Cloverfield

[PhilDernerJr]

I've seen ads for this upcoming movie on the train, and I keep forgetting t research it and see what it's about.

Apparently there's some kind of monster attacking the city, according to the trailer I saw.

However, I don't care for the print advertisements I've been seeing on the train. I hate to sound like Rudy and cry "9/11", but to see a scene of lower Manhattan bellowing with smoke that's rising to the east, seen from the harbor, is just a little too close to the images we saw just over 7 years ago in real life.

http://www.badastronomy.com/pix/bablog/2007/cloverfield_poster.jpg

I must say that the movie itself looks like it might actually be very scary. Kinda like a city version of Blair Witch, with a lot fo "video "blog style of coverage of these "event".

http://www.cloverfieldmovie.com/

Comes out 1/18.

[Midnight Mike]

I like the filiming style of Cloverfield, but, I have a feeeling that when we see the monster, there is going to be disappoinment.

Also, the print image certainly grabs your attention.

[Mellyrose]

This looks like a very BAD, but a very scary movie (both opinions based on plot alone)...and whoever made it has humongous balls. I don't agree with it at all. I don't think NYC should be seen in this light, ever. I don't care how far fetched it is; it's our city, which I think is still very vulnerable, being torn apart and destroyed.

[Alex T]

I like the filiming style of Cloverfield, but, I have a feeeling that when we see the monster, there is going to be disappoinment.

Also, the print image certainly grabs your attention.


I absolutely agree. The filming style is good, apprehensive, keeps you guessing and wanting more. Hopefully we won't be dissapointed by what the actual person/monster is. Maybe it will never be revealed? That IMO is what keeps people coming back for more, when you keep them guessing and guessing.

I do also agree the images is bit disturbing and perhaps could have been tweaked to not show a direct image of 9/11 again.

Alex

[Gerard]

>This looks like a very BAD, but a very scary movie (both opinions based on plot alone)...and whoever made it has humongous balls. <

JJ Abrams is the main producer behind the movie, he of "Lost" and "Alias" fame. Written by
Drew Goodard who has written many episodes of "Lost", "Angel", "Alias" and "Buffy".
I saw a brief clip this summer before "Transformers" and it was scary and creepy and no hint
was given about who, what, where, when and how of the movie.
And yes it is told from the point of view of a video camera. Supposedly "Cloverfield" is the govt
code name for this "incident".
The poster was very eerily reminiscent of 9/11 BUT I still love movies made in NYC. One of my
favorite monster movies was "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms" (1953) where a dinosaur awakes
after being frozen and hops onto a pier in NYC and begins terrorizing the city. Great special effects
and word is out that this movie inspired JJ Abrams for "Cloverfield".

[Tom_Turner]

Much as I love LOST, if its those people I am afraid the movie may never be explained... :shock: although it may be gripping to watch.

20,000 Fathoms... yes... there was another as well. Giant Octopus pulled down a bridge as I remember. Good Stuff.

As for the 911 connection - yes it is disturbing, but people are going to pick at that like a scab... its in the back of people's consciousness. The Japanese couldn't stop making Godzilla movies. At first the monster was a metaphor for this or that...then eventually bad childrens' movies, but ultimately cities still had to be destroyed by an "atomic" monster. [A "monster" mind you - something Roland Emmerich never understood when suffocated a renewed franchise in its infancy by showing us an iguana instead.]

Tom



>This looks like a very BAD, but a very scary movie (both opinions based on plot alone)...and whoever made it has humongous balls. <

JJ Abrams is the main producer behind the movie, he of "Lost" and "Alias" fame. Written by
Drew Goodard who has written many episodes of "Lost", "Angel", "Alias" and "Buffy".
I saw a brief clip this summer before "Transformers" and it was scary and creepy and no hint
was given about who, what, where, when and how of the movie.
And yes it is told from the point of view of a video camera. Supposedly "Cloverfield" is the govt
code name for this "incident".
The poster was very eerily reminiscent of 9/11 BUT I still love movies made in NYC. One of my
favorite monster movies was "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms" (1953) where a dinosaur awakes
after being frozen and hops onto a pier in NYC and begins terrorizing the city. Great special effects
and word is out that this movie inspired JJ Abrams for "Cloverfield".

