quote:Originally posted by Puffy Treat: People ask if it's a terrorist attack several times in the earliest monster scenes.
It could be argued that much of the imagery during the first sweep of the monster through Manhattan deliberately invokes some of the 9/11 video footage. Especially the scene where people are fleeing the debris.
I didn't mind the humor. Hud was a geeky goofball. That was part of his personality. Marlena was sarcastic from the start, prone to the occasional jab. In a crazed, stressful situation like that, sometimes jokes and zingers spring out at inappropriate moments.
They weren't talking like they were from the Whedonverse, so it didn't take me out of the film.
From what I read in the production notes, it looked like they were very cognizant of the risks involved with putthing the movie in NYC. Any measure of danger and destruction in NYC is going to evoke memories of 9/11, it doesn't have to be deliberate (granted, I haven't seen the movie) but they seemed to be discussing it in the realm of reducing the similarities as much as feasible given what has to happen in a movie like this.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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I thought the movie was pretty cool. I really like the idea of point of view narration, and I thought this movie executed it wonderfully. It allowed the filmmakers to not have to focus on the monster, where it came from, what it was, or even what i was doing most of the time. We didn't know anything more than the characters who we were following knew, and that served to just make it more gripping.
The only thing that I can remember that bugged me a a little bit(and it's pretty minor)...when they're in the subway...if you see hundreds of rats all running in one direction, you damn well start running in that direction without a second thought. You don't stand there contemplating the rats and trying to get the light on your camera to work!
Posts: 8741 | Registered: Apr 2001
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My opinions: Wow, pretty intense. It was well written and directed, the actors were decent, and the characters were overall likeable.
SPOILER!!
Somethings I didn't understand: when the first victim, Jason, died, you see the monster's tail crashing into the bridge. It wasn't swinging side to side, it just fell on top of the bridge. For that to be possible, its back would be close up to the bridge... so did it just walk backwards to the bridge just so it could kill people with its tail? Posts: 80 | Registered: Jun 2007
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Come on, the only scene that really stretched the limits of incredulity was when the monster was bgetting hit by the stealth bomber as Hud, Rob, and whatzerface were leaving in the chopper, and then all of the sudden out of the smoke and debris the monster jumps up and takes out the chopper! Ok, so first off, it shows that the thing wasn't indestructible, I mean those were some heavy hits, and it obviously felt them. But then..."Arrrgh, it's one of those damn WOOP-WOOP-WOOP thingies, I'll get it!"
Otherwise, friggin' sweet film.
Posts: 1286 | Registered: Dec 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Puffy Treat: My only real complaint: Several clueless people in the audience who would not keep it down, turn off their cellphones, and got mad when it didn't end like a typical Hollywood monster film.
There was a guy like this 5 seats away. He was compelled to make comments all the way through the movie that made Hud (who I thought was awesome) look like a genius.
Couple of elements I loved:
The director has the ever so crucial timing that this genre needs. For me it seemed that the punches, feints and blocks came at all the right moments.
Building hopping to save Beth. Visually stunning, although she probably wouldn't have survived being impaled and almost definitely would have bled out when disimpaled, that sequence was spectacular. Since she did live she was probably in shock and had very low blood pressure, so I think her reaction to the monsters was very realistic.
The subways were classic. Rats, the camera light and infrared. The movie was full of successful cliches that a select few directors can pull off.
Where can I get a battery like that for my camera?
And the Cloverfield anthem Roar was Godzilla awesome.
Posts: 686 | Registered: Sep 2001
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quote:Originally posted by Zhil: It wasn't swinging side to side, it just fell on top of the bridge.
I remember it twisting and twitching wildly before it went still and fell down, then lashing again afterwards.
The thing's tail was longer than the rest of its body put together, from what I recall.
The monster could have been parallel with the bridge and then lifted it's tail and turned perpendicular to it.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Me and my girlfriend were trying to figure out how the movie got named Cloverfield or where they got that name from. While we looked online a bit, we couldnt seem to find anything.
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Maybe they should have called this Blair Witch Project 2: Cloverfield.
