Cloverfield Spoiler Thread

[rpanic]

Originally posted by: her209

Originally posted by: Josh
fvck this movie and fvck blair witch project.

I heard that!

:thumbsup: x3

I felt very ripped off by seeing the Blair Witch project, which somehow got good reviews just like this movie, I will pass on this. Seems like the more hype the worse the movie is going to be nowadays.

 

[PetunZ]

Originally posted by: thraashman
I thought it was a very fun movie. And it was done in just good enough of a way that while I wasn't jumpy or scared during it .... I started more and more thinking of how I'd feel in their situation and how incredibly terrifying it could be to be there.

:thumbsup: I felt the same way.

 

[Starbuck1975]

My Spoilers:

The movie is essentially Godzilla meets Blair Witch Project.

All of the main characters die save for one.

You get to see the monster in the finale, although the "money shot" is quite forced.

Why the movie doesn't work:
1. The audience cannot relate to any of the characters...a bunch of elite and snobbish NY 30 somethings suddenly decide to help the main character go save his best friend, who he slept with prior to leaving for a job in Tokyo and suddenly realizes he loves her.
2. You are in the middle of a major Godzilla moment...who runs around filming the entire thing? The home movie approach doesn't work.
3. NYC is under attack...of course the smart thing to do is to cross the Brooklyn bridge???
4. The little spider things that the monster drops are a plot device...if a giant monster is stomping around NYC, the easy escape route is to hit the subway tunnels and work your way out of the city...but you can't do that if little spider monsters are chasing you. Kind of a lazy plot device in my opinion.
5. You are the guy holding the camera...a giant monster is about to eat you...of course you film your impending doom because then the audience won't get the money shot!!!

I will say this...the pace of the movie was outstanding...I like that they attempted to focus on the escape and survival aspect of the attack...with the monster playing as a threat that could strike at any moment.

I also like that they didn't attempt to explain the monster...is it an alien...a prehistoric creature that came from the deep...who cares...a giant monster is attacking NYC...all you need to know.

 

[ZzZGuy]

So it appears it's a love/hate movie. I loved the movie, and none of the things people like Starbuck1975 are saying really bothers me because it's just so minor or easy to look past.

Ending didn't bother me as well.

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: Starbuck1975
My Spoilers:

The movie is essentially Godzilla meets Blair Witch Project.

All of the main characters die save for one.

You get to see the monster in the finale, although the "money shot" is quite forced.

Why the movie doesn't work:
1. The audience cannot relate to any of the characters...a bunch of elite and snobbish NY 30 somethings suddenly decide to help the main character go save his best friend, who he slept with prior to leaving for a job in Tokyo and suddenly realizes he loves her.
2. You are in the middle of a major Godzilla moment...who runs around filming the entire thing? The home movie approach doesn't work.
3. NYC is under attack...of course the smart thing to do is to cross the Brooklyn bridge???
4. The little spider things that the monster drops are a plot device...if a giant monster is stomping around NYC, the easy escape route is to hit the subway tunnels and work your way out of the city...but you can't do that if little spider monsters are chasing you. Kind of a lazy plot device in my opinion.
5. You are the guy holding the camera...a giant monster is about to eat you...of course you film your impending doom because then the audience won't get the money shot!!!

I will say this...the pace of the movie was outstanding...I like that they attempted to focus on the escape and survival aspect of the attack...with the monster playing as a threat that could strike at any moment.

I also like that they didn't attempt to explain the monster...is it an alien...a prehistoric creature that came from the deep...who cares...a giant monster is attacking NYC...all you need to know.

if I was about to die a gruesome death, and I was holding a camera, damn straight I'd attempt to film it.

and I'd go around filming a monster. Why? That's how I am. I always hoped for tornado touchdowns when there were tornado warnings... just so I can document it. I'm also an adrenaline junkie that struggles to find adrenaline because nobody else I know is an adrenaline junkie. lol

I have a question though: did anybody else see the silhouette of a polar bear when the girl who was bit bites the dust? I think it was a nice little reference to Lost.

