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Cloverfield, Did it live up to the hype? *Spoilers*


Mokong

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Ok given the hype this had going behind it, especially with that awesome first criptic trailer that came with Transformers, it created a mass amount of buzz.... so did it live up the hype for you?

 

I went into the film with the only thing i knew about it (other than what was shown in the first trailer) was the way the camera view was done (ala blair witch).

 

I was going in hoping and praying I had not just paid for an American remake of the Korean monster film "The Host" (if you've not seen that yet, go find it)... knowing the "blair witch" style POV was strong indication it would not be, and thank god it wasn't.

 

From start to finished I was hooked to the screen, the intro was long enough to build up the tension but short enough to not make you go "get to the action already".

 

The creature was given just the right amount of glimpses at the start, not giving too much away and you got to see a little it more each time it had a scene.

 

The smaller creatures was a surprising touch and certainly unexpected.

 

The scene when they catch up with the main characters was damned good, nice bit of tension built up for the unveil moment, you knew you were going to see something, but the wonder of what it would look like, how many and how close was left to the imagination for just the right amount of time.... and teh bloody things were damned closer than i expected and freaked me a bit.

 

Oh and did anyone else think they looked a little like some of the creatures from the Metroid Prime series?

 

However I felt the end of the film didn't have enough pay-off, I knew the "home video" footage would end in the fashion that it did, but I was expecting more either just before the credits or even during. I was expecting maybe some news channel footage that would either give an explanation for what the hell that thing was/where they thought it came from, and weather or not the military beat it that day or if it moved on to another city.

 

The ending almost leaves it open for a sequel but that would be a total piss take, cuz they wouldn't be able to use the same POV system as it wouldn't be as unique for the monster movie genre, and if it goes to a normal film style perspective it just becomes a bog standard action/monster flick.

 

When the credits came up, everyone in the cinema litterally went "WTF? That's all?"

 

Oh and did anyone love the idea of the cameramans character being called "Hud" (as in "Heads Up Display") I got a good chuckle from that.

 

I'd say for me, it was living up to the hype until the pay-off-less ending, I know they couldn't have explained anything given the POV but as I said some TV News footage spliced in at the end would have helped.

 

Oh and why the hell did the characters hide under a little small bridge at the end? They know the creature is there, they know the army is gonna drop bombs, sure you "might" get killed if you try to run, but you're certain to die if you stay there.

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I loved the movie, thought they revealed the monster really well throughout and its been interesting reading about all the viral marketting that went on before the movie came out.

 

You arent the only one who thought about news footage at the end either, both me and my mate came out thinking that would have been a good addition but now ive properly thought about it I think it was a nice ending still not knowing what really happened.

 

Oh and this movie had possibly one of my favourite lines from a movie ever:

"I just cant stop thinking of how scary it would be if a flaming hobo ran out now from the dark!"

 

Im not too excited for the announced sequel though as im not sure its really necessary. Aswell I think they will have a problem with the filming as it would feel a bit far fetched to have POV filming again and if they went with normal movie style filming others would complain.

 

I posted this in the rate the movie thread but people who have seen Cloverfield should read through the IMDB FAQ as it has some answers and theories concerning where "Clovie" came from and what the splash into the water was at the very end of the movie.

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1060277/faq

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I didnt like it. I like the direction the film was heading in but i honestly thought it was lacking. I paid £7.50 a seat (Went with my GF for our 5 year anniversary) and when i pay for a movie i like to know what has happened. A 1 minute clip saying:

 

Project Cloverfield 001

Experiment failed

 

 

Or something like that would have been fine, but Abraham does like to leave shit unsaid (Lost anyone?)

 

Tbh i didnt like the camera either, there were parts that were good but some of it was uneccasary. My GF missed most of the movie, she couldnt look at the screen it made her feel ill, and by the end of the movie 1/4 of the cinema had left to get a refund.

 

The story also..... Lets face it, its godzilla. And he really tried pull the heart strings with 9/11 references. Best bit for me? The reference to alien after she is bitten.

 

Its a nice try, but i wouldnt recommend it, i wouldnt buy it on DVD and i score it a 5.5/10

 

On a plus note the trailers were freaking awesome! New Star Trek by abraham! O o oo o cant wait!

 

Doctor who trailer!!!! OMG OMG ROSE!!!! Oh and Chris moyles, that was funny!

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I loved the film and would give it a 8 or a 9.

 

I went in knowing the following:

It was in new york

Set in a party to start

Basic idea of what the monster looked like

That it had minions(forgot this)

The camera etc.

 

The movie was extremely intense, you couldn't relax at all watching it. Which was fine by me but i could see why it might not be great for any occasion, it didn't help that I was pretty close to the front. Cinema was packed btw, not many people left.

I thought the acting was top notch as well actually, the whole thing was pretty realistic (apart from the whole monster thing). But this is definitely what it would have been like to experience it if you were there, a sudden attack like this you wouldn't just get all the facts immediately. I liked how the story was drip fed to us, there was the right amount of details for the watcher to make his own opinion of what was going on. By the way, most of my friends missed this but at the very end where you see the scene on the ferris wheel, at the very last second you can see something crashing into the sea. (So we can assume it came from space).

