I'm a sap for Kaiju/Monster Movies, so this trailer gets me wondering how this is going to be. It looks a bit darker than the Tri-Star Godzilla 1998...I imagine the tongue in cheek humor will not be evident in this new movie.

From the makers of 'LOST'


http://manny-hispanicatthedisco.blogspot.com/2007/12/i-am-jj-abrams-little-bitch.html

Special effects looked very interesting in the hint of something massive/sinister.

Thought the statue of liberty's head would have been binger though.....:D

Yank

There's a huge online viral campaign surrounding this movie's release, a bunch of websites are getting people hyped about seeing it. I just hope it lives up to all of it...

Some believe that the movie is based on the "Call of Cthulhu" myth by H.P. Lovecraft. Since nothing is really being said about the production of the film, this can't be verified, but it seems to be the case. There is so much hype for this movie that I hope it lives up to it as well. Don't be surprised if they wait till the very end to show the monster.

Blair Witch + Godzilla + Friends = Cloverfield ;)

They've been running snippets of it in ads down here since WAY B4 Christmas...But I'll wait til I can rent it, if I bother at all. I DON'T go to movies, as I DON'T like to be tempted to scream/eat/kill at small, obnoxious childrens...And unfortunately, nowadays that is all too frequently the case..

Personally, I am counting the minutes until Friday. I am a sucker for this kind of film, the pseudo-serious, documentary horror story.

Not to be a wet blanket, but check it out at IMDB.com

Apparently, it's a Blair Witch type of movie which deals with the reactions of a bunch of partygoers when an unseen monster attacks NYC, all taken from the POV of someones handheld video camera. No actual monster scenes, but there are apparently some parasites involved.
Just FYI.

I'll be seeing it this weekend.

My son's birthday party and I ride shotgun on him and his droogs.

Cloverfield was the movie choice.

Some believe that the movie is based on the "Call of Cthulhu" myth by H.P. Lovecraft.

Well, here's hoping.

Lovecraft-based would be an inspired choice.

well... the NYT wasn't too impressed with the final product, apparently.
http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/01/18/movies/18clov.html

Smart as Tater Tots and just as differentiated, Rob and his ragtag crew behave like people who have never watched a monster movie or the genre-savvy “Scream” flicks or even an episode of “Lost” (Hello, Mr. Abrams!), much less experienced the real horrors of Sept. 11.

I went to the midnight show last night. The best 8 bucks I've spent in a LONG time!! It's true that it IS all filmed through a hand-hend video recorder and I'll admit to feeling a little sea-sick a couple of times, but any reference to The Blair Witch pile of garbage is a SERIOUS insult to this film. I went to college as a composition major and am about the pickiest butt-head you're likely to croos paths with when it comes to movies. I'm telling you: GO SEE THIS FLICK!!! Very, very compelling, dark and frightening stuff. Two apposable thumbs up.:thmbsp::thmbsp:

I had been looking forward to seeing this movie for quite a while and I ended up being thoroughly disappointed with a bit of motion sickness to boot! :thumbsdn:

I wanted a good throwdown of Man vs. Monster! I wanted U.S. Military might dropping bombs, shooting missles and all. I wanted to see a monster devastating downtown NYC! I wanted carnage...screaming and dying people! I wanted to know where the beast might of eminated from. I wanted to know the science. I wanted to know what the government planned to do if "Dropping the Hammer" didn't work. I wanted more than what we got! I wanted a still camera shot! It looked promising from the trailers, but it let me down by not showing enough of the star...the MONSTER! Less than 10 minutes out of 84! What did we get instead of a monster movie? Four friends wagontraining through mid-town NYC going to save a girl while you heard the action going on elsewhere! Why does Hollywood miss the mark so badly when I hope they don't? Why did we have to have a rehash of Blair Witch style?! It could've been so much better! There's essentially one scene in the movie that shows what it should've been...when they were evacuated on a huey they fly over as the creature as it's bombed...poorly I may add...by a stealth bomber. The scene is so good looking...devastation, explosions, the immenseness of the creature and then the dawning of the knowledge...it's gonna take more than some bombing and missles to take the behemoth down...almost Godzilla-like, but, then again nowhere even close!

