January
11
Cloverfield: Knowles is Over the Moon
If moviegoers respond to Cloverfield the way Harry Knowles has on AICN--and I was damned impressed with the footage I saw--then when this movie opens on January 18 it will be, forgive the expression, a boxoffice monster. Paramount, which has been holding back the movie to preserve the mystery--they don't want that freaking monster to hit the net-- can start screening it now! (And yet again a studio has solicited the ultimate fanboy review before going to more critical reviewers. UPDATE: And they showed it to Jeffrey Wells.)
It cost $25 million. No stars. Do the math.
Here are portions of Knowles' rave:
The movie is fucking brilliant. It’s what we were told it was going to be. An intimate perspective on an impossibly grand scale human disaster beyond most human levels of comprehension.What is the monster? How do you describe something that doesn’t look like anything you’ve ever seen before? It’s not a fucking upright walking whale. It doesn’t look like any iteration of GODZILLA that we’ve ever seen. It is enormous. And even though I’ve seen it… I am hard-pressed to come up with a comparative creation. You know that big fucking thing in THE MIST? It isn’t that. Is the creature a biped? I’m not sure, I think it might’ve been a four-legged beastie… it has a tail, it has teeth and freaky eyes like that horse that died in ANIMAL HOUSE. It’s kinda of a grayish-yellowish-off-white looking thing. But more important than the creature is what this fucker does. He basically goes bug-nuts.
The creature isn’t the groundbreaking thing about the film. It is, but it isn’t.
You see, what has me so excited about this film is that this is the giant monster movie that isn’t at all like any giant monster movie we’ve seen before… but is exactly that movie.
I guarantee you that as this movie takes place… all the shit that you’ve seen in Giant monster movies is happening. Somewhere a general is screaming about nuking New York…. Somewhere is a politician screaming that you can’t nuke New York. Another General wants to know why our weapons are not affecting this thing. A PRESIDENT wants to know where it came from – and several thousand journalist are trying to figure all that out too.
But this film isn’t about the scientist, the generals, the Presidents, the mayors or any of the big people. This time, the film is from the perspective of those people that live in those buildings that the monster is breaking through. This is about the people running in the street that scream, “GODZILLA!!!” and run. This is about trying to survive that insanity. Not just that, but to try and save one life.
Like SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, but instead of Nazis it’s a giant monster.
This is a handheld camera movie – knowing this and knowing not to sit too close is probably a good thing… but having said that… you can’t sit far enough from the screen to feel safe. As many of you people know, I am in a wheelchair – and while watching movies, I have my brakes on. There was one moment, so unexpected and so intense that I went 3 ft back.
J.J. Abrams produced and came up with the concept; the script was written by Lost collaborator Drew Goddard, working closely with Abrams and and his Felicity collaborator Matt Reeves, who directed. To suggest that Reeves did not direct this is silly. Movies are by their nature collaborative.
Again, the queasicam aesthetic is here to stay. Directors like Paul Greengrass and Kevin MacDonald and yes, Matt Reeves are answering a moviegoer demand for authenticity. In this case, it's about taking something unbelievable and making it seem real. No matter how much fake movie magic it requires.
UPDATE: Fandango has a new clip, in which the monster seems to go by, real fast. And speculates about the meanings behind the title.
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I absolutely cannot wait to see this next weekend
Posted by: nick | January 11, 2008 at 10:01 AM
I'll trust Harry on this one cause it's his kind of film. Can't wait!!!
Posted by: Perry Lane | January 11, 2008 at 10:04 AM
I am so, so, so ready to see this. I only read the first 2-3 sentences of Knowles, cuz I'm about as spoiled-up on CLOVERFIELD as I can stand. But cannot wait. I know 2 other people "in the biz" who also loved loved loved it.
*iz psyched*
Posted by: ProgGrrl | January 11, 2008 at 11:14 AM
Harry's site is excellent, but I don't think we should give so much weight to his reviews. He so frequently goes over the moon on projects he loves, and they rarely deserve such unqualified raves.
Posted by: Christian Toto | January 11, 2008 at 11:19 AM
Experience has taught me to take Harry's orgamsic fanboy raves with a LOT of caution. I'll wait until I see the film for myself
Posted by: Sergio | January 11, 2008 at 07:52 PM
P.S. Experience has also taught me to take Jeff Wells raves with a LOT of caution too...
Posted by: Sergio | January 11, 2008 at 07:57 PM
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http://www.aladygma.com
Cloverfield 2?
Posted by: eli | October 23, 2008 at 01:06 PM