list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around Cloverfield on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/Cloverfield/344096/default.aspx Title: Cloverfield
Year: 2008
Director: Matt Reeves
Plot: Producer J.J. Abrams teams with writer Drew Goddard and director Matt Reeves for this frenetic tale of a powerful destructive force that descends upon New York City, and the four desperate survivors who put their lives on the line to embark on a perilous rescue mission. Rob Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David) is a young American professional who has recently been offered a coveted new job in Japan. Eager to send his older sibling off in style, Rob's younger brother Jason (Mike Vogel) and his girlfriend Lily (Jessica Lucas) organize a surprise going-away party to take place the night before Rob boards his Eastern-bound flight. As the party gets underway, Rob's longtime friend and current love interest Beth (Odette Yustman) shows up with another man as the dejected guest of honor's best-pal Hud (T.J. Miller) encourages partygoer Marlena (Lizzy Caplain) to wish him an on-camera farewell despite the fact that they barely know one another. Moments after Beth storms out following a bitter skirmish with Rob, the entire New York City skyline goes dark. Power is restored a moment later, prompting partygoers to turn their attention towards the news, where they learn that a freight tanker has been overturned in New York Harbor. Racing to the rooftop in hopes of getting a better look at the situation, the group is terrified to witness a massive explosion that rains debris across midtown Manhattan, causing mass chaos and unparalleled destruction. But the worst is yet to come, because it soon becomes apparent that this is not the work of a terrorist or an act of war, but the massive creature beyond human comprehension. Now, as the military moves in and the streets of New York City become a virtual warzone, Rob, Lily, Marlena, and Hud race to rescue Beth and get out of the city before the powers that be unleash the ultimate weapon of mass destruction on one of the most populated cities on the planet. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 44
Number of Lists: 38
Number of blog posts: 50
Number of discussion threads: 13
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:14:46 GMTCloverfield2008Matt ReevesProducer J.J. Abrams teams with writer Drew Goddard and director Matt Reeves for this frenetic tale of a powerful destructive force that descends upon New York City, and the four desperate survivors who put their lives on the line to embark on a perilous rescue mission. Rob Hawkins (<a href="http://www.spout.com/players/P___490085/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Michael Stahl-David</a>) is a young American professional who has recently been offered a coveted new job in Japan. Eager to send his older sibling off in style, Rob's younger brother Jason (<a href="http://www.spout.com/players/P___357424/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Mike Vogel</a>) and his girlfriend Lily (<a href="http://www.spout.com/players/P___450046/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Jessica Lucas</a>) organize a surprise going-away party to take place the night before Rob boards his Eastern-bound flight. As the party gets underway, Rob's longtime friend and current love interest Beth (Odette Yustman) shows up with another man as the dejected guest of honor's best-pal Hud (T.J. Miller) encourages partygoer Marlena (Lizzy Caplain) to wish him an on-camera farewell despite the fact that they barely know one another. Moments after Beth storms out following a bitter skirmish with Rob, the entire New York City skyline goes dark. Power is restored a moment later, prompting partygoers to turn their attention towards the news, where they learn that a freight tanker has been overturned in New York Harbor. Racing to the rooftop in hopes of getting a better look at the situation, the group is terrified to witness a massive explosion that rains debris across midtown Manhattan, causing mass chaos and unparalleled destruction. But the worst is yet to come, because it soon becomes apparent that this is not the work of a terrorist or an act of war, but the massive creature beyond human comprehension. Now, as the military moves in and the streets of New York City become a virtual warzone, Rob, Lily, Marlena, and Hud race to rescue Beth and get out of the city before the powers that be unleash the ultimate weapon of mass destruction on one of the most populated cities on the planet. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide44Tag Target (>10)3850133http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s344096.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/Cloverfield/344096/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Weekly_Theme_for_August_10_Happy_Birthday/625/43490/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: mercurial
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 8/11/2009 10:14:46 PM
Body: Seeing as how it was my birthday this past weekend I thought this week's theme should be about films featuring characters that are enjoying or hating their own days of birth. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - Amazing film that takes place during a family's matriarchs birthday party on a magnificent antebellum plantation estate. Good Will Hunting - The end of the film in which the main characters birthday leads to a final decision about which direction to take in his life. Boy A - A troubled boy is released from juvenile prison on his 18th birthday and forced to come to terms with the real world that he has been closed off from for so long. The Boys in the Band - A group of men get together to celebrate their friends birthday and it turns into an all out war of words. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - The whole magical world is revealed to young Harry Potter on his birthday and a generation of kids wishing like hell that when their birthdays rolled around that a flying letter from Hogwarts would be flown into their living rooms by an owl. Sixteen Candles - RIP John Hughes. The film that helped launch Molly Ringwald into our hearts and gave hope to every nerd praying to hook up with someone from the cool crowd. Eye for an Eye - The film that made me paranoid about opening the door for strangers; a young girls birthday is disrupted by a demented Keifer Sutherland when he bursts in the door and does all kinds of horrible to her. Harold and Maude - Probably one of the most depressingly heartwarming films about enjoying life and making birthday memorable. What's Eating Gilbert Grape - Probably one of the most just plain depressing depictions of a birthday: a morbidly obese mother bound to a couch in front of the television eating cake and smoking cigarettes. The Hours - Another film about how depressing birthdays are and how so many people feel like marking the day with suicide. Cloverfield - A birthday celebration is interrupted by a giant monster. Nothing cool like that ever happens to me. Old School - An example of probably one of the most amazing birthday parties thanks in large part to Snoop Dogg and Will Ferral. Parenthood - Seeing this is a kid I always wished my dad would have been cool enough to dress up like a demented cowboy and run amuck for one of my birthdays.