There's got to be a director/producer out there...not currently under Honda's gravestone...that can make a spectacular monster flick worthy of a true Kaiju movie! There is an obvious wanting by people to see spectacular doomsday movies involving aliens and monsters. They get the alien movies done right, but they obviously can't hit the side of a barn when making a killer giant monster movie! Someday....hopefully.

The monster did look cool though...would've like to have seen more of it.

Oh that sucks... I was really looking forward to this film, and I'm disappointed to hear that it makes so many of my least favorite mistakes.

It's one thing when a Monster movie knows it's a Monster movie (celebrating what's odd and special about its kind), but when the filmmakers are clueless to what their chosen demographic prefers? Shame, shame...

I hear you, godzilla. I hate it when any movie actually attempts to have a cohesive story-line, believable characters, and a thorough and realized plot-line instead of simply relying on special effects!! In this day and age, if there's anything movies could use more of it's gratuitous use of CGI in place of a talented writing team.

There's certainly nothing wrong with any of those things, I generally prefer thoughtful examination to crash and burn tactics as well.

But sometimes I just wanna see the monster...

GO-GEE-DAH!!!!

http://audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=75380&stc=1&d=1200794662

Just for fotno!!

Thanks my friend... Just what the Doctor ordered!

When it comes to certain genres of movies talented writers are usually not the allies of a good movie that should just be eye candy and superfantastic sci-fi horror CGI. Good writers don't always have the best imagination, especially when dealing with sci-fi horror. Sci-fi horror geeks like myself with an imagination are not always the best writers. When it comes to alien and monster movies I'm not looking for the best acting or best dialogue, I want it to look badass on the bigscreen with extreme realism, except in the case of Godzilla...I want a dude in a rubber suit! I want to be entertained with aliens and monsters, not people, their stories and plot. The plot is...Aliens and Monsters run amok and cause chaos, humans try to stop them, but fail and die in the process. The plot thickens as the scientists figure out a way to stop the beast...they try, maybe succeed, but only in driving it off...until the next movie!

http://audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=75391&stc=1&d=1200796017

Or...

Thunderbirds are go!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K9rVRuehGU&feature=related

i saw it on friday...I can appreciate the intentions of the director...But i was seriously dissapointed...

Its just all pointless because there is no context...i wanted something just a tad more concrete. the handheld camera is a good thing, but the freaking party section at the beginning is waaaaaay too long.

Then....I can see a sequel coming...

also, get someone else next time, as I think Lost sucks!!!

I wouldn't mind a sequel with the same monster, but make it a monster movie next time! No hand held camcorder either...wide view shots on a grand scale. Level the city! They're raking in $$$$...they already broke even after the second day..., so you know people want a grand Monster Movie. Paramount should give Toho $250 million to make a sweet flick...let the Japanese do what they do best~a highly imaginative and devastating Kaiju Movie. Give the true Monster Movie lovers what they want...give me what I want!

I've been so busy all weekend I haven't yet had the chance to wash the bad taste of 'Cloverfield' out of my mouth. I've got the rest of the afternoon to veg out, so it's time to put in some 'Invasion of Astro Monster' aka Godzilla vs. Monster Zero(King Ghidorah). If that doesn't work I'll have to put in the original 'Gojira'...the Japanese version.

Just saw it & I enjoyed it quite a bit.

The way the story is told via replayed video worked for me.

I was quite happy that much is left to your imagination in terms of where it came from etc.

the handheld camera is a good thing, but the freaking party section at the beginning is waaaaaay too long.


Hmmmmm. The wife and are leaving shortly to go see it. I think we will be fashionably late just to miss that part..Thanks for the heads up..:D

Hmmmmm. The wife and are leaving shortly to go see it. I think we will be fashionably late just to miss that part..Thanks for the heads up..:D

I actually liked that part.

I work with a slew of 20-somethings and this scene rang true as to how they are.

It also sets up some of the things that happen later and why they are important to the characters.

I thought it was highly entertaining... For no name actors they did a good job...

