Cloverfield [Blu-ray]
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Movie Reviews of Cloverfield [Blu-ray]
Movie Review: I expected the worst, but I have to say this was excellent
Summary: 5 Stars
CLOVERFIELD
**** ½ Out of 5
Release Date- January 18th, 2008
Running Time- 84-Minutes
Rating- PG-13
Screenplay- Drew Goddard
Director- Matt Reeves
Starring- Michael Stahl-David, Odette Yustman, T.J. Miller, Jessica Lucas, Lizzy Caplan, Mike Vogel
Cloverfield is a prime example how ratings don't mean anything when it comes to crafting a well made and suspenseful movie. There's a lot of backlash on PG-13 horror flicks and how they suck and while some movies do need an R-rating a horror film can still be effective with a PG-13 rating. Many of my favorite horror films are from the 30s and if released now would only get a PG rating and they are some of the most chilling horror films of all time. The problem these days with PG-13 is they are poorly made and well I can name plenty of poorly made R-rated films. I love splatter flicks and I love seeing hot women naked as well, but you really don't need either to make a great horror movie and Cloverfield is proof of that.
I avoided this movie for the longest time and finally gave in and watched it and I didn't expect much of anything out of it, but what I got was one of the best horror films of 2008. There was a lot of hype surrounding Cloverfield and this is one of the few times the hype was legit. Cloverfield is a well crafted and even creepy movie at times and due to the hype there is bound to be a backlash and there is bound to be hate since it's cool to hate anything that makes it big.
In 2008 the hand held camera style of filmmaking made a big comeback it was first made famous by The Blair Witch Project (though it owes a bit to Cannibal Holocaust). 2008 saw the theatrical release of George Romero's Diary of the Dead, Quarantine (remake of REC) and of course Cloverfield. I personally didn't like the way it was used in Blair Witch, but if used right it can be really effective and the movies that used in 2008 it worked well and Cloverfield might be the most effective in terms of the hand held camera. The one thing I hate is the shaky cam unless used right and most of the time it isn't. But here in Cloverfield it worked really well and added to the confusion the characters were feeling and the hand held camera adds a bit of realism to the movie.
The screenplay by Drew Goddard was well written and the characters are interesting and even likeable. Running at only 84-minutes and the action starts off pretty quickly there's not a lot of time to develop the characters, but due to the way the movie was done it actually works to the advantage of the movie. Due to the way the movie was done giving a lot of depth to the characters wouldn't have worked I think the fact only the first act did a little bit of development worked well here and the characters benefit from not being too developed.
Director Matt Reeves does a fantastic job with Cloverfield; the movie only runs at 84-minutes (less with closing credits) and by around the 15-minute mark is when things start to happen and I thought for sure Cloverfield would run out of steam, but to my surprise it never did. Reeves, also manages to create some really great tense moments and is able to sustain it for pretty much the whole movie. The scenes in the subway are highly effective and are actually fairly creepy. There was a moment or two when it felt like Cloverfield was about to run out of steam, but Matt Reeves is able to again elevate the suspense and tension.
Some of the scariest scenes happen early in the movie as there are explosions and there's this sense of panic and confusion, which is bound to remind people of 9/11. Living in New York and seeing these scenes really made me think back to that. Seeing people running as a cloud of dust is heading towards them and people take shelter in a store is very reminiscent of 9/11, which I suppose was some of the influence on Cloverfield. These scenes are bound to strike a chord with those living in New York at the time of the terrorist attack.
The performances in Cloverfield are solid and they feel like real people rather than actors playing characters, which is always a good thing. My only complaint is one thing a certain character does at the end of the movie is kind of idiotic, but that's the writing and not the acting, but even with a few scenes like that the actors manage to sell it and make it believable.
The only complaint I really have is at the end when we see the monster in the daytime. I personally felt that took a little away from the movie, but besides that Cloverfield was surprisingly excellent and in my opinion one of the very best horror movies of 2008.
Movie Review: Stomps all over Roland Emmerich's Godzilla
Summary: 5 Stars
Only once in a rare while are we treated to a movie so innovative and unique. It's sad to think that there will only be so many film-going experiences like Cloverfield in my life while the void is filled with more generic fare. In terms of story it is very similar to the awful 1998 clunker Godzilla [Blu-ray], but is a world apart when it comes to execution thanks to Under Siege 2 - Dark Territory [Blu-ray] scribe Matt Reeves' highly kinetic direction.
