Cloverfield [mystery JJ Abrams film]

[Dagger]

Check out the [url=http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/11808/hd/][u]teaser trailer[/u][/url]

So. That trailer first played in front of Transformers. All it gives is a date: 1-18-08. No one knows what it's supposed to be about, although speculation is running rampant (Lovecraft? Voltron? A remake of The Host?). Some say that the whole film will be done handheld-style; some say it won't.

Me, I'm pulling for some kind of Lovecraft adaptation. That would be so cool that my little fangirl heart just might explode.

~Dagger~

[Nerdsy]

[color=deeppink]Why, exactly, are people saying this is Voltron? Admittedly, my memory of Voltron is a little sketchy, but I don't recall it taking place on modern Earth. Also, why the hell is JJ not putting all his time and effort into the new Star Trek movie? For shame!

That being said, I am absolutely [i]enthralled[/i] by this thing. [i]I must know what this is![/i] I would also like to see some sort of Lovecraft adaptation... although my knowledge about Lovecraft is mostly second hand, heh. However, I'm really thinking that this is going to be something more original.

As for all this Ethan Haas stuff... Clearly this is referring to the character from the failed CBS sitcom [i]The Class[/i], so let's all pour over his dialogue looking for clues! Perhaps this is a film adaptation? Who knows![/color]

[vegeta rocker]

Well 1-18-08 is written by Drew Goddard with credits like Alias,Buffy and Angel under his belt and the director is Matt Reeves has done alot of tv shows as well. The official synopsis for 1-18-08 (thats the official working title for the trailer) is it revolves around a monster attack from the point of view of a small group of people.

The monster may or may not be called "The Parasite" and I honestly doubt it's a remake of the Host since The Host was a sea monster.

[Sara]

[color=#db2007][url=http://www.1-18-08.com/]1-18-08.com[/url]. Not that it gives anything useful, haha, but it's there, and they're probably going to pull some "give you clues over a period of months!" thing.

My friend hypothesised immediately that it was Godzilla. (People running in the streets, and a brief mention of Japan?)

I'd totally dig Lovecraft, though.[/color]

[vegeta rocker]

I would hope its not Godzilla since the last one was such a bad idea. lol

Though if you look it up on IMDB the creature is called Parasite.

I wonder what it could really be.

[Nerdsy]

[quote name='vegeta rocker']Though if you look it up on IMDB the creature is called Parasite.[/QUOTE]

[color=deeppink]I can't find it on there. Where exactly is it?

I should also point out the IMDB is edited by the userbase, so even if it's there, that's complete hearsay.[/color]

[vegeta rocker]

I don't quite remember what you have to search under pon imdb. its either one of the fake names o runder one f the creators names.

I found it reffered to as Paasite somewhere else but I first saw it on IMDB.

[URL="http://www.slashfilm.com/2007/06/29/jj-abrams-top-secret-cloverfield-movie-trailer-attached-to-transformers/"]Other site[/URL]

This is pretty cool too, if you check the source code like the article says you really can find that in it!

[URL="http://www.slashfilm.com/2007/07/05/has-cloverfield-gone-viral/"]Cool[/URL]

[Nerdsy]

[color=deeppink]Ah, I see.

Uh, the Ethan Haas sites are unrelated, as stated by JJ Abrams.

However, there's some speculation that [url]http://www.slusho.com[/url] is part of the viral campain. I haven't see too much there, although the history sounds slightly ominous if you look at it right.[/color]

[Zen]

[color=darkred][size=1]

The history seems to point at some kind of undersea bad thing that is frozen. It's all gibberish to me if Slusho is a part of it. What's the deal with the horse/donkey with the oven mit thought bubble on the History page?

A clue or is this all the old fashioned horse dookie?

If so, then is it supposed to be a seahorse? Or just a regular horse? What about the oven mit? All very weird.[/color][/size]

[Ellerby]

[FONT="Tahoma"][COLOR="DimGray"]Yeah, I immediately thought it was Godzilla when it started. But now I'm not so sure.

I think it's something old that he's remaking (nothing new or original, which isn't a bad thing) because if it was a completely new idea I don't think JJ Abrams would bother hiding all this information about the movie.

Still, though... it looks pretty exciting. :x[/COLOR][/FONT]

[vegeta rocker]

Yeah i read about JJ Abrams saying it was unrelated but i still think its cool.

Wouldn't be the first time a director misdirected audiences.

I'm honestly not a huge fan of Abrams but this little campaign sure was a good idea. I really think this mighgt become the future for more movies and games.

Little hunts and tips to build up interest.