Spoiler alert sort of: Why did Lily and Marlena follow Rob and Hud around??? Especially Marlena who really didn't know anyone.

Just saw it & I enjoyed it quite a bit.

The way the story is told via replayed video worked for me.

I was quite happy that much is left to your imagination in terms of where it came from etc.

I didn't want anything in this to be left to the imagination. The term "Left to the imagination" is a cop out for not filling in what most sci-fi horror geeks want. They want to know...everything. "Left to the imagination" is a way to not have to elaborate on the story. In the CGI game, it's the cheap way out.

I did read an article last night about the chance of a sequel. It might not be a sequel in the true sense of the word though. The director mentioned if a sequel arises it would be the same story told, but from a different perspective...from afar. Grand scale style. We might actually get to see the beast in all it's glory and all the action that happened above ground while the four 20 somethings were running for their lives in the low-budget underground.

I understand what godzilla is saying when he says that "left to the imagination" is not what sci-fi horror geeks are looking for. The thing is, this movie isn't trying to be a cheesey man-in-a-rubber-suit piece of crap flick like your run-of-the-mill Godzillas: This movie is SO much better than that!! This film has excellent dialogue, believable characters and palpable, heart pounding tension: The exact sort of thing that is generally spoofed in lesser horror flicks.

And as for CGI. Let's be honest: CGI IS THE REAL COPOUT!! On every film that relies heavily on this, you know there's some smug, producer guy behind the scenes saying, "Don't worry about the script. Who cares if the characters are believable or well written? Just blow some shit up and scare the people with disturbing images and that'll sell enough tickets for us to turn a profit." Personally, I think that's an insult to the intelligence of each and every one of us; not to mention the artistic medium as a whole.:thumbsdn:

So if you're going to see this movie in the hopes of seeing a re-hashed, badly written and horribly acted gratuitous CGI fest: stay home and rent one of the six thousand films that have already been made exactly like that.

Just watched the remastered collectors edition of the original Godzilla.We have come a long way.

The thing is, this movie isn't trying to be a cheesey man-in-a-rubber-suit piece of crap flick like your run-of-the-mill Godzillas: This movie is SO much better than that!!

My man...you don't gotta get personal. You don't make 28 Godzilla movies, because people think they are good movies on the scale of Oscar winning performances though. I've never ever thought a Godzilla movie was considered a good movie. It's so much more than that though. Godzilla movies are a harkening back to my childhood as they are to many guys around my age. Anyone younger than 35 just doesn't understand what I mean. I would come home from school as a kid and WOR Channel 9 would have the "Creature Feature" on at 3:30. I'd grab Yoohoo and a King Don and sit and watch. At that time('75-'76) Godzilla was just being introduced on a widescale to America. Before that if you didn't happen to see it in the theatre you just didn't get to see it. We weren't innundated with cable yet. They would have entire weeks of just Godzilla movies though. Kids loved Godzilla!

JJ Abrams said it himself, when him and his son went to Japan they walked into a toy store and saw hundreds of Godzillas. At that moment he knew that he wanted to have an "American Monster" that is like a Godzilla icon. For that reason I went to see the movie with the inclination that it was going to be a Monster Mash ala Godzilla, but way better, because "We have the technology and the combined intelligence" that they didn't have in the 50's, 60's or 70's...it's something I've been waiting for since the 1998 Tri-Star debacle...good movie other than the Jarassic Park babies and Mega-Iguanadon look. They had so so acting in it, but likeable characters, developed story, combined with decent writing and awesome CGI for the time. But, that was "our" portrayal of "their" monster. If JJ wants us to have our own Monster then give us more than 9 or so minutes of actual creature footage. If the movie would've been 20 or so minutes longer with pretty much that much more time in monster footage(wide angle view) I would've been satisfied and maybe a bit less motion sick. I could give two shits about the running 20-somethings though, but I guess that's his target audience!

MORE MONSTER!

Just watched the remastered collectors edition of the original Godzilla.We have come a long way.
Watch the Japanese version. You feel the intensity alot more. Plus, they dummied up translation of the dialogue for the American versions for some reason.

