Jan 21
Cloverfield Review - I LIKE!
You’d think that given my current situation, the hardest thing I have to do on a daily basis is taking care of my kid. But you’d be wrong.
It’s getting my wife to the movie theater.
Last Friday I started early though, asking her as soon as she got up if she wanted to go to the movies that evening. As the night came along, I then reminded her that we just received some free movie tickets for Christmas so it wouldn’t even cost us anything to go.
Ignoring her final desperate attempts to stay home (”I’m tired”, “blah blah blah”), I finally got her to the theater to see Cloverfield.
The whole movie experience didn’t get off to a great start when we first went to the box office and there was a sign reading something like,
If you’re prone to motion sickness, you may choose to stay away from Cloverfield.
After I managed to get the wife to shrug that one off, the box office didn’t even take our free movie tickets because they were for another theater. But despite all of this (which would normally be deal killers), I managed to get the wife into the movie right as it started with two other friends of ours. And we had a blast.
What’s the Deal With Cloverfield?
I could compare the movie with a couple others… Because of the unique way the film was shot, you’ll immediately think of The Blair Witch Project. Unlike that movie however, stuff actually happens in Cloverfield. And what’s better than that is how Cloverfield takes the de facto “monster destruction movie” and flips it completely by choosing to focus on the people affected by the situation rather than the situation itself. Sure, on the surface that may make the movie sound rather boring but trust me it is not.
Stuff is happening all over the place, it’s just that you’re seeing it all from the eyes of a small group of people running around on the streets rather than 60 stories up from the missiles of a jet or helicopter. That whole perspective thing really makes for an interesting movie. It’s hard to explain, but you’ll just have to trust me.
Should You Go See It?
All I can say is I liked it, and my wife liked it. We tend to like Sci-Fi movies and this one didn’t disappoint and was a very refreshing departure from the normal Hollywood fodder. Oh, and those two other people we were with? They hated the movie. When hearing some people in the audience applaud the movie, one of the friends told them to “Stop clapping!” and then said, “I will never go see another movie again…” So there you have it. I’m certainly not saying this movie win an Oscar, but it was really entertaining and I’m glad I saw it in the theaters.
If you want to read a much more indepth review of the movie, check out Big Daddy’s Kev site and interview with one of the stars!
January 21st, 2008 at 4:49 pm
I’ve been looking forward to this one and I need to see it eventually. I’ll bring a barf bag, just in case :P
Disaster movies are always fun, though they should pick a different city to destroy every once in a while.
January 21st, 2008 at 4:54 pm
this movie had so much hype, and it let me down.
January 22nd, 2008 at 11:35 pm
@Mike - Good point, though I don’t know how interesting it would be to see Kentucky farmland being destroyed. *shrugs* (#):)
January 23rd, 2008 at 1:39 am
This sounds quite a good movie, like you, me and my wife like action packed and sci-fi movies.
Unfortunately Cloverfield is not out yet in the UK.
Regards.
January 23rd, 2008 at 1:41 am
What I forgot to mention is that at the moment my favorite movie this year has to be I am a Legend.
Regards.
January 23rd, 2008 at 8:00 am
@JSanderz - You know before this, we went out to see a movie of my choosing and I chose… Aliens vs Predator-R. Looking back, probably wasn’t the best movie to choose. Anyway, the wife hated that movie and we left halfway through because she said she was worried about our kid who her mother was watching.
She then saw how bitter I was that we left the movie (because she NEVER comes to see movies) so we snuck into I Am Legend. We got all the way to the point where the news reporter says, “So you cured cancer?” and then we left the theaters for good ’cause it was evident she really wanted to get home and see the kid.
Maybe I should go today and see I Am Legend before it leaves theaters. (#):)
January 23rd, 2008 at 11:23 am
Reading your review, i am pretty eager to try the movie. I dont think it will release here anytime soon so i guess i will have get it through torrents.
January 23rd, 2008 at 12:54 pm
@Madhur - Ugh. Well I hope the quality is good. If you have a good home theater setup though, you may want to wait for the DVD.
January 23rd, 2008 at 4:39 pm
This movie looked good, but I did not know it was like the Blair Witch Project. Don’t really see that in the previews.
I might see it.
Anyway, if you have not already be sure to get Undertow off of Xbox Live Arcade since it is currently being offered FREE.
January 24th, 2008 at 8:57 am
@Apexad - Like the Blair Witch ONLY in the way it’s shot. From what I remember about Blair Witch, nothing really happened… Stuff happens in this movie.
And you KNOW I got Undertow (just ’cause it’s free). I think you recommended me take a look at this game a while ago and I think it’s aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. It seems more often than not that I just get caught up getting shot as much as I’m shooting. Though the leveling up is kinda cool.
January 24th, 2008 at 10:48 am
Haven’t see it yet, but I’ll probably wait to catch it on DVD. Glad you liked it. It’s got 74% on Rotten Tomatoes right now, but I’ve also heard some people say that it didn’t live up to the hype. But then again, what things do anymore. These days, the movie trailers can make the worst things look spectacular. Anyway, I’ll have to see it. Thanks for your review on it Bush.
“Anyway, the wife hated that movie and we left halfway through because she said she was worried about our kid who her mother was watching.”
LOL.Was she really worried or was that just a good way to get the hell outta there? :P
Shine on,
Aaron
January 25th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
@Aaron - I honestly think a little bit of both. That’s why I didn’t even TRY to get her to come see Rambo tonight. (#):D
January 26th, 2008 at 3:10 am
This movie is in my ever growing pending list….i will try to watch it this week.
January 26th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
@Shashank - You got to! (But if you don’t like it, don’t hold me accountable) (#);D
February 4th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
TGH and I liked the movie. Unfortunately, I had just had a giant frozen smoothie before we went so my tummy was full and I was getting a little woozy (usually I have a cast-iron stomach - no issues) due to the camera movement, but if it hadn’t been for that I would have had no issues. Anyway, it was good and I made it through fine. I like special effects and thought that monster was really cool. I was left wanting to know more about how it got there and what those littler monsters were all about. ;)
February 4th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
@Teeni - Nice. Well I BELIEVE that in the last scene of the movie, (trying not to give anything away), you can look into the bg (into the water behind the ferris(sp) wheel) and you can see something.
February 7th, 2008 at 12:09 am
Great review. I have been meaning to do one myself and like you I really enjoyed it.
February 7th, 2008 at 6:18 am
@Forest - Hey thanks man. Even though I usually don’t do movie reviews, me and the wife really felt this one was one of the more original movies we’ve seen in a while so I was ENTICED to do it!