CLOVERFIELD: Official Review by Me: Lives up to the Hype

[ShaneGR]

If you havent seen the trailer for this movie or seen some of the viral internet marketing they did for the movie, then go screw yourself you ignorant cesspool. Just kidding.

Anyways, top 10 reasons why Cloverfield kicks ass:

#10: It's different. There are no "stars" in this film, the vast majority of the funding (somewhere around 40-50 million) went directly to special effects. While the Blair Witch handheld thing isnt new, introducing amazing CGI to handheld shots is. Incidentally, the only thing similar to blair witch is the first person handheld shooting.

#9: The movie, despite a slow first 15 minutes, is basically nonstop, intense, and focused for the remainder of the film.

#8: It feels real, everything about the picture presents a feeling of realism.

#7:You leave the movie wondering exactly the same thing you were wondering on the way in, what was that thing and where did it come from?

#6: The military can shoot, bomb, grenade, tank buster, and otherwise give it all they have, and no matter what they do, it still keeps coming. In fact, it just gets angrier.

#5: People die, some die horribly, but you don't see most of it. I liken it to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre affect. You know they are dying, you know its painful, but you don't actually see it happening

#4: The guy holding the camera is annoying yet hilarious and all of the characters speak regular "street" talk.

#3: The big monster lives up to its billing. Think of a gigantic praying mantis crossed with a dinosaur and the thing in Jaba the Huts dungeon in Return of the Jedi. It's massive, it's mean, and it's come to New York to kick ass and take names. Godzilla walks down a street and does a little damage with its tail. This thing destroys a square block as it takes 2-3 steps. King Kong climbs buildings, this thing knocks them down. Another great thing, during the entire movie, you only get to see parts of the beast maybe 5 times and you don't get a real good look at it more than 2 or 3 times the entire movie.

#2: The big monster brings friends. Basically little "parasites" that look like a cross between spiders and the face sucker things in Alien fall off the creature as it moves. They are nasty, they like to bite, and if you get bitten. Well, I'll let you see the movie for yourself.

#1: There will be a sequel. And when you know there's going to be a sequel, you know the movie was great.

5 stars on the Shanorama go see it right away scale.

[ShaneGR]

1. Oh ya, #0.5

If you're ever evacuating a city and you are crossing a large bridge.

Don't stop to talk on your cellphone.

[seemunkee]

2. My daughter just saw it said she hated it

Which is surprising because she likes a lot of bad movies

[ShaneGR]

3. Hmmm, well it's definitely not a normal movie

Some people might not like the first person handheld thing, I've been watching some video of peoples reaction coming out of the theatres. Seems to be about 80% loved it, 20% hated it. I guess you're either really going to like it, or you're gonna hate it. It was funny though, in one of the videos the interviewer was asking them to say who would win, Cloverfield monster or Godzilla. The guy says Godzilla and his friend calls him an idiot, lol.

[J-Lo Biafra]

4. I just saw it. Loved it.

It's not Ingmar Bergman, but shoot, it's still better than your average action thriller. The monster, without spoiling it, is awesome.

[Lisa0825]

5. Even the radio commercials have given me chills!

The guy yelling "OH MY GOD" sounds so realistically terrified! I am glad it is getting good reviews. I was skeptical when I first heard about it.

FWIW, I LOVED Blair Witch. I felt like the methods they used made it look/feel/sound like it was happening to real people. I also think using unknowns adds a dimension to the experience too, because at no time was I thinking something like, "Wow, Kevin Spacey is doing such a great job!" LOL

[madeline_con]

6. If I loathed "Blair Witch", might I still like this? n/t

[vi5]

19. Depends why you didn't like Blair Witch..

If you didn't like it because the shaky camera made you sick then you will hate Cloverfield.

If you didn't like it because there was ultimately no story and no action and you felt duped then you could still like this quite a bit.

[vi5]

20. Here's my take. I just saw it as well....

Really cool. Good action and it was an interesting take on the monster movie genre. The tension was non stop and the whole sense of being right in the middle of this was palpable and intense. I liked the movie a whole lot.

However, the implausibility of these people's actions was overwhelmingly ridiculous. Yes it's a science fiction movie so suspension of disbelief is mandatory, and I'm not at all someone who has difficulty doing that. But in this I did. I just could not get over how stupid the decisions these people made were and nobody in their right mind in that situation would do any of it.