]]>Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:14:46 GMTmercurialWeekly Theme8/11/2009 10:14:46 PM Seeing as how it was my birthday this past weekend I thought this week's theme should be about films featuring characters that are enjoying or hating their own days of birth. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - Amazing film that takes place during a family's matriarchs birthday party on a magnificent antebellum plantation estate. Good Will Hunting - The end of the film in which the main characters birthday leads to a final decision about which direction to take in his life. Boy A - A troubled boy is released from juvenile prison on his 18th birthday and forced to come to terms with the real world that he has been closed off from for so long. The Boys in the Band - A group of men get together to celebrate their friends birthday and it turns into an all out war of words. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - The whole magical world is revealed to young Harry Potter on his birthday and a generation of kids wishing like hell that when their birthdays rolled around that a flying letter from Hogwarts would be flown into their living rooms by an owl. Sixteen Candles - RIP John Hughes. The film that helped launch Molly Ringwald into our hearts and gave hope to every nerd praying to hook up with someone from the cool crowd. Eye for an Eye - The film that made me paranoid about opening the door for strangers; a young girls birthday is disrupted by a demented Keifer Sutherland when he bursts in the door and does all kinds of horrible to her. Harold and Maude - Probably one of the most depressingly heartwarming films about enjoying life and making birthday memorable. What's Eating Gilbert Grape - Probably one of the most just plain depressing depictions of a birthday: a morbidly obese mother bound to a couch in front of the television eating cake and smoking cigarettes. The Hours - Another film about how depressing birthdays are and how so many people feel like marking the day with suicide. Cloverfield - A birthday celebration is interrupted by a giant monster. Nothing cool like that ever happens to me. Old School - An example of probably one of the most amazing birthday parties thanks in large part to Snoop Dogg and Will Ferral. Parenthood - Seeing this is a kid I always wished my dad would have been cool enough to dress up like a demented cowboy and run amuck for one of my birthdays. http://www.spout.com/blogs/repoman2112/archive/2009/7/10/42982.aspx Post By: repoman2112
Post To: repoman2112 Blog
Post Date: 7/10/2009 5:03:48 AM
Body: Cloverfield(2008) One of the unwritten laws of the universe is that the monster in a monster movie be played by a man in a rubber suit. Should this not be followed, the world would collapse in on itself. The universe end up in chaos that not even Chuck Norris could roundhouse kick his way out of. Anyone who saw the American remake of the Godzilla can attest to that. Besides classic Universal horror films such as Frankenstein and The Wolfman, the Big G is what people most identify with when you talk about monster movies. Of course, what people forget is that for it’s time, the 1954 Godzilla a fairly serious cautionary tale against nuclear testing. Over time, the character has been most remembered for is wrasslin’ matches with other rubber suited beasties, laying waste to scale models of Tokyo. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. At some point, the focus slowly shifted away from the grim original to kid-friendly smashing stuff. Scale models and toy tanks were shown no mercy. The change wasn't hard to understand, people go to the movies to be entertained, not preached to. And watching a big lizard-suited guy beat the stuffing out of buildings is pretty damn entertaining. The plots and characters became interchangable because, let’s face it, Godzilla and friends are more interesting than us. Which is exactly the problem with a movie like Cloverfield. Produced by J.J. Abrams, known for his TV shows like Lost, the movie takes place in New York, following a group of disposable 20-somethings as they throw one of their friends a going away party. The entire film unfolds through the point of view of one of the party goers videotaping the events as they occur, bringing to mind The Blair Witch Project from a few years back. Unfortunately for them--and us--a gigantic monster shows up and lays waste to the greater Manhattan area. Cloverfield is basically an exercise in flipping the bird at the audience. Monster movie audiences and movie goers in general; The film does not discriminate. Imagine a Godzilla movie where you never see Godzilla. What we get instead is a non-existant plot that hinges on rescuing a guy’s girlfriend who may or may not hate his guts(assuming they haven't been stomped out of her). Explosions happen all around but the camera perspective is to shaky to witness any of it. Entire action scenes are obscured by objects in the foreground and the videotaping character "being too scared" to look at it. The creature is scarcely seen, save for a few panic-stricken passing glances, where it looks more like a giant Kermit the frog than anything else. It even manages to muck up the "found footage" conceit-originated by Cannibal Holocaust-by splicing in earlier taped "backstory" with the explaination of, oh, well, crappy cameras do that. I have an old camcorder, and never once during playback has it ever jumped back and forth between present day and 2 months ago. Cheap plot device or not, that’s dirty pool the filmmakers are playing at. The movie is like living in an apartment with bad plumbing where you need check back to see if it has indeed flushed-uncomfortable and insulting. What they should have done was screen The Host instead, an excellent south korean monster movie directed by Bong Joon-ho, instead of bothering with this half-digested effort. Hell, even the worst of the Godzilla movies guest-staring Godzuke would have made a fine substitution. At least that would have been entertaining.
