Feb 1, 2008

What Blair Witch should have been: Cloverfield

So today, after a week of work and other sans cool surprises at work (maybe I'll post about it, maybe not), it was time to go out and enjoy the night watching Cloverfield. Here is my honest opinion. Don't worry, if you haven't seen it I will not go into it that much so I would spoil it.

First of all, the hype was greatly deserved. Contrary to BWP's failure to be one iota of scary and having the same "strategy" in its drama - a found tape, yada yada yada - Cloverfield delivered. The handheld camera sure gets the job done. You believe that it was done by amateurs, hands down. Oh, a little bit of info... you will get a bit dizzy. This is not your average camera shot. It's very shaky, sharp and fast cuts galore.

Also, the script is very well done. It sounds realistic, 100%. The actors play it very cool, you kind of believe, almost, that they are real people. And the way the editing is done, like with only one tape in hand... brilliant.

Should you see it? Well here's a thought for you. If you like shoot em' up movies or you're into real sci fi shit... then maybe this flick is not for you. This is what seems to be a well done experiment: what happens when you try to mix reality tv with film. If you are waiting for something more complex, for example, Aliens... then maybe you'll be dissapointed. They use the Jaws (first one) factor: tension and hidden stuff that you can't pinpoint. You don't need to see that much of the "real thing" to get scared.

The thing is this: this past month I saw The Mist. Almost same thing, the world is coming to and end (sort of) and you get no answers. More so, there are monsters. You don't know why. You can't see them that much. And in my book, Mist chewed up Cloverfield's ass and testicles. In fact, if I hadn't seen Stephen's latest flick, I would vote tonight's movie as one of my top so far.

So I'm not saying that it sucked, not by any means. It is a great concept. It is acted out very well. The photography and SFX definitively rule (I can remember I am Legend and I cringe). it's just that I liked Mist better, that's all, since they are almost exactly the same. Sue me.

What now? Well, I can only say it like at the NY subway. The next stop is... Rambo!!!!

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