Everyone by now knows the premise of the filming of a loft party being interrupted by the arrival of a giant monster in Manhattan, so I won't go into loads of description over that. I'm a firm believer in the fact that the camera is the eyes of the person watching the film and with Cloverfield (like The Blair Witch Project before it) we are put right into the central character's shoes as he stumbles around the darkest corners of the city with his ever diminishing group of friends.
It's been repeated a million times, but I too believe that what we DON'T see is scarier than what we do. Once you bring the monster out of the shadows all the mystery and fear evaporates. For the majority of the movie we never really get to see all of the monster, perhaps a tentacle here or a foot there, but not much of the whole thing. We do get to see a lot of the ugly parasites that cling to its body however.
There are some brilliant and eternally memorable scenes in Cloverfield, the best being hard to nail down but I loved the idea of entering a crooked skyscraper via the deserted tower that it's leaning against. What a truly unique set-piece.
Of course the movie is going to have it's critics and there will be plenty who are not satisfied with the ending. JJ Abrams has said that he plans to do a single sequel from another point of view, but I feel this will ruin the magic.
In fact, JJ Abrams' marketing campaign and back-story has already tarnished the film for me a little bit. He has stated that the monster comes from the sea but I prefer to not know for certain where it comes from. I imagined it coming from outer space myself as the idea of a random creature arriving from the infinite darkness of space to far more terrifying than a monster from the limited environment of our own oceans. And the viral marketing is way out of hand. Let me put set it all straight.
Rob Hawkins has been made vice president of a company in Japan. That company is the Slusho soft drink firm. Marlena is seen drinking plenty of Slusho at the beginning of the film. The parasites on the creature apparently eat the secret ingredient of Slusho deep in the ocean. They smelled this on her, which explains why she is the only one of the group who is bitten. The near-unnoticeable 'splash' in the water at the end of the film is part of a satellite which has fallen out of space and apparently wakes up the monster somehow.
What a load of garbage! Is Rob Hawkins the center of the universe or something? Why is all this contrived crap revolving around him? Why they came up with this drivel instead of leaving it all unexplained is beyond me. Nevertheless, I will still be looking forward to the sequel next year.
The Blu Ray features a brilliant 1080p 1.78:1 picture with Dolby TrueHD and loads of extras. It's a must buy!
Movie Review: Have Your Giant Monster and (Let It) Eat Too
Summary: 5 Stars
Like so many other monster fans, I was taken in by all the hype around Cloverfield. I incorrectly predicted the monster's appearance based on a sketch, I correctly predicted that the movie wasn't about Cthulhu or Voltron, and then my son was born and I forgot about movies for a year.
I finally saw it. And man is it good.
But you see, I'm a monster movie fan. Cloverfield's marketing was intentionally minimalist, relying on viral marketing instead. One of the dangers of viral marketing is that it's viral, and thus doesn't necessarily distinguish by target market. Indeed, the whole point of viral marketing is to get the word out to as many people as possible. And many of those people aren't monster movie fans.
Look. This is a monster movie. If you don't like the fact that attractive people run around screaming, maybe you shouldn't watch a movie about a giant monster. If you don't like the shaky cam effect, maybe the preview gave a hint that the movie wasn't for you. And if you don't like the unrealistic nature of characters running in high heels, people surviving horrible wounds, and the insane bravery/stupidity of the protagonist, perhaps you shouldn't see a movie about a giant monster that comes out of nowhere and rips the head off the Statue of Liberty.
The joke's on us: Cloverfield is a love story cloaked in a monster movie. It's about the lengths our hero is willing to go to save his true love, a girl he's only just recently met. In times of stress, our tenuous attachment to loved ones becomes all the more precious--if you lived in New York City during the 9/11 attacks, you knew that already.
Stripping away the complaints about the genre, as a monster movie Cloverfield knocks it out of the park. To Abrams' credit, it's just as scary as we feared. Only now we have real reason to fear the impact of a colossal assault on our city. The movie is filmed the way we experienced 9/11, and the floating papers and dust from the collapse of a building are a sign that we know exactly what a monstrous attack looks like.
When 9/11 happened, I walked home from work. I watched a cop stick his head out the driver's side window, so terrified of another attack from above that he was nearly drove off the road. Cloverfield invokes those fears: of confusion, of anarchy, of wanting to run but not knowing what's a safe place to run to anymore. It is a monster movie made when the charm of monster movies can no longer be appreciated by the audience - we now know that if a giant monster attacked New York, evacuations would clog the streets, people would be poisoned by the debris, stock markets would crash, and worse. It's not just about being afraid the monster will eat you.
