Cloverfield: VERDICT! (Spoiler Alert)

[The Curmudgeon]

OK, well, obviously if you haven't seen this film yet, click away right now. There - can't say I didn't warn you.

So.. saw Cloverfield today, and even if I did use those little shocked face smilies, I don't think there would be enough to do this film justice. Honestly, the entire cinema was silent at the end of the movie, in a stunned, "what the fuck did I just see" kind of way.

In short - it's amazing. A genuinely clever and frightening film that thankfully doesn't offer any explanations over what is happening, and unleashes a relentless assault on the four tragic characters. Although, let's be honest, we all KNEW they were doomed from the start ("found" footage - that's never a good sign!)

I'm glad the monster itself wasn't fully revealed until the end, and it was a totally different beast to Godzilla or Kong. The little face-hugger things were similar to Aliens, but we can forgive them that.

So did anyone see The Splash at the end of the film? I totally missed it, but from reading on the net I've learned that the end scene (after they die) on the ferris wheel has something falling from the sky into the water behind them.

I really hope this film does well, because Abrams has said he'd like to make a sequel explaining what the hell its all about. Until then, I think I'll just leave stunned, overwhelmed and in love with The Best Movie of 2008. An early shout, but it's going to take some beating...

[trashcanman]

I'm with you. I've heard this film bashed left and right, just like "Blair Witch", but I literally GAPED at what I was seeing at least 5 times during this film. AMAZING! This is first rate filmmaking of the most immersive kind. But if you get motion sickness or simply look at films instead of immersing yourself in them, then I'm sure "Cloverfield" is no big deal. But I am all about this movie. I love how there is no explanation, no happily ever after, no ending captions, just "I had a good day" and then dead silence. At first I thought the notion of a sequel ridiculous (it is happening, by the way), but then I thought, what if they just made a killer giant monster film and had it sort of link up with what we saw in this one. The monster ripping Lady Liberty's head clean off (iconic!) and sending it bouncing down the street, smashing the bridge later on, and eventually chomping on our bumbling, ill-fated cameraman before continuing his rampage. That would be cool. I would love to see more of this monster's movements, attacks, and evasions that were so devestatingly portrayed third hand in the film but never shown to my satisfaction. Could be awesome.

[The Curmudgeon]

You've heard the film bashed? Really? Every review I've read has been overwhelmingly positive.

So what were the nay-sayers, er, saying?

EDIT - here's something I read on (of all places) Youtube. It's wrong, of course, but the guys makes a bad point good..

www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0_cCM2y38Q

[Ben]

I wasn't very optimistic going into it (a friend of mine told me you don't get to see the monster at all), but I wasn't disappointed like I thought I was going to be. The plot was fairly bland (then again, how much of a plot do you actually need in a monster movie?), but the whole "documentary" style, and the writers not bothering to let too many of the characters live, made the movie for me.

I don't know if I'd call it the best movie of 2008 (I just saw Rambo IV on the weekend and I thought it was excellent), especially since we still have Indiana Jones ahead of us, but it's definitely one I'll have to have on DVD.

[The Curmudgeon]

I think the lack of actual story is to the films credit, especially as its clear there certainly IS one hidden in there.

It's got that "Lost" factor about it, where people are desperate to find out the secrets and plot twists. Check Youtube for Cloverfield, man. It's a madhouse of conspiracy theories, "hidden" messages and clues.

It's quite a skill; giving the audience just enough, but keeping them desperate for more.

[trashcanman]

Check out Amazon for some of the bashings. I've heard it referred to as pretentious, unimaginative, nausea-inducing, etc, etc. The most common complaint, of course, is the shaky camera. I guess some people didn't exactly understand the premise going in. One person didn't like that the last characters died offscreen. Petty complaints about a beast of a film if you ask me. Most of the people I've talked to didn't hate it, but weren't crazy about it either. Some people just do to movies to hang out with friends and text message and shit like that. Makes it hard to really get into this type of flick, but these obviously aren't hardcore film fans either.