CLOVERFIELD (2008)

[zelmo73]

The movie was OK. For some reason, I found the viral marketing campaign more interesting.

When a movie runs the risk of dangerously sucking, like The Blair Witch Project (1999) for example, it always pays to have a viral marketing campaign like that movie did. Cloverfield (2008) came out at just the right time too, right when smartphones were starting to become popular; remember the dark old days before 2007 when there were no smartphones? So this cell phone footage movie really played into the introduction of new, hip technology rather well. Blair Witch kinda did that too with their Internet marketing campaign, which really hadn't been done for a movie before 1999.

[Umaril Has Returned]

I guess we like this movie.   

Yeah, space monsters rule!  3 cheers for our giant buddy! 

Off topic, but w\regards to space monsters, my fave will always be the cyclops from Lost In Space.    Oh what the heck, ALL monsters are cool. 

[zelmo73]

Oh what the heck, ALL monsters are cool. 

ALL monsters are cool? 

[Jack]

I'm afraid I only made it about 15 minutes into Cloverfield.  I just didn't care for those characters at all.  They were all the sort of utterly empty, utterly full-of-themselves uber-yuppies that just repel me.  I never even saw the monster lol.  I should have used the FF button I guess.

[Umaril Has Returned]

Oh what the heck, ALL monsters are cool. 

ALL monsters are cool? 

Oh cool, it's Naginata from Yokai Monsters.  That was a very cool movie based on some very fascinating Japanese folklore. Yeah, some monsters might be dated in their appearance and screen presence, but all monsters are pretty well cool! I guess I'm just a monster kind a' guy. 

[WingedSerpent]

ALL monsters are cool?  

Yes.. ALL monsters are cool.

[akiratubo]

I didn't like Cloverfield.  There was all sorts of interesting stuff happening, like a monster rampaging through the city, the military fighting it, and even the small creatures roaming about.  However, that was merely window dressing for A ROMANTIC ANGST PLOT ABOUT A 20-SOMETHING GUY.  You know, the movie could have been about the group trying desperately to flee.  That would have been fine.  But, no!  They had to be going to rescue the guy's kinda-ex-but-not-really-ever-girlfriend-who-he-treated-like-utter-crap.  Boy, I sure care about that.   

[Allhallowsday]

I'm afraid I only made it about 15 minutes into Cloverfield.  I just didn't care for those characters at all.  They were all the sort of utterly empty, utterly full-of-themselves uber-yuppies that just repel me.  I never even saw the monster lol.  I should have used the FF button I guess.

For me, the fact I did not care about these people, and actively disliked at least one, and their ignorance of what was happening, makes the movie work.  And I really would have expected to hate this movie. 

I didn't like Cloverfield.  There was all sorts of interesting stuff happening, like a monster rampaging through the city, the military fighting it, and even the small creatures roaming about.  However, that was merely window dressing for A ROMANTIC ANGST PLOT ABOUT A 20-SOMETHING GUY.  You know, the movie could have been about the group trying desperately to flee.  That would have been fine.  But, no!  They had to be going to rescue the guy's kinda-ex-but-not-really-ever-girlfriend-who-he-treated-like-utter-crap.  Boy, I sure care about that.   

I don't agree about the "window dressing".  His friend at the beginning calls the lead a "douche" and means it.  Vacuous venal people (y'know, ordinary people) are faced with a complete new set of rules.  The douche attempts to be a man, perhaps self-consciously, but not self-righteously.  Facing death, his thoughts immediately turn to the woman he'd "treated like utter crap".  As we learn at the very end: they love each other.   The movie isn't really about them; it's about us. 

[zelmo73]

Maybe that's the hang-up. Because many of us would have simply been hightailing it the f**k outta there! 

[Umaril Has Returned]

I'm afraid I only made it about 15 minutes into Cloverfield.  I just didn't care for those characters at all.  They were all the sort of utterly empty, utterly full-of-themselves uber-yuppies that just repel me.  I never even saw the monster lol.  I should have used the FF button I guess.

For me, the fact I did not care about these people, and actively disliked at least one, and their ignorance of what was happening, makes the movie work.  And I really would have expected to hate this movie. 

I didn't like Cloverfield.  There was all sorts of interesting stuff happening, like a monster rampaging through the city, the military fighting it, and even the small creatures roaming about.  However, that was merely window dressing for A ROMANTIC ANGST PLOT ABOUT A 20-SOMETHING GUY.  You know, the movie could have been about the group trying desperately to flee.  That would have been fine.  But, no!  They had to be going to rescue the guy's kinda-ex-but-not-really-ever-girlfriend-who-he-treated-like-utter-crap.  Boy, I sure care about that.   

I don't agree about the "window dressing".  His friend at the beginning calls the lead a "douche" and means it.  Vacuous venal people (y'know, ordinary people) are faced with a complete new set of rules.  The douche attempts to be a man, perhaps self-consciously, but not self-righteously.  Facing death, his thoughts immediately turn to the woman he'd "treated like utter crap".  As we learn at the very end: they love each other.   The movie isn't really about them; it's about us. 

That's an interesting take on Cloverfield. Kind of a "love among the ruins" story as the lead has to rebuild and re-start from under both emotional and physical rubble. So it's also a story of death and re-birth on a few different levels.