Originally posted by: ZzZGuy
So it appears it's a love/hate movie. I loved the movie, and none of the things people like Starbuck1975 are saying really bothers me because it's just so minor or easy to look past.

Ending didn't bother me as well.

I'm in the same boat. I went to the movie to enjoy what could become a classic American monster movie. I didn't go there to pick it apart and discover how many ways the film logic differs from reality. Because guess what? Rarely does a movie get everything right.

 

[Tooncesthedrivingcat]

Originally posted by: PrelateBishop

I'm speculating that the object seen falling into the ocean (seen in the far right of the shot) is, in fact, the creature. Apparently it took several weeks to gestate before deciding to destroy/eat New York. Where there plenty of plot holes? Sure. Did I get sick of the bouncy cam? Of course. Was I entertained? Yep.

It def was not the monster. It was a satellite. JJ himself said the creature came from the deep.

 

[Svnla]

I just wached this movie ...not bad..but not worth the hype.

1. Beth is sooooo freaking cute.

2. Beth's apartment..how could it leaned on its side and still standing?

3. Hawkins is the last name...not Hawk.

4. LOL @ Rob telling the Army commander what to do..yeah right...like he is going to have any say.

5. How do these young folks able to afford those places? Beth's place looks modern and expense.

6. The first 15 minutes are wasted....talk about typical yuppies problems.

 

[BradT]

For those that keep questioning the mysterious long battery life, there mis nothing abnormal. The camera operator shuts off the camera in between shots. There wasn't some editing done after the film was recovered. This also explains the pieces of old footage in between shots. These were there from when he rewound and fast-forwarded the tape.

 

[ChaoZ]

Just saw it and loved it. It kept me entertained the whole time. The scene where Rob told his mom Jason died was amazing; I've never heard a movie theater so quiet before. Would have liked a backstory on the monster, but all in all, this movie is awesome.

P.S. Beth was hot, wish there was more of her.

 

[Avalon]

Just saw the movie as well, and I thought it was awesome. The first person cam style didn't bother me at all, which seems to be what 90% of the complaints towards this movie are based on. I actually enjoyed that aspect a lot because I felt as if it connected you to the movie more so than a typical still cam 3rd person perspective.

For the other 10%...you are expecting a movie that is 100% realistic. You need to remember you are watching a movie. It's a monster film. You don't need to be rationalizing and trying to ponder every little thing that happens. Take it as it goes, and enjoy it.

Edit:
BTW, I also had a the misfortune of seeing the Blair Witch Project. If you have any reservations just simply because this movie has the same first person cam style as BWP, don't worry. It's far from the colossal failure/crapfest that was BWP.

Edit2:
I've got a Sony Handicam that can record for 160 minutes off the battery with NightVision and the LCD view finder turned on, so I don't see why a battery can't hold up for 70 minutes in the movie. I'd like to know what camera it was too, because apparently the bastard is indestructible

 

[Gunslinger08]

Saw it last night. Loved it. Very fun movie. I think the entire point is to make you think about how you'd feel in their situation.

 

[JasonCoder]

Beth needs to eat more, now the Indian chick (or middle-eastern, whatever) was flat hot.

Am I the only one who thinks the self absorbed yuppie party went on about 15 minutes too long? Who the fuck cares?

I think other than the party the movie was decent... hey it was different than most other movies out this year. That alone rates it high in my book.

 

[Pacfanweb]

So is the entire movie shown from a hand camera perspective, or do they ever zoom out and show things from a regular movie camera?

 

[randay]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
So is the entire movie shown from a hand camera perspective, or do they ever zoom out and show things from a regular movie camera?

technically it is always from a regular movie camera angle, just that the camera man is also a character and he has lines and a part in the movie. and parkinsons sometimes

 

[randay]

i started digging around in the viral marketing and found this site: http://www.cloverfieldnews.com/

half the freaking movie was in the pre-release viral marketing. if you put all the peices together you can get a good theory going about how the monster came to be.