Watch the Japanese version. You feel the intensity alot more. Plus, they dummied up translation of the dialogue for the American versions for some reason.

I agree.The original version is a better movie.

I didn't want anything in this to be left to the imagination. The term "Left to the imagination" is a cop out for not filling in what most sci-fi horror geeks want. They want to know...everything. "Left to the imagination" is a way to not have to elaborate on the story. In the CGI game, it's the cheap way out.

I'm guessing clothed women don't do much for ya either......

:D

I agree.The original version is a better movie.

There is only one Godzilla movie worth seeing, Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster. Right in the middle of the film, surf music starts twanging and the sea monster starts fruggin'. You cannot make this stuff up.

:banana:

http://www.millionmonkeytheater.com/moviepics/seamon.jpg

At the risk of sticking my head in the lizard's mouth, let me suggest that Cloverfield isn't really a monster movie at all. I agree with all of the observations about lack of context, no resolution, fleeting creature face-time, etc. And if you went to see it expecting such monster movie conventions then you are rightly disappointed. But that's because its not a monster movie, at least I didn't see it that way. It hit me (very forcefully) as an allegory of what it was like to be on the ground on 9/11, and viewed that way I thought it was incredibly effective. Twenty minutes of voyuerism on the self-absorbed lives they (i.e., we) lead daily, followed by seven hours of "what the fuck was that and it is going to kill me like it just killed my friends?!" And just like our post 9/11 approach to the world, we spent tons of ammo and scores of lives shooting at the thing and we just couldn't figure out how to stop it.

I spent the last 40 years loving creature flicks of the highest and lowest quality and always will. But I also built up an immunity to most of what is in them, so I don't scare easily. This one shook me up.

Hey chathamdad. VERY WELL SAID.

At the risk of sticking my head in the lizard's mouth, let me suggest that Cloverfield isn't really a monster movie at all. I agree with all of the observations about lack of context, no resolution, fleeting creature face-time, etc. And if you went to see it expecting such monster movie conventions then you are rightly disappointed. But that's because its not a monster movie, at least I didn't see it that way. It hit me (very forcefully) as an allegory of what it was like to be on the ground on 9/11, and viewed that way I thought it was incredibly effective. Twenty minutes of voyuerism on the self-absorbed lives they (i.e., we) lead daily, followed by seven hours of "what the fuck was that and it is going to kill me like it just killed my friends?!" And just like our post 9/11 approach to the world, we spent tons of ammo and scores of lives shooting at the thing and we just couldn't figure out how to stop it.

I spent the last 40 years loving creature flicks of the highest and lowest quality and always will. But I also built up an immunity to most of what is in them, so I don't scare easily. This one shook me up.

Cloverfield as a 9/11 allegory has been pretty well stated in reviews -

Cloverfield (http://www.outoffocus.org/outoffocus/2008/01/cloverfield-a-m.html)

"The allusions to the 9/11 attacks are anything but veiled. When the monster starts attacking New York, the first thing beheaded is the Statue of Liberty, i.e., liberty itself. Meanwhile, the shocked and usually apathetic New Yorkers become momentarily oblivious to the destruction and damage around them to take camera phone pictures of the disembodied statue's head.

The "attack" happens out of nowhere. The people we're following are having a fun time at a going away party, with individuals concerned about their own problems and lives -- are they petty? Doesn't matter -- before being shocked into a new, chaotic reality. Nobody knows what's going on, and in the first minutes, everything is confusing. The monster attacks lower Manhattan first. There are explosions and fireballs. A rolling huge plume of smoke starts coming down the street and people run screaming away from it. Is this imagery too much? For some, it may be, but it's exactly this personal flashback for the audience and the discomfort it may cause that is the film's goal."

Cloverfield as a 9/11 allegory has been pretty well stated in reviews -

I never suggested that I was the first one to come up with the notion, if that's your point.

I never suggested that I was the first one to come up with the notion, if that's your point.

Well it wasn't, defensive much?

Cut me some slack. I haven't been the same since I saw the big lizard stomp on Gallagher's Steak House on W. 52nd St.

