I just youtubed the bloody monster to spite him because I refuse to pay a dime to anything that man comes up with. DEAR JJ ABRAMS. YES, YOU ARE A MARKETING GENIUS, PITY YOU CANNOT SEEM TO TRANSFER ANY OF THE EFFORT YOU PUT INTO YOUR FRIGGIN' HYPE STIRRING INTO THINGS LIKE, I DON'T KNOW, WRITING AND CREATIVE INTEGRITY.
not that I'm a bitter person with a roommate who was obsessed with Lost or anything.
To be fair, the movie is actually pretty good in a B-movie way, albeit a high motion-sickness risk. It's kind of cool to see a monster attack from the ground. However, as some of the guys behind me remarked after the movie, it felt like an hour-and-a-half preview. Hooray, he captured an atmosphere of chaos, confusion, and panic! But, um... resolution is not the enemy. And neither is information.
(Oh, I totally understand. My mom was a Lost fan. She got me into it, we played the games, we followed the clues online. So I will admit that part of my nut-punching impulse stems from the fact that the fucking island mysteries and fucking Jack Shepard outlived my mother. :/ )
I love bad schlocky Big Monster movies! God knows, I was all about the poorly dubbed Godzilla/Rodan/whatever the hell else attacking cities. I even give props to what this movie went for visually. Fuzzy shots of some big horrible thing weaving its way through the streets of the city I work is definately a special sort of awe-inspiring GAH.
But, um, yes, JJ Abrams. A little exposition? Doesn't hurt from time to time. Having characters ask sensible questions? Also doesn't hurt. Coming up with an actual answer to your mystery? would be really fucking nice. Especially when I think everyone's figured out your idea of a narrative is 'make it up as you go along
( ... )
And I have to say, if Cloverfield had a strong point, it was in emphasising exactly how powerful that Giant Monster Thing was. I mean, the shit it destroys without any kind of effort? The scale of it? The fact that you actually hear reporters losing their composure when confronted with it? Frightening.
But it was sort of kneecapped by the lack of exposition. Hell, a rumour from some passerby would have been awesome. And the fact that this shows up in every single thing he's doing is getting obnoxious. I swear, if he pulls it with the new Star Trek, I am going to go to his house and shove his junk up his nose.
(If I ever pick up Lost again, which isn't looking likely, it's going to have to be after the entire show wraps up. Because between the massively unlikable main character, the crazy numbers, and the HOOOOOGE amount of mysteries that never get solved? Life is too damn short.)
:3 I loved the movie, and aside from the fact that he DID put a lot of those little hunt-able virals out there (Slusho, Tagrauto, the characters' myspaces) most of the hype came from the fact that he released so little of the information about the movie. Not any images of the monster, not even the name until a little bit ago. He didn't even have any advanced screenings to get audience opinions so that none of it would spill. The whole point of the movie is that you -- like everyone in Manhattan in the movie -- has no flippin' clue wtf is going on. What it is, where it's from, etc. It's a monster movie without the omniscience, without the scientists filling you in. So it's just sheer panic. I loved it for that -- I really got into it. I'd panic. I'd totally panic. Hell, I was screaming just in the theatre
( ... )
The whole point of the movie is that you -- like everyone in Manhattan in the movie -- has no flippin' clue wtf is going on.
Now, see, I did appreciate this up to a point, and I think he did create an atmosphere of chaos and panic that felt pretty real--seeing Manhattan empty, hearing a news crew panic (which they don't seem to do, like, ever anymore), the rats in the subway tunnels, etc. However, the part of the hype that was immensely disappointing for me was that Abrams seemed to be implying there was a backstory that would get at least a cursory explanation.
IMO, the best example of the kind of movie I think Abrams was trying to make/emulate is Alien. The monster is a constant presence, but it doesn't jump out at you until late in the movie in both cases. The main characters are terrified by the threat and their lack of information in both cases. However, in Alien, the little bit we eventually learn about the alien (okay, about the corporation's priorities in regards to the alien) makes it even more horrifying. Yeah,
( ... )
To be fair, the movie is actually pretty good in a B-movie way, albeit a high motion-sickness risk.
That's a shame. I read pretty good reviews about it, including the Godzilla like feel from an ordinary dude's perspective. But the trailers were enough to give me a headache. *urp* The viral marketing is sort of a turnoff for me too, because it makes me suspect the film itself won't live up to the endless hype.
The "Godzilla from J. Random Passersby's POV" aspect is pretty well done, I think, and it's certainly a really inventive idea. But I did come out of the movie with a headache from trying to track what was going on.
At this point, I'm not so much fed up with the concept of the viral marketing itself as with the fact that Abrams tends to use it to get us interested and hint that something is going to be resolved... and then piles on more mysteries and loose ends without resolving anything. :/
The monster makes sounds like a constipated T-rex. X)
Which is kinda disappointing. As much as I like giggling at horror movies, I was expecting a movie with a half humpback whale half isopod creature to be neat.
That thing with the monster flinging the Statue of Liberty's head was also silly. XD That hysterical guy going "Ohmygod! Ohmygod! Ohmygod!" had me in stitches.
a return, in haikuamdayenJanuary 19 2008, 02:27:33 UTC
No motion sickness Luckily I am immune That movie was WIN
But seriously, I'll go back up and read the previous comments in a second. I saw this post of yours like...an hour before I was going to see it and I didn't click purposefully so I wouldn't be spoiled. Your post did worry me however.
