There will be some spoiler type info here so read at your own risk. In other words….TURN OFF THE COMPUTER AND SEE THE DAMN MOVIE……NOW!!!11!!1!
Today marked the release of Cloverfield. I can’t even recall how long ago the marketing started for this movie. After looking at the teaser poster countless times I think 1-18-08 will be the only release date I will always remember. The internet is like a digital gossip queen, nothing can stay hidden, but amazingly enough the creature was never exposed. The forum I visit had tons of folks following the movie and none of the pictures people claimed to be the creature turned out to be correct. This is impressive considering how many films have been ruined or spoiled but this whole internet thing. I stopped reading about the movie a few days ago so that the chances of something being ruined were lessened. We already know the camera/footage is found in Central Park so right there you know how far they make it.
As soon as the film started I was thinking the worst. The film starts off bright and early in the morning. This wasn’t a good sign since most of the trailers and ads show nothing but night scenes. It was all character development and while it seemed far too long at first by the end of the film I’m glad it was in the movie. You know the one character I was thrilled they didn’t develop? The fucking monster. As much as I love movies with huge, out of control creatures they always have scenes where some scientist analyzes the creatures or you see a did of a human side to the beast. This thing was pissed and just wanted to kick some ass. The only thing you know about the creature is that it doesn’t respect human life and it’s big enough to take you down.
Being spoiled on big action scenes I found myself straining to see the creature the first few times it is on screen. I would strain to try and take in as much as I could during the quick cuts and jumps. When you finally see the monster roar I damn near shit myself because not only was it loud but I was not expecting the camera to stand still or get as close as it did. Visually the creature the creature was very odd looking but considering the director has previously given us a smoke monster in Lost I should just be happy is has mass and weight. It looked a bit too much like Pumpkinhead to feel like a fresh new idea. The reach on that thing was nuts. There is that time during puberty where you look all disproportionate and weird and I got that feeling from the monster. The offspring of this creature sure made make me feel better about things. While they reminded me of the bugs in Starship Troopers I was amazed at the sheer speed and ferocity they had. They took the Duke Nukem stand to things and felt is was time to kick ass and takes names later. The subway tunnel scene was outstanding but how many smaller camcorders have night vision on them? Anyway…..
The cast was average to say the least. Hated most of them right off the bat and some grew on me over time. I didn’t pay attention to the time stamp at the start of the movie so I was really confused about which girl Rob was dating. Took me a bit to catch on. I guess I wasn’t expecting to have backstory to contend with. Cutting the random Coney Island parts in here and there really didn’t add much to me. I understand Rob and her had a great day and other than the start of the movie and the last Coney Island bit I don’t care what happened to them that day.
At two points near the end I was faked out thinking the film was over and both times I was thrilled that I was wrong. At the start of the movie some guy behind me said they had a scene after the credits. After a large drink the last thing I wanted to do was finish the credits but I was determined to see all of the movie. The end turned out to be a garbled audio clip wish was a waste but the music over the credits, entitled “ROAR!” was an outstanding piece of music. Still trying to find it online.
With such an outstanding year for movies ahead I fear this movie will get overlooked and forgotten very quickly and it’s a shame. The style and content of this movie isn’t for everyone but it’s nice to shake up the genre a bit….even if the shaky cam footage is almost enough to make you sick.
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