Cloverfield

[Broughden]

So the movie opens in 8 days.

Any speculation as to how it will do and most importantly what the monster is? Or maybe there isnt a monster at all ala Blair Witch Project.

What do you think?

[Triforcer]

I think we'll find out that everyone was dead the whole time.

[rattran]

After the trailers and the radio ads, I have no interest in the film. And I love monster movies.

Maybe it's the polar bear from Lost.

[Yegolev]

I'm pretty sure the monster will be dumb as shit.  No reason, just instinct.

[Stormwaltz]

So am I the only person in America who didn't even hear about this until tonight?

I don't watch a lot of TV...

[Abagadro]

I see it as a bit of high risk/reward situation. If it is good you will want to see it real early since it will be spoiled and negatively impact the movie watching experience to some degree. If it sucks you will just have to suffer through. I'm undecided but leaning towards going opening day.

[Paelos]

My guess is some sort of dumbass looking alien thing that runs amok and then starts infecting people with some kind of alien disease that kills you. That's based on what I've seen in the previews.

[angry.bob]

I like to thing it's Cthulhu awakening and leaving R'lyeh to start his work on man, his cultists becoming as the Great Old Ones; free and wild and beyond good and evil, with laws and morals thrown aside and all men shouting and killing and revelling in joy.

But it'll probably be some stupid mutated whale with legs or something.

Someone really needs to do a movie about Cthulhu awakening and showing everything that would happen. That would really be an interesting movie.

[Evildrider]

I'm pretty sure the monster will be dumb as shit.  No reason, just instinct.

I'm thinking we never get a clear shot of the monster.

[Velorath]

It's not coming to my theater, and I won't be rushing to the other theater to watch it unless I hear great things about it (mostly due to being lazy, as I am actually curious about how this movie turns out).  Actually I don't really feel the need to watch any of the non-limited releases in January or the first half of Februrary really.

[DraconianOne]

Any speculation as to how it will do and most importantly what the monster is? Or maybe there isnt a monster at all ala Blair Witch Project.

It's the Monster of the F13 id or a physical manifestation of internet 'tardery on a global level.

Seriously though, it will do fairly well and will be number 1 picture the week it opens, mainly due to a very effective marketing campaign and that iconic shot of the statue of liberty's head being used as a bowling ball plus an intriguing viral campaign and lots of rumours around the internet.  Even people I know who aren't that into films have been talking/blogging about it.  Then again, I don't know how many screens it will open on. It'll probably only be number 1 for a week because Rambo gets released the following friday.

Will we see the monster?  Yes, I think we will.  Not doing so will make JJ Abrams the most despised pricktease in cinema history (for at least [insert random number below ten] weeks).  I doubt it will be clear because it's going to be shaky handheld for most of the film plus they've only got a budget of $30 million and I doubt it's all going on creature effects when they're trying to destory Manhattan too.  ("The Relic" had a budget of 40m 10 years ago and they showed the whole creature that was nowhere near the scale that this is meant to be). 

Is it going to be good?  Jury's out.  I am already ill disposed towards it because I have a real problem with that whole "shot from a real point of view" thing.  I hated Blair Witch for exactly that (and for the fact that it was fuckawful film) and I'm feeling negative about Cloverfield for the same reason: namely why, when you're running for your life and watching the world being destroyed around you, would you as a normal, everyday, non-news-cameraman type person, be concerned with capturing it all on video and keeping the camera to your eye the whole time?  I don't want to not like it but I will if that central conceit isn't carried off believably.

On the other hand, with the exception of the very dodgy CGI, this "news footage" is brilliant. 

Someone really needs to do a movie about Cthulhu awakening and showing everything that would happen. That would really be an interesting movie.

http://www.cthulhulives.org/cocmovie/index.html

[Broughden]

Not doing so will make JJ Abrams the most despised pricktease in cinema history

Well this is the same guy responsible for the television Lost, so some might argue he relishes the role of prick tease.

[rattran]

Someone really needs to do a movie about Cthulhu awakening and showing everything that would happen. That would really be an interesting movie.

http://www.cthulhulives.org/cocmovie/index.html

That's a good movie, but it's just the story "The Call of Cthulhu" No great awakening, not cultists rising to power. Just a nifty claymation style cgi cthulthu. It is well worth the $15 for the dvd though.

[schild]

I just picked  up Dagon on Amazon. Man I hope it doesn't suck. Arrives today.

[JWIV]

I just picked  up Dagon on Amazon. Man I hope it doesn't suck. Arrives today.

It's actually not too horrible.

[HaemishM]

I will likely be in the theaters next Saturday watching Cloverfield at a matinee. I don't spend night-time movie price money on movies anymore. But this one has me very intrigued, and I still like Lost, so I don't have a hatred of J.J. Abrams yet. Plus, Abrams did direct the best MI movie hands down.

[schild]

I just picked  up Dagon on Amazon. Man I hope it doesn't suck. Arrives today.

It's actually not too horrible.

Elaborate.