[LGA777]

I am normally not into either Monster or scary movies but I have been intrigued by "Cloverfield" for a few weeks now. As Gerard mentioned it seems the main mastermind behind Cloverfield is JJ Abrams of among other projects Lost and I think this movie will have a Lost feel to it. Now I have probably only seen about 1/3 of all Lost episodes but I have never seen the Monster on the island, although I heard it on several episodes. Makes me wonder if this will be the case here? On the opposite viewpoint I read that one of the insperations for CF were the Godzilla movies only set in NYC instead of Tokoyo. Based on this the CF Monster should have plenty of screen time so who knows until the 18th. Based on all the ads, trailers, and hype my gutt feeling this one is going to BIG ! Here is a trailer I had not seen before with some new scenes.

http://www.firstshowing.net/2007/07/09/ ... ally-hits/ (http://www.firstshowing.net/2007/07/09/jj-abrams-cloverfield-1-18-08-trailer-officially-hits/)

Cheers

LGA777

[Gerard]

>20,000 Fathoms... yes... there was another as well. Giant Octopus pulled down a bridge as I remember. Good Stuff.<

Actually that is another monster movie "It Came From Beneath The Sea" (1955) and was set in San Fran.
BUT.....both movies featured Kenneth Tobey AND had special effects done by SfX icon Ray Harryhausen who
is considered the pioneer of scifi SFX.

[ChrisW]

Stop being terrorized, Phil. You're letting the terrorists win.

[PhilDernerJr]

I'm not scared I'm scared, I'm saying it's rude of them.

[ChrisW]

Okay. That isn't going to stop the million or so New Yorkers who go to see the film. It could just as well been Madrid, London, Tokyo, or Washington in the film.

I think you're being over-sensitive.

[PhilDernerJr]

I'm not usually very sensitive about thing. I'm just saying they could have used a different image or scene for their posters around the NYC.

On the first page of a 9/11 Google Image:

http://freethoughts.org/archives/9-11-n.jpg

Cloverfield print ad:

http://blog.ugo.com/images/uploads/1-18-08_poster.jpg

[Mellyrose]

Wow Phil.

[ChrisW]

Phil's post looks like an advertisement promoting the invasion of Iraq.

Just insert "...want a smoking gun?" here and there, add yourself some chemical weapons clipart and you've got yourself a real winner.

[wunaladreamin]

Chris, I think what Phil's getting at is for those who saw the carnage of 9/11 with their own eyes and not on a tv screen, it's quite insensitive. We here still have a hard time getting over it and the wounds are still very fresh in our hearts, and I must agree with Phil.

[Mellyrose]

I just remembered that you, Chris W, are not even a NYer. It doesn't disqualify you from this topic and sharing your opinions, but you really couldn't possibly understand it the same way.

[ChrisW]

Mellyrose...no, you're right. I only wore the uniform of this country for five years in the military. I couldn't possibly understand. :roll:

[wunaladreamin]

Wearing the uniform doesn't mean anything to this particular discussion, furthermore, it would be refreshing to not hear that excuse from you for a narrow minded opinion. I'd bet you also fell for the conspiracy jargon.

[ChrisW]

How much money do you have?

[Nycfly75]

I saw everything happen with my own eyes down by NYU with my classmates, which was about 1 mile from the WTC. We saw the first plane hit, the second plane hit, the first tower fall and then we evacuated uptown a little to my uncle's office on Union Square and watched the second tower fall. We saw the migration of people uptown, many filled with soot. We also dealt with the emotion of having one of my uncle's project managers desperately searching the hospitals with his wife for her brother who worked at the WTC. We also were scared as never before probably as we didnt know what was going to happen next. After hearing the tunnels were reopened 7 of us packed in my uncle's car for the ride home. I hosted 5 of my classmates at home until that Friday when we all went in as group to return to the city we love so much and have dinner and move on resolved that this trauma will not get to us. SO as someone that saw it with his own eyes and lived through it, even at a slight distance, Ive moved on from it a long time ago, looking forward and not back, as have most everyone else in this city. The only people that seemed to still want to live in that day are people with legitimate long term trauma issues and jingoists (who mostly were not even close to the city that day) who will wrap themselves up with the flag and scream 9/11 for their own ideological benefit and every time someone attempts to move on from that day in 2001.