Overall I'm glad I saw it in the theater though.

[Critters2]

7. Hmmm...thanks.

I actually have a free evening Tuesday--until someone from the church learns of this and schedules a meeting--and am debating between this and Bucket List, both of which are at the theater a block from my house.

[THUNDER HANDS]

8. I saw it too

I'd give it an 8 out of 10.

Loved, LOVED, L O V E D the scene in the subway with the night vision thing on the camera - and also when they're in the helecopter.

The two best scenes in the movie.

[ShaneGR]

9. Definitely!

Tunnel reminded me of the scene from Aliens 2 when they climb up into the ceiling tiles and realize that's where the aliens are coming from. The scene from the helicopter is completely unique though.

[IndianaJones]

10. Blair Godzilla Project. nt.

[ShaneGR]

11. Gonna start chuckeling at people who havent seen the move and bring up Blair Witch

/chuckle

[Blue-Jay]

18. "chuckeling" (sic) means that YOU WIN!

The internet is yours to do with what you will!

Winner winner, chicken dinner!

[Drunken Irishman]

12. It was ok, but I thought it'd be much better.

I won't do a big review like you did, but I really disliked the voice of the guy holding the camera. I hated the idea that the military was so open to allowing these 20-something kids wander around the city. I really thought it would have been best if the viewer didn't see the monster in its whole. Maybe just glimpses, but definitely not the entire thing.

It was a decent movie, just didn't live up to its billing.

[EnviroBat]

47. "Rob,,, Rob Rob RAAAAHB RAAAAHB Oh MY GOD! RAAAAB!"

got a little annoying...

[frylock]

13. when you know there's going to be a sequel, you know the movie was great..

I would vehemently disagree with you on that. I think a large percentage of movies made today are done so with sequels in mind, and they are produced that way for the sole purpose of making money. Pirates of the Caribbean is a prime example.

[frylock]

14. i went to a screener on tuesday nite..

I had no expectations whatsoever going into the film, but left rather disappointed. Judging by the collective groan of the rest of the audience, I wasn't alone.

I've read some reviews of test screens from several months ago, and it appears that they edited some of the movie out that provided a bit of a back story. Why they felt the need for that is a mystery, considering the film clocked in at just under 90 min. I'm fine with the power of imagination and all, but no back story and no closure left me empty. Sorry. The CG was good, but rather gratuitous. What was with the exploding buildings and mushroom clouds prior to the military intervention?!

I felt the movie really played out like a 90 minute ep of Lost. In the interest of full disclosure, I do not like Lost, and yes, I've watched an entire season.

I give it 2 out of 4 'mehs', and recommend seeing The Host instead.

[Pale Blue Dot]

15. Just saw it, and here's my take.

I thought it was a great idea that was pretty well done. However, they needed to put it back in the oven for awhile. If you're going to do the whole shaky-camera, this-really-happened thing, you need to make sure you don't have actors who look and act like they just walked off the set of General Hospital, and you need to keep the implausibilities to a bare minimum. I liked it and would recommend it, I just thought that they missed a tremendous opportunity.

One note: I saw this in a packed movie theater, and when it was over there was stunned silence. I've never seen anything quite like that.

[XemaSab]

16. That was the big impression I left with too

The average theatergoer to the show I went to was probably an 18 year old Hispanic boy, and when the movie was over people just sat there in dead silence... left the theater in silence....

Interesting....

[TommyO]

41. There was the same reaction when I saw the movie earlier today

I liked it because it was very different from the standard monster movie, focussing on a small group of people affected, rather than just the damage that the monster was doing. I also like the fact that not everything about the monster was explained by experts and handled easily by finding the monster's Achilles heel.

[ShaneGR]

21. Same, stunned silence, 3/4 of the theatre left and....

And I got some answers from the credit sequence. :-)

But actually, it's built for a more serious sequel. They introduced the monster. They show where he came from at the end. They don't kill the monster off. You watch, Cloverfield will become a major franchise.

[Pale Blue Dot]

22. It's a smash hit already. THE ANSWER TO THIS POST MAY BE A SPOILER.

I didn't stay through the credits. Where did the monster come from?

[ShaneGR]

28. After the nuclear explosion

When it flashes to the earlier footage and they're on the ferris wheel, you can see something falling from the sky behind them out in th ocean. So it came from..... not earth!

