Monday, March 19, 2018

1048. Children of Men

Children of Men
2006
Directed by Alfonso Cuaron







I thought we would continue with our trend of apocalyptic films with Children of Men, which offers a much drearier, but much better take on the decline of humanity than Mad Max. Also I have a crush on Julianne Moore, so we need to talk about her as much as possible.

It's 2027 and society is crumbling due to an infertility crisis. Since the UK is one of the few still functioning nations, they are being flooded by refugees seeking asylum from other war torn nations. Theo is a civil servant who is enlisted by his ex wife Julian to acquire papers for Kee, a young refugee.

It's actually odd how similar this film is to Mad Max. Both movies deify the pregnant female and have a hardened, sexy male lead who is desperately trying to defend her/them. Of course, I much prefer this film. Cuaron does so many interesting things with this story and I am now slightly embarrassed I only know him from Harry Potter. For example, never showing Theo touch a gun. Subtle, but says volumes about Theo's character.

The aesthetic was also very cool. London didn't even look that different than it does now, just slightly gloomier so the story was all the more chilling. With male sperm counts on the decline, perhaps this is our future! If it means following the leadership of Julianne Moore, I'm not too fussed.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

In the novel the infertility crisis is caused by the men, but in the movie, the women are infertile. Sure, throw us under the bus, Cuaron.

Almost every shot has an animal.

Michael Caine based his performance off of John Lennon.

Thursday, March 1, 2018

1047. Mad Max: Fury Road

Mad Max: Fury Road
2015
Directed by George Miller








So this is another film I've been avoiding for quite some time. For one thing, I wasn't impressed by the original Mad Max and wasn't interested in watching an updated version with a creepy Dune aesthetic. It seemed like it was going to be hypermasculine garbage and I get enough of that in real life.

After a nuclear holocaust, the world is a desert wasteland run by Immortan Joe, a war lord who has multiple wives and an army of skinheads at his command. Max Rockatansky is captured and used as a blood bag for one of Joe's war boys. Gross. Anyway, Imperator Furiosa, one of Joe's lieutenants is sent on a mission to get gasoline. Unbeknownst to Joe, Furiosa has smuggled five of his wives out of the citadel and is taking them to the "Green Place" that she remembers from her childhood. Joe leads his entire army to chase them.

Car chases, minimum dialogue, and an insane amount of jump cuts...I knew right off the bat that this movie wasn't for me. I was actually surprised by the message of the movie; how it presented femininity as the antidote to toxic masculinity. Men destroy earth, women save it. It wasn't the most subtle or sophisticated message, but that's never really what the Mad Max series was aiming for.

Overall, not my cup of tea, but I didn't spit it out. Like I do with normal tea (sorry all my British readers).

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

George Miller and Charlize Theron reportedly did not get along with Tom Hardy during filming.

Body count of 110.