[James P. Galvatron]

I can see it now random small skinny asian man screaming GODZILLAAA!!!!

I wouldn't go see it nor would I see a Voltron movie enough with giant fighting robots I mean bays already making a new transformers comeon.

I wanna see an Astro Boy movie be astro boy darn you.

[TheShinje]

We didn't get the original trailer with Transformers over here, but early last month we got a teaser poster showing the destroyed New York. At first I thought it might be some kind of sequel to the Day After Tomorrow, but when I first saw the trailer, I realised that wasn't the case.

Apparently, according to the description of the monster we have so far, it's as 'tall as a skyscraper,' And it's definately a sea monster. Look at the teaser poster and you'll se a trail that it left in the water, that leads right to the destruction.

I'm definately seeing this film, solely because I don't know what I'm in for. the secrecy regarding the type of monster we'll see. I am sure, however, that this isn't Voltron.

[onenuttytanuki]

First off, they already have made it clear that it is not Godzilla , Gamera, Gappa, King Ghidorah, or any other Kaiju from Japan.
The only Godzilla movie that sucks is the horrible 1998 one. The last Godzilla to made was Godzilla: Final Wars and it turned out pretty good , plus Godzilla frys Zilla within five mintues in the film.
As far as what this will be I think it's best to wait and see. Although I'm kinda in the same boat of hope for something Lovecraftian.
Plus, America really needs be to known for another giant monster outside of King Kong.
I mean Japan has Godzilla and the bunch, England has Gorgo and Konga, Italy has the Ymir, Denmark has Reptilacus, South Korea has Yonggary, A.P.E., and The Host, North Korea has Pulgasari,and China has Mighty Peking Man.
But what is the monster outside of Kong is automatic recgonized as American.

Also, the Host creature was not a sea creature it was sometype of fresh water beastie mutant.

[Lia]

It isn't going to be godzilla, which was my first thought upon seeing the trailer. However, I believe the concept is going to be very similar.

JJ Abrams noted:
[I][B]"We saw all these Godzilla toys, and I thought, we need our own monster, and not King Kong, King Kong's adorable. I wanted something that was just insane and intense."[/B][/I]

Regardless, it is going to be a monster of some sort attacking the city. There is no specification as to where it comes from (space, the sea, etc) but from the teaser cover image, there are tracks leading from the sea.

To be honest, I'm pretty excited about seeing it, and I don't even want to figure out what it is before then.

[ZachIsAPanda]

At first, I thought the monster would be some strange creature from space that crashes into Earth--until I realized that there can't be an earth quake and then a large explosion minutes afterwards.

Now I'm thinking tentacles, when they are in the gas station store, it seems like it breaks open the windows (why must they cut out the scenes afterwards!? T_T), and there are three or so windows. So hopefully tentacles, especially if it is from the sea. Maybe it is Cthulhu!? Or a giant squid of sorts.

[Revelation]

[size=1][color=#8B008B]I'm not sure if you've all already seen this but they created a Cloverfield site and it has a trailer, so...[URL=http://www.cloverfieldmovie.com][B]Cloverfield Trailer[/B][/URL]. It seems that, for the most part, it'll be in handheld-style which I think is pretty cool. It almost seems like we're actually there, recording everything.

I really can't wait to watch this movie.[/size][/color]

[Dagger]

A Cloverfield [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-01-16/shonen-ace-posts-cloverfield-movie-tie-in-manga-online][u]side story manga[/u][/url] is being serialized online. [url=http://www.kadokawa.co.jp/tachiyomi/comic/cloverfield/][u]Only in Japanese[/u][/url], unfortunately (click the big bluish button on the upper left-hand side to make it open). I skimmed the first few pages, but the print is way too small on my monitor... might change resolutions to read the rest later, if I feel motivated.

~Dagger~

[ZeitGeist]

I just saw the film today, and it was as good as I anticipated it would be.

My friends criticised the hand-held camera style that was used in the movie, but that added a touch of realism for me. You felt like you were right there, experiencing the whole thing.

I'd say that technique was better than say, watching King Kong from a third-person, unaffected, perspective.

And, without giving anything away, (sorry :p) The monster that terrorises the city is frickin awesome.

My verdict: 9.5/10. You should go see Cloverfield when you get the chance!

[AngryBarista]

[FONT="Trebuchet MS"][SIZE="1"][COLOR="DarkSlateBlue"]I have three things to say about this movie:

1. Go see it.
2. Watch closely.

And the final thing is to rope you all in.
To sum up the movie I'd say:

Cloverfield...
A story of Love, Loss, and Motion-sickness.

