Children of Men has been seen, advanced screenings have allowed a select few in, and a couple of reviews have now popped up on the Internet.

The reviews have some spoilers in them, so I stayed clear of the source over at AICN and read the summaries at Jo Blo.

What he has crafted here is, simply, the most disturbing view of the future I've seen. Now, I've seen a lot of movies and way too much TV. So, like you, I know how poorly the future can be painted on the big screen. This, though, is so fucking effective because it seems so real. It's pure "dare I say it " cinema verite. In the future, that is. With just about every shot and every bit of production design, he has created a raw look. A very real look. Lots of handheld camera, but not shaky-cam. Lots of long, moving takes, but not crisp dolly shots.

And, yet, because of the tone and the vision, I kept thinking that Cuaron, like I said before, was channelling Stanley Kubrick more than anyone else. He puts the audience in the middle of the turbulent urban violence but directly into the heart of the drama. This is how a good documentary would capture Theo's journey. It's insanely well-directed.

Those are incredibly strong words, and may I take a moment to say that it is possible to make handheld films without that damned annoying shaky-cam! It also sounds like there are a real couple of Cuaron fans there, and yet why shouldn't there be? He's a very strong director who is going from strength to strength, and if I had to vote a Harry Potter film the best, his one wins it.

I'm excited about this movie not because of the reviews, but because of the source material, the story, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, Danny Huston and Clive Owen. The director is something I've never really been struck by as being a drawing point, until these reviews.