]]>Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:03:48 GMTrepoman2112repoman2112 Blog7/10/2009 5:03:48 AMCloverfield(2008) One of the unwritten laws of the universe is that the monster in a monster movie be played by a man in a rubber suit. Should this not be followed, the world would collapse in on itself. The universe end up in chaos that not even Chuck Norris could roundhouse kick his way out of. Anyone who saw the American remake of the Godzilla can attest to that. Besides classic Universal horror films such as Frankenstein and The Wolfman, the Big G is what people most identify with when you talk about monster movies. Of course, what people forget is that for it&rsquo;s time, the 1954 Godzilla a fairly serious cautionary tale against nuclear testing. Over time, the character has been most remembered for is wrasslin&rsquo; matches with other rubber suited beasties, laying waste to scale models of Tokyo. Not that there&rsquo;s anything wrong with that. At some point, the focus slowly shifted away from the grim original to kid-friendly smashing stuff. Scale models and toy tanks were shown no mercy. The change wasn't hard to understand, people go to the movies to be entertained, not preached to. And watching a big lizard-suited guy beat the stuffing out of buildings is pretty damn entertaining. The plots and characters became interchangable because, let&rsquo;s face it, Godzilla and friends are more interesting than us. Which is exactly the problem with a movie like Cloverfield. Produced by J.J. Abrams, known for his TV shows like Lost, the movie takes place in New York, following a group of disposable 20-somethings as they throw one of their friends a going away party. The entire film unfolds through the point of view of one of the party goers videotaping the events as they occur, bringing to mind The Blair Witch Project from a few years back. Unfortunately for them--and us--a gigantic monster shows up and lays waste to the greater Manhattan area. Cloverfield is basically an exercise in flipping the bird at the audience. Monster movie audiences and movie goers in general; The film does not discriminate. Imagine a Godzilla movie where you never see Godzilla. What we get instead is a non-existant plot that hinges on rescuing a guy&rsquo;s girlfriend who may or may not hate his guts(assuming they haven't been stomped out of her). Explosions happen all around but the camera perspective is to shaky to witness any of it. Entire action scenes are obscured by objects in the foreground and the videotaping character "being too scared" to look at it. The creature is scarcely seen, save for a few panic-stricken passing glances, where it looks more like a giant Kermit the frog than anything else. It even manages to muck up the "found footage" conceit-originated by Cannibal Holocaust-by splicing in earlier taped "backstory" with the explaination of, oh, well, crappy cameras do that. I have an old camcorder, and never once during playback has it ever jumped back and forth between present day and 2 months ago. Cheap plot device or not, that&rsquo;s dirty pool the filmmakers are playing at. The movie is like living in an apartment with bad plumbing where you need check back to see if it has indeed flushed-uncomfortable and insulting. What they should have done was screen The Host instead, an excellent south korean monster movie directed by Bong Joon-ho, instead of bothering with this half-digested effort. Hell, even the worst of the Godzilla movies guest-staring Godzuke would have made a fine substitution. At least that would have been entertaining. http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2009/1/2/39050.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 1/2/2009 5:00:51 PM
Body: It is a crime in this day and age not to occasionally check in on Jeffrey Wells’ Hollywood Elsewhere, with topics ranging from billboard photos, blind item brunches and oddly angry political rants against apathetic teenagers. Wells is a classic mix of online reactionary and keen insight, peppered with various “what the fuck” moments and the occasional non sequitur involving Paris Hilton and Al-Qaeda. To ring in the New Year, let’s take a quick look back at our favorite blogged remarks from the man who confused Mike D’Angelo with Ed Gonzales, and whose random photos of restaurants and lawns oddly resemble–for lack of a better term–art. Also, any use of bold is for emphasis and my own editorial comments are in italics. Happy New Year, Elephants On New Year’s Eve, it sounds like Jeff was staying at a raucous party house in one of the Boroughs (Manhattan, Brooklyn? Who can tell these days.) Conditions were so bad that he was sadly driven to bar-hopping due to his neighbors: I live below a family of animals — Hispanic party elephants — who stomp around and play music so loud that the building throbs and the plaster cracks. It’s a fairly safe bet they’re going to lose their minds tonight so I may as well just huddle down in the city and bounce around from bar to bar. Follow-up in the comments from Wells: People with a little class and breeding and a college degree don’t tend to be as noisy or boisterous or loutish as the commoners, cretins, galumphs, bad dressers, etc. The lower end of the gene pool. T’was ever thus. Wells on Sundance: Dagnabbit Kids Be Knockin’ Boots! One of the subjects dearest and most familiar to Wells is Sundance. His dispatches? Legendary. His mocking of “road to Sundance” articles? Acidic. But the real fun starts when he complains about never getting laid at this supposedly hedonistic festival: For journalists, Sundance is pretty much synonymous with tight accomodations[sic] and shared bathrooms. O give me a bunk and a shower and a table and a chair and some good wifi, and it’s all cool. Not only do serious festivalgoers make do without outdoor hot tubs or crackling fireplaces or nouveau riche Deer Valley chateaus with 22-foot-high ceilings or those bullshit Utah buckaroo king-size bed frames. It’s kind of against the mindset (the religion, if you will) to stay in a lavish place. Pricey McMansion digs are for the dilletantes[sic] and lookie-lous and — the absolute dregs of Sundance Film Festival visitors — skiiers[sic]. I’m a loyal fan of Carol Rixey’s