PS: I cant wait to see Cloverfield, just the same as I couldnt wait to see other movies that had NYC in Sci-Fi roles, most recently like I Am Legend......

[RDU-JFK]

Let's remember everyone's entitled to their own opinion no matter what side you're on. No need to insult for holding a certain opinion or view!

I also witnessed 9/11 firsthand in NYC but watching Cloverfield wouldn't bother me. Plus how much draw would it get if the alien attached Philadelphia or Chicago? Not much. I'm probably not going to watch it because of the filming and camera constantly moving ala Blair Witch...It would give me a headache.

Escape from New York is good, although not a horror movie.

[wunaladreamin]

Chris, how is that relevant to the discussion? Nycfly75, I respect your input and agree with your sentiment but, I cannot believe that for alot of NY'ers the images shown and the concept depicted won't churn up vivid memories of the suffering on 9/11.

[PhilDernerJr]

As I said, I just feel that image is a little insensivity. I'm not hurt, offended or angry about it, I just found it unnecessary and in poor taste.

I think I just might go see it myself. Maybe I'll bring Mel if she's not too scared. :twisted:

[Mellyrose]

Mellyrose...no, you're right. I only wore the uniform of this country for five years in the military. I couldn't possibly understand. :roll:

I didn't say you couldn't understand terrorism and the fear it instills. But you can't understand what it's like to live in NYC and experience 9/11 first hand and then see that poster on your subway and around your streets. It's just messed up.

I also wore the uniform of this country, and was in basic training when the planes hit....so I'm pretty familiar. The sarcasm is so uncalled for.




I think I just might go see it myself. Maybe I'll bring Mel if she's not too scared. :twisted:

I'm not scared too see it. I'm actually interested - it just looks like a cheesy movie with a tasteless plot.

[mirrodie]

I just watched the preview. While it does stink of Blair Witch(another overhyped dissapointment), oine of the early scenes early in the preivew, with the Miss Liberty's head flying off, reminded me of "the Day After Tomorrow"

I can see how some might be sensitized and no, we'll never get over it. But it is something that we have to deal with, perhaps its part of the healing process.

Having said that, Phil, I recall seeing, at a kids carnival, a TITANIC (the boat!) kids blow up slide. Basically the kids run to the top and then slide down the stern of this blow up Titanic ship. In other words, picture the Titanic sinking, with its stern up in the air and the people helplessly sliding into the abyss. Picture that in 1912. Years later, its a carnival ride.

Whats my point? After some undefined time, I think the public will not be as sensitized and some might even joke about it. (Actually, last week I heard some guys were putting out a video game where you had to shoot down the planes before they hit the twin towers. Its already happening it a different degree. That's capitalism.) It might not be right but it will happen.


It happened with the horrific Challenger explosion (the joke, what were their last words; what does NASA stand for, etc) as with many other tragedies.




I think it comes down to....are we ready to see it? I don't know but perhaps it makes us all a bit stronger.

[bonanzabucks]

I've done a lot of research on this movie as I'm a huge monster movie fan. A few tidbits:

*It cost about $30M to make, but they say it's going to look like it cost $150M.
*The producers are kind of worried that this movie won't do that well because of the lack of big-name movie stars and the fact that monster movies haven't done that great in the US.
*J.J. Abrams came up with the idea while visiting a toy store in Japan and seeing all the Godzilla toys and he thought it would be cool to come up with an American monster movie.
*You won't see the monster that much in this movie as it focuses more on the perspective of those filming the event.
*As for the monster itself, I've read varying descriptions about it. Common theme is that it's huge and has these parasites that also cause havoc.

