
I watched Cloverfield last night. I bring this up because I was very impressed with the stunningly clever marketing scheme Paramount approved of, which pretty much guaranteed huge box-office hits whether the movie was good, or just complete trash.
My synopsis is brief, on this one. It was the most unconventional film to hit the theaters in ages, and I was impressed with the whole presentation of the film. It was very discreet, albeit couldn't resist a few "cheesy" moments, and very suspenseful. The filming was convincing, very convincing with the cuts, shakes, and expected mishandling made by just about every human on this planet who has used a handicam for the first time. It was suspenseful, with some very nice occasional imagery. It was one of those films that can be described more as an "experience" than an actual American film, since most movies these days tend to present themselves too obviously, waving information clearly back and forth across the screen to make sure everybody gets it without strain. Which is why the word I specifically use, unconventional, seems to describe the film very well. Obviously, it was in mind when developing the film as well, and achieved exactly -- or mostly -- as was intended.
Did I mention I enjoyed it? Well, I did. I could think up a million ways to improve, of course, but we all could, due to human bias and preference. But, it was somebody else's piece of work, meant to draw in a large crowd and throw something unexpected at them, and it could have achieved that no more than it did.
This post will inevitably be followed by narrow-minded, unselfconscious insults at the movie, especially in respect to the ending. Hopefully, there will be some thoughtfulness in there as well, as I know there ARE people out there who exercise their brains when watching movies, as opposed to just making their decisions on complete bias and immediate, shallow impressions.
For those of you who just HATE the film and see no reason to enjoy it on any level, I don't blame you; I'd be irate too, if Paramount Pictures was laughing triumphantly at my displeasure, while my ticket money jingled around in their pockets. ;)