[DraconianOne]

Dagon is one of the better Lovecraft inspired films.  It's not great but for what it is, it's pretty good.  It does capture the spirit of Shadow Over Innsmouth even if it's not absolutely faithful to the story.  It's amusing in places in a sort of Evil Dead-lite kinda way and some of the effects later on are pretty gross out. 

Compared to The Unnamble and The Curse it's excellent.  I liked it.

[schild]

Are there _any_other good lovecraft films?

[JWIV]

I just picked  up Dagon on Amazon. Man I hope it doesn't suck. Arrives today.

It's actually not too horrible.

Elaborate.

Decent special effects and make-up jobs, and the first half of the movie actually achieves some level of decent tension and atmosphere.  Things devolve a  bit towards the end of the movie, but overall it's non-campy and tense.  It's been a few years since I saw it, but I recall that the Lovecraft fan I saw it with enjoyed it.

[Morat20]

The monster in Cloverfield is....Godzilla. I understand Matthew Broderick kills it.

[Yegolev]

I understand Matthew Broderick kills it.

The monster or the movie?

[sigil]

I didn't think Matthew Broderick could kill anything, well, unless they're on a road in Ireland.

[tazelbain]

Mathew Broderick married Godzilla.

[Samwise]

Are there _any_other good lovecraft films?

Dagon is my favorite one.  Far and away.  Because it's fucking creepy in just the way that a Lovecraft film should be.

The version of "Dreams in the Witch House" done on Masters of Horror was pretty decent (same guys as did Dagon).  And you've also got stuff like Re-Animator and Evil Dead, both fun movies that are loosely Lovecraft-based but not really what I'd call "Lovecraftian".

"In the Mouth of Madness" was meh.  "The Dunwich Horror" was godawful.

The IMDB entry on Lovecraft turns up a lot of stuff I've never even heard of.  Time to start filling my Netflix queue...   

[DraconianOne]

Are there _any_other good lovecraft films?

Straightforward adaptations - not so much.  Anything Stuart Gordon did basically so Reanimator, From Beyond and Dagon are probably the best of the bunch.  If you can find a copy of The Resurrected it might be worth a gander (it's a modern retelling of the The Case of Charles Dexter Ward directed by Dan O'Bannon).  Necromonicon is a collection of film adaptations but for the life of me I can't remember if I've actually seen it.  I'm pretty sure a housemate used to have it on VHS but there was likely heavy consumption of recreational pharmaceuticals involved so if we did watch it, I don't remember it.

Guillermo Del Toro is still talking about adapting "Mountains of Madness"  at some point.  Doubt it will happen soon though.

[sidereal]

What's the one where peoples' pineal glands go apeshit and tentacles come out of their heads and take over?

That one wasn't so good.

On Cloverfield: If it's at the Cinerama, I will watch it early.  Otherwise, I'll probably wait for DVD.  Theaters no longer do it for me, except the Cinerama, which is movie-watching gold.

[Samwise]

Guillermo Del Toro is still talking about adapting "Mountains of Madness"  at some point.  Doubt it will happen soon though.

Oh God that would be awesome.

I'd like to see Burton take a crack at Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath.

[Murgos]

"In the Mouth of Madness" was meh.

I liked In the Mouth of Madness, mostly just because it wasn't a 'formula' horror movie and at least tried to push the boundaries a bit.  Lord Of Illusions from about the same time is ok, too.  It's obviously more Clive Barker's style but he borrows a bit from HPL here and there.

[rattran]

What's the one where peoples' pineal glands go apeshit and tentacles come out of their heads and take over?

That one wasn't so good.

From Beyond. And it's just bad.

I enjoy watching the adaptation of The Colour Out of Space Die, Monster, Die! Not very close to the original story, but entertaining. Dunno if it's out on dvd, I've got an LD of it.

[Tannhauser]

It's confirmed that Cloverfield is not C'thulhu and the director promised you would get 'intimate' contact with the monster.

Whatever THAT means. 

I'm too lazy to back up my story with linkage.

[Jain Zar]

Why not just watch a Godzilla movie?
Some of the modern ones are pretty badass in a     kind of way.
And the modern Gamera trilogy fucking rocks.

That being said I am interested in Cloverfield.  Will probably catch it the monday after its release.  Not every day giant monster movies get to the theater.
Hell, I went to see Dragon Wars which I actually enjoyed for what it was.  (Dumbass story, but cool monsters.  Loved the Apaches vs Dragon Thingies parts.)

[tkinnun0]

Hell, I went to see Dragon Wars which I actually enjoyed for what it was.  (Dumbass story, but cool monsters.  Loved the Apaches vs Dragon Thingies parts.)

Cut away the Korean legend parts it would have been what Reign of Fire should have been.

[schild]

Having asked for next Wed-Fri off, completely forgetting Cloverfield was coming out, I'll be going to see this at a matinee on Friday to avoid the crowds.

[KallDrexx]

So am I the only person in America who didn't even hear about this until tonight?

I don't watch a lot of TV...

Heh, a trailer was released on the net quite a few months ago but it didn't have the name then.  It was a random trailer that literally had no name to it (I think the quicktime url for the trailer just had the date).  I just found out yesterday that it's coming out and it's name actually, but I recognized it from the old trailer.

Looks interesting though, I'll at least check it out.