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| | by J_Jammer, June 16, 2008 |
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“Cloverfield” Code Name Shaky Cam Sickness
Genres: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama and Thriller Running Time: 1 hr. 24 min. Release Date: January 18th, 2008 (wide) MPAA Rating: PG-13 for violence, terror and disturbing images. Distributors: Paramount Pictures
Directed by: Matt Reeves
JJ Rating: B+
In New York City a going away party happened. A camera was being used to document the night. A monster storms the city. The camera that was to film a bittersweet night of goodbyes and good lucks ended up documenting the escape from the city while a monster attacked. Cloverfield.
Let’s just clear some things up: the camera shakes and you could experience motion sickness, the monster is not totally seen until the last quarter of the movie and the ending is not going to wrap up crap. So if any of that is a bother, then you best just skip this movie all together.
I have complained about shaky cam work with the last two movies of the Bourne Trilogy, so what makes this one so different? Well this one was suppose to be a hand-cam, so the fact that it’s shaky is expected and needed to give it that real feel. I expected it and therefore was not at all bothered by it. With the Bourne Trilogy it was not expected and when it happened it was not at all necessary or needed. Also along with the shaking of the cam there are flashbacks because the tape that is being used already has something on it. So what is being recorded over pops up once in a while. That adds an interesting telling to the story.
Speaking of interesting: the picture I used for this review is not in the movie. Well it is in the movie just not that shot. That shot is the shot of everyone coming in. What you’d see in the film is that guy right there holding the cam. Whatever he was pointing that thing at is what you’d see. I like this shot because it isn’t from the movie. It’s totally cooler because of that. I’m weird, I know.
The story line is simple. There was a goodbye party that is interrupted by explosions and the head of the Statue of Liberty rolling down the street. The evacuation starts and the shaky cam showed the group trying to leave. There’s nothing complicated that would cause someone to wonder what is going on, because what is going on is simple; they are trying to escape. As I already stated if you are looking for explanation as to what is going on with the monster or anything else this movie will only frustrate you. What it does is shows how a few characters trying to leave NYC safely.
There is humor in the story, funny moments that will have certain people laughing out loud. One of those funny moments is with the head of Liberty and what people do when they see it in the middle of the street. Also there are a few lines during the party that will give laughter. There are also scary moments where you might jump out of your seat with AH, nothing that will make you have a heart attack. I like the simple scares that work. There’s a scene dealing with the tunnels. I expected it because it was set up, but when it happened it was far more freaky than anticipated. That made it exciting.
Cloverfield is interesting. I might buy it. I did not think I would before I saw it, but after I saw it I thought it would be fun to watch again. It was cool how it played like a documentary. I could watch it and make other people sick. Fun. The end does sort of just lingers without a definite finality. It worked for me. Cloverfield is one of those movies that you will either hate or love. You remember Napoleon Dynamite? People were laughing or people were hating it. Well Cloverfield will illicit the same feelings, except instead of laughing there is wow cool.
Cloverfield will make you appreciate the creative wonder that it is or you’ll hate it for the shaky shaker that it is. I personally love Cloverfield code name: Shaky Cam Sickness.
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| | | by Kimmiii, February 03, 2009 |
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I Didn't Like This Movie.... In My Opinion It Was The Worst Movie I Have Probably Ever Seen, And Wouldnt See It Again. I Was Bored The Whole Way Through It, And I Am Suprised I Actually Watched All Of It, I Blame My Boyfriend.
Kimberley |
| | by xoshelliboo, August 05, 2008 |
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| OMG! this movie is soo amazingg!!!! i loved it and i dont care tht it ended the way it did |
| | by miss_twainus, July 12, 2008 |
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| The story idea was very cool. And I'm glad that it wasn't Godzilla. I liked the form in which it was filmed and I was surprised to find out people in the theater had motion sickness when I did not. The filming was cool because it told different stories since the camera was whack. I loved the graphic effects, but I was confused by the deaths. I really think the monster looked purple and I love calling him Barney. And I have no idea how people found out about the monster falling in the water at the end. I also found out that Cloverfield had to do with the name of the place the movie was created or developed.. |
| | by Unknown_Freedom, June 29, 2008 |
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| I LOVED this movie! Normaly I hate movies that are shaky and I started out not likeing this one, but I had payed to rent it so I figured I should at least watch the whole thing. So by the middle of the movie I was not leaving my seat, I was so into it! I think that the fact the the whole movie was shaky and done in this prospective made it so easy to love, and so much more scary. I don't think anyone really got a good look at the monster (unless they paused there movie a few times in the beginning) until well into the story, that to me intensified the edginess, because we didn't know what to be afraid of, we where just running along beside the friends and the guy holding the camera. When I finally did see the monster for more then a brief second, not counting the parasites, but the big guy, you know right before he ate the camera guy, i was like ooooo RUN! also I liked the random flips back to the video that was being taped over every time he hit fiddled with something on the recorder. To me the ending was great, your couldn't see anything but dust and rubble, but hearing that they loved each other and stuff before the recording flipped over once more to the other recording. |
| | by maestro_de_horrar, June 06, 2008 |
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| the monsters were great,but i hat movies with characters perspective. this movie left me confuse and with more questions then answers.like what happened to the people did they live? did they die? did they kill the ugly monster? what really did remain of the city? what happens if you're bitten by those little cocaroach locking things? i don't know what happened, and i got motion sickness,this movie sucked.... alot!!!!! |
| | by barely_here, April 26, 2008 |
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| CloverField is oneofthe wirdest movies I ever saw in my life. That being said in a good way. I loved this movie up until the very end. The very view of the movie was whacked out. You have the whole thing being taped bu an amatur comedian/actor. It was sort of hard to understand becasue so many different things were going on at once. The voices were hard to comprehend. But that made everything even more wonderful. The very idea of it was kick ass. The director and the cast were perfect. Thats all I have to say |
| | by aXy17, January 28, 2008 |
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| The previews for this movie make it seem very suspenseful and thrilling, and ofcourse they threw in the Statue of Liberty's head falling off to get people interested. I would have not wasted my time spending money on this movie if I had known it would be so dissapointing. The first half hour consists of college era drama, and its easier to just stay home and watch Real World for free. Then you get your hopes up for what's destroying New York City, and it turns out to be nothing more than "Godzilla" with his alien spider friends taking over. It's really quite pathetic. The plot is very cliche, though thats hidden pretty well since the movie is filmed in first person. The few gratifying aspects of the film |
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