWAY Very very very funny movie. Well, you have seen the trailer. That's the first 5 minutes of the movie. They are OK. But once Hugh Jackman's character is in the sewer city everything improves. I read that Aardman decided to go on CGI because of the dificulties of doing water on claymation. It's a wise decision, because water is a major issue here. The city es crossed with rivers and there's Kate Winslet's character has a boat that plays a large role in the story. I love Ian McKellen's villain. His voice is deepened to portray Frog, a comical bad guy aided by two useless henchmen, Bill Nighy and Andy Serkis (both great). I also loved Jean Reno's character named Le Frog. Very funny. There's a scene where one the Le Frog's minions is a mime called Marcel (got it?) and mimicks a videophone call by Frog. Hilarious. I laughed my ass out. I gotta say that this movie hasn't got the subtlety of Nick Park's characters nor the sentimental side and instead focuses on slapstick and action scenes. And the movie does them great. Go Aardman! Johann Hofzinser
