Anyone seen the trailers for Cloverfield (1.18.08)?

[CJFusco]

New movie coming out from the creator of LOST.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/cloverfield/

Needless to say, the movie has been kept secret and under wraps; there is speculation about a number of websites (including some fake Japanese soft drink called Slusho) that are actually part of a viral marketing campaign.

The basics are this: a group of twentysomething friends are throwing a going-away part for one of their friends in New York city. During the revelries, the power cuts out and they hear a horrifying sound. Off in the distance they see an enormous explosion. Eventually (when the head of the statue of liberty comes rolling down the road), they realize that New York is under attack by... something.

Considering that the film's POV comes entirely from a camcorder, it appears that the movie will be a combination (somewhat) of BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and a GODZILLA/BLOB kind of movie. There are rumors that it draws from the H.P. Lovecraft "Cthlulu" mythology, and still others insist that it is connected somehow to LOST.

There even might be nods to George Romero's DEAD trilogy; at one point in one of the commercials there is a very sick-looking girl and yells of "We have a bite!".

I have to admit, I'm intrigued.

[techweenie]

HELL yes. I'll be in line.

[dd74]

I'll be there.

[vash]

all over it! it may be "ticket for one". tho

[VaSteve]

Saw it. Anyone else? Let's discuss.

[techweenie]

Saw it. Let's discuss without spoilers...

[kstar]

I haven't seen it . . . but don't care about spoilers.

What's the "monster"? A Godzilla like creature?

Best,

Kurt

[Sonic dB]

death to the Shaky Cam Era.
cant watch a film with Shaky Cam...it spoils things...
seems to be a technique of hack directors/cinematographers...
like the last Bourne film.

yeah , i know it is supposed to be 'realistic'...(thats what they claim its use for)
but shaky cameras are not a realistic way that our
minds view things...

[VaSteve]

The monster is irrelevant. The missing link for me is: why are we watching this tape? what's the context? When did they find it? clearly it's been found and logged, but why are we seeing it? probably a set up for the sequel.

[CJFusco]

Yup. The beauty of showing things from the POV that "Cloverfield" did is that future movies can show the same event from various different points of view, thereby answering some of the questions left unanswered (such as did they kill the monster? what were the lice-like things dropping off? what happens to those who are bitten? etc)

I liked the movie, but was disappointed at the lack of any plot twists/surprises (considering that the movie was created by JJ Abrams)

[techweenie]

People expecting it to be an "American Godzilla" like some write ups promised, will be disappointed.

People with open minds, who appreciated what Spielberg halfway did with his lame-o War of the Worlds, will get it. It's totally street-level POV with all the confusion, pain and lack of "God's eye" overview or answers. I liked it a lot.

Sequels? Oh, yes, there could be lots.

[VaSteve]

I'm doing some additional research on the web....apparently this viral aspect is huge.

Sorry, WotW sucked....let me find my rant...


Ah, here it is:

War of the Worlds

[techweenie]

Originally Posted by VaSteve

The monster is irrelevant. The missing link for me is: why are we watching this tape? what's the context? When did they find it? clearly it's been found and logged, but why are we seeing it? probably a set up for the sequel.

That's all taken care of in the first few seconds of the movie, Steve. The CF card was found in Central Park. Because of the tactic used at the end (would be a spoiler to others), the DOD is presumably trying to learn more about the details of what happened.

[VaSteve]

Originally Posted by techweenie

That's all taken care of in the first few seconds of the movie, Steve. The CF card was found in Central Park. Because of the tactic used at the end (would be a spoiler to others), the DOD is presumably trying to learn more about the details of what happened.

Right, but we see it without any context....a bunch of analysts in a room watching it....something.

So in looking on line for this viral marketing, there's all this talk of Slusho and the company Rob was going to work for, but non of that in the film.

[911pcars]

My daughter in college went to see this the other night with friends. She rang me up and told be she was nauseous and disoriented toward the end due to the shaky, POV camera. Some of her friends and many in the audience blew it in the restroom.

She didn't like the story. YMMV.

Sherwood

[tabs]

People who go to see the movie die afterwards.

[CJFusco]

That explains why nobody seems to be listening to me.

Nope -- wait, that's normal.

[techweenie]

Originally Posted by VaSteve

Right, but we see it without any context....a bunch of analysts in a room watching it....something.

So in looking on line for this viral marketing, there's all this talk of Slusho and the company Rob was going to work for, but non of that in the film.

Sorry, it's BYOC -- bring your own context. Because WE are the ones watching it. Worked for me.

[RickM]

One on my pet peeves is the shaky camera technique. It seems to be one of the most prevalent complaints on Yahoo user reviews. May save my $$$ on this one.

[legion]

Originally Posted by RickM

One on my pet peeves is the shaky camera technique. It seems to be one of the most prevalent complaints on Yahoo user reviews. May save my $$$ on this one.

Might not be so bad to watch on a smaller screen (at home).

Still, I like the idea that a movie does not force-feed a single interpretation to viewers.