The shakey, hand-held camera "first-person" aspect to this movie is it's schtick... What sets it apart from other Giant Monster movies... And allowed for the brief flashes from what was recorded on the tape before... but honestly, I could have done with out it. I think the monster(s), characters and story were interesting enough that they didn't need to make the movie difficult to watch without getting a migraine.
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I always assumed that it was named after the street in Santa Monica. There are indeed a lot of little SFX studios and production offices around that area.
Posts: 3936 | Registered: Jul 2000
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quote:Come on, the only scene that really stretched the limits of incredulity was when the monster was bgetting hit by the stealth bomber as Hud, Rob, and whatzerface were leaving in the chopper, and then all of the sudden out of the smoke and debris the monster jumps up and takes out the chopper! Ok, so first off, it shows that the thing wasn't indestructible, I mean those were some heavy hits, and it obviously felt them. But then..."Arrrgh, it's one of those damn WOOP-WOOP-WOOP thingies, I'll get it!"
Not to mention that the chopper did not attempt to fly straight AWAY from the monster. It had plenty of time to get altitude and change direction. Would have been a much different ending if the pilot had.
Posts: 5656 | Registered: Oct 1999
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It is the name of a street. If i recall correctly they started using the name as a codename to just call it something when it was still being called "the untitled J.J. Abrhams project". The name stuck for some reason and they made up the explanation for the name after the fact.
Posts: 8741 | Registered: Apr 2001
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re: Helicopter. The only thing I could think for why it would've followed the flight path it did was that it was assigned to visually confirm the status of the monster.
Also, I kept thinking the same thing about the camera's battery, especially when Rob's cell phone battery ran out. And since when do new cell phone batteries come fully charged? Maybe it did hold a partial charge, not sure.
I really did like the movie and even plan on buying the DVD. It was just... intriguing.
Oh, and when Hud shouted that they got the monster and then the monster lashed out and took down the 'copter, I was immediately reminded of Creepshow 2 (I think it was the second one). The specific part was where the dude managed to outswim the slime-lilypad-maneating-thing to the beach. He had it made. He'd beaten it, he'd live. But then he turned around and taunted it.
Whereupon the creature reared up halfway onto the beach and ate the man.
Lesson learned. When you've outrun the beast, even if you think you're safe, keep running. Under no circumstances do you declare your victory and proceed to taunt.
Posts: 14745 | Registered: Dec 1999
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It was sort of predictable, but I thought the "the camera has a night-vision feature" scene was pretty effective. Largely because everyone with any sense in the audience is going, "Don't. Don't do it. You *don't* want to know."
Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
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quote:Originally posted by mackillian: re: Helicopter. The only thing I could think for why it would've followed the flight path it did was that it was assigned to visually confirm the status of the monster.
Also, I kept thinking the same thing about the camera's battery, especially when Rob's cell phone battery ran out. And since when do new cell phone batteries come fully charged? Maybe it did hold a partial charge, not sure.
I really did like the movie and even plan on buying the DVD. It was just... intriguing.
Oh, and when Hud shouted that they got the monster and then the monster lashed out and took down the 'copter, I was immediately reminded of Creepshow 2 (I think it was the second one). The specific part was where the dude managed to outswim the slime-lilypad-maneating-thing to the beach. He had it made. He'd beaten it, he'd live. But then he turned around and taunted it.
Whereupon the creature reared up halfway onto the beach and ate the man.
Lesson learned. When you've outrun the beast, even if you think you're safe, keep running. Under no circumstances do you declare your victory and proceed to taunt.
Every time I've gotten a new phone, it's come with a partially-charged battery.
And yes. That was the one thing where I just KNEW for sure they were going to die....when he was taunting the monster. DO NOT GLOAT when you think you've blown the thing up! Wait until you're far, far, far, far away. Then MAYBE you can have a celebratory cupcake.
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Just saw it (despite my column stating I wasn't gonna) and was very impressed. It avoided nearly all the cliches and hit every note just right. I am not a monster movie fan, but I liked this.