Cloverfield has its giant monster and lets it eat too: it's an immediate physical threat and a mysterious menace, far more frightening than anything the Godzilla remake could muster. In the same way Godzilla evoked fears of the atom bomb, Cloverfield is 9/11 reimagined as a hideous, unexplained thing from beyond. The film is also fearless in facing the monster (literally) and reinforcing the helplessness we all felt in the face of such a huge disaster. Forget the boogeyman under your bed: it's hundreds of feet tall and smashing its way down your street.
For monster movie fans, it doesn't get any better than this.
Movie Review: One of the Best Theater Experiences
Summary: 5 Stars
All the secrecy that went into the filmmaking of Cloverfield really paid off. I went into the show with no knowledge of the plot, thanks to the eerie trailer, and wound up actually being excited during the viewing. With all the spoilers in your face everywhere on the internet, it's hard to really be suprised anymore. What movies like Cloverfield and The Dark Knight did, is they committed much of their time to protecting the material from being exposed. When movies like X-men Origins: Wolverine are leaked, they lose their theater appreciation before they are released. Cloverfield had to be one of the best big monster movies next to Peter Jackson's King Kong. Its incredibly real and involving. Those who are sensitive to shaky camera motions, may not appreciate it as much, but know that it is all for a sense of reality. I couldn't bear to watch the Bourne movies because they were filmed poorly, but Cloverfield does "shaky-cam" right and respects the limits of my equilibrium and stomach.
So after Cloverfield comes to Blu-ray, is it the same experience? No, but I still enjoy it and I see something new in it every time I view it. It becomes on of those movies that you have to show people unaware of it. The special features are ok. I wanted the trailer on the disc as well as some more polished behind-the-scenes. Star Trek had a much better disc delivery from J.J. Abrahms. I'm upset to see the 3 star average review due to the pickiness of the cinematography. I understand where you're coming from as long as you respect why it was made this particular way. They didn't film it on a handycam to make it look cool. They filmed it that way to make you feel a part of the show, and to make a monster movie as realistic as possible. All the bumblings and jump cuts, just bring reality to the man behind the camera. I think the shakiness only works in a film like this, where the one filming is a part of the cast. What sense does it make to shake around the camera filming the Bourne Supremacy, when the view is the eye of God. The one filming in those unnecessarily shaky movies is not a part of the cast.
But anyway, I accept the mixed feelings people have for this movie. I am one of the people who enjoyed it thoroughly in theaters and at home. I am pushing a movement for directors and screenwriters to keep the entire production a secret while filming. All these online set visits are going to destroy peoples experiences when the movie is released. Films like "The Dark Knight", "Cloverfield", and "Zombieland"(for its fantastic celebrity cameo) get so much credit for shocking audiences in their reveal. I challenge filmmakers to suprise me.
Movie Review: Brilliant IDEA, GENIUS!
Summary: 5 Stars
Ok for those who hate this movie, I completely understand why, it can be shallow.... HOWEVER. personally I LOVED this film!
The idea of a monster film, shot entirely first person view point was a BRILLIANT idea! It completely takes you into the action, shows you the scale of things and what these characters are actually seeing! From the near beginning, where the person holding the camera (Hud) is trying to chat up his girl, it just seems so realistic, especially when he pushes through the crowd to ask her if she's alright! EVERY guy would do the same if he were trying to pick up that ONE girl. The view point also gives you the sneaky little shots of the monster that keep you intrigued, and the camera is usually a second too late to see the action. The noise occurs the camera whips around and we see the aftermath or destruction.
Also adding to the recorded on a standard video camera we see little glimpses of a month before, detailing Rob and Beth's relationship each time the camera is stopped. I LOVE IT!!!
AND now I have it on dvd I finally see that bloody crashing satellite at the VERY end! I saw the movie 9 times in the cinema and NEVER saw it! but then agaijn it's little more than a black dot in the distance...
Now for those who question the thin plot, you watch it on BLU RAY with the special investigation mode. It gives you SO much more depth of where the monster came from, who's responsible for it and where it came from! IT'S FANTASTIC!!
You see after I heard they were doing a sequel I was surprised because I didn't think there was enough groundwork for another one, but after watching that special feature I am SO looking forward to it!!!
The funniest thing I've heard from many people I know, is that the camera movement made them sick! which I guess it's possible... but personally I have VERTIGO and have had it since 2005 and I was fine with this film... but don't mention 'A Scanner Darkly' to me.... I do get sick from the slightest of things... so I'm surprised this film had no effect on me!
PERSONALLY with all the hype after the release of the first trailer with the transformers movie I think it was one of those few examples that actually delivered!! I couldn't recommend it more!
JJ ABRAMS is awesome