Cloverfield

Last night I took the opportunity to round up a bunch of friends and go see the first big movie of 2008, Cloverfield. I remember seeing the trailer when I went to see Transformers thinking that the movie looked great, but somehow what/who the monster was would leak out by January. I’m glad I was wrong. Somehow they were able to keep this movie monster hush. I heard everything from them not showing the monster to the monster being some mutated version of Teddy Ruxpin. This mystery allowed for the Internet buzz to build as people speculated what the monster was or wasn’t. Still the movie had to be more than just Godzilla 2008. Not to mention we had a King Kong remake a few years ago and who wants to see that again. Cloverfield needed some substance if it was going to be a hit.

Cloverfield is shot entirely in first person point-of-view. You will either love how different it is or hate how different it is. Most people seemed to like it. I didn’t see anyone puking in the corner of the theater from motion sickness.

The movie starts as Rob (Michael Stahl-David) is leaving for Japan to start a new job as Vice President. His friends decided to throw him a party and decide to have people make video confessions to Rob so he can look at them when he’s in Japan (the reason for having the camera around). With the camera rolling we meet the other characters in the film, Beth (Odette Yustman), Jessica (Lily Ford), Marlena (Lizzy Caplan), Jason (Mike Vogel), and the narrator/camera man Hud (T.J Miller).

Once everyone is partying, there is a loud boom outside. Everyone rushes to the TV to see what happened assuming it’s another terrorist attack. The report says that there was a capsized ship by the Statue Of Liberty. All the partygoers rush to the roof to see if they can get a glimpse of whatever is happening. Suddenly there is a loud explosion and everyone rushes to the streets and that’s when the real mayhem ensues.

Why is the camera still rolling? This is their attempt to record whatever it is that’s happening to New York City. I guess I can buy that. I’m sure there would really be some idiot that would want to get that footage.

So this film needed more than a monster to keep people interested, and it is found in the relationship between Rob and Beth. Rob is in love with Beth and she calls saying that she’s trapped in her apartment. Now Rob feels compelled to save her and is willing to risk his life. Saving her means staying in NYC while this monster is destroying everything in sight. The other friends join along to help and Hud gets it all captured on film.

I think about my date life, and if I would be willing to risk my life. Not so sure about that. The phone conversation would go something like this.

Girl: Help! I’m stuck in my apartment
Me: Oh no! Are you okay?
Girl: No I can’t move
Me; Dang! Are you serious?That sucks. Is there anybody there to help you?
Girl: No! I'm hurt bad.
(Thinking the monster is right by her apartment)
Me: I’ll call 9-1-1.I love you but I gotta go now there is a monster running around eating people.


Of course some of the stuff in the movie was extremely unbelievable, but I got over it very quickly. I’ve never been in the middle of a monster attack so I’m not sure how things would really work out. I just remember thinking that more people should be dead by now. One of my concerns was that they were not going to show the monster. They do show the monster and more. A lot like The Mist, during some scenes you will just see parts of the monster and not the whole thing. Don’t worry there are plenty of chances to see the beast, and it doesn’t disappoint. I’m still not quite sure what it is.

My favorite character (Other than Jessica) was Hud. He was the comic relief in the film. He said and did some pretty inappropriate things and he reminded me a lot of people I know. You would definitely need someone there to lighten the mood in the middle of an attack. I wouldn’t want everyone around me freaking out.

My suggestion: Great start to 2008. I really enjoyed the flick and would recommend it. It’s something new and something different. A breathe of fresh air for Monster movies and for Hollywood as a whole. I’m glad J.J Abrams thinks outside of the box. I hope to see more of the same in the future. The movie may leave you with the “What if this happened in my city” question. Hopefully you’ll do what I would do and that’s leave.

I Am Legend

A few years ago I watched the 1971 movie Omega Man based on Richard Mathesons 1954 book I Am Legend. The movie starred Charlton Heston as Dr. Robert Neville, who was the last man on earth. He was busy working on a cure for an experimental vaccine that has killed most of the world’s population. The people who haven’t died have formed a group/cult called The Family and are lead by Matthias. He leads the group to try and kill Dr. Neville. In tradition of the post civil rights era, these infected want Neville dead because he is not like them and represents the way things used to be before the virus. The infected people looked liked Druids-Klansmen with hoods on protecting them from sunlight. Their skin looked like they had been playing in powdered doughnuts all day, and eyes as red as cranberries. Scary for 1971, not so much in 2007.

Reason # 167 I love seeing movies at the IMAX: I went to our local IMAX at the Seattle Center to see I Am Legend for the 2nd time. Why would I see it twice? IMAX is showing 7 minutes of The Dark Knight the second installment of the new Batman series. The preview is well worth the long lines and $10.75. The Joker looks great and the action sequences just as amazing. Okay back to the movie.

This re-make stars one of my favorites Will Smith. Smith stars as Dr. Neville and is trying to find a cure after most of the world is killed off by the Krippen virus. A virus that was created to help cure cancer. Neville spends his days roaming the streets of New York with his dog Sam systematical checking buildings, leaving a radio message, and working on a cure for the virus. At night he prepares himself to fight off those infected or “dark seekers”.

I thought the movie was great. Here’s why: In the 1971 you saw Dr. Neville as a hero who was here to save the earth and spent the past 3 years working on a cure. No real contact with anyone and was still very much a regular man. I’m not sure in 2007 we would buy that. We know way too much about how the human brain works. Legend shows the affect that 3 years of near isolation can do to a person. The fact that he was working on a cure when the virus broke and all of these people have died. His character carries a lot of that guilt and the film does a great job of showing that.

Since I’ve seen the movie twice I was able to see a few more things. What’s alarming are some of the signs that are posted around the city and in the homes of people. Signs like “WARNING: Infected dogs can come out at night” and “Stay in the light”. Also inside some of the homes have people stockpiling prescription drugs and water. You could tell they were preparing to leave. The thought of people preparing for disaster is almost as bad as the disaster itself.

The dark seekers were alarming. I’m not sure if it was the howling or the how they looked almost transparent and you could almost see their insides. Like most recent movies, these creatures were fast and strong. The age of the slow zombie/vampire/flesh eating human is dead. Of course like the Legend movies in the past, these creatures are sensitive to light. I always tell my friends that if you start eating peoples flesh you are no longer my friend and if I turn into one of those things, kill me because I would definitely kill you. (I do love my friends…………really I do)

There was also what I would like to call a “God piece” in the movie. I think in crisis people will either turn from God or turn to God looking for answers.

Our own World Health Organization always talking about an emerging global pandemic that may or may not infect humans causing serious illness and death. This movie may not be too far from the truth. I doubt we have dark seekers or a group called The Family, but we’ve already seen cholera, influenza, and the Spanish flu can do. We don’t need as strong as the Krippen virus.

My suggestion: Rent Omega Man, and definitely go see I Am Legend. If you can see it at the IMAX I would recommend doing that. The Batman bonus is worth it, but a regular movie theater will do. It’s a good movie and I think won’t be appreciated until years later. I’m just glad they finally got the story right.