Posts: 7790 | Registered: Aug 2000
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quote:Originally posted by Sterling: It was sort of predictable, but I thought the "the camera has a night-vision feature" scene was pretty effective. Largely because everyone with any sense in the audience is going, "Don't. Don't do it. You *don't* want to know."
Didn't Hud see those little monsters attack that soldier on TV while they were trying to get a new cellphone? They also noted that all the rats are running in one direction. Why wouldn't you just start running until you found the next subway spot rather then standing around straining to hear what the ruckus was all about?
Apparently if you watch carefully you can see something fall out of the sky and into the water at the end of the movie.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Technically, that shot of something falling out of the sky was filmed before the events of the movie. It was that guys date with the girl on Coney Island. So it would follow that the beast came from space. Or at least it fell from the sky.
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So, it would confirm that all the Slusho/Japanese Oil Drilling stuff was just a way to waste people's time. Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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My family agreed that if there were to be a sequel, we wouldn't want to see another monster, or even the same monster, from a camcorder point of view. We'd actually like to see the same movie over again, but from a traditional point of view in some sort of command and control center. I don't even care if they end up beating it or not, I just want a much wider focus than what the movie presented.
I liked it, all in all, and I was surprised because I really thought I wouldn't. Um, some comments based on what I've seen said so far. Yeah Cloverfield was named after the street and they were intending to change the name, but once it got out and people latched onto it, they sort of retconned it.
The helicopter flying over the creature that ended up getting them killed was the stupidest part of the movie. Other than the choice to rescue Beth, which I guess in the context of the movie actually didn't seem that ridiculous, few of the things they did made me go "Why would you do that?" It was great in that regard, I appreciated them not being utterly stupid. Why in God's name would you fly TOWARDS IT!? There were things in the air all over the place, they didn't need to use the chopper with civilians in it to to a visual check, that's dumb. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Lily survived right? I got the impression she was the only survivor. I loved the comedy bits, they were very well timed.
I saw nothing during the Coney Island scene, and I was sort of looking. As far as the not gloating thing, that's like the plot formula for those Final Destination movies. Every time it looked like someone SHOULD have died, you count to 15 and then they actually die from something totally out of left field.
And they already made a second Blair Witch, it sucked. Oh man, as soon as I saw the rats I was like RUN! Run!!!! How many movies and what not do you have to see to know that the rats are the best friend you can have in a situation like that. They're like a danger radar, always follow them. And I knew it'd be bad when they turned on the night vision, that whole fight, man, I can only imagine what that must have been like in the DARK without night vision.
And I definitely think Marlana exploded. If the visuals didn't do it, the oooey gushy sound should have clenched it.
Overall I enjoyed it, and I'd like to know what happened, and some of the other details from what else was going on, but the way it was done certainly kept my attention fixed on the screen for an hour and a half. I don't want to see a slew of these movies, but this was a great one time shot.
As an aside, when they were walking down the street and the military came up behind them, I was utterly BLOWN AWAY by the amount of firepower they brought to bear on that thing. Seriously, the rifles, the MLRS rockets, the tank, what I imagine was a .50 cal, I mean Jesus, that stunned me and dropped my jaw. I was impressed in general with how fast the military responded to the situation. My brother, Dad and I all looked at each other and went "woo" when they announced planes were being dispatched from Selfridge AFB. Go Michigan!
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I enjoyed it more than I thought I would have. At the same time, I felt kind of disappointed at the end. The shaky-cam was completely unnecessary. Modern camcorders have steady shot.
I get that the shaky motion is supposed to make it feel more realistic, or draw us in or let us feel the characters blah blah, whatever - don't do it. It's just annoying.
The other thing I had a problem with is the suspension of disbelief. If you give me some info about the monster and the victims, I'm willing to believe what you tell me. Explain it a little bit, and I'll allow that what you say is part of the movie and go with it.
In the absence of any information, I'm forced to come up with all of it myself, so I start looking for holes. Where did the monster live prior to attacking NY? What method of bite causes people to explode half an hour later? What sort of creature can withstand the type of ordinance the US military can put down?
Fun movie, but ultimately it left me with too many questions which I couldn't come up with satisfactory answers for. In other words, I liked it, but it could have been a lot better.
