Cloverfield

So, on my day off and in dedication to the people of Mr.Brooksknockedupnancydrewistan, I'm going to do a short post about Cloverfield. I'll just say this first off. I loved it. I hated the Blair Witch Project. I thought it was a stupid film school project and it gave a bad name to independent horror movies by knocking off Halloween as the largest grossing. That whole shaky camera realism that they went for? Okay, somewhat interesting but I truly felt everyone needed to die in that movie because it made me queasy.
Cloverfield is different. Its what if someone tried to make a movie instead of a film school project. The special effects are rather good and I enjoy not being able to clearly identify the monster but still being aware of what its capable of destroying. Did I think some of the decisions were bad? Well yes, as Scott points out often recently, rats are running away and you put on nightvision instead of running in the same direction. Honestly, I have no idea what I'd do if a giant monster entered my city. Some have criticized the characterization in the film. I don't. I think it worked for me. For me, the movie really is heartbreaking. I can't really explain it readily. During the movie, I had the song Mad World in the background of my thoughts. The theme to the movie Donnie Darko is haunting. I had the Ed Alleyne-Johnson version of the song going. Listen to the preview of it on Itunes and judge for yourself. Maybe its a bit of the crush I have on Odette Yustman that has me thinking about this movie a lot besides the whole monster destroying a city without reason. Odette Yustman plays the really smart girlfriend on October Road (a terrible show written really poorly that I can't help but watch because I hate myself). I've talked about her in previous posts. Yustman is the close friend (Beth) of Rob Hawkins, film protagonist and played by Michael Stahl-David (from Chicago). She slept with Rob Hawkins and he kinda freaked out and didn't call her for weeks. Now, Rob Hawkins is having his going away party since he is going to Japan for a new job. Beth comes to party and they fight. Beth leaves and monster attacks. The movie centers around Rob's quest to rescue her in the face of this monster attack.
I can't help but admire it. I respect boldness and she's worth it. I don't know if I'd done the same. Probably not, who knows. You know a movie has done its job when I'm feeling for New York outside of 9/11. Man, there is a lot of 9/11 imagery in the movie. I couldn't help but stare in awe as the US military charged at this thing destroying a city with its horrible creatures spawning from it. Its vicious. In the face of this, Rob Hawkins is going to rescue Beth.
I'm still haunted by the movie for some reason. Maybe its the horror of a city's destruction that looked real. Maybe, its the tragedy and senseless of it all. This wasn't terrorists doing this. This was a monster. Think Mad World.