Matt-Man on Cloverfield

Hail and well met.

It has been awhile since I last posted. Things around here are doing well. I am in good health of body, mind and soul. Work is just that, work. I have recently revisited an idea I had last year and this time I have found the right way to go. I am still proceeding slowly and really taking the time to understand what I am getting myself into before I jump in head first and smack the bottom of the pool. It should be interesting to see where this takes me and what I get from it.

Now on to the meaning of the title. Well yesterday I bought the Cloverfield DVD and devoured it all in one sitting, well except for the director commentary. The movie is over 5 months old which is hard to believe that only that much time has past as it felt like almost a year had passed. I was a little disappointed with the DVD as it lacked any of the online material that made the build up for the film so much fun. I know that it would have been difficult to put on the DVD for DVD viewing but still at least mention it if not do a complete special feature on it. What was there was interesting and in some ways added to the fun of the film. Then there were a few things that kind of discolored it a little. No that is not entirely correct as I still fully enjoy the film and I am glad to have purchased it. I guess you could sum up what I am getting at by one statement.

This was not a Giant Monster (or Kaiju) movie but a tragic love story set against the backdrop of a disaster.

Yeah that about puts all the facts of it in order. J.J. Abrams is shown saying that his son and him made a trip to Tokyo and while there visited a number of toy stores. There he viewed that Godzilla was still a major factor in Japanese pop culture. He states that he wishes that America had such a monster, King Kong not withstanding. So he gives the impression that this is what stimulated him to make Cloverfield. Here is where I draw contention with his movie. If he set out to make a Kaiju film then it is without question an absolute and complete failure. As a amateur Kaiju film watcher I can say that hardly any of the required elements were there. Yes there was a giant monster but it had only a supporting part, bordering on bit or walk on if not for some later scenes. The conflict with the monster was no where near the center of the story nor did it recieve more then a passing mention in exposition. The army is seen fighting with it but their tactics and plans are never really shown except for the passing mention of the "Hammer Fall" protocol. While there was plenty of destruction of buildings it lacked the scope of the genre. Oh and the end was worse then spending an evening working with your date towards the big payoff only to have her fall asleep in the first five minutes after getting home. Yes there were a few explosions but those fell far short of the end of the film and the last scene didn't even show the monster. Unfortunately by comparison the American Godzilla was a better Kaiju film then Cloverfield.

Now that being said is Cloverfield a bad movie? Hell no! I loved it for what it was as I said before. It was a tragic love story set against the back drop of this monster rampaging around New York. I began to feel for these characters and wanted to know what was going on. I think the most engaging fact of the film is that I wanted to know more about what happened on the tape from the Conney Island day. I was clamoring for scenes. No I didn't want the whole movie to be about it but I found the contrast was amazing as well as the way it continued to draw you back to the humanity of the main character and his connection with Beth.

I was silently routing him on as he struggled with getting to her. Not to mention that along the way he has been watching his brother and friends die off due to this thing, in one way or another. Oh and did anyone else catch the irony of which one of the group survived...yes someone did survive! I totally missed it in the theaters but it struck me right between the eyes while watching the DVD. Ok for anyone that has not seen this film this could be viewed as a slight spoiler so stop reading and go out and watch the movie then come back and read on.

Lilly survives! The quite beautiful young lady gets on the Chopper and gets away! Someone made it out, just not our hero nor his lady which is why I call it a love story with a tragic end in a most classic way. Another way to put it is to call it a Classic Tragic Love Story or CTLS. Kind of looks like a short hand way to say cutlass.

"I'll take Swords for one billion!"

"What? No Mr.Connery that is S Words not Swords."

Sorry but I get distracted sometimes.

What else can I say about this film. I said I love it and then explained why it was not a Kaiju film but a CTLS. I dropped the bomb that someone survived. Hmm I could go into my thoughts on the little critters that fell off the monster but that is a long rant. I have some other insights on the thought process that went into the monster but again to long for this already long post. So I will let it go at that for now. I do want to share my views on the other aspects of the subject of this film so expect it in the future.

I am going to be seeing Iron Man tonight and I am planning posting on this experience but maybe on until Sunday as I work tomorrow and have gaming tomorrow night.

Looking forward to everyone being home, even if it is only for a short time.

May the Force be with you

Excelsior!!!