But I can honestly say, I enjoyed that movie immensely. Perhaps it is because that sort of movie doesn't make me motion sick (I think my body has to be moving in like to get me really nauseous). I adored the mood they put into it, as well as somehow managing a really good balance of how much you should and shouldn't show of your main "villain", as it were. (I've seen way too many horror movies that had potential, but they just ruined it but showing the monster too much)
And maybe it's because I love that really really tense sort of feeling in a movie, where I'm genuinely on edge and I can physically feel the tension. And then, perfectly, he cuts through in just the right places with some humour to help you unwind a little before he seizes you
( ... )
Re: a return, in haikuamdayenJanuary 19 2008, 02:32:36 UTC
Also, belatedly, I think I had a little bit of advantage about what to expect going into it. The radio show I listen to in the mornings had a live interview with Abrams about the movie and he explained what he was going for, what to expect and not to expect and various little random tidbits that did and didn't have anything to do with the movie.
And that I've never seen anything else he's ever done. That probably didn't hurt. ^__^;
And that I've never seen anything else he's ever done. That probably didn't hurt. ^__^;
Actually, come to think of it? It probably did help you a lot. Abrams has a tendency to put out a ton of viral stuff, hints, and teasers, and then... DUN DUN DUN... not reveal much! Which grates on my nerves after a while.
Yeah. I think going into the movie knowing that the monster wasn't really going to be explained help me to not expect it, which definitely lent me the ability to focus a lot more on the other things. ^^
Comments 22
not that I'm a bitter person with a roommate who was obsessed with Lost or anything.
Reply
(Oh, I totally understand. My mom was a Lost fan. She got me into it, we played the games, we followed the clues online. So I will admit that part of my nut-punching impulse stems from the fact that the fucking island mysteries and fucking Jack Shepard outlived my mother. :/ )
Reply
But, um, yes, JJ Abrams. A little exposition? Doesn't hurt from time to time. Having characters ask sensible questions? Also doesn't hurt. Coming up with an actual answer to your mystery? would be really fucking nice. Especially when I think everyone's figured out your idea of a narrative is 'make it up as you go along ( ... )
Reply
But it was sort of kneecapped by the lack of exposition. Hell, a rumour from some passerby would have been awesome. And the fact that this shows up in every single thing he's doing is getting obnoxious. I swear, if he pulls it with the new Star Trek, I am going to go to his house and shove his junk up his nose.
(If I ever pick up Lost again, which isn't looking likely, it's going to have to be after the entire show wraps up. Because between the massively unlikable main character, the crazy numbers, and the HOOOOOGE amount of mysteries that never get solved? Life is too damn short.)
Reply
Reply
Now, see, I did appreciate this up to a point, and I think he did create an atmosphere of chaos and panic that felt pretty real--seeing Manhattan empty, hearing a news crew panic (which they don't seem to do, like, ever anymore), the rats in the subway tunnels, etc. However, the part of the hype that was immensely disappointing for me was that Abrams seemed to be implying there was a backstory that would get at least a cursory explanation.
IMO, the best example of the kind of movie I think Abrams was trying to make/emulate is Alien. The monster is a constant presence, but it doesn't jump out at you until late in the movie in both cases. The main characters are terrified by the threat and their lack of information in both cases. However, in Alien, the little bit we eventually learn about the alien (okay, about the corporation's priorities in regards to the alien) makes it even more horrifying. Yeah, ( ... )
Reply
That's a shame. I read pretty good reviews about it, including the Godzilla like feel from an ordinary dude's perspective. But the trailers were enough to give me a headache. *urp* The viral marketing is sort of a turnoff for me too, because it makes me suspect the film itself won't live up to the endless hype.
Reply
At this point, I'm not so much fed up with the concept of the viral marketing itself as with the fact that Abrams tends to use it to get us interested and hint that something is going to be resolved... and then piles on more mysteries and loose ends without resolving anything. :/
Reply
Which is kinda disappointing. As much as I like giggling at horror movies, I was expecting a movie with a half humpback whale half isopod creature to be neat.
That thing with the monster flinging the Statue of Liberty's head was also silly. XD That hysterical guy going "Ohmygod! Ohmygod! Ohmygod!" had me in stitches.
Reply
Reply
Reply
Luckily I am immune
That movie was WIN
But seriously, I'll go back up and read the previous comments in a second. I saw this post of yours like...an hour before I was going to see it and I didn't click purposefully so I wouldn't be spoiled. Your post did worry me however.
But I can honestly say, I enjoyed that movie immensely. Perhaps it is because that sort of movie doesn't make me motion sick (I think my body has to be moving in like to get me really nauseous). I adored the mood they put into it, as well as somehow managing a really good balance of how much you should and shouldn't show of your main "villain", as it were. (I've seen way too many horror movies that had potential, but they just ruined it but showing the monster too much)
And maybe it's because I love that really really tense sort of feeling in a movie, where I'm genuinely on edge and I can physically feel the tension. And then, perfectly, he cuts through in just the right places with some humour to help you unwind a little before he seizes you ( ... )
Reply
And that I've never seen anything else he's ever done. That probably didn't hurt. ^__^;
Reply
Actually, come to think of it? It probably did help you a lot. Abrams has a tendency to put out a ton of viral stuff, hints, and teasers, and then... DUN DUN DUN... not reveal much! Which grates on my nerves after a while.
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment