Cloverfield

I knew very little about this film before I went to see it.

10/10 amazing film!!

EDIT - after reading this thread Im making it 9/10 as it reminded of some bits I thought could have been done better. If my bro had been killed by the chewits monster then I would have been a mess. Certainly not skipping down a pitch black tunnel. I loved the scene just before they went in the subway. immense!
 
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Fantastic film overall, the POV camerawork was genious (though I have seen this used before, man kills prostitutes with his '3rd leg' of the tripod, any ideas? oh and of course, cannibal holocaust and BW project), and I love it when the action is enough to build suspense without the use of non diegetic sound.
However, I think the start goes on for too long, it could have been a couple of minutes shorter though that would mean the already short film would be even shorter.
 
Just got back from watching this, first two great things from my cinema trip.

1) That Orange advert with Snoop Dog was on before the film and I couldn't stop laughing when the film started, it unfortunately made me prone to the giggles during not so funny parts of the film. :D

2) They had the Hellboy 2: The Golden Army trailer before the film, wow that looks awesome. :eek:

The third great thing about my cinema trip was the movie itself. Absolutely amazing. It's so refreshing to see a film that focuses on ordinary people during extraordinary events, no "Top Gun Pilots", no "Computer Super-Hackers" and no "Presidents of the USA" involved, just Mr Normal and friends trying to survive and make some sense of what's happened to the world around them.

I thought the camera work was good, it really helped immerse me in the film and it really felt like I was watching something that had actually happened and been recorded on a digicam. I was expecting the camera though, my sister and her bloke weren't and thus thought the film was a pile of tripe.

The way you don't know what's happening, don't know what it is and don't really know what the government is doing to solve the problem is a nice change from the usual top level military councils and peeks into the Oval Office most monster / alien films include, you felt like you knew as much as the characters themselves.

There were quite a few humorous moments as well provided by the ever dim Hud, who seemed to have a talent for saying the wrong thing at the worst time. :p

Thought the monster was good, thought the acting was brilliant, liked the soundtrack, loved the idea behind the film and personally I would love to see an alternate handycam recording of events to further detail the events and how others reacted to them. Nice to see a more realistic ending as well, life doesn't always end happily and with everyone winning.

Rating: 10/10 well worth watching.
 
loopstah said:
1) That Orange advert with Snoop Dog was on before the film and I couldn't stop laughing when the film started, it unfortunately made me prone to the giggles during not so funny parts of the film. :D
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That had everyone in stitches aswell just before our film, funniest orange advert i've seen in a while.
 
Ive seen the film and i really liked it.

And about this splash in the sea on the ending scene. I noticed it clear as day the first time i seen it.

The second time i seen it i thought it looked like something falling out of the sky into the water.

Didn't think much of it untill i seen this thread :eek:

8/10 for me.
 
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God this film was average... I mean seriously, ho the **** could in good conscience give this film 10/10... probably the same people who give a knee-jerk 10/10 to any new film that's remotely quirky or that "looks cool".

From the third minute in all I wanted to do was slap the guy holding the camera with the ginger hair. Ok, I realise they tried to make him into the "goofy" and "funny" one but seriously ffs... he was possibly the worst scripted person in the whole film, some of his lines were so desperately unfunny and also inappropriate that I just hung my head and sighed. Absolutely appalling.

Then there was the camera. While I realize the whole point of this movie was to provide a claustrophobic viewpoint from people running away form a nightmarish mess, it just doesn't work in the way I personally feel it was supposed to. For a start as much as I love suspending disbelief... did the camera have a nuclear plant inside it? Not only do they presumably film for about 6 hours, but they also use the light on the end of it to walk through a tunnel for God knows how long (though obviously we only see glimpses). Then, because the film relied solely on the camera for it's action, you found they they got it out at the most unrealistic or inappropriate times inorder to provide continuation for the film, times when a camera would just be the last bloody thing on your mind. I can only hope that for the sequel they film it "normally", as any big monster in big city movie should be shot. The claustrophobic camera and complete lack of any ability to see anything meaningful did not suit the scale of the film imo. Blair witch filmed in dark woods this was not.

