Top and Bottom of the Aughts - #7

Best
Children of Men (2006)
The camera work in this film is exquisite; the scenes containing the greatest dramatic tension are each played out in a single shot. In a world where women have lost the ability to give birth, civilization decays as humanity dies out. And then Theo (Clive Owen) meets a pregnant woman and must find a way to bring her to a safe place where her baby will be cared for and not exploited. There are many wonderful, beautiful moments in this film, but the one that stands above the others, and impacted me the most emotionally, is one in which Theo escorts the newborn baby and her mother through a crowded apartment building, past soldiers and guerilla fighters alike, all stunned in amazement at hearing the sound of a baby’s cry for the first time in almost 20 years.

Worst
Southland Tales (2006)
This movie is one giant mess. Nothing makes sense and writer/director Richard Kelly goes haphazardly from one scene to another with each new scene having little bearing on those surrounding it. And every time he tries to explain something it only makes everything more confusing. The characters are all either dull or so over the top that they are completely unbelievable. And since there is glaring Budweiser product placement in almost every scene, it felt like I was watching the most bizarre, confusing, poorly written, poorly acted, inconsistent, unbelievable, and downright dirty beer commercial I have ever seen.

Coming up next: a heart-warming post-apocalyptic film and a soul scarring comedy.