I thought the movie was fantastic, because the POV wasn't the same as every monster movie I've seen (and yes, I'm 51 and watched the Godawful Godzilla movies over and over as a kid). You didn't have the POV of the mayor of NY screaming for help, the scientists postulating on the monster's origin, the venal president worried more about whether the monster would hurt his re-election chances, etc. You had the POV of what it would like to be the real person in the middle of the horror, period. It was very similar to the Spielberg/Cruise War of the Worlds in that respect; in WOW, if Cruise didn't see it, you didn't see it. You had speculation about what was happening elsewhere, but no concrete information, just like it would be if you were in the middle of such an invasion/attack. That is also one of the things I liked about the WOW book by Wells. I went to Cloverfield prepared for disappointment, because of the hype and the overwhelming silliness that Lost had become, but have seen the movie twice, and will probably go again.

I wouldn't mind a sequel with the same monster, but make it a monster movie next time! No hand held camcorder either...wide view shots on a grand scale. Level the city! They're raking in $$$$...they already broke even after the second day..., so you know people want a grand Monster Movie. Paramount should give Toho $250 million to make a sweet flick...let the Japanese do what they do best~a highly imaginative and devastating Kaiju Movie. Give the true Monster Movie lovers what they want...give me what I want!

I've been so busy all weekend I haven't yet had the chance to wash the bad taste of 'Cloverfield' out of my mouth. I've got the rest of the afternoon to veg out, so it's time to put in some 'Invasion of Astro Monster' aka Godzilla vs. Monster Zero(King Ghidorah). If that doesn't work I'll have to put in the original 'Gojira'...the Japanese version.


In the middle of the movie the camcorder shows another guy with a camcorder; I think I heard somewhere Abrams' sequel, if any, might feature him.
this is certainly a non-traditional Kaiju film. I'm still not real clear what the critter looked like (how do you obscure a 300 foot monster?) My favorite part of the Godzilla etc flicks are those scenes of the military/scientists speculating ("What is it?"), planning ("it might be susceptible to ___") and blasting ("Deploy the Package!!!" "It didn't work!..Now what?" "Call the President!").
This was the first movie I'd been to in 4 years. Worth watching, but I'm in no hurry to see it again. I can't wait to see the extras on the dvd.
Among the viral connections was the Slusho drink site ('Slusho' was mentioned on Abram's 'Alias' show), where the mentioned some girl who went to the ocean and found the missing ingredient to the perfect refreshment.
there's also a connection to some Japanese deep-sea drilling company (possibly the parent company?). I'm guessing the mythos has to do with they drill in the ocean and find a (substance? creature?) that's used in the slusho (something to gel it?).
as I recall the action got going when a tanker exploded. Maybe the monster was IN the tanker? they were taking it to NY for tests etc and it grew beyond their control?
Abrams also mentioned that this was an IMMATURE of its species. ?
wonder if the Hanso foundation was involved..?

because of the hype and the overwhelming silliness that Lost had become,

Any show featuring Barbi Benton is not silly!

:no:

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj225/blaurobot/evangeline_lilly_lost.jpg

Any show featuring Barbi Benton is not silly!

:no:

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj225/blaurobot/evangeline_lilly_lost.jpg

She has aged rather well, hasn't she. :thmbsp: Actually, that's Evangeline Lilly, is it not?

Actually, that's Evangeline Lilly, is it not?

That is indeed Kate.

Jeesh...is this movie STILL playing?

I saw Cloverfield on a rented DVD, as far as I know there were no extras (deleted scenes etc). I thought it was a great film; well acted and with the constant hook of making me wanting to watch more. But here's a point. A lot of people would see the film on DVD only, so just for the DVD market, would it be cost effective to make the same film but from a different viewpoint. Initial reports to military; misunderstanding/disbelief; what is it/where did it come from? When they realise the scale of the thing they're up against, how do they stop it without destroying the city?

Essentially a DVD only release with both versions on the same 2 disk set. Be one heck of a boost to DVD sales plus it wouldn't spoil the open market for a sequel.