Cloverfield

I've got a million other things to talk about (ok, four or five), but this is what's on my mind now despite those other half written posts: We went to see Cloverfield tonight.

I'm going to guess that you've already heard about it, since the marketing campaign has been hard to escape since the first teaser was attached to Transformers what seems like years ago. They've tried really hard not to tell too much about this movie, so I'm not going to spoil it for you here. The story involves a handful of New Yorkers who are throwing a going away party for their friend, Rob, when something happens. We gain details at the same time they do, learning that some sort of monster type thing is attacking the city. As they flee the scene we run along with them, as the entire film consists of the footage on their home video camera (shot mostly by Hud, the friend who is scared to death and therefore can't stop talking or filming and who serves as what little comic relief there is). To avoid giving away too much, let's just go with a summary of the good and bad of the film.

Good: The film is entirely different from most giant monster movies. It is from the perspective of a few people, none of whom are truly important in the grand scheme of things. Since they are just regular people, it's the job of the writer, director and actors to convince us that we should care about them. And they succeed, not by making us care about Rob's job in Japan or who's in love with whom, but by making us one of them.

Good: Having the film shot on the handheld camera gave a realism to the film that traditional filming would not have managed. That made the difference between watching these people running for their lives and feeling like we are all running for our lives.

Bad: Having the film shot on the handheld camera produces some weird motion effects while running, turning around or doing any of a million other things. If you are at all prone to motion sickness, you might want to take a Dramamine before going. We've been out for a while, and I'm still feeling like I could puke at any moment. (Fortunately, this issue is balanced by the relatively short run time of the movie.)

Good: The film captured the true horror of a situation like that. Sure the monster is scary, but the reality is that you don't have a clue what's happening. Everyone is screaming and talking at once. No one knows what to do next. Nothing is truly safe because you don't know if you are heading into an area that's even worse than it was before.

Bad: If you want answers, this is not the movie for you. (If you want answers, you should also pretty much avoid anything with J.J. Abrams name on it.) They aren't going to tell you what happened to people A, B and C. They aren't going to give you details on what that monster is or where it came from or how to kill it.

Good: Then again, looking at that last point a different way, the movie doesn't rely on a lot of exposition, so...they don't give you details on what the monster is or where it came from or how to kill it. Writer Drew Goddard stated that they specifically avoided having the scene with "the scientist in the white lab coat who shows up and explains things like that." There may be hints or guesses as to all of these things, but if you are running scared and just trying to survive, do you really care about these details?

Good: Which brings us to the monster itself. If you've gotten this far in the post hoping I would tell you what the monster is, you've wasted your time for two reasons. I'm not going to spoil things for you, first of all. Second, I don't know how to tell you what it is. Do we see it? Sure, but we see it as the people who are running for their lives see it, in bits and pieces as it moves and attacks and doesn't bother stopping to pose for pictures. It's not really like anything I've seen before. Sure it's kind of recognizable as being like this or like that, but it is its own new entry into the pantheon of movie monsters and only time will tell if it manages to become iconic like many of the others. (It's not just looks that determine this. After all, King Kong is just a big monkey and Godzilla is an overgrown T. Rex, neither one a particularly cool or clever idea on its own, and they are by far the best known/most beloved of the giant movie monsters.)

Bad: The movie avoids a lot of monster movie/disaster movie cliches. Unfortunately, there are a few that it just can't pass up. People do stupid things despite all common sense because it makes things more exciting. People don't die when they should because we need them for just a little bit longer. In a movie that tried so hard to avoid the norm, these moments stand out more than they should.

I'm not saying that it's a perfect movie. It's far from it. However, if you love monster movies, this is a great choice. You'll not only get that but also a movie that is intense and lets you see just how horrific being caught up in a situation totally outside of your control can be and captures the fear and confusion of being there. The people in this movie seem real. They are your friends, neighbors, brothers and sisters. You care about them, not because the filmmakers want you to, but because these people are you, and you have to survive.



Also in the good category, but not so much related to the movie itself: The first teaser for Abrams' Star Trek film was attached. It's just a teaser, but it really did make me excited about seeing it, even though I'm not truly a huge Trek fan.