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Techtite's DVD Reviews! |
"More than slightly enjoyable as the Godzilla-esque big monster movie that it is..." --from the review ------------- Sidebar :: ------------- No Sidebar comments for this review. Yet...
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Cloverfield
Click picture to order this DVD (April 22, 2008 release) A Review by TechtiteAs always, a review of The Show and the DVD extras. The Film Review: Hype is a volatile thing. Use too little of it and your film fades into obscurity; use too much of it, and your film has all the effect of a Double Whopper with Cheese offered at a cocktail party. At its core, Cloverfield is a tolerable Godzilla style thriller. Yet publicity machine buzz ---not to mention all the online soliloquies by diehard fanboys of JJ Abrams--- all seemingly demand that we look at this film as something far greater than it could possibly be. It's a 30 million dollar monster movie. Isn't it enough that it is, at the very best, passable?The movie is seen completely through the eyes of a single video camera. Why? Supposedly, the government found this video after the events code-named "Cloverfield." Okay; that's fair enough. They found footage of the monster as taken by an amateur videographer and filed it. Only problem: this footage is barely of the monster at all. Seriously; around 0.01 percent of this "found video" is of the monster. The rest of it is this trek by a boy who needs to tell his girl he loves her. Maybe this is a nitpick, though supposedly: the army filed...this? Maybe the army just needed a good cry. The video begins with shots of a farewell party for Rob (Michael Stahl-David), who is headed to Japan. We're introduced to his grirlfriend Beth (Odette Yustman), brother Jason (Mike Vogel), and Jason's girlfriend Lily (Jessica Lucas), along with the video's trusty cameraman, Hud (T. J. Miller). Then the building shakes and all heck breaks loose. Rob must trek to save his girl. Awwww...! It's important to say at this point, that this is a Godzilla-style movie by the guy who created Lost. If I've said it once I've said it...well, not a hundred times, though a lot: Lost is not about an island. It's about the people on that island, who are lost. This explains why you see the invisible island monster so little, as the story centers on the "lost." This film, in turn, is not about a monster. It's about Rob's pilgrimage to reunite with his girlfriend against all odds. I'm still a bit confused as to why the Army would stock the video of such a pilgrimage, and yet from a theatrical standpoint, this is an amusing movie when looked at as a movie about people...though not monsters. Not that this is a "perfect" movie, even when viewed as a movie about people. For one thing; it's revealed that Rob and Beth spent all of one night together ---which didn't go well--- yet he's still obsessed to "save" her. I'm all for love stories though I'm not too keen on "lust" stories. Nor am I keen on stories where various characters (whose names I will not spoil here) make crackpot decisions just for the sake of watching them die. One character in particular dies in a manner so illogical to physics, it pulled me out of the movie. You'll know the scene when you see it; a death that only makes sense if seen as: "this part of the movie is too boring so let's have a random character horribly die for inane reasons." Then there's how the big monster seemingly allows piggy back rides for smaller monsters, who fall off the larger monster and cause major havoc. Yes; little monsters fall off the big monster. This is that kind of movie. It's also a Blair Witch Project kind of movie, as seen via a hand-camera video. That's all well and good, if this guy is a good cameraman. Nope. This guy holds a camera less steady than an 80 year old grandma on America's Funniest Home Videos. Sure he's supposedly scared, though if he's that scared, why did he bother taking the video at all? He also seems too preoccupied with Rob and Beth. There's this one scene where Hud could pay closer attention to his own survival, pay closer attention to a clear shot of the monster, or take a clear shot of Rob and Beth getting all mushy. Hud, being the great cameraman that he is (not), chooses the latter. Not that my needle is stuck in the groove, though come on; this is the best footage the army could find of the monster? Seriously? All this leads to a final reel which drags the film down more than a notch. Characters seemingly flip flop from invincibility to utter vulnerability at the flip of a switch. We get see the monster, though let's just say a 30 million dollar movie should've kept the monster a mile away and let our imagination do the "CGI." As for the ending itself: I am not one for spoilers, though I would be remiss if I did not say that in my opinion, the ending sucked horribly. That is not a spoiler; just opinion. This is a movie whese voyage is more important than the destination. Then again; how many thrillers have been any different? Mind you: Abrams has his fanboys. This doesn't drag the film down, though it could raise unreasonably high expectations. Ask not what the fanboy saw that you will not; a film which has been cafe-philosophized on many a blog to be more than any film could be. I think I stopped reading such fanboy soliloquies, around the time one fanboy recommended closing your eyes during the credits to enjoy the music better. Seriously, dude, if you were a more loyal fanboy, you might want to open your eyes and respect the people who made the film, yes? In the end, Cloverfield is destined to be a must-rent, even if not a must buy. If fanboys saw something more than that, well...good for them. The DVD Review: The director offers a commentary, though personally I wasn't terribly interested about it. Commentaries as a rule must consist of at least two people or else the ball doesn't keep "rolling" if you know what I mean. One guy in a sound booth talking shop is not as amusing as, say, the lead cast talking as a group about this or that key scene they did together. Speaking of which: no cast commentary. Why? Don't ask me. The most typical reason a cast doesn't agree to a cast commentary, is if the cast is filled with divas. Not to be mean though what was keeping the cast of this film from doing a commentary? Get ready for some searching, because I hear no less than seven "Easter eggs" are hidden on the disc. To get you started (well, not really; it was the only one I could find so I felt I'd share it), there's a hidden video on the screen for audio/subtitle setup. You'll know you've found it when you click to the left on your DVD remote and a small helicopter icon appears where the "head" of the Statue of Liberty should be. It's a simple video where the cast and crew keeps saying "Rack 'em and pack 'em." O...kay... In addition, there are four featurettes, and six scenes of the deleted/extended variety, which includes two alternate endings. I can't spoil these endings, obviously, though let's put it this way: the ending to the movie (sorry, it has to be said) sucked, and these are the endings that were rejected. What does that tell you about the total suckage of these rejected endings, which were worse than the one they chose? The real question here is how well this DVD will sell, or even rent. The publicity machine for this film has long since broken down, and frankly that was pretty much the only thing that sold this movie at all. Watch it if you're a fan of monster movies and don't mind shaky-achy-breaky camera work being used to try and hide the old school "budget" special FX. If you're looking for a movie that was worth the publicity machine that spawned it, I'd wait until the summer movie season...if we're lucky.
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