I was excited to see it, too. Clive Owen is one of my favorite actors. I was hoping he'd be the new James Bond, but after seeing both this film and "Casino Royale," I know it worked out just fine. Daniel Craig is a kickass Bond, and Owen, who, in my estimation, is severely underused, gets to be in the next big classic cult movie.

It's 2027. There are no more babies. Mass infertility has gripped the world, which is, all in all, in pretty bad shape. Think "28 Days Later" and parts of "12 Monkeys." England is the last outpost of civilization, and it's not doing so well itself. Illegal immigrants are being rounded up and tortured. The military and gangs of extremists are trying to wipe each other off the map. Among the turmoil, Theo Faron (Owen), who has lost a child himself, must safeguard the life of the last pregnant woman on Earth, Kee (Ashitey).

This movie totally lives up to its hype. It's utterly hypnotic, and yet very hard to watch at the same time. The relationships between the characters and the things they say to each other are almost painfully realistic. The scenes between Owen and Julianne Moore are heartbreaking.

Every one of the actors does a great job. Even Moore, who is famous for her horrible taste in roles, takes a teeny-tiny little part and does something remarkable with it.

I have, over the years, come to really like Michael Caine, and he's great, as usual. In fact, his is one of the best supporting performances I've seen in a long time.

What stands out and what will net this movie tons of Oscars, though, is Cuaron's direction. His attention to detail is amazing. My husband kept talking about the cinematography. The long one-take sequences, combined with all the detail, make the film unnervingly realistic. There's so much going on in the background of every scene. And significant sequence is filmed through a (fake) blood-covered lens. The scenes on the London street in the film's opening are full of little blink-and-you'll-miss-it details.

Don't miss it.

Directed by Alfonso Cuaron. Starring Clive Owen, Michael Caine, Claire-Hope Ashitey, and Julianne Moore. Universal Pictures, 2006.

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