I'm disappointed that the film won't have any explanations on the creature's origin's, etc., but I can't wait to see it!

[mirrodie]

Thanks Bonanza. I ugess I'll be skipng that. I found Blair Witchs filming to be new, innovative and annoying. Add that to Clover, along with your desciption and I've made up my mind.

Perhaps a B-movie rental on a boring night.

[LGA777]

Also Chris a lot of us in the NYC area actually knew people or lost friends or loved ones on 9/11. I only knew 2 personally who died that day but I know at least 10 people personally who lost a spouse/child/parent or sibling that day. I think it is 1000 pct cool that people from outside the NYC area are active on this sight but when it comes to 9-11 if you were not living in the NYC area on 9-11-01 then please respect that for those of us who where we take this VERY PERSONALLY and a general statement from me, PLEASE RESPECT THIS !

Thanks All

LGA777

[Tom_Turner]

Well, personally, I will probably never get over "911" and thats without losing anyone close to me (yes, I did know people that died though), but I have to agree with Mario's words above; the world will move forward even I don't personally.

"911" was on a mass scale, and as Phil indicated the poster promo seems to be a direct reference, so thats an issue of a sort on its own, but I think getting away from a macro scale, we all have to deal with being reminded of bad (or traumatic), experiences. You lose a loved one in a car crash or to a particular disease or whatever, and ever afterwards you will be reminded of those moments in everyday life, (particularly but not exclusively in the media) often in ways that are going to be insensitive.

Does anyone remember Hogan's Heroes? Those wacky zany Nazis... back in World War ll...ho ho ho....

Tom

[Tom_Turner]

I've done a lot of research on this movie as I'm a huge monster movie fan. A few tidbits:

*The producers are kind of worried that this movie won't do that well because of the lack of big-name movie stars and the fact that monster movies haven't done that great in the US.
*J.J. Abrams came up with the idea while visiting a toy store in Japan and seeing all the Godzilla toys and he thought it would be cool to come up with an American monster movie.


JJ Abrams is probably right on the money here, and if the film does not work out it probably won't be that the US Audience can't watch giant monster mayhem. That putrid Godzilla film of a few years back (what the hell was Matthew Broderick in that for?) made 100 million dollars. People wanted to go see the Godzilla concept translated into Star Wars type special effects to help suspend their disbelief. Obviously we know now Peter Jackson could've delivered if he was interested. Instead we got an overgrown Jurassic Park escapee on the loose.

[Gerard]

>both movies featured Kenneth Tobey>

To lighten the mood....what aviation related TV show did Kenneth Tobey star in?
No cheating!! :D

[ChrisW]

How many of you raised hell over the Pearl Harbor movie? That movie debouched the entire event into a love story. It's interesting how something is "wrong" when it's personal to you in some way, yet when it isn't, you turn a blind eye and it's all of the sudden "socially acceptable."

But since non-New Yorkers are banned from commenting about 9/11, this will be my final piece of commentary in this thread.

[Mellyrose]

....are not even a NYer. It doesn't disqualify you from this topic and sharing your opinions, but you really couldn't possibly understand it the same way.


But since non-New Yorkers are banned from commenting about 9/11, this will be my final piece of commentary in this thread.


My original post said the exact opposite of what you're saying. Why must you continue to twist words? Are you entitled to your opinion but no one else is?

[PhilDernerJr]

How many of you raised hell over the Pearl Harbor movie?

As I mentioned from the very beginning of this thread, I referenced the close 7 years to the 9/11 attack. Pearl Harbor is 66 years past.

My previous point there is irrelevant, because no one "raised hell" about THIS situation. I calmly pointed out that I thoguh it was somewhat insensitive and perhaps rude. I never got upset or anything of the sort. My intention of the post was to talk about the movie itself and not the 9/11 related. I don't see why YOU are getting angry or upset or anything.


But since non-New Yorkers are banned from commenting about 9/11, this will be my final piece of commentary in this thread.

It is unfortunate that you are exagerrating everyone's comments to please your own argument, even though I don't understand why there's an argument.