Star Hotel [Remember this name], easily the warmest and homiest place in town. And it has great wifi, and an excellent living room with soft easy chairs and fat sofas, and a dining room with nice long table to have a nice warm breakfast in. (Comes with the room.) … I can tell you something — it’s the volunteers and the assistants sleeping in those Cider House beds who get all the nookie. In the mid ’90s I asked an assortment of festival veterans if they’d ever gotten lucky during Sundance, and all but one said “nope.” The exception was Usual Suspects and Valkyrie screenwriter Chris McQuarrie, who said yes, good things have personally happened to him in Park City but “only with an import.” Wells on Sundance, pt 2: Fear and Loathing in Park City It’s a post that could have simply consisted of, “I have arrived at Sundance. Huh. Time to go to bed. Actually, I don’t need to post this.” In Wells’ hands, it’s a literary masterwork: Nobody’s here. That I recognize. Empty streets, idle merchants, half-filled restaurants…the last quiet that Park City will know for 10 or 11 days. It all cranks up starting tomorrow. I shared a $34 dollar airport shuttle into town with Hollywood Reporter guy Gregg Goldstein — that’s the single most noteworthy thing that’s happened over the last eight or nine hours. It’s now about 3 or 4 degrees outside. Ice crystals in my nostrils. A big storm is coming on Sunday, the shuttle driver said. Challenge:Link Shitty CGI-Monster Movie to a Katrina documentary Ask yourself: how would you link Cloverfield to Trouble the Water? One’s an over-hyped J.J. Abrams joint, the other an award-winning documentary about surviving Hurricane Katrina. But if you’re Wells, comparing the two is easier than snapping a cell phone shot of your dinner: I’ve almost never felt queasy from jiggly, hand-held photography (I eat films like Dancer in the Dark for breakfast), although I’ll admit that Cloverfield has more than its share. Yesterday, however, I saw the King Kong of hand-held nausea jiggle movies — Tia Lessin and Carl Deal’s Trouble The Water, a doc about the Katrina disaster. Half of it was shot by Lessin and Deal in the usual fashion and is no big challenge, but the other half is shakycam footage of Katrina’s devastation shot by one of the film’s main subjects, Kimberly Rivers. (The other is her husband Scott.) The footage is so scattered and whip-panny that I was starting to think about bolting less than ten minutes in. Show Trouble The Water to those Cloverfield sufferers in Pheonix[sic] and they’d spew in their seat. In Which Glenn Kenny Becomes a Platform for Obama Originally a blind item from Glenn Kenny, Wells added his own spin to it: mainly, the names of all parties involved—including the NY PR guy. (Spoiler: Alex Rivera got harassed by a racist swag shop chick accompanying two actors from his film, Sleep Dealer.) Note: Kenny doesn’t identify the players by name in his piece. I was given the lowdown last night after a showing of Patti Smith: Dream of Life. Followup: In a world of my own devising an organized demonstration would be held outside the photo shoot/swag sometime late this afternoon. The chant could be something along the lines of “Hey hey, ho ho, swag racists have to go!” An all-media advisory would be sent out this morning. The usual pitchforks and torches would be handed out of the back of a pickup truck on Swede Alley 30 minutes prior to the start of the demonstration. Flyers with a photo of swag girl who uttered the racist remark would be wild-posted all over town alongside a slogan that reads, “Who are we? Does Barack Obama have reason to be concerned?” YAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW Rambo came out earlier this year. It was supposed to be…well, we’re still not sure what. But Wells was excited about it. How excited? Howard Dean Death Yell excited. Every time a head got sliced or blown off, I laughed or let go with a big “yawww!” So did the mostly-male audience which applauded at the end. Everyone had a great time. I felt relaxed with these guys…bonded. … This is the second best Rambo film after First Blood, and although it’s obviously not meant to be “funny,” it is at times, wildly so. I laughed out loud on a good five or six occasions. Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez are going to love this thing. You could even make a case for Rambo being an instant porno-violent classic in the vein of Ron Ormond’s The Monster and the Stripper, Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Santa Sangre, Herschel Gordon Lewis’s Blood Feast…that line of country. Kicker for a Jack Matthews Tribute or Obscure Reference to Self-Masturbation: You Decide. Ok, this was the kicker to a post honoring Jack Matthews, formerly of the New York Post. But take it out of context, and it may cause you to question what the hell is being honored here. I will never stop banging it out. One is either busy being born or busy dying. I know where I stand. Die at your desk. Honest Injun Gayness Remember that “Full Retard” line from Tropic Thunder? Well, this is like that, but praising an actor for being “Full Gay” and “Full Dick.” Honest Injun. I felt a genuine gayness from Sean Penn, who plays the title role of the late San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk, that I didn’t think he had in him. … And Frank Langella’s performance as Richard Nixon is naturally and necessarily more toned down than it was on-stage, and that, Honest Injun, makes it a fascinating, moving (as in genuinely sad), award-level effort. No. Fucking. Idea. This is supposed to be a either joke or an insidery snark attack against film catch-phrases. To be quite honest, I’m still convinced this is a secret code to…something. Do I look like I’m negotiating, friendo? I’m already pregnant so what kind of milkshake-slurping could I get into? Except for ruining the love life of my older sister and her lower-class boyfriend by bearing false witness? I am Sheba, the reincarnation of Shirley Booth! [No, really. That's the entire post.] No Fatties, But… Apparently one of Wells’ great fears is to sit near fat people in a confined space. He shares this with us, followed by the strangest blog update I’ve ever seen. And trust me, I’ve read Hollywood