Cloverfield Monster Revealed, SPOLIER!!!

[Dusty]

Good points Dusty. But as I've gotten older, the WHY in storytelling isn't as important to me as it once was. I really enjoy strange stuff like William Burroughs where very little is resolved, if anything. I love the beauty and flow of the language and imagery as much if not more than the raw plot. Twin Peaks was about so much more than simply who killed Laura Palmer and I hope LOST will be the same when all is said and done. It's all about the journey and not the destination.

Okay, here's where it gets confusing, and I really have no idea how to explain myself very well. I LOVE the journey... when it's poetic and well-formed and shows us ways of living that we've never thought of before.

For me, J.J. Abrams stuff is not beautiful and flowing and doesn't reveal any truths about life that haven't already been learned in the 3rd grade (loyalty, love, etc). It's like he's a used car salesman, who knows he's selling us a lemon, so uses superficial plot devices, camera perspectives, and unsolved mysteries to lead us to believe that we're getting a Cadillac.

Did that make any sense whatsoever?

BTW, LOVE Twin Peaks and Naked Lunch. I do not see any of that raw talent in the work of J.J. Abrams (LOST, Alias, Cloverfield being my main experiences with his work). I see a salesman who's super good at the pitch and the promises, but not so good at the delivery. Like a politician!

 

[Entropy]

Did that make any sense whatsoever?

BTW, LOVE Twin Peaks and Naked Lunch.

Makes lots of sense. Very well said. Love ya Dusty! love

 

[Wor-Gar]

...and why I predict the 'ending' is going to upset a lot of people - if there is even what you can call an ending.

I agree wholeheartedly with Dusty here on JJ.

I was a big fan of Alias and still am with LOST. However, if I've learned one thing about JJ, it's that he doesn't know how to end a story with a decent climax. He demonstrated this with Alias and Mission Impossible 3 and Cloverfield. I expect the same to be true when LOST finally ends. If he was as good at executing a satisfactory finish to his excellent start-ups, he could be a really good filmmaker. He can get away with it on TV, but not in films.

 

[Entropy]

To be fair, I think Damon Lindoff and Carlton Cruse are steering the wheel for LOST more than JJ these days.

That being said, I think she convinced me with that beautiful car salesman assessment. J.J. Abrams is crap!

 

[IrishJedi]

Wait. Someone needs to help me out here. How was "Cloverfield" not a monster movie? Because they didn't overexpose the actual monster to the point of desensitization halfway through? Or because we actually give a crap about the human characters?

Not only IS this a monster movie... it's one of the best ones since "Jaws" (another monster movie that's great because of everything but the creature itself).

Not that this is exactly on par with "Jaws". But it's certainly much better then your run-of-the-mill modern monster flick.

 

[BadMoon]

Wait. Someone needs to help me out here. How was "Cloverfield" not a monster movie? Because they didn't overexpose the actual monster to the point of desensitization halfway through? Or because we actually give a crap about the human characters?

Not only IS this a monster movie... it's one of the best ones since "Jaws" (another monster movie that's great because of everything but the creature itself).

Not that this is exactly on par with "Jaws". But it's certainly much better then your run-of-the-mill modern monster flick.

I would go as far to call this movie a monster movie. But that is me. However, that being said. Again this movie could have been anything. Take out the monster and it still would have the same effect. Insert anything that would insight fear and you still have a movie.

 

[scubasteve]

 

[IrishJedi]

I would go as far to call this movie a monster movie. But that is me. However, that being said. Again this movie could have been anything. Take out the monster and it still would have the same effect. Insert anything that would insight fear and you still have a movie.

Yep. And that's called good writing... elevating the story and characters far above and beyond the concept. If only more genre movies cared to do this.

 

[galactiboy]

Of course its a monster movie, people are doing their thing, then a Monster shows up and interrupts said thing. W/o the monster I don't see how you'd have much of a motivator.

Sure you could replace him with terrorists, but I'm sure a lot of things could be replaced in a lot of films and you'd be just as entertained. If it were about terrorists I would have not bothered, but because it was a giant screaming monster I enjoyed the film.

I looked at this movie as being similar to Signs... in that its what happens to a "normal" person when the **** hits the fan. No one saved the day or single handedly defeated the monster, and in all honesty probably by trying to save Beth the main character got everyone else and himself killed.

 

[p!tu]

were did you get this at?

 

[IrishJedi]

I looked at this movie as being similar to Signs... in that its what happens to a "normal" person when the **** hits the fan. No one saved the day or single handedly defeated the monster, and in all honesty probably by trying to save Beth the main character got everyone else and himself killed.

Good comparsion. I consider SIGNS >>>> just about every other alien invasion movie (like ID4). And just because it's from the POV of a finite group of characters that are actually developed and focused on in lieu of more "money shots" does not make it any less of a creature flick. Same with CLOVERFIELD.

 

[YoNoSe]

*I* personally would have enjoyed it much more if I wasn't led by marketing to expect one thing and then got something completely different.

I still don't get it. The marketing showed shaky-cam footage with lots of running around, explosions, and a glimpse at a monster. I don't understand how you expected anything else. I understand that you may have wanted something else, but that's not what the filmmakers promised in the ad campaign. There was 9/11 imagery, but if you're really saying this wasn't a monster movie, seriously, I just don;t get it.

IMO, a good example of bait and switch is The Village, where you were led to believe you were going to see a monster in the woods movie. If you sell me a Monster In The Woods Movie, and there's no effing monster in the woods, then I'm annoyed.

Awesome pics P!tu!

 

[BadMoon]

If you sell me a Monster In The Woods Movie, and there's no effing monster in the woods, then I'm annoyed.

Don't you mean the Blair Witch?

 

[YoNoSe]

Don't you mean the Blair Witch?

Fair enough, but I hereby submit that creepy noises in the dark are more entertaining than Adrien Brody in a chicken costume.

 

[IrishJedi]

Fair enough, but I hereby submit that creepy noises in the dark is more entertaining than Adrien Brody in a chicken costume.

 

[BadMoon]

The fact that this movie has even sparked this debate says something. I really think this movie will go down as one of the greatest horror movies ever.

 

[Entropy]

I would classify this more as a disaster movie with a monster in it rather than a pure monster movie because the plot would not be significantly different if the monster were replaced with many other things, could've been zombies, or a flood, or nuclear attack, etc.

Signs, Jaws, Alien, Kong etc have plots that are more dependent upon the monster being present. I *guess* you could replace the shark in Jaws or the alien in Alien with a serial killer they must hunt down and it wouldn't be too different. The other one that comes to mind is Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The aliens in that story couldn't be replaced with anything else and have the story still make sense. Just like 2001 is a pure scifi movie, not just an action movie set in space, because you couldn't remove the scifi elements and relocate the setting to the old west or 17th century France and have the story still be the same.

 

[galactiboy]

Thats true about it being akin to a disaster movie, except in disaster movies the military doesn't usually fire guns and large missiles into the natural disaster and tiny natural disasters don't hunt you down in the subway and implant another natural disaster that will make your stomach explode

 

[YoNoSe]

Wait, none of that happened in Twister?!

 

[BadMoon]

I don't know what else to say. I think this movie is one of the best films to date. I really do. People classify all of these movies as the best there ever was and such. For me this movie is one of the best. Not Jaws, or Godzilla but yes this movie. Jaws bores me watching it today. I know I know I am but a young 28 year old but so what. The Exorsist will still remain my top freak me out movie but this movie ranks up there.