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Looking Forward To Cloverfield
This weekend, one of three movies I'm really looking forward to watching is released: Cloverfield.
All of the people I talk to say the same thing: they don't know what to make of the movie, but only know that they really want to see it.
To my knowledge, Cloverfield is the movie that has had the most hype surrounding it with hardly any plot details revealed about it. The movie first surfaced last summer as a teaser trailer played before "Transformers" (which for all its silliness, is one my favorite movies of last year).
It starts rather, well, cheesy, with an unseen person shooting a going away party for his friend, Rob. The various revelers, none of whom are portrayed by well-known actors, offer jokes and comments for Rob and the cameraman, until the scene takes a complete 180 degree turn. The camera shakes, people are screaming, and the partiers rush to the roof to watch an explosion unleash upon downtown New York City.
The rest of the trailer, still shot from a first-person-perspective, ends with people running through the streets, shouting that there is some sort of creature attacking the city, when a large object crashes through the street...only to be revealed as the head of the Statue of Liberty. Fade to black...with no title for the movie mentioned whatsoever. Awesome, yes. Mysterious? Even more so. And such, the online forum rumor-mongering and search for a plot began.
The trailer was labeled simply as "Untitled J.J. Abrams Project," which itself contributed to the film's hype as Abrams is popular for the television shows "Alias" and "Lost," as well as for directing "Mission Impossible 3."
All of this mystery has made the film seem extremely intriguing, not only to me, but millions of Internet surfers who have studied the original teaser and subsequent trailers for the slightest hint of the monster, or any other plot details. Even the marketing for the movie is a mystery; there has been no commercials or full length trailers until recently, and websites have been discovered that are linked to the movie, including an absurd Japanese website, "Slusho," that at first seems unconnected...until some sections of it contain mythology about a sea monster.
So..WHAT IN THE BLAZES IS THIS MOVIE? WHAT IS THE MONSTER? The lack of information and marketing have given the film more hype than over-exposure ever could.
That's why I'm so excited to see the movie...because it might very well be a disaster. Firstly, Abrams is simply the producer. The director, Matt Reeves, is credited only with writing and directing episodes of the show "Felicity," as well as one or two episodes of other shows. Lack of experience means nothing, certainly. But still. Felicity?
Secondly, the threat of no payoff looms over this film as well. If this is just "Blair Witch Project with Monsters," I guarantee many people will be disappointed. We need to see this monster. It doesn't matter if it's an original creature, or some licensed beastie, like Godzilla. We need to see it. The concept of shooting a monster film entirely on hand-held camera is cool and all. But show us a monster. Please.
The hype for this movie has been almost completely created by the fans themselves, and not by the production company. That's pretty much an anomaly. No matter what happens, some of these fans will be disappointed. I hope I'm not one of them...but won't be surprised if I am.
I'll have a review posted online by this weekend, Monday at the latest.
The other two movies I'm excited about? The Dark Knight (new Batman film) and Iron Man. More on those later on.
Brian
Posted by
Brian McCarthy
All of the people I talk to say the same thing: they don't know what to make of the movie, but only know that they really want to see it.
To my knowledge, Cloverfield is the movie that has had the most hype surrounding it with hardly any plot details revealed about it. The movie first surfaced last summer as a teaser trailer played before "Transformers" (which for all its silliness, is one my favorite movies of last year).
It starts rather, well, cheesy, with an unseen person shooting a going away party for his friend, Rob. The various revelers, none of whom are portrayed by well-known actors, offer jokes and comments for Rob and the cameraman, until the scene takes a complete 180 degree turn. The camera shakes, people are screaming, and the partiers rush to the roof to watch an explosion unleash upon downtown New York City.
The rest of the trailer, still shot from a first-person-perspective, ends with people running through the streets, shouting that there is some sort of creature attacking the city, when a large object crashes through the street...only to be revealed as the head of the Statue of Liberty. Fade to black...with no title for the movie mentioned whatsoever. Awesome, yes. Mysterious? Even more so. And such, the online forum rumor-mongering and search for a plot began.
The trailer was labeled simply as "Untitled J.J. Abrams Project," which itself contributed to the film's hype as Abrams is popular for the television shows "Alias" and "Lost," as well as for directing "Mission Impossible 3."
All of this mystery has made the film seem extremely intriguing, not only to me, but millions of Internet surfers who have studied the original teaser and subsequent trailers for the slightest hint of the monster, or any other plot details. Even the marketing for the movie is a mystery; there has been no commercials or full length trailers until recently, and websites have been discovered that are linked to the movie, including an absurd Japanese website, "Slusho," that at first seems unconnected...until some sections of it contain mythology about a sea monster.
So..WHAT IN THE BLAZES IS THIS MOVIE? WHAT IS THE MONSTER? The lack of information and marketing have given the film more hype than over-exposure ever could.
That's why I'm so excited to see the movie...because it might very well be a disaster. Firstly, Abrams is simply the producer. The director, Matt Reeves, is credited only with writing and directing episodes of the show "Felicity," as well as one or two episodes of other shows. Lack of experience means nothing, certainly. But still. Felicity?
Secondly, the threat of no payoff looms over this film as well. If this is just "Blair Witch Project with Monsters," I guarantee many people will be disappointed. We need to see this monster. It doesn't matter if it's an original creature, or some licensed beastie, like Godzilla. We need to see it. The concept of shooting a monster film entirely on hand-held camera is cool and all. But show us a monster. Please.
The hype for this movie has been almost completely created by the fans themselves, and not by the production company. That's pretty much an anomaly. No matter what happens, some of these fans will be disappointed. I hope I'm not one of them...but won't be surprised if I am.
I'll have a review posted online by this weekend, Monday at the latest.
The other two movies I'm excited about? The Dark Knight (new Batman film) and Iron Man. More on those later on.
Brian
Posted by
Brian McCarthy
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