Just saw Iron Man over the weekend and loved it. I’d be curious if you could be more specific about what you added to the project. If not, we’ll understand…but know that each time a character (usually Tony) said something sharply hilarious, I immediately thought “John August must’ve contributed that.” Also, the brilliant, final line of dialogue (pre-credits) – that was all you. Right?

Pete

I found the film’s flaws forgivable. Even JAWS has flaws (why does Hooper say the shark is a night feeder when Alex Kintner and Pippet were killed during the day??) but if you care about the people, then you’ve got the audience by the you-know-whats and can take them almost anywhere.

Anyway, great film.

Did I miss something?

The IMDB lists the runtime of Cloverfield as 85 minutes. There would be approximately 5 minutes of old footage on the “tape” (it’s unclear if they are shooting tape or memory cards. The camera rumored to be used by the characters in the film is the Panasonic AG-HSC1U, which uses SDHC cards), leaving 80 minutes of recorded footage throughout their ~7 hour adventure.

Apart from those 80 minutes, can we not assume the rest of the time the camera is in standby mode/off? Seems logical to me.

• A

I didn’t mind the marketing. And agree with poster above that most trailers spoil the film.

As to complaints, sure camera functioning at high quality for over 7 hours is miraculous. SPOILER: I thought he’d at least put it down when crossing buildings. But EVERY movie has those moments of disbelief. You buy the conceit or not. I did. Or if I didn’t, I didn’t let it get in the way of my enjoyment.

It had some genuine thrills and scares. It didn’t make promises it didn’t keep. It’s stupid fun. And sometimes, stupid fun is all that’s needed.

Also, if there is anyone who wanted to love this movie, but didn’t, do yourself a favor and rent THE HOST. It is essentially the same water monster movie, but with a steadicam operator and a (kick ass) plot.

Alas, I couldn’t stand it. I felt the movie was a inch deep and a foot wide. I couldn’t believe in the characters, from their personalities and motivations to the huge apartment and party they set up. I was frustrated how the “real time” of the camera kept shortening and expanding without explanation at some points, and at other points the camera turned off and yet the tape kept running.

All of that I could have forgiven if the monster story had captivated me. But it didn’t. The monster, as I’m sure was intended, wasn’t a character at all, but a wandering disaster that arbitrarily affected the characters. And I can’t care about a disaster. All that was left was the 20-somethings, and they fell flat.

I kept thinking about how great that consumer camera that they were using most have been. It had an extremely long battery life, long recording time, was indestructible, had night vision, and a huge spotlight.

From the beginning I just didn’t get interested in the characters and the cameraman’s character really begin to get tiresome.

After the movie there was a very loud collect, “Hmmpph.” I’m interested in seeing how Cloverfield does over the next couple of weeks, because a lot of people walking out were saying stuff like “That sucked”, but I did hear a few people say “It wasn’t that bad.” Was it similar at the theaters that anyone else went to?

JJ Abrams’ TED speech explains why he loves mystery so.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/speakers/view/id/182

I also loved the trailer for There Will Be Blood. It also sets up the conflict of the movie without clearly giving away anything except that, well, there’s gonna be some blood.

Personally, I think 95% of movies have terrible marketing, the trailer gives away the plot to the entire movie often including the ending (Zemeckis, I’m looking at you). Half the time I don’t even bother going to see a movie just because I know it has been spoiled for me, and I’ve already seen the best parts in the trailer.

I found it very refreshing to see a trailer that made it perfectly clear what the movie was about (“monster attacks city”) and gave the feel of the movie, but didn’t show the monster at all. I haven’t seen it yet, and I haven’t the foggiest idea what the monster is (and please don’t spoil it for me).

I really wish more movies would do that, leave way more to the imagination. It’s ironic that people are complaining that it was overhyped when it was one of the most secretive movie productions in years.

And really, if you’re not interested in a webgame, don’t play the webgame. It’s definitely way easier to ignore than the usual nonstop commercials that make you tired of a movie before it’s even out.

The theme doesn’t need to be the reason for the movie’s existence. I mean, in this case no one is talking about (what I believe is) the theme. Everyone’s all ‘this movie is about 9/11′ or ‘this movie is about how stupid today’s youth is’. It’s about a guy in the middle of a breakup and he doesn’t want to let go of the past. Simple simple simple.