Cloverfield Monster Revealed, SPOLIER!!!

[Les Walker]

Cool movie, cool monster, cool premise.
I liked it. Not LOVED, but liked it a lot.
Being a huge GODZILLA fan....THIS is what I wanted the American Godzilla to be.

As for the splash, I noticed it, but it never occured to me.
THis thing is either from Space, or is some seriously demented genetic experiment gone WAY wrong, OR, is supernatural, ala H.P. Lovecraft.
But, it ain't no normal critter! Not from Earth's past or some such crap....

Cool movie though. Predictible, and did have the one aspect of IS IT ATTRACTED TO HUD'S CAMERA....but still...I can live with that. In reality, no one would experience ALL the action in one night, over such a large area, but I still liked it.

 

[Les Walker]

Oh, and one more thing...regarding the beastie's appearance...
I used to work at the Jacksonville Florida Zoo, and as such made the display cage for the little hairless MoleRats exhibit there. I swear to God, this thing looked just like a Gigantic genetically screwed up, very pissedoff NAKED MOLE RAT! And that is NOT a good thing!

Made me glad it didn't find me....

 

[Wor-Gar]

This movie friggin rocked!!!!!!!!!!! Best monster movie since Aliens.

Wow! That's a big statement. I'm seeing it tonight. You better be right or I'm coming back for you.

 

[The Chaver]

My friend and I went to see it last night, and both of us got motion sickness and had to leave about 30 minutes into it. Totally sucks because I really did want to see this. Oh well, I guess I'll have to drug up on Dramamine if I want to take a shot at seeing it again. I think they could have gotten the same impact without the shaky camera work.

I take it your not into Halo either.

 

[lerath666]

I'm on the fence about it, but I've got a movie pass that expires tommorow... might as well go see it, right?

 

[The ill Jedi]

Just saw it last night, and I can say that I really enjoyed it. Definetly a different perspective than we're used to in a monster movie like this. It's always from the viewpoint of some higher up character or the military figures. I think some unknowing people may go into this movie expecting a pure monster film, but will be upset when they find it's about people reacting to the whole mosnter situation. I REALLY enjoyed this change, since I was getting tired of the old formulas. I sense some copycats on the way. Well, I hope Paramount is back to making Blu-rays within the next few months. This type of movie wouldn't benefit with HD like some other movies, but it'd help nonetheless.

I agree 100%. I also hope that Paramount switches to blu soon, as every single trailer I saw before the movie was Dreamworks and Paramount and they all looked awesome (Hellboy & Iron Man & others).

 

[hydrobud]

well i did end up taking the kid and her friend. first of all , i really liked what i did get to see. i started getting annoyed with the camera shot about 20 minutes in.they really should of used a stationary camera after a while.it's just unrealistic that you would keep filming with your camcorder while the world is ending around you. with that said the movie from what i saw of it blew away Godzilla 1998 and probably most big monster movies before that era.The Kid made it as far as the scene when the soldier sent the 3 remaining party goers on their way.then my daughter says tome " i don't feel to good".so i bailed right away and we sneaked into see Alvin and The Chipmunks.the CGI in the Alvin movie blows away the CGI in I am Legend.

 

[p!tu]

well i did end up taking the kid and her friend. first of all , i really liked what i did get to see. i started getting annoyed with the camera shot about 20 minutes in.they really should of used a stationary camera after a while.it's just unrealistic that you would keep filming with your camcorder while the world is ending around you. with that said the movie from what i saw of it blew away Godzilla 1998 and probably most big monster movies before that era.The Kid made it as far as the scene when the soldier sent the 3 remaining party goers on their way.then my daughter says tome " i don't feel to good".so i bailed right away and we sneaked into see Alvin and The Chipmunks.the CGI in the Alvin movie blows away the CGI in I am Legend.

i have heard this a few times and its funny cause a monster destroying a city is so realistic!

 

[Voorhees27]

I just got back from seeing this film, BRILLIANT! This film was everything I imagined it would be. I'm not saying its the best thing since sliced bread but definetely worth both $12 and your time.

I liked it alot and tip my hat to the films makers.

As for the camera work...................sit way up at the top in the back!

 

[Entropy]

it's just unrealistic that you would keep filming with your camcorder while the world is ending around you.

Hud addresses this at one point in the film. Rob asks on the bridge I think why he doesn't put the camera down and he says that "someone has to document this, ya know for later so they know what happened." Then Rob says something about surely a professional is recording it and Hud says well maybe they didn't see everything we saw or something to that effect. As Rob is obsessed with Beth, I can certainly believe that Hud is obsessed with filming. If I saw a giant monster and I had a camera in hand I know I'd try and get some shots of it. I do agree that it was a bit shakier than it needed to be in places, but if they had switched to a different tripod camera that would've pissed me off and totally taken me out of the experience. At least exciting things happen in this movie instead of the Blair Witch where it was just shakiness with no substance.

All in all I think this film was done as well as this kind of story could be. I can't wait to see it again and dissect how they digitally composited the on location, cgi backgrounds, and soundstage shots. The seamlessness of it reminded me of Children of Men. Anyone know what they shot this on? I assume some kind of HD camera then they degraded the image in post.