And then the plot itself... again I love my fantasy and sci-fi and am always happy to sit there and switch my brain off if the director can make me believe it's all happening with some sense of cohesion, but seriously... a sea monster that's been at the bottom of the sea for thousands of years... but appears to be completely adapted to living on land, running around everywhere with the agility of a cat? That has parasites that can run around on land as agile as a greyhoud and stick to walls? The fact that they all can breathe the air perfectly despite being presumabley 100% sea-based? And then of course... it also happens to be almost completely invulnerable to conventional weaponry. RPG's? Missiles fired by F22's? The most powerful non-nuclear bombs mankind can throw at it? Nah, it shrugs them off like me getting paper flicked at my earlobe.

And lets not start with the main protagonist of the film going back to get Beth (thus risking the lives of everyone he holds dear), to find her impaled on a spike... then by some miracle unknown to medical science he rips her off of said spike and manages to not only get her out of the building, but to travel some distance to a park where she cheerfully not only manages ot stay conscious (or should that be: alive), but also appears ot not be covered in blood, or indeed have lost much of it at all.

Please Mr. Director, don't try and insult my intelligence... i'm accepting of many thing, but not THAT accepting.

6.5/10, and that's me being very fair.

On a seperate note regarding the monster this video made me laugh like a good'un http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXASlXuDEDg :D
 
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^^^^

I think Richdog was a huge 'Godzilla' fan, the one with matt broderick in :D

SPOILER

Saw this last night and would certainly give it a generous 9/10. It really was cinema at its best and totally immersed me, but there were a few stupid bits and i was glad the camera guy got munched on at the end.

I thought this film would be more blair witch and show you an awful lot less monster and mini-monsters, thank god it wasn't, as blair witch was overhyped carp with the best, and only scary scene being the person standing in the corner at the end. Well the monster, soo much ordanance fired and dropped on it, but nothing seemed to penetrate it at all.

A few little things, there were a lots of references to the sea and sea things i thought. THey talked about some fish for a while in the subway, can't remember what else exactly, but there were a number of mentions.... o and some tv program on in the electronics store with some cheese thing under the sea. And the splash at the end of the film...... ? More clues and tit bits.

Fantastic film and can't wait to get it on blu-ray even though it will probably be quite grainy and shaky ;) On a final note, when the army came running through the 4 of them for the first time shooting at the monster with troops, rockets, and tanks, it was simply a semi-hard moment..... Wow.

Not going to focus on the annoying jokes and silly bits, but well done JJ in providied an awesome cinema experience. Well worth £5.50 and good to no my expired NUS card still works :D
 
Richdog said:
... the main protagonist of the film going back to get Beth (thus risking the lives of everyone he holds dear), to find her impaled on a spike... then by some miracle unknown to medical science he rips her off of said spike and manages to not only get her out of the building, but to travel some distance to a park where she cheerfully not only manages ot stay conscious (or should that be: alive), but also appears ot not be covered in blood, or indeed have lost much of it at all.
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Yep, that to me was the most laughable part of the film.
 
dmpoole said:
It was 300 last year which was bloody awful.
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I saw that at the cinema and thought the exact same thing. Cinema aimed at 16-year old males who see a bit of blood and breast and slap each other on the back and swear it's the best film they've ever seen. It was over-stylised, repetetitive dross.
 
KikiMombassa said:
Iits isnt a satellite even the ppl who made the film confirmed that though i spose theres nothing like a good conspiracy to keep the public motivated i guess so in the end i believe that it could be ...
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Can you source that? Even IMDB has it listed as something hitting the Ocean.

Edit - great film btw. I watched it last night. I feel a little sorry for those who fail to grasp the film's intention to immerse you in what's happening as opposed to telling a complete story.
Watching the people aimlessly wandering in the street after the very first explosion will spark up a lot of memories in the US in terms of 9/11 etc.

Some brilliantly tense moments with just one memorable 'camera overshake' experience when running from the Brooklyn bridge.

