Yesterday, I had the day off and caught a 10:55 AM showing of Cloverfield. The premise is a monster movie where the monster destroys New York, but instead of being with a scientist or military guy, we are with a group of the humans who are in the destruction caused by the monster.
I don't to say too much to avoid spoilers, but, for what it is, this film is very effective. It starts with a going away party for a guy who is moving to Japan for his new job. One of his friends is videotaping goodbye wishes from the party guests. He happens to catch a glimpse of downtown New York erupting into a fireball. Destruction follows and the handheld video camera catches it all. We follow a group of 6 friends as they try to escape the destruction, the miliitary units trying to mobilize to stop the Thing, and, even the monster itself.
The film itself, without credits is only about 80 minutes long, and the party scene, as it sets up the characters, does go on a touch too long, but once the destruction happens, the tension ratchets up. This is basically "Blair Witch Project" meets "Godzilla" and, on that level it works fantastically.
The filmmakers have learned from Jaws and show enough of the creature to make it not feel like a cheat, but you only get a full view a few times. The sense of forboding is palpable. In a scene where our group is waiting on a subway platform, even though there is little dialogue, the rumbling of the creature's foootsteps and the military's artillary is omnipresent.
The cast of mainly unknowns (the biggest star is Lizzy Caplan who had a role on last yera's now defunct CBS series "The Class" and was Lindsay Lohan's partner in crime in Mean Girls) does well with their roles and, if maybe not perfect, are verybelieveable in their reactions to the chaos and destruction around them.
There are several jump to the back of your seat and scream moments, which are fun, because the tension must be released somehow.
The camerawork, depending on your viewpoint, either works or is the worst thing known to man. It's all handheld and shaky, and, as the character who is videotaping it all is running, has about 45 seconds of nothing but blur. This is the one time I do not recommend sitting on the front row.
Apparently, the actual making of this film was only done on a 25 million dollar budget, but the chaos and destruction is done so well, it seems like a 200 million dollar film. It is very believeable and I give a huge thumbs up to the visual artists.
Cloverfield does not reinvent the wheel, but, for what it is, it gives a great ride.
film- 7 (knocked down for camerawork issues)
movie- 9 (knocked down for the opening scene dragging just a touch)
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A few comments on Cloverfield:
1) The found-footage thing is old hat by now, but I liked the conceit of squeezing this epic event through a tiny filter. Some great choices visually.
2) I want to say that the film would have been better if I had cared whether the characters lived or died, but that would be dishonest -- I actively rooted for them all to die, and as soon as possible. Every time a face was shown or a line of dialogue was spoken, I could hear the gears of consultants and focus groups grinding in the background. Blech.
3) I'm a stay 'till the credits are done kinda guy anyway, but "Roar (The Cloverfield Overture)" made that more of a pleasure than usual. Michael Giacchino rocks. How could they have left that off the soundtrack?
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