 

[p!tu]

Hud addresses this at one point in the film. Rob asks on the bridge I think why he doesn't put the camera down and he says that "someone has to document this, ya know for later so they know what happened." Then Rob says something about surely a professional is recording it and Hud says well maybe they didn't see everything we saw or something to that effect. As Rob is obsessed with Beth, I can certainly believe that Hud is obsessed with filming. If I saw a giant monster and I had a camera in hand I know I'd try and get some shots of it. I do agree that it was a bit shakier than it needed to be in places, but if they had switched to a different tripod camera that would've pissed me off and totally taken me out of the experience. At least exciting things happen in this movie instead of the Blair Witch where it was just shakiness with no substance.

All in all I think this film was done as well as this kind of story could be. I can't wait to see it again and dissect how they digitally composited the on location, cgi backgrounds, and soundstage shots. The seamlessness of it reminded me of Children of Men. Anyone know what they shot this on? I assume some kind of HD camera then they degraded the image in post.

 

[Shai]

saw it today..it was Ok...no more, no less.the last minutes are great.

 

[Darklord Dave]

I loved it. I hate "you are there" films although I think the last few minutes of Blair Witch are brilliant. I thought I'd get really annoyed with the shaky cam. But I found that I was wanting to scream at Hud - "Point it over there you moron!" because I was so into what was going on.

I also liked the monster design because it's not a typical biped like Godzilla so you need lots of different angles to really get an idea of what it looks like. We did get to see a lot of it eventually, but the mystery really makes the film far more enjoyable.

And I'm also glad that our band of heroes didn't run into Nigel Exposition - that would have been really cheesy. The army guy telling them about the helicopter and the deadline was even a little more convenient than I would have wished.

I would love to see a sequel to this done like a traditional movie with a brave hero, a hot sexy scientist woman and the President wringing his hands about using the final option on Manhattan.

 

[TheObsoleteMan]

I loved it. I hate "you are there" films although I think the last few minutes of Blair Witch are brilliant. I thought I'd get really annoyed with the shaky cam. But I found that I was wanting to scream at Hud - "Point it over there you moron!" because I was so into what was going on.

I found myself leaning in my chair and looking past the edge of the screen a couple times as if I would actually be able to get a glimpse of what was happening just beyond the camera, that's how immersed I was in what was going on. I can't remember the last time I was that actively engaged in a movie I was watching.

 

[galactiboy]

I saw it tonight and thought it was really good. It wasn't the greatest monster movie ever, but definitely well done and a lot of fun. Really liked the way the monster looked and his little friends were creepy as hell in the subway. And they really did a good job with the supsense and keeping the mystery of the creature going.

I think the complaints people have are warranted, but again if you take the movie for what it is I think its very enjoyable and a heck of a lot of fun. And I did see the splash (didn't know about it ahead of time) so that was a fun little hint as to the beasts origins.

As much as I liked it I don't see this movie having a lot of re-watchability, it was cool, but its style doesn't lend well to repeated viewings.

And if you have issues with motion sickness take some Dramamine first... my wife was not feeling well at all by the end of the flick.

 

[hydrobud]

Hud addresses this at one point in the film. Rob asks on the bridge I think why he doesn't put the camera down and he says that "someone has to document this, ya know for later so they know what happened." Then Rob says something about surely a professional is recording it and Hud says well maybe they didn't see everything we saw or something to that effect. As Rob is obsessed with Beth, I can certainly believe that Hud is obsessed with filming. If I saw a giant monster and I had a camera in hand I know I'd try and get some shots of it. I do agree that it was a bit shakier than it needed to be in places, but if they had switched to a different tripod camera that would've pissed me off and totally taken me out of the experience. At least exciting things happen in this movie instead of the Blair Witch where it was just shakiness with no substance.

All in all I think this film was done as well as this kind of story could be. I can't wait to see it again and dissect how they digitally composited the on location, cgi backgrounds, and soundstage shots. The seamlessness of it reminded me of Children of Men. Anyone know what they shot this on? I assume some kind of HD camera then they degraded the image in post.

i know if my friends were being attack in the subway, id be clocking whatever it was with that camera . i guess i just wanted to see more of the monster destroying stuff in the traditional sense...after awhile.

 

[galactiboy]

You do get to see a fair bit of destruction by the end of the flick... and at least its better than a lot of the Giant Monster flicks where you have to wait an hour before you see anything cool.

 

[Shai]

One thing for sure, this movie was better than AVP-R.

 

[galactiboy]

One other thought, I really liked Hudson... his commentary was actually really funny w/o being too played-out or cliche feeling. I think he was entertaining enough to sustain the less action-packed parts of the film.

 

[YoNoSe]

A lot of the criticisms out there are valid, but for God's sake how often do you get to go to the theater and see a monster movie these days? This movie was worth the price of admission just for the anticipation I felt all day at work, knowing I was going to see a monster movie made by people who actually care about thier craft.
The movie itself was a great time. I found the characters more sympathetic than most people are saying. I thought the actor who played Rob was pretty good and I believed it when he was working out in his head whether or not he was going to go after Beth. I'm kind of surprised at all the people complaining that they were rich hipsters. I think there's a lot of apartment-jealousy at work there.
The monster was different, brutal and cool to watch. The integration of cgi into real shots of New York (or wherever they filmed) was so believable it was scary. There were very few moments where I thought about special effects. The money shot of the monster's face at the end was a little gratuitous, but they earned it.
All in all, I thought it was great.
The only way it could have been better is if it had been the Friends series finale.