Yeah it was GREAT, but if you get queasy riding sitting backwards on trains, don't see it.
[B]
Rating: 9/10[/B][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[James]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I'm really looking forward to this, especially considering how horrible Godzilla was. lol

Even by the trailer this looks pretty interesting. It'll be good to see a monster film that is actually frightening.[/font]

[Dagger]

Wow, you guys have gotten to see it already!? I'm hoping to take my dad to go see Cloverfield on Saturday. Originally I was planning to bring my mom & sister as well, but they've got a concert to go to, and since they're both sensitive when it comes to motion sickness, it's probably for the best...

~Dagger~

[Justin]

I've heard the Godzilla speculation, and that's it until I read this thread. A Lovecraftian interpretation would be grand, but judging by what little I have read, I don't think that's likely.

I'm going to see it, though.

-Justin

[AngryBarista]

[FONT="Trebuchet MS"][SIZE="1"][COLOR="DarkSlateBlue"]Haha, sorry Dagger, but my mate was telling me that Australian Film Law requires that all movies be released on Thursdays. I don't know if he was just pulling my leg when he said this next part but you never know, I'm pretty gullible.
Since the producers/directors of Cloverfield wanted a worldwide release [and we have our rules, other countries have theirs], Australia got it 36 hours or something along those lines before a whole lot of other places...
Also, there was a MySpace Black Curtain pre-screening of it on Wednesday.
I'm surprised more Aussies haven't posted their thoughts here? Go see it already! :D[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[James]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I just saw Cloverfield today.

Most movies premiere on Thursday but I am not sure if it's actually the law, lol. I don't really know though.

Anyway, I'd read a little bit about Cloverfield before I saw it, which actually helped quite a lot.

[spoiler]The film itself essentially has no plot - or at least, not much of one. If you want to know anything about the story you really have to view the various related web sites and reading the tie-in manga would probably help (though it's not necessary I'd say).

The movie starts pretty slowly but this helps to set everything up. The [i]entire[/i] film is like Blair Witch, in that it's all filmed on someone's handycam or whatever.

I typically dislike this style because it's pretty nauseating and often, the camera does not show critical things - in Blair Witch I felt like I was missing out half the time. Although it was deliberate, it was frustrating at times.

Cloverfield is like a far better version of Blair Witch - it takes the concept of typical digital camera footage and amplifies it with incredible visual effects.

Basically this film is Godzilla. Not [i]the[/i] Godzilla, of course. But essentially, it's a movie about a monster invading New York. That pretty much sums it up.

Where it excels is in its uncompromising reality. It may sound harsh to say this but watching Cloverfield is like watching September 11th from the perspective of a typical New Yorker.

At one point the statue of liberty's head goes rolling down the street. When it stops, people crowd around it and take pictures on their phones. Something about this is eerily realistic. The sound of sirens in the distance, the echoes of the monster's roar and dull thud of its feet is depicted in an incredibly tangible way.

The reality of the film also serves to make it fairly emotional - despite having no real story to speak of, I think Cloverfield manages to be emotional because the characters are all pretty believeable; they are all regular people in an extraordinary situation.

I guess what makes this different to Godzilla and King Kong is that it doesn't have the campy quality of those two films. And because you aren't viewing things from a polished third person perspective, everything somehow seems more weighty and realistic.

Also the creature itself is far more scary and interesting than either Godzilla or King Kong. This creature is truly horrific and it has a couple of little surprises that serve to make the film even scarier.

I don't really know what else to say about Cloverfield; it is something that has a way of making you feel uneasy due to its realism. It is definitely like watching a September 11 video, I think. The director has used techniques throughout the film to further support this, while still making sure that the camera shows what it needs to.

And you [i]do[/i] see the creature quite a few times, with several very clear shots. This doesn't detract from the film; you see the creature at the appropriate times and in ways that support the atmosphere.

Also refreshing is the fact that the ending is essentially bad. I won't go any further than that - but yes, it's not a good ending. And I'm actually happy to see a movie that doesn't try to suger-coat things. This isn't a glossy Hollywood Godzilla rip-off - it's intended to almost be a pseudo-documentary and, just as in real life, there is often not a silver lining.[/spoiler]

I'm not sure what score I'd give this one. As I said, it really has a very thin story (pretty much no story) and the shaky cam footage might really turn off some (although you get used to it after a little while).

All I can say is that this movie is obviously a work of great talent. It has a visceral quality that is removed from many movies these days. In an age of incredibly realistic special effects, this movie still manages to shock and surprise.

So it's very worth seeing. And it does show that monster movies of this type [i]can[/i] be both realistic and scary.[/font]