Elsewhere. Before every flight, I cross myself and ask God Almighty not to seat me next to a morbidly obese person. There are at least two whales in line right now, and I’m feeling a very slight apprehension about this. There are thousands of people in Paris who look well-fed or stocky or fat, but I’ve seen no Jabbas. You might expect otherwise in a foodie city like Paris, but nope. Update: No fatties but Doug Liman is on my plane. Live-Blogging is like Swimming After Eating, We Guess Eric Kohn live-blogged Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulll for IndieWire. Many were not amused by this. Mainly because they’re twits–something about “herp derp critic integrity!” Mainly because Eric scooped them and wasn’t doing anything that off from the rest of the Cannes crowd. Devin Faraci–a frequent HE commenter, natch–took offense with this. And of course, Jeff agreed. Sort of. I agree totally — it’s doggerel. Lame. Kohn and Indiewire were simply looking to be first to provide the very first commentary on the film anywhere in the world — except it wasn’t commentary but rudimentary (i.e., quite crude) descriptions of scenes as they happened. There’s an internet audience for this kind of stenography, of course, but to what end? A movie deserves a little thought before before commented on. I tapped out an instant hand-held judgment after Indy 4 ended, but at least I’d thought it through for an hour or two. Remember that Hotel in Park City? Fun fact: if you leave a piece of clothing somewhere, that’s as good as a down payment, credit card or loan. From now on, I’ll be paying my bar tabs with socks. [Jeffrey Wells] to Star Hotel proprietor: “I found a place in Park City but I can’t move in until Friday the 16th. Would you let me crash on the living-room couch for the first two nights (1.14 and 1.15)? Which I’ll pay you for, of course. It would be greatly appreciated if you could grant me this small favor, as you left me in the lurch this year. I thought I’d made it clear as a bell that I intended to return, having stayed in your wonderful abode the last two years and leaving my cowboy hat there and telling you I’d wear it when I returned in ‘09 and so on. Anyway, can ya do me this one?” When pressed to explain, Wells continues in the Comments: Yes, yes…if I’d left a cash deposit or a credit-card number then the room would have been assured. I’m not an idiot. But leaving the cowboy hat and plainly stating to the proprietor that I’d come back and wear it the following year (especially after having stayed at the Star in ‘07 and ‘08 and been part of the family there, in a sense) was a very emotionally vivid and pronounced way of stating my intentions. It was a message that is recognized by everyone all over the world. It’s even recognized in the animal kingdom (i.e., leaving your scent on a piece of turf). If you go out with a girl and she comes home with you and stays the night and she leaves her underwear or bra or socks in your bedroom after she leaves the next morning, we all know that’s a universal message that says, “I want to come back and get to know you better and probably have sex with you again.” Everyone knows that. Leaving an article of clothing, something with your scent and paw-prints and sweat residue on it, means that you intend to come back and spray your scent around some more. If you were to see a 1930s Gary Cooper western and hotel manager Frances Farmer, giving him the old twinkle-eye, asked him if he was coming back after taking his cattle to market, and if he faintly grinned at her and took off his cowboy hat and left it hanging on the wall as he walks out the door, everybody watching the film in any country in the world would know exactly what that means. It would be crystal clear. So don’t tell me. Credit cards are well and good, but to say left-behind cowboy hats and such mean nothing is to be way too “dollars and cents” about this matter. Sadly, it looks like the hotel gave his cowboy hat to the police–Jeff then posts the phone call as an audio file. So Jeffrey, we wish you a happy new year and can’t wait to see what sort of insanity you give out this year. If you’ve got your own favorite Wells-ian moments, leave them in the comments. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Fri, 02 Jan 2009 22:00:51 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com1/2/2009 5:00:51 PM It is a crime in this day and age not to occasionally check in on Jeffrey Wells’ Hollywood Elsewhere, with topics ranging from billboard photos, blind item brunches and oddly angry political rants against apathetic teenagers. Wells is a classic mix of online reactionary and keen insight, peppered with various “what the fuck” moments and the occasional non sequitur involving Paris Hilton and Al-Qaeda. To ring in the New Year, let’s take a quick look back at our favorite blogged remarks from the man who confused Mike D’Angelo with Ed Gonzales, and whose random photos of restaurants and lawns oddly resemble–for lack of a better term–art. Also, any use of bold is for emphasis and my own editorial comments are in italics. Happy New Year, Elephants On New Year’s Eve, it sounds like Jeff was staying at a raucous party house in one of the Boroughs (Manhattan, Brooklyn? Who can tell these days.) Conditions were so bad that he was sadly driven to bar-hopping due to his neighbors: I live below a family of animals — Hispanic party elephants — who stomp around and play music so loud that the building throbs and the plaster cracks. It’s a fairly safe bet they’re going to lose their minds tonight so I may as well just huddle down in the city and bounce around from bar to bar. Follow-up in the comments from Wells: People with a little class and breeding and a college degree don’t tend to be as noisy or boisterous or loutish as the commoners, cretins, galumphs, bad dressers, etc. The lower end of the gene pool. T’was ever thus. Wells on Sundance: Dagnabbit Kids Be Knockin’ Boots! One of the subjects dearest and most familiar to Wells is Sundance. His dispatches? Legendary. His mocking of “road to Sundance” articles? Acidic. But the real fun starts when he complains about never getting laid at this supposedly hedonistic festival: For journalists, Sundance is pretty