Sorry you guys, I can’t go skiiing this weekend. It’s been a long time since Cloverfield and I did anything together, and, well…we just need some ‘us’ time.
I watched this today. It was decent. There are two types of monsters in the movie: a giant, arachnid/scorpion like monster dude, and small clones of the antlions from Half-Life 2. The movie’s first act is a dude’s going-away party, which tries to establish characters and motivations but mostly just fails due to weak dialogue. Then the rest of the movie is panicked running and screaming and violence and shooting and such. The basic motivation for the group not to evacuate the city immediately is saving the lead’s girlfriend. The character who is the “cameraman” is kind of obnoxious, but he’s the only person in the movie with any real defined personality. Everyone in the movie is under 30 and gorgeous, even the cops (Jackie Aprile Jr. from The Sopranos has a cameo!).
The whole movie is filmed with a shakycam, the premise being that this guy goes from filming the going-away party to the catastrophe around him. He’s such a trooper, he even holds the camera during monster attacks, to his own detriment. The constant unsteadiness of the camera made me feel dizzy sometimes.
The only real draw of the movie is the special effects and surprises. It’s light fare and you won’t get attached to anyone. Nothing is genuinely scary; there’s just stuff that jumps out and surprises you. I did feel more immersed in the happenings because of the way the movie was filmed.
C+
uh…might want to add a spoiler tag or something…
I’m not giving away anything. The trailers clearly showed a going-away party, and the monster is the basic premise.
not quite SPOILERs
Well, to counter Moggraider-- I worked on the visual effects in Cloverfield, and had seen the ‘good bits’ about 17 million times already, so at our crew screening we pretty much watched to see how they filled in all the character and expositional gaps we weren’t privy to.
I thought it was pretty damned good. Sure, they’re no name actors, and yeah, the dialogue is what some shmoe on the street would deliver… but that’s exactly the point. These kids (pretty, trendy, hip --> new yorkers) felt real in a way no blockbuster ever does. Not to mention how there were no overly dramatic hollywood moments… they’re your random nobodies caught up in gargantuan events, and I thought that was pretty refreshing.
also our monster is badazz motherfuckers.
So, how did the concept for the monster’s appearance come to fruition? Lots of attempted designs of various Godzilla and Cthulhuish things and then you ended up with Sparky the Wonder Thing?
I must say, everyone has done a tremendous job of keeping the monster a terrible secret until the final moment with zero leaks. Cuz, I was sure hunting like a fiend for any info.
Got any “rejected creatures” concept stuff? I’m curious to see what else they thought about using.
This film was good, very entertaining, and not campy. Loved it, wish there was a companion piece from an infantryman’s POV.
I was VERY happy that trailers did not reveal the gargantuan, for once I sat down in a popcorn flick without knowing 75% of the plot points.
Be sure to stay through the credits–not only for the deserving score but the final…
I stayed through the credits and didn’t see anything. There was what sounded like radio chatter at the end of the song, but I couldn’t make it out. Did I miss something?
Apparently if you play the chatter back backwards it says…
http://boomp3.com/m/bd034dfca370
It’s pretty clear as day too, from the recorded audio. Sequel perhaps?
I saw the matinee today with some coworkers and thought it was brilliant.
If you peel away the onion, it is a standard “monster attacks city” plot, but the way the film was successfully executed from the characters POV, and the unique monster concept and excellent sfx… loved it.
caveat - if you got queasy watching Blair Witch the camera work in Cloverfield was even more shaky and disorienting…
Keep your eyes out for an easter egg in the final moments before the credits, too. S’all I’m saying.
Aszurom, although we did the vfx for everything creature, the design work was already decided on when we were awarded the contract.
Just got home from an evening showing, and I was not disappointed. The shaky cam was a bit too shaky at some points, but they felt like the right points. I mean if I was trying to film my escape from a monster attacking the city, I guarantee the camera would never be still. As for the monster I went in expecting never to see a clear shot it, so I was pleasantly surprised to get several decent shots of it, along with the destruction it causes.
My only complaint was it was a bit on the short side and I left the theater really wanting more. It really cries out for a companion piece covering the same time period from a different POV, like a police swat team , army squad, or group of firemen/women.
I thought the same thing! I’d die to see a $150 million movie told from the perspective of the army, and three-quarters of the way through you see these four crazy kids run in and then they disappear.
I really wanted the procedural elements - what is this thing? Where’d it come from? How can we kill it? And I know that doesn’t fit with this movie, but a companion piece would be sweet.
Perfect! If they would announce that project and I would pre-order my tickets in a blink. Plus, they set the the stage for doing that sort of thing with the way they opened the movie, framing it as recovered evidence from the event. Heck, I could easily see them adding vignettes in that vain to the DVD, or at least I am hoping they do. :)
I saw it this afternoon and I thought it was the best thriller/horror movie I’ve seen. Very effective, very well put together.
Looks like because of the Blair Witch shakycamness, I might have to wait for DVD, but this does sound like a great film.
Does shakycam make you barf?
Yeah :( At least when I saw Blair Witch in the theaters it did, and if this is anything like that I should stay away.
I also thought it was brilliant. I can’t remember the last time, if ever, I spent an entire movie clenched. I was doing all the stereotypes – biting my nails, sitting on the edge of my seat, girlishly pulling at my hair; if they still did those night-vision-shots-of-the-audience ads, I would’ve been prime footage.
What I liked best was that it was very much an old-school monster movie in sensibility, but told in a modern way – it was semi-realistic while still being fun, the characters reacted like you’d expect real people in 2007 to react, and it was genuinely funny in places without going schlocky or campy or ironic. I thought the central gimmick was handled perfectly (and it was really clever how they used it for flashbacks).
Anybody prone to motion sickness should be forewarned, though – a friend who was watching it said he had to keep his eyes closed for most of it (and he said he had no problems with The Blair Witch Project). It never seemed as annoying or self-conscious to me as Blair Witch, but did exactly what they meant it to do – kept you disoriented and nervous, and letting you imagine what’s going on instead of showing it directly.
It’s not an “important” movie or anything, but I don’t think that was the intent. It was just an expertly made monster movie. Totally delivered on the teaser trailer, and it was what I’d been hoping The Host was going to be.
Could you spoiler it or something? I sat through the whole thing looking for stuff like that, and caught nothing.
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in the background during the ferris wheel sequence, i thought i saw something move in the ocean.