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The only time I just couldn't buy it was when it didn't have a scratch on it in Central Park. With what was being dropped on it, especially the tank hits, I refuse to believe that it has armor more powerful than pretty much anything in the modern first world military arsenal.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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Agreed on that point, it was getting hit pretty heavily, to the point where if it wasn't blinded and crippled or killed, it should have at least retreated back to the ocean. The only counter argument that I could come up with is that if it's living a few miles underwater than there may be an evolutionary impetus for armour against the pressures involved. However even then I can't see something biological in origin withstanding direct hits from heavy arial ordinance.
Posts: 959 | Registered: Oct 2005
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Since its part of the giant monster genre, shouldn't we respect some logical leaps that come with the monster genre? I'm okay with it not having a scratch, it might be indestructable like Godzilla.
Then again, it's supposed to be a "realistic" monster movie... its very premise is silly.
Posts: 80 | Registered: Jun 2007
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quote:We'd actually like to see the same movie over again, but from a traditional point of view in some sort of command and control center.
That, if done right, would beawesome. The curiosity I had about the entire situation was killing me.
Posts: 14745 | Registered: Dec 1999
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quote:Originally posted by Zhil: Then again, it's supposed to be a "realistic" monster movie... its very premise is silly.
I've heard it's supposed to be a monster movie from a non-traditional point of view, or a monster movie from the YouTube era of self-conscious video-making.
I have not found any statement by the film makers that they intended the monster itself to be "realistic".
quote:Originally posted by 0Megabyte: Anybody else hear the static at the veeeeery end of the credits, saying something like... "It's still alive!"
***SPOILER!!!*** (Is it really necessary to mention that by now?)
The sound at the end of the movie, although some people claim says "help us", actually whispers "it's still alive", clear as day, if played backwards. Matt Reeves himself provided the voice for it.
Posts: 3486 | Registered: Sep 2002
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Oh, I believe you. I'm just trying to imagine why I'd take the time to whisper "It's still alive" backwards in that situation.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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Perhaps it's meant to be something someone encoded onto the military tape, and not straight captured audio?
Posts: 7790 | Registered: Aug 2000
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quote:Originally posted by TomDavidson: Oh, I believe you. I'm just trying to imagine why I'd take the time to whisper "It's still alive" backwards in that situation.
The same person that would add end credits to a home movie?
***SPOILER #2***
At the beginning of the movie, when they have the on screen grid and the DoD case designation, you can see a Dharma logo from Lost on the bottom right (the hexagon).
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I KNEW I SAW SOME DHARMA INITIATIVE $#!& IN THERE! I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but...
Posts: 1286 | Registered: Dec 2005
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Really enjoyed it. The shaky camera didn't bother me, because it made sense in the context of the what was happening.
Something definitely hits the water to the left of the boat in the final scene. I was eyeing the boat expecting something, so I spotted it. It isn't big (not big enough to be the monster). It could have had a 'monstor egg' in it, but not the big daddy.
Question: Did you think the things falling off the monster were offspring? fellow creatures from the black lagoon? parasites (ticks?) that decided to eat some of the little guys?
Posts: 317 | Registered: Sep 2001
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quote:Originally posted by dem: Question: Did you think the things falling off the monster were offspring? fellow creatures from the black lagoon? parasites (ticks?) that decided to eat some of the little guys?
Unless there is any other information to the contrary, I'm going to go with some sort of parasite or symbiotic lifeform.
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: The helicopter flying over the creature that ended up getting them killed was the stupidest part of the movie. Other than the choice to rescue Beth, which I guess in the context of the movie actually didn't seem that ridiculous, few of the things they did made me go "Why would you do that?" It was great in that regard, I appreciated them not being utterly stupid. Why in God's name would you fly TOWARDS IT!? There were things in the air all over the place, they didn't need to use the chopper with civilians in it to to a visual check, that's dumb.
I'm going to agree with mackillian's answer that the helicopter must have been ordered to get in close to get a visual on the monster. I don't really remember what else was in the area at the moment. I can't recall seeing any helicopters, and it may have just been that the one they were in was going to be in roughly the right area anyways, so they just had it go in a bit closer to get a look. Still a bit contrived, but not horribly so in my opinion.