much synonymous with tight accomodations[sic] and shared bathrooms. O give me a bunk and a shower and a table and a chair and some good wifi, and it’s all cool. Not only do serious festivalgoers make do without outdoor hot tubs or crackling fireplaces or nouveau riche Deer Valley chateaus with 22-foot-high ceilings or those bullshit Utah buckaroo king-size bed frames. It’s kind of against the mindset (the religion, if you will) to stay in a lavish place. Pricey McMansion digs are for the dilletantes[sic] and lookie-lous and — the absolute dregs of Sundance Film Festival visitors — skiiers[sic]. I’m a loyal fan of Carol Rixey’s Star Hotel [Remember this name], easily the warmest and homiest place in town. And it has great wifi, and an excellent living room with soft easy chairs and fat sofas, and a dining room with nice long table to have a nice warm breakfast in. (Comes with the room.) … I can tell you something — it’s the volunteers and the assistants sleeping in those Cider House beds who get all the nookie. In the mid ’90s I asked an assortment of festival veterans if they’d ever gotten lucky during Sundance, and all but one said “nope.” The exception was Usual Suspects and Valkyrie screenwriter Chris McQuarrie, who said yes, good things have personally happened to him in Park City but “only with an import.” Wells on Sundance, pt 2: Fear and Loathing in Park City It’s a post that could have simply consisted of, “I have arrived at Sundance. Huh. Time to go to bed. Actually, I don’t need to post this.” In Wells’ hands, it’s a literary masterwork: Nobody’s here. That I recognize. Empty streets, idle merchants, half-filled restaurants…the last quiet that Park City will know for 10 or 11 days. It all cranks up starting tomorrow. I shared a $34 dollar airport shuttle into town with Hollywood Reporter guy Gregg Goldstein — that’s the single most noteworthy thing that’s happened over the last eight or nine hours. It’s now about 3 or 4 degrees outside. Ice crystals in my nostrils. A big storm is coming on Sunday, the shuttle driver said. Challenge:Link Shitty CGI-Monster Movie to a Katrina documentary Ask yourself: how would you link Cloverfield to Trouble the Water? One’s an over-hyped J.J. Abrams joint, the other an award-winning documentary about surviving Hurricane Katrina. But if you’re Wells, comparing the two is easier than snapping a cell phone shot of your dinner: I’ve almost never felt queasy from jiggly, hand-held photography (I eat films like Dancer in the Dark for breakfast), although I’ll admit that Cloverfield has more than its share. Yesterday, however, I saw the King Kong of hand-held nausea jiggle movies — Tia Lessin and Carl Deal’s Trouble The Water, a doc about the Katrina disaster. Half of it was shot by Lessin and Deal in the usual fashion and is no big challenge, but the other half is shakycam footage of Katrina’s devastation shot by one of the film’s main subjects, Kimberly Rivers. (The other is her husband Scott.) The footage is so scattered and whip-panny that I was starting to think about bolting less than ten minutes in. Show Trouble The Water to those Cloverfield sufferers in Pheonix[sic] and they’d spew in their seat. In Which Glenn Kenny Becomes a Platform for Obama Originally a blind item from Glenn Kenny, Wells added his own spin to it: mainly, the names of all parties involved—including the NY PR guy. (Spoiler: Alex Rivera got harassed by a racist swag shop chick accompanying two actors from his film, Sleep Dealer.) Note: Kenny doesn’t identify the players by name in his piece. I was given the lowdown last night after a showing of Patti Smith: Dream of Life. Followup: In a world of my own devising an organized demonstration would be held outside the photo shoot/swag sometime late this afternoon. The chant could be something along the lines of “Hey hey, ho ho, swag racists have to go!” An all-media advisory would be sent out this morning. The usual pitchforks and torches would be handed out of the back of a pickup truck on Swede Alley 30 minutes prior to the start of the demonstration. Flyers with a photo of swag girl who uttered the racist remark would be wild-posted all over town alongside a slogan that reads, “Who are we? Does Barack Obama have reason to be concerned?” YAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW Rambo came out earlier this year. It was supposed to be…well, we’re still not sure what. But Wells was excited about it. How excited? Howard Dean Death Yell excited. Every time a head got sliced or blown off, I laughed or let go with a big “yawww!” So did the mostly-male audience which applauded at the end. Everyone had a great time. I felt relaxed with these guys…bonded. … This is the second best Rambo film after First Blood, and although it’s obviously not meant to be “funny,” it is at times, wildly so. I laughed out loud on a good five or six occasions. Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez are going to love this thing. You could even make a case for Rambo being an instant porno-violent classic in the vein of Ron Ormond’s The Monster and the Stripper, Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Santa Sangre, Herschel Gordon Lewis’s Blood Feast…that line of country. Kicker for a Jack Matthews Tribute or Obscure Reference to Self-Masturbation: You Decide. Ok, this was the kicker to a post honoring Jack Matthews, formerly of the New York Post. But take it out of context, and it may cause you to question what the hell is being honored here. I will never stop banging it out. One is either busy being born or busy dying. I know where I stand. Die at your desk. Honest Injun Gayness Remember that “Full Retard” line from Tropic Thunder? Well, this is like that, but praising an actor for being “Full Gay” and “Full Dick.” Honest Injun. I felt a genuine gayness from Sean Penn, who plays the title role of the late San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk, that I didn’t think he had in him. … And Frank Langella’s performance as Richard Nixon is naturally and necessarily more toned down than it was on-stage, and that, Honest Injun, makes it a fascinating, moving (as in genuinely sad), award-level effort. No. Fucking. Idea. This is supposed to be a either joke or an insidery