That's how Spencer, Mike (Joel's brothers), Joel and I decided we felt after watching the movie "Cloverfield" in theaters Saturday. The "blah" isn't how we felt about the actual contents of the movie (I'll let Joel give his and his brothers reviews of the movie). "Blah" is how we felt physically. This movie is filmed from the point of view of someone with a handheld home video camera (think Blair Witch meets Godzilla) and the shakiness of the film made us sick!We made sure to sit on the back row as was recommended to us, but we still left feeling dizzy and weird. I'm not saying don't see this film (I thought it was worth seeing though it's definitely not in my top movie picks), I'm just saying be prepared. Some suggest taking Dramamine before seeing it if you get motion sick easily. I suggest not seeing it if you're pregnant or have something important to do in the hours following the movie. Also if you're squeamish be prepared to be a bit grossed out. There seriously should have been a video camera on me while I watched it because I know I made some pretty funny faces throughout the whole thing.
3 comments:
Preface: My feelings on this movie are not the exact same as my brothers.
I thought it was quite entertaining, I don't think I would pay to see it again in theaters.
And heed the warnings about motion sickness! I am not usually affected by films/video games that move a lot, but I left this one with my head feeling a bit funny -- as did the other three people I went with. While I appreciate the "1st person shaky cam style," it seems like this was a little over-the-top. I mean, our camera man was wildly swinging the camera around even while he was interviewing people at a party.
Things that I liked: the special effects were really impressive. Certain (little crawly) things FREAKED ME OUT!! It was entertaining to me because there were parts when you would see a peek of the monster/action, but you wouldn't see it in its entirety. That made it more "real," I guess. The performances were well-done and I felt myself genuinely concerned about some cast members. And it was quite intense/creepy at parts. Also, the military response was blast (pun intended) to watch. And seeing a film with no backstory/explanation/soundtrack/neatly tied-up ending was actually kinda refreshing.
Things that I didn't like: Too much movement on the camera. They could have toned it down at parts, but I think they wanted to make it more "real." The problem is that no one films like that anymore unless they're a drunk toddler. Most people know how to hold a camera steady these days. This brings me to my next point, I tried to suspend disbelief as much as I could, but I kept wondering to myself "WHY is he still filming???" and "No one would still be filming at this point!" and it seemed that the camera man had the camera strapped to the side of his face because everywhere he would look the camera would go -- even when he was running, being chased or, presumably using both hands. And I can't help but wonder if this film would have been just as good if it was filmed like a normal movie instead of first-person.
It was a fun monster movie, though. Would I recommend that you see it? Yes. But, like Beth said, take some dramamine first.
We haven't seen it yet, my family did. My sister would recommend you don't eat a double cheesburger and a large Dr. Pepper 20 minutes before seeing it. She liked the first half, didn't catch the last half. But she said she never noticed how nice the bathrooms at Jordan Landing really are.
you guys should be movie critics!!! you guys go into such detail!!! it's funny and i love it!!!!!! ;)
Post a Comment