Cloverfield (feel free to merge if there's already a topic)

[BangoSkank]

Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Ever see it.  The movie is 1 hour and 24 minutes, and about ten of those have the actual monster in it... the rest is talk and shakey camera shit.

I couldn't take it... this is a sociological marketing campaign to get people into the theatre and it worked, but I'm betting word-of-mouth will bring this down from about #2 this weekend to around #7 next week.

Each actor is bland as butter, the first half hour is nearly unbearable as nothing happens except trendy hipsters with a camera doing nothing and saying unfunny things. Literally it takes 30 minutes for the monster to appear and at that point I was just praying for gore. People are going to argue that the annoying will make it more fun when they die, but there's so much of the annoying that it actually makes YOU want to die.
I was also thoroughly disappointed with the amount of monster in it, as there is next to none. In between shots of the monster it's focusing on the annoying people and you're suppose to care about their story, but all people want is the monster and there ain't enough of it.
There's a few redeeming qualities about it, everything at the military base is cool (and if you've seen the movie than you know the specific part I'm talking about), but how they get to the military base is so coincidental I felt robbed of a real story.

Again, almost everyone is going to see it because they did an AWESOME job marketing it, so really the movie should be called "I'm a consumer, take my money." It doesn't deliver, honestly. See it if your morbid curiosity is so high you can't contain it, but all-in-all I'd say save your money. Atonement, No Country for Old Men, I'm Not There, Sweeney Todd and Juno are all still out. One if not all of those movies are apt to please you, skip Cloverfield and see a real movie with a strong story and solid emotional depth.

[freedom78]

I agree that it has great marketing...I'm genuinely interested...but every time I see a commercial, I wonder "what the fuck is this about?"  And, having bought far too many crappy albums to see what they're about, I wasn't about to do the same for a movie.  Thanks for the info, though I do look forward to some other reviews.

[Bill 213]

Blah........I knew this was a stinker back when they had the first little teaser trailer.   I wouldn't waste my time on this crap.  It's such a shame that the horror genre is dead and gone, but we always have the classics. 

[gilee7]

I couldn't disagree with you more, dude. I saw this movie earlier tonight and I fucking loved it. I thought the movie was great. It's very original; very unique.

Honestly, the movie showed a lot more of the monster than I thought they would. Going in, I figured we'd only see it from a distance, going behind buildings and whatnot. But you get to see overhead shots from helicopters, and a super close up at the end, where it's very disgusting and creepy looking. I was a little worried about the handheld camera thing. I figured it'd get annoying after awhile--- but it only enhanced the viewing experience. The audience could see what was going on at every moment, even when the camera was dropped and when the characters were running.

I didn't find the characters annoying. All the chicks in the movie are SUPER hot. And the guy that does most of the "documenting" throughout the movie is very hilarious. Even when they're being chased by Godzilla's cousin and a bunch of crazy spider-looking things, he manages to crack jokes, which are actually funny. However, I didn't really care for the main guy, the one looking for his (girl)friend.

Most monster movies like this show the President and the Pentagon and some scientist that's trying to get close to the monster and all this stupid crap . . . But Cloverfield gives the audience a first-person point-of-view, as if we're actually there, as if we're a part of the movie. We get to see what it'd be like if a monster really did attack the city we lived in. Movies like this never focus on regular people. And I FELT like I was there, running throught the streets of NYC, missles flying overhead, building crumbling. I was on the edge of my seat for pretty much the whole movie. I agree that the movie is a little too short, but the party at the beginning only lasts a few short minutes before the monster shows up, and from then on it's non-stop excitement. The scene with the helicopter at the end was fantastic. I don't know how many times I thought the movie was about to end but the characters somehow survived. And the overall ending is great.

Just wondering, but did you see The Mist when it came out a couple months ago?? That was another fantastic monster movie where we hardly ever saw the monsters. I loved The Mist also--- it was one of my favorite films from last year. I actually think not seeing the monster, or just seeing it out of focus and whatnot, actually enhances the fright. Often monster movies suck because the monster looks so cheesy and fake. When we can't see the monster very good, we're able to imagine the most terrifying, horrible creature of all time. But yeah, The Mist was also a great movie, and it had one of the greatest endings I've ever seen. I recommend both movies.

Cloverfield is a pure roller-coaster ride from beginning to end. Great fun. All my friends loved it just as much as I did.

[Prometheus]

well either gilee7 or the bucket is retarded...... now i must watch this to find out my answer......lol

[Feel_The_Burn]

Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Ever see it.  The movie is 1 hour and 24 minutes, and about ten of those have the actual monster in it... the rest is talk and shakey camera shit.

I couldn't take it... this is a sociological marketing campaign to get people into the theatre and it worked, but I'm betting word-of-mouth will bring this down from about #2 this weekend to around #7 next week.