 

[KeithTalent]

I saw this on the weekend and was very disappointed. The characters were irrelevant, the monster(s) was not scary, and the entire thing just seemed, I don't know, kind of forced.

It just felt like a big budget Blair Witch to me and that's not a compliment. I foresee a larger than normal drop for this next week since the initial hype has completely worn off and I don't think word of mouth will sustain it.

KT

 

[purbeast0]

honestly i really don't see why this is really being compared to blair witch project.

imo, blair witch was more of a fake documentary type of film with editing and all included.

this is straight up supposed to be someone's personal home video camera that was found and the 1 tape that was inside it when it was found.

watching this didn't make me think of blair witch once, and after watching it i still don't think they are similar at all other than they both didn't use hollywood professional cameras.

 

[lokiju]

Originally posted by: purbeast0
honestly i really don't see why this is really being compared to blair witch project.

imo, blair witch was more of a fake documentary type of film with editing and all included.

this is straight up supposed to be someone's personal home video camera that was found and the 1 tape that was inside it when it was found.

watching this didn't make me think of blair witch once, and after watching it i still don't think they are similar at all other than they both didn't use hollywood professional cameras.

:thumbsup:

 

[mrSHEiK124]

Originally posted by: lokiju

Originally posted by: purbeast0
honestly i really don't see why this is really being compared to blair witch project.

imo, blair witch was more of a fake documentary type of film with editing and all included.

this is straight up supposed to be someone's personal home video camera that was found and the 1 tape that was inside it when it was found.

watching this didn't make me think of blair witch once, and after watching it i still don't think they are similar at all other than they both didn't use hollywood professional cameras.

:thumbsup:

Blair Witch was actually shot with I think 8mm cameras. I wonder how they filmed Cloverfield, it actually looked very good on a theater screen...

 

[pcslookout]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
I saw this on the weekend and was very disappointed. The characters were irrelevant, the monster(s) was not scary, and the entire thing just seemed, I don't know, kind of forced.

It just felt like a big budget Blair Witch to me and that's not a compliment. I foresee a larger than normal drop for this next week since the initial hype has completely worn off and I don't think word of mouth will sustain it.

KT

:thumbsup:

 

[loup garou]

I saw it today, I thought it was ok, pretty much what I expected.
Wish I had seen the splashdown in the final scene though!

 

[Delita]

I'm not sure why you all are complaining about it not likeing it because the film was shaky...You knew before hand that it was filmed this way...

 

[spacejamz]

Originally posted by: purbeast0
honestly i really don't see why this is really being compared to blair witch project.

a bunch of people got nauseous from watching these movies...whether it was due the camera shaking or not it up to you....

 

[GrantMeThePower]

Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124

Originally posted by: lokiju

Originally posted by: purbeast0
honestly i really don't see why this is really being compared to blair witch project.

imo, blair witch was more of a fake documentary type of film with editing and all included.

this is straight up supposed to be someone's personal home video camera that was found and the 1 tape that was inside it when it was found.

watching this didn't make me think of blair witch once, and after watching it i still don't think they are similar at all other than they both didn't use hollywood professional cameras.

:thumbsup:

Blair Witch was actually shot with I think 8mm cameras. I wonder how they filmed Cloverfield, it actually looked very good on a theater screen...

It was shot on HD video

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: purbeast0
honestly i really don't see why this is really being compared to blair witch project.

imo, blair witch was more of a fake documentary type of film with editing and all included.

this is straight up supposed to be someone's personal home video camera that was found and the 1 tape that was inside it when it was found.

watching this didn't make me think of blair witch once, and after watching it i still don't think they are similar at all other than they both didn't use hollywood professional cameras.

I knew nothing about this movie going into the theatre, but I left feeling exactly how I posted above, which is that this movie felt like a big budget Blair Witch. The premise of how the "movie" came to be may be slightly different, but the perspective and the overall feel of how the story developed is entirely the same.

KT