All we said is that certain sensitivities about 9/11 can be difficult to understand for people who did not realize them.

Why do you get angry just because someone might be even slightly offended by something? It's one thing to form an opinion, but from where do you develop the ANGER?

[ChrisW]

Why even post the topic if you don't want a debate? If you don't want a debate, Phil, start a "news" or "opinion only" forum and lock the threads so no one can reply.

Signed,
Chris the ANGRY evil-doer.

[PhilDernerJr]

Chris, out of the 4 sentences in my first post, only 1 pertained to the 9/11 aspect. Just because someone posts a thread in off-topic does not mean it's a debate. My main intention for this thread was to see if anyone else heard about this movie, to see who'd go see it, talk about the monster, etc.

Even if it became or was intended to be a debate, I am genuinely saddened that you cannot debate without getting clearly angry over a topic at hand.

[mirrodie]

How many of you raised hell over the Pearl Harbor movie? That movie debouched the entire event into a love story. It's interesting how something is "wrong" when it's personal to you in some way, yet when it isn't, you turn a blind eye and it's all of the sudden "socially acceptable."

But since non-New Yorkers are banned from commenting about 9/11, this will be my final piece of commentary in this thread.


Chris, I honestly am not taking sides here at all although I am a NYer as well. But an underlying premise to my post was that with the example of Titanic and, to FURTHER back my point, with YOUR example of Pearl Harbor, BOTH were OVER 50 years ago.

I think that AS TIME PASSES, perhaps it would be better to deal with. And I strongly feel that perhaps many of the other posts here are hinting the same thing.

I really think its thats simple.

[Midnight Mike]

How many of you raised hell over the Pearl Harbor movie? That movie debouched the entire event into a love story. It's interesting how something is "wrong" when it's personal to you in some way, yet when it isn't, you turn a blind eye and it's all of the sudden "socially acceptable."

But since non-New Yorkers are banned from commenting about 9/11, this will be my final piece of commentary in this thread.

Chris

As a New Yorker that has been living in California for 10 years, I can tell you that the damage caused by the 9/11 attacks was more of an emotional scar to the people living on the East Coast, espicially New York/New Jersey.

New Yorkers will adjust to the pain, but, it will take time, so, yes, some New Yorkers will be more sensitive to photos that bring back memories of 9/11.

For me, I had a connection to the World Trade Center as not only did I grew up with the building, spent time in the building, & worked in the WTC for Cantor Fitzgerald. Now, just because I have adjusted, I understand that others have not....

So, keep in mind, you are on a board that is called NYCaviation, meaning, there are going to be a majority of New Yorkers with feelings shared by New Yorkers. The 9/11 attacks were devsating to all, but, hit New Yorkers & people close to the attacks harder than others.

As to WWII movies, there are still people to this day that cry when a WWII movie is shown. Some feel that the events of Pearl Harbor should not be made into a movie, others do not like talking about the Vietnam War. But, life goes on

[Midnight Mike]

Here is another scene from Cloverfield, I am going to see the movie this weekend, crossing my fingers that it is worth the price of admission.....

http://www.videovat.com/videos/13233/cl ... aster.aspx (http://www.videovat.com/videos/13233/cloverfield-oil-rig-disaster.aspx)

[LGA777]

I'm disappointed that the film won't have any explanations on the creature's origin's, etc., but I can't wait to see it!

Based on the last clip I'd say at least we now know it came from the sea, there was debate somewhere that it might have come from either the ocean or from the sky.

LGA777

[mirrodie]

I think its from MidnightMike's refrigerator at work.

[flyboy 28]

Here is another scene from Cloverfield, I am going to see the movie this weekend, crossing my fingers that it is worth the price of admission.....

http://www.videovat.com/videos/13233/cl ... aster.aspx (http://www.videovat.com/videos/13233/cloverfield-oil-rig-disaster.aspx)

Do yourself a favor, save ten bucks and get it on DVD.