Each actor is bland as butter, the first half hour is nearly unbearable as nothing happens except trendy hipsters with a camera doing nothing and saying unfunny things. Literally it takes 30 minutes for the monster to appear and at that point I was just praying for gore. People are going to argue that the annoying will make it more fun when they die, but there's so much of the annoying that it actually makes YOU want to die.
I was also thoroughly disappointed with the amount of monster in it, as there is next to none. In between shots of the monster it's focusing on the annoying people and you're suppose to care about their story, but all people want is the monster and there ain't enough of it.
There's a few redeeming qualities about it, everything at the military base is cool (and if you've seen the movie than you know the specific part I'm talking about), but how they get to the military base is so coincidental I felt robbed of a real story.

Again, almost everyone is going to see it because they did an AWESOME job marketing it, so really the movie should be called "I'm a consumer, take my money." It doesn't deliver, honestly. See it if your morbid curiosity is so high you can't contain it, but all-in-all I'd say save your money. Atonement, No Country for Old Men, I'm Not There, Sweeney Todd and Juno are all still out. One if not all of those movies are apt to please you, skip Cloverfield and see a real movie with a strong story and solid emotional depth.

Thats JJ Abrams for ya......

[w.axl.rose]

i loved this movie. i went to go see it last night and it was awesome. 2 of my cousins couldnt take all the camera shaking so they went to throw up  but only one ended coming back to finish the movie. i want to go see it again since in the end when rob films the sea before they movie ends you can see something fall into the water which i missed  and after the credit all you hear is "its still alive"

[mrlee]

haha apparently loads of people have been getting ill from the movie.

ownage!

[Gunner80]

Can't wait to see it next week on my birthday.

[Jagged Little Pill]

I saw it today and I liked it. There were lots of close ups and body shots of the monster. I missed the water part at the end as well. Only part I didnt like was the ending...

[gilee7]

and after the credit all you hear is "its still alive"

I stayed through the credits to see if there was an extra scene or anything, since I figured this was the kind of movie that would do something like that. I heard somebody say something once the music stopped playing, but my stupid friends were talking so I couldn't make out what was said. Thanks for clearing that up, though!

[LittleFly]

and after the credit all you hear is "its still alive"

I stayed through the credits to see if there was an extra scene or anything, since I figured this was the kind of movie that would do something like that. I heard somebody say something once the music stopped playing, but my stupid friends were talking so I couldn't make out what was said. Thanks for clearing that up, though!

From what I've read, someone DOES say something, but you wouldn't be able to understand it in the theatre.  It's someone saying "It's still alive" in reverse.  So you would have to record it and play it backwards to understand it.

I think I might see this one, but will probably wait till it's on DVD.  I did see the Mist though, and thought that was an AWESOME movie.  So I'll probably like this one too

[w.axl.rose]

and after the credit all you hear is "its still alive"

I stayed through the credits to see if there was an extra scene or anything, since I figured this was the kind of movie that would do something like that. I heard somebody say something once the music stopped playing, but my stupid friends were talking so I couldn't make out what was said. Thanks for clearing that up, though!

From what I've read, someone DOES say something, but you wouldn't be able to understand it in the theatre.  It's someone saying "It's still alive" in reverse.  So you would have to record it and play it backwards to understand it.

I think I might see this one, but will probably wait till it's on DVD.  I did see the Mist though, and thought that was an AWESOME movie.  So I'll probably like this one too

it "was" on youtube. they recorded the ending and it says help me and in reverse it says its still alive.

[The Dog]

surprised nobody has posted a picture of what the monster looks like yet.

i read IF they make a sequel its going to be the same style movie, just shot from a different persons POV.

dumb.

[cotis]

I wanna see this, friends have said it was good so I'm planning on checking it out soon!

[Albert S Miller]

I haven't seen it yet, but daughter went last night with a couple of friends.  My daughter couldn't stand it and both of her friends really enjoyed it, one of them said it was the best movie he had seen in a while. I dunno.

[w.axl.rose]

surprised nobody has posted a picture of what the monster looks like yet.

i could post the pic if you want

[The Dog]

surprised nobody has posted a picture of what the monster looks like yet.

i could post the pic if you want

I do, but not sure about others - PM to me if you can?  thanks!

[mrbucketfoot]

I wouldn't say it's horrible. Over-hyped, yes. A let down? Yes.

But I thought it was pretty entertaining. Good backstory and character development, but I was really let down by the fact that it's being marketed as a monster movie and has this mystique about it but they never really go the monster movie route. It's all about the main group of characters.

I thought it was thrilling, it just didn't grow into anything special, imo. I do have to commend it for not getting rediculous like that POS Godzilla and having stupid stuff like "hey lets kill it".

[grog mug]

So where is the pic of the monster!?!  I wanna see it....