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Many speculate that it is possible that she may be the daughter of, or at least related to, Hugh McIntyre, the Communications Director of the Hanso Foundation, which was part of The Lost Experience.
Considering the apartment they're in in the beginning - a penthouse apartment overlooking Central Park - it's safe to assume that her family is loaded, so it's not too far fetched in that regard.
Posts: 3486 | Registered: Sep 2002
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quote:I'm going to agree with mackillian's answer that the helicopter must have been ordered to get in close to get a visual on the monster. I don't really remember what else was in the area at the moment. I can't recall seeing any helicopters, and it may have just been that the one they were in was going to be in roughly the right area anyways, so they just had it go in a bit closer to get a look. Still a bit contrived, but not horribly so in my opinion.
If it was alive, you'd know 30 seconds later when it got back up and beat the crap out of the surrounding buildings. You don't send a helicopter with civilians in it to do a job that really doesn't much need to be done, and that could be done by the planes flying around dropping bombs. Just struck me as extra silly.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: If it was alive, you'd know 30 seconds later when it got back up and beat the crap out of the surrounding buildings. You don't send a helicopter with civilians in it to do a job that really doesn't much need to be done, and that could be done by the planes flying around dropping bombs. Just struck me as extra silly.
Yeah, it was a little silly, but what really got me was the way that no matter how many buildings were knocked down and the power went off, it always popped back on within a few seconds.
Posts: 2437 | Registered: Apr 2005
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Well that makes sense. Isn't most of the power grid in NYC underground? It never took out an actual power station, and there aren't really any poles for it to knock down, so the shakes and shimmies are going to knock it out for a bit, but it won't take it out entirely. I actually bought that one.
Besides, if the city plunged into total darkness, there'd be no movie. Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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JJ Abrams said that the monster itself was actually a baby, and was in "freakout mode" because it was scared without it's mommy. Don't remember where I saw that though...
Posts: 193 | Registered: Jul 2005
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The "Dharma logo" is actually a Bagua symbol, and is in the shape of an octagon.
I had a feeling that there were actually more than one of the huge monsters, the military never really established that there was only one.
I heard about the splash thing and looked it up on youtube, there is indeed a splash, and an object falling from the sky, but it's extremely difficult to see.
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I haven't seen the movie, but someone I know (not very well) made the comment that she was actually happy when all the people were dying (the characters with dialogue, who you get to know). Is there something wrong with her?
Posts: 3354 | Registered: May 2005
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I was happy about that too because I have been waiting for a movie where everyone just dies at the end. Now, if she was happy that they were dying because she likes to see people die then there is something wrong with her.
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* 70 points of articulation and incredible life-like detail * Authentic sound * 14” tall * 10 parasites * Two interchangeable heads * Statue of Liberty head accessory * Special Cloverfield collector’s edition packaging
Aw, ain't he adorable? Is $100 a bit steep for these things?
Posts: 3486 | Registered: Sep 2002
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I don't agree with the idea that the movie would be good enough without the handheld-shaky-cam. That's specifically what makes this movie NOT just another monster movie. There were people walking out of the theatre complaining that that was no plot and no "explanation" for anything. Don't they get the whole point of making a movie like this one? It's not meant to be "figured out", but experienced, and I loved it.
Also, according to imdb, the sequel has been announced.
Posts: 1314 | Registered: Jan 2006
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I could have gone with out the experience of motion sickness, requiring me to close my eyes for an accumulated 20 minutes.
There may be no explanation during the movie, but if you read about the hints and clues that have been left by those involved about what really happened, it is clear that it was though out, and at some level explained.
If there was nothing to gain in understanding, it's just a bunch of idiots running around with really neat looking special effects, which does not make a movie. Alright, it was a bunch of idiots running around with neat looking special effects, with just enough information to keep me in a suspension of my disbelief.
I did enjoy it, don't get me wrong. There was just potential for characters that I might have cared about. As is, I couldn't care less which of the characters gets hurt or dies.
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