snark attack against film catch-phrases. To be quite honest, I’m still convinced this is a secret code to…something. Do I look like I’m negotiating, friendo? I’m already pregnant so what kind of milkshake-slurping could I get into? Except for ruining the love life of my older sister and her lower-class boyfriend by bearing false witness? I am Sheba, the reincarnation of Shirley Booth! [No, really. That's the entire post.] No Fatties, But… Apparently one of Wells’ great fears is to sit near fat people in a confined space. He shares this with us, followed by the strangest blog update I’ve ever seen. And trust me, I’ve read Hollywood Elsewhere. Before every flight, I cross myself and ask God Almighty not to seat me next to a morbidly obese person. There are at least two whales in line right now, and I’m feeling a very slight apprehension about this. There are thousands of people in Paris who look well-fed or stocky or fat, but I’ve seen no Jabbas. You might expect otherwise in a foodie city like Paris, but nope. Update: No fatties but Doug Liman is on my plane. Live-Blogging is like Swimming After Eating, We Guess Eric Kohn live-blogged Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulll for IndieWire. Many were not amused by this. Mainly because they’re twits–something about “herp derp critic integrity!” Mainly because Eric scooped them and wasn’t doing anything that off from the rest of the Cannes crowd. Devin Faraci–a frequent HE commenter, natch–took offense with this. And of course, Jeff agreed. Sort of. I agree totally — it’s doggerel. Lame. Kohn and Indiewire were simply looking to be first to provide the very first commentary on the film anywhere in the world — except it wasn’t commentary but rudimentary (i.e., quite crude) descriptions of scenes as they happened. There’s an internet audience for this kind of stenography, of course, but to what end? A movie deserves a little thought before before commented on. I tapped out an instant hand-held judgment after Indy 4 ended, but at least I’d thought it through for an hour or two. Remember that Hotel in Park City? Fun fact: if you leave a piece of clothing somewhere, that’s as good as a down payment, credit card or loan. From now on, I’ll be paying my bar tabs with socks. [Jeffrey Wells] to Star Hotel proprietor: “I found a place in Park City but I can’t move in until Friday the 16th. Would you let me crash on the living-room couch for the first two nights (1.14 and 1.15)? Which I’ll pay you for, of course. It would be greatly appreciated if you could grant me this small favor, as you left me in the lurch this year. I thought I’d made it clear as a bell that I intended to return, having stayed in your wonderful abode the last two years and leaving my cowboy hat there and telling you I’d wear it when I returned in ‘09 and so on. Anyway, can ya do me this one?” When pressed to explain, Wells continues in the Comments: Yes, yes…if I’d left a cash deposit or a credit-card number then the room would have been assured. I’m not an idiot. But leaving the cowboy hat and plainly stating to the proprietor that I’d come back and wear it the following year (especially after having stayed at the Star in ‘07 and ‘08 and been part of the family there, in a sense) was a very emotionally vivid and pronounced way of stating my intentions. It was a message that is recognized by everyone all over the world. It’s even recognized in the animal kingdom (i.e., leaving your scent on a piece of turf). If you go out with a girl and she comes home with you and stays the night and she leaves her underwear or bra or socks in your bedroom after she leaves the next morning, we all know that’s a universal message that says, “I want to come back and get to know you better and probably have sex with you again.” Everyone knows that. Leaving an article of clothing, something with your scent and paw-prints and sweat residue on it, means that you intend to come back and spray your scent around some more. If you were to see a 1930s Gary Cooper western and hotel manager Frances Farmer, giving him the old twinkle-eye, asked him if he was coming back after taking his cattle to market, and if he faintly grinned at her and took off his cowboy hat and left it hanging on the wall as he walks out the door, everybody watching the film in any country in the world would know exactly what that means. It would be crystal clear. So don’t tell me. Credit cards are well and good, but to say left-behind cowboy hats and such mean nothing is to be way too “dollars and cents” about this matter. Sadly, it looks like the hotel gave his cowboy hat to the police–Jeff then posts the phone call as an audio file. So Jeffrey, we wish you a happy new year and can’t wait to see what sort of insanity you give out this year. If you’ve got your own favorite Wells-ian moments, leave them in the comments. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/usesoap/archive/2008/12/31/38998.aspx Post By: usesoap
Post To: usesoap Blog
Post Date: 12/31/2008 1:31:21 PM
Body: Who are these people?" is what I repeatedly asked myself when perusing the press release pages of accolades bestowed on the British thriller, Diary of a Bad Lad. Chris Bernard called it “Absolutely superb...and completely inspiring” across the top of the promotional materials. Who is Chris Bernard? Good question, since the press packet did not attribute his name to anything. According to “the Google,” he's either a model from Lexington, Kentucky, a married software designer from Chicago, the author of Drop Shipping Sucks, or the founder of the Las Vegas Institute of Noetic Sciences Chapter. And as insightful as any of those Chris Bernards may be about film, I am not sure how much I trust their and value their opinions. Perhaps it's time to rethink my credentials as a paid film critic, but color me bored. I just could not enter the groove that Diary of a Bad Lad was trying to create. It unfurls as yet another 'found footage' pic, supposedly spliced together from more than 30 hours of "investigative footage". What I watched looked more like outtakes cobbled together from Guy Ritchie test reels. The faux documentary format is often the blessing for the first-time filmmaker and the curse for the audience. To Bad