 

So yeah, I liked it. I went with 8 friends, and all but one liked it. (the one who didn't came in expecting to hate it because of the scotsman review, he's stubborn like that).

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The thing that crashes into the sea at the end of the movie most likely isnt the monster, but part of a satellite that was mentioned in the viral marketing.

 

Yea. It's what wakes the big monster(s) up.

 

I loved the film. I didn't know a lot when I saw it, and I was dreading that the main people would get involved with destroying the monster. Luckily it didn't.

 

The characters were great, acting was spot-on, the monster design was well done, as was how they revealed it and the amount of info they gave us added to the suspense (I would have hated a news article at the end).

 

I was worried about the other creatures, but they were pulled of really well. I'd have to say that Cloverfield is the scariest movie I've ever seen (horror in movies doesn't usually affect me).

 

The next movie will probably be about where the big monster(s) came from, explaining the relationship between the bigger monster and the little creatures (the smaller things probably use it for transport) and how they get rid of them.

 

Does anyone else think that there are more than one of the big monsters?

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I don't understand why people say there wasn't any pay-off.

 

You got the ending at the start of the movie.

 

The subject tape, evidence what-ever, etc, etc. It's obvious the army "won" and the tape was collected as part of evidence gathering. You don't know where it came from, but I don't think that really matters.

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According to Abrams that monster was just a baby so its possible we'll see a mother maybe in the sequel.

 

As for the broken bit of satellite waking it up, personally I dont think thats it.

 

There was an oil rig that was involved in getting the "Slusho" secret ingredient which exploded after an oil tanker left there. Ive read this theory and its the one I currently believe which is that Clovie followed this oil tanker to New York and we know that an oil tanker is the first thing destroyed in the movie.

 

The main thought it that the secret ingredient of Slusho is something to do with the monster and that the oil rig woke it up.

 

I really do love movies like this where you can really delve into things afterwards and come up with theories etc. Lets the enjoyment you got from the movie continue for quite a while afterwards.

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According to Abrams that monster was just a baby so its possible we'll see a mother maybe in the sequel.

 

Is he talking about the second one we see - less "boils" on the skin, looks smaller, the curious playful look at Hud, he just plays with him for a little bit and that you can hear the army still fighting daddy/mummy in the background.

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Seconding the "film paid off" argument. I felt pretty satisfied, we have to assume that the nuke went off and that did the job, although it does beg the question of how the camera footage was recovered, considering the area would be radioactive and I doubt that it would have survived.

 

At the end of the film there was a short round of applause.

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Well.

I gotta say i really liked it.

 

I forget the girls name, but the one that stomach exploded. Those parasites that were biting people were feeding on the Slusho's ingredient. Super concentrated version of the drink. Thats why her stomach exploded. The body couldn't take it.

 

Also, at the party at the start. The girl on the sofa wasn't asleep, she passed out due to eating a small amount of that Slusho secret ingredient sent by her boyfriend.

 

There is a tonne of viral marketing, i spent a couple of hours reading through it all.

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Whats this Slusho stuff?

 

Anyway, the more I think about it the more awesome this film was. I almost feel the urge to see it again at the cinema, although impossible due to the huge volume of films coming out right now.

 

But yeah it was just absolutely awesome. Unique idea and execution, and it was just...pretty much a masterpiece actually.

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Seconding the "film paid off" argument. I felt pretty satisfied, we have to assume that the nuke went off and that did the job, although it does beg the question of how the camera footage was recovered, considering the area would be radioactive and I doubt that it would have survived.

 

At the end of the film there was a short round of applause.

 

At no point does it say they are going to Nuke New York and from all the information we got from the movie they didnt. For one as you say, the tape and recorder would not have survived. Plus we know that there were two explosions at the very end, one which buries the recorder along with Rob and Beth but they are still alive enough to say "I love you" then we hear a second explosion.

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The movie wasn't all bad, but it had characters you don't care about or particularly like, major plot holes and huge lapses in logic, weak stoyline additions for the sake of pushing the running time, and some so-so acting. A lot of critic's disliked the sgript, but I found it really realistic and it had some funny dialogue, such as :-

 

Beth: What the fuck was that?

Hud: Something else... also terrible.

 

 

The creature itself was awesome...definitely the best part of the movie, especially on the bridge and when it attacked Hud:grin:

 

If there is a sequel, I think I'd rather see it filmed like a traditional film.

 

Once again J.J has left us with more questions left to be answered that there were originally.

 

And Cube, which scene scared you? I got a lot of goosebumps during the film, but saw nothing which scared me.

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Oh yeah I noticed that myself but it never really bothered me past wondering why she was now ok. I think they tried to explain it as because she was impaled near her shoulder so nothing critical was punctured but there still would have been a lot of blood loss.

 

But as I say, that one thing did nothing to hurt the movie for me.

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