[devilgrrl]

44. That's supposedly a satellite that fell out of the sky.

then there's a tie-in with a fictional Japanese beverage called 'Slusho' which the character Rob supposedly works for. The beverage is said to be made of seaweed from the deepest parts of the ocean. The satellite crashes into the ocean, wakes up the monster and then the cranky monster lets loose on NYC. That's what I'm thinking, there's all kinds of theories... guess we'll just have to wait to find out in the sequel. :-)

[EnviroBat]

48. dammit dammit dammit!

I'm going to have to go see it again to see that. I missed it. I was really blown away by my own anxiety at that point in the film. You really feel as thought your right there with them.

[krispos42]

27. Wait, there was more in the credits?

Shit. I guess I should have stayed longer than to find out the name of the actress who played "Lily". :-)

Actually, I did stay through until about the list of stuntmen.

[RedCappedBandit]

36. "when it was over there was stunned silence"

Not to start an argument or anything, i just thought this was funny.. when the movie ended when I saw it, everyone around me complained about how much they disliked it. heh. I agreed with them. I didn't like the idea of paying ten dollars to see a movie with zero resolution. During the beginning though, i got pretty excited.. it seemed like it was going to be good.

[sniffa]

17. EVILA LLITS STI

[Mizmoon]

23. I thought it was really good & with a Sopranos cameo

I enjoyed the whole thing except for one scene when they were running and the cam started to make me slightly sick. Aside from that, I give it a thumbs up. Very enjoyable - but I'm a scifi gal.

PS for Sopranos fans - there is a quick cameo of a cop telling people they have to move along unless they're hurt. It's Jackie Jr.! Poor sucker only gets about 2 second on camera tho.

[Stevendsmith]

24. I just saw it. Wow!!!

I've still got that clammy feeling of fear.

What a freakin' movie that was!

This was no doubt the best monster movie this lifelong sci-fi and horror lover has ever seen.

Before I left for the movie this afternoon I read some reviews, and one of them characterized it as provoking that pit-of the-stomach type fear. That was a very apt description. The hand-held camera perspective really makes the outrageous premise of the movie (a brutally mean-ass gigantic monster and its disgusting friends attacking NYC) almost believable.

And I really liked the pre-attack character set-up. I think the acting was actually pretty damn good. The characters – NYC 20-somethings – felt very authentic and sympathetic to me.

Be prepared to feel that dizzying sense of unreality and shock that you felt on 9-11 – especially since it is set in NYC.

The special effects are amazing.

Go see this movie in the theater to experience the sound. Do not wait for DVD.

[EnviroBat]

49. and LOUD!

They had the speakers blasting all 50,000 watts! Every sound and explosion could be felt. That really added to the scary factor for me.

[Redneck Socialist]

25. Well, #10 = Redneck Socialist not seeing the film

That herky jerky hand held shit gives RS motion sickness. I almost barfed during The War Room (the documentary on Clinton's first campaign) and the Blair Witch thingy made me nauseous too. Which is odd as I've never experienced motion sickness on land, sea or air.

[fortyfeetunder]

26. I give it a 3 out of 5

When I saw one review comparing this to "Blair Witch"...I knew what to expect. Not quite a classic but plenty of suspense. I won't see it again, I'll wait....probably be on DVD by May...

[BreweryYardRat]

29. Parasite bullcrap? Pass.

Sorry, but no. Parasites always make me jumpy.

[terrya]

30. Thanks, but I won't be seeing it.

Ever. I have no interest in these kind of movies anymore.

[Blue_Tires]

34. +1

[AlCzervik]

31. i just saw and liked it, the camera work was fine, shaky when it should have been

it was better then i expected based on some on the reviews i've read.

[OhioChick]

32. One of My Kids Saw it....

Didn't care for it. Said at the end you could hear crickets from the audience and then everyone asking if "that was it."

Also said there were big signs prior to entering the theater stating that if you suffered from motion sickness.....seeing the movie was not advisable. :shrug:

[AlCzervik]

33. i'm prone to motion sickness, i cannot play video games at all because of it but

this movie really wasn't all shaky camera work, it was in the spots you'd expect.

[RedCappedBandit]

35. Half those reasons explain why it sucked.

Absolutely no ending. I might as well have left the movie half way through.