I just came back from seeing it. Politics aside, it was a so-so movie. The action scenes were alright, but there was absolutely zero plot to it and the ending was just beyond words. I'm not going to spoil it but I really don't recommend seeing it in theaters.

[Iberia A340-600]

I saw Cloverfield over 3 hours ago and I am still shaking because of it. I saw the movie in Union Square and afterwards I was terrified walking out onto the street, any noise made me jump. It was a very traumatizing movie for me. The filming from a video camera made me feel like I was actually experiencing it. There were some funny moments to the movie but it was all pretty scary.

I would not recommend seeing the movie in the city.

[emshighway]

I don't think the poster was directly made to make reference to 911 but is a major piece of special effects and a striking image.

Being that I was directly involved and continue to be involved in the outcome of 911, I don't take these images personally. If I did any scene of downtown Manhattan would then be a bother. There is a difference between remembering and being stuck in the events.

[T-Bird76]

I don't think the poster was directly made to make reference to 911 but is a major piece of special effects and a striking image.

Being that I was directly involved and continue to be involved in the outcome of 911, I don't take these images personally. If I did any scene of downtown Manhattan would then be a bother. There is a difference between remembering and being stuck in the events.

Very well said.

[LGA777]

As expected with all the hype and advance advertising Cloverfield was a "Monster" at the box office this weekend, after 3 days and it's already made a 10 million dollar plus profit !

http://www.eonline.com/news/article/ind ... a67caf0d81 (http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=69782a67-0a67-421e-803e-08a67caf0d81)

Any other reviews from board members ?

Cheers

LGA777

[Gerard]

>Any other reviews from board members ?<

I'm going friday after work but my almost 18 year old son and his buddies saw it last Friday
and really liked it.

[Midnight Mike]

>Any other reviews from board members ?<

I'm going friday after work but my almost 18 year old son and his buddies saw it last Friday
and really liked it.

The filming style of the movie sucked, big time. The movie is filmed using a hand-held video camera, so throughout the entire movie the camera was jerking all around, so much so, that it took away from the movie....

Story was not soooo bad, but, that damn camera moving & jerking around was downright annoying.

Just think of when you have a 10 year old film a wedding, looks like it was filmed during an earthquake....

If you get motion sickness, take some pills...

[cancidas]

found this on the subway today heading into the city. normally, i don't bother reading thr stupid grafitti on the walls in my home station but this caught my eye:

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o161/cancidas/IMG00096a.jpg
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o161/cancidas/IMG00096b.jpg

[Gerard]

>I saw Cloverfield over 3 hours ago and I am still shaking because of it. I saw the movie in Union Square and afterwards I was terrified walking out onto the street, any noise made me jump. It was a very traumatizing movie for me. The filming from a video camera made me feel like I was actually experiencing it. There were some funny moments to the movie but it was all pretty scary.
I would not recommend seeing the movie in the city.>

That is the best place to see it!! I understand though what you are talking about. I saw it last
night at Kips Bay (32 and 2nd) and it was kinda wierd as I walked up to Penn Station after viewing
this movie. That said...I really enjoyed this movie. It was scary and the use of the video camera
made it seem more real. One complaint was that it wasnt long enough. Clocks in under less
that 80 minutes. The other was that they spent maybe too much time introducing the main characters at the party etc but I think that just sets up the fact that these are real people, young
people enjoying live and each other then... BAM!!! Their lives are forever changed in an instant, out
of nowhere.
The FX were pretty cool and I would like to see a sequel. A movie made with traditional cameras with full special effects shown from the military/govt point of view that would explain more and of course show more action.
I have to disagree with one reviewer who said not to see it in the theaters. With the Dolby sound and widescreen it makes the viewing experience more enjoyable. And after awhile you get used to
the shaky aspect of the camera.
And for those who discussed the 9/11 aspects of the movie there is really only one scene that
definitely brings back the memory of that day. It is right after the initial attack by the monster
and concerns a building collapse. After that it is pretty much a scifi monster flick. One that I thought was pretty good.
In fact a sign of a good movie is one that makes you think about it long after the movie is over. This one still resonates with me.