Loved the B2 dropping its load - and I thought the ending was excellent, especially when the eery air attack sirens started up. Fantastic.
 
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Domo said:
Can you source that? Even IMDB has it listed as something hitting the Ocean.
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Well keeping the charade going they only confirmed it wasn't a satellite hitting the ocean so instead it must be the monster coming from outer space on a surf board.
This means its the most awesome-o monster EVER because not only can it breathe outer space, it can also breathe water and normal oxygen.
I want one.
 
Domo said:
I feel a little sorry for those who fail to grasp the film's intention to immerse you in what's happening as opposed to telling a complete story.
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You feel sorry for people who actually didn't think the film was as much good, as though we somehow lack the ability to grasp the comparisons to 9/11, as though things like this somehow elevate the film beyond something which it clearly isn't? The irony is that usually I LOVE this type of film. Don't feel sorry for us for having discerning taste... :)
 
Plunk13 said:
Yep, that to me was the most laughable part of the film.
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Yes, precisely, the film. What an amazing movie it would have made if they got in line for an evacuation checkpoint.

Oooohhh the thrill of getting shouted at by a big NY policeman to que in an orderly fashion I cant believe they didnt make that the main part of the movie!

I cant believe some people are questioning the monsters abilities to breath and move etc. its a film and its a monster we know nothing about, it could have different lungs for different gases for all we know (something hinted at at the end of the film?)

Since its a monster they can make it do anything really, if you were to go even more specific you could calculate that its legs wouldnt be able to hold it up, but whats the point?

In star wars they travel at the speed of light, as far as we know that isnt possible, does that make it a bad movie?
 
As monster movies go, it wasn't bad (though I've seen better), but take away the camcorder perspective, and it brings absolutely nothing new to the monster movie table.

The big failing in my opinion, was that in attempting to make as realistic a film as possible, the producers shot themselves in the foot by having so many unrealistic coincidences and lazy plot devices. I just can't reconcile the gritty realism with the far-fetched coincidences.
 
Green_Giant said:
The big failing in my opinion, was that in attempting to make as realistic a film as possible, the producers shot themselves in the foot by having so many unrealistic coincidences and lazy plot devices. I just can't reconcile the gritty realism with the far-fetched coincidences.
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Care to point any specific ones out? coincidences like half of the main characters dying but each of their deaths explain a little bit more about the monsters doing?
Every movie has 'coincidences' its what makes them interesting.
 
slambo69 said:
I cant believe some people are questioning the monsters abilities to breath and move etc. its a film and its a monster we know nothing about, it could have different lungs for different gases for all we know (something hinted at at the end of the film?)

Since its a monster they can make it do anything really, if you were to go even more specific you could calculate that its legs wouldnt be able to hold it up, but whats the point?
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The reason for this is that for any film to succeed they have to make it so that that the watcher suspends disbelief not through their own force of will, but because the film is made in such a way as it doesn't allow the viewer to question what's been put in front of them. This is done by creating a cohesive plot, and providing enough information so that it all ties in. Cloverfield had none of that, it was a mess.

I am a huge Fantasy and Sci-Fi buff... i'll watch almost anything... but if I find it hard to suspend disbelief for a film then it's a pretty good cert that this is because it doesn't allow me to, and that's the last thing I want when I go to the cinema.

Do you think a movie should be able to include ANYTHING it wants and still expect people to take it for granted, just because it's a film? Jellyfish that carry machineguns and walk on rollerblades? Sentient frisbees that fire elastic bands from specially adapted robotic arms?

In star wars they travel at the speed of light, as far as we know that isnt possible, does that make it a bad movie?
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Oranges and apples... in fact the comparison is silly.
 
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Its a monster attack on the US though. Obviously if it was a giant jellyfish it wouldnt be taken seriously, but this is one mean looking monster that is on a rampage, just like godzilla and king kong I guess. It doesnt really do anything that unbelievable.

I think cloverfield did want viewers to ask questions since even by the end of the film we and the cast are non the wiser as to what the monster is or what its capable of.
 
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