[Orrex]

37. For the life of me

I can't imagine that the handheld gimmick wouldn't become unbearably annoying after about three minutes, CGI notwithstanding.

I'll see it on DVD.

[The Animator]

38. Spoiler Alert!!! If you haven't seen the movie skip this post.

I really enjoyed this movie. I knew from the beginning of the film that the story would be unresolved, that it would end abruptly, and the main characters would not survive.

Because of the words that flashed on the screen at the start...

from video recovered at site
Formerly known as Central Park

meaning the camera was found by someone later, meaning the person holding the camera did not survive.

If this one camera is the sole source for the story, then obviously when the last person to hold the camera dies... the story is over.

The open endedness is what keeps you thinking about the movie long after you've left the theater. Anyone else notice that Lily, the brother's girlfriend might have survived... because she was in a different chopper? And there is also the possibility that Rob and Beth survived the tunnel collapse, trapped in the rubble, but for the most part protected from the bombs. It didn't appear to be a nuclear bomb, would have made more sense to me as a weapon of last resort..

[XemaSab]

39. It did occur to me that Lily may have survived

It's hard not to compare Cloverfield with I Am Legend, and I was fully expecting to see Lily eat it in the helicopter.

I liked the open-endedness of the movie. It was very un-Hollywood, and I thought it indicated a lot of respect for the audience on the part of the filmmakers to leave so many loose ends.

What was the monster? Where did it come from? Why attack New York City? What were the things falling off of it? Why did Marlena die after being bitten? What happened to Lily? And the last question, did the government defeat the thing or was the camera recovered after the monser had moved on in hopes that the thing would finally be defeated by information on the camera? :shrug:

And the last last question: why was the movie called "Cloverfield?" :P

[vi5]

40. Well put....

I'm sorry but people who need everything spelled out and need to have pat endings handed to them are just beyond my comprehension. No wonder popular culture is in such a state of disrepair. I'm not saying people had to like the movie but to have the no explanatio and no finality in the ending be the reason just seem silly to me.

As for the movie itself and the Lily thing, I thought that as they were taking off and the monster started attacking again, that they saw a chopper go down, implying that it was the one that Lily was on. I could be wrong though.

[Javaman]

42. Dude, next time, give a SPOILERS ALERT!! JEEEEZ. nt

[seemunkee]

43. Saw it myself

My daughter was wrong. Good movie. Glad I saw it at the theater, don't think it will look good on TV

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

45. A few disagreements. Possible spoilers.

#9: You know, it some respects I thought the first 15 minutes were the more interesting part of the movie. It reminds me a bit of "From Dusk Til Dawn," which starts off as a gritty crime movie, then suddenly turns into a vampire movie.

#6: It is Godzilla style invincible, which is fine. But then they can beat off the little baby monsters with a lead pipe, implying they are flesh and blood. Bit inconsistent I thought.

#3: I liked how they handled the monster, the monster itself was kind of boring. I liked the whale monster from the disinformation release better.

#2: Thought it was rather pointless and contrived. Couldnt they just use the monster for the movie? They had to add extra little monsters just for the subway sequence? And the kill off a character a la John Hurt in Alien? Meh.

#1: Please. They make sequels when the first one makes cash. Quality has nothing to do with it.

[skypilot]

46. I really liked it (SPOILERS)

I thought it was an intense ride bookended by two kind of sad shots: the opening shot of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline--which will soon be destroyed--and the last shot we see of Beth finally having visited Coney Island and saying that she'd had a really good day, which underscored the bad day to come.

My main complaint was that the cast, despite being made up of relative unknowns, was still a bit too "pretty". A movie that's going for the kind of realism that Cloverfield seemed to be going for should have some more regular looking folks in it. But overall I liked it. I saw it with one of those audiences that was very quiet when the movie ended and I think it was because of the ending and not because of the movie overall. Not the kind of ending that most people are used to: abrupt, unresolved and sad.

[soleft]

50. I think this movie would have to be really disturbing to those affected by 9/11

Not that we weren't all affected by 9/11, but I was in lower Manhattan that morning, and the feeling you got from the characters on the street is a lot like how it was that day. And I have one friend who will never be able to see this movie. She worked in the WTC but went in late that day. She had to wait ten minutes before entering the theater to see Farenheit 911. And when we went to see Deja Vu she had to close her eyes during the opening ferry sequence.