Lad's credit, it was apparently completed a number of years ago, placing it pre-Cloverfield and Qurantine. But that does not excuse it from the sheer lack of narrative focus and complete slight of character development. From what I am able to ascertain, Barry Lick (played by Jonathan Williams), a swarthy film professor, hires a gaggle of his students to help him film a drug deal that ultimately goes sour. Instead of high-tailing it out of Dodge, he claims that he wants to capture the gritty realism of the proceedings and demands they keep shooting — even as they dispose of a dead body and consume copious illegal substances themselves. It's one thing to film an event as it unfolds; it's quite another when you yourself are committing said crime, implicating yourself in the process. It is exactly this little narrative nugget that kept me from investing my interest in any of the characters or events of Lad. Then, there are artistic flourishes which completely remove the viewer from the documentary aesthetic it tries so hard to create. During more than one scene, the characters are seen snorting drugs and the director alters the film's soundtrack, which is supposed to emulate the character's high, but moves it completely out of the realm of documentary. Then there is the dilemma of whacking through the thicket of accents, and I watch a lot of British TV and film. I am never one to protest reading subtitles, and I'll even take the time to look up cultural-specific witticisms, but Lad's amateur recording devices made it near impossible for the outsider to even decipher what was being said at times, much less extract any meaning from it. Some scenes tended to go on forever, such as the amateur 'porn footage' that begins as amusingly playful, but drags on into tedium after five minutes or so. It's commendable on a sheerly artistic level, thanks to director Michael Booth, but perhaps a little too impressed with itself, soaking in some of the bells and whistles of Apple's home filmmaking programs — a grainy filter here, a color drain there. It does all this at the expense of character development. Too often, the film feels like outtakes from a film, with various seedy sorts mingling without purpose or direction. And while the actors involved are all first-timers, they fail to pull off the naturalism that is required for a film that is supposed to appear more real than a staged theatrical picture. Director Booth has obviously paid attention in film class when they covered the chapter on visual effects, but must have dozed off during the lecture on character. This is one Diary that perhaps should have remained under lock and key.
]]>Wed, 31 Dec 2008 18:31:21 GMTusesoapusesoap Blog12/31/2008 1:31:21 PMWho are these people?" is what I repeatedly asked myself when perusing the press release pages of accolades bestowed on the British thriller, Diary of a Bad Lad. Chris Bernard called it &ldquo;Absolutely superb...and completely inspiring&rdquo; across the top of the promotional materials. Who is Chris Bernard? Good question, since the press packet did not attribute his name to anything. According to &ldquo;the Google,&rdquo; he's either a model from Lexington, Kentucky, a married software designer from Chicago, the author of Drop Shipping Sucks, or the founder of the Las Vegas Institute of Noetic Sciences Chapter. And as insightful as any of those Chris Bernards may be about film, I am not sure how much I trust their and value their opinions. Perhaps it's time to rethink my credentials as a paid film critic, but color me bored. I just could not enter the groove that Diary of a Bad Lad was trying to create. It unfurls as yet another 'found footage' pic, supposedly spliced together from more than 30 hours of "investigative footage". What I watched looked more like outtakes cobbled together from Guy Ritchie test reels. The faux documentary format is often the blessing for the first-time filmmaker and the curse for the audience. To Bad Lad's credit, it was apparently completed a number of years ago, placing it pre-Cloverfield and Qurantine. But that does not excuse it from the sheer lack of narrative focus and complete slight of character development. From what I am able to ascertain, Barry Lick (played by Jonathan Williams), a swarthy film professor, hires a gaggle of his students to help him film a drug deal that ultimately goes sour. Instead of high-tailing it out of Dodge, he claims that he wants to capture the gritty realism of the proceedings and demands they keep shooting &mdash; even as they dispose of a dead body and consume copious illegal substances themselves. It's one thing to film an event as it unfolds; it's quite another when you yourself are committing said crime, implicating yourself in the process. It is exactly this little narrative nugget that kept me from investing my interest in any of the characters or events of Lad. Then, there are artistic flourishes which completely remove the viewer from the documentary aesthetic it tries so hard to create. During more than one scene, the characters are seen snorting drugs and the director alters the film's soundtrack, which is supposed to emulate the character's high, but moves it completely out of the realm of documentary. Then there is the dilemma of whacking through the thicket of accents, and I watch a lot of British TV and film. I am never one to protest reading subtitles, and I'll even take the time to look up cultural-specific witticisms, but Lad's amateur recording devices made it near impossible for the outsider to even decipher what was being said at times, much less extract any meaning from it. Some scenes tended to go on forever, such as the amateur 'porn footage' that begins as amusingly playful, but drags on into tedium after five minutes or so. It's commendable on a sheerly artistic level, thanks to director Michael Booth, but perhaps a little too impressed with itself, soaking in some of the bells and whistles of Apple's home filmmaking programs &mdash; a grainy filter here, a color drain there. It does all this at the expense of character development. Too often, the film feels like outtakes from a film, with various seedy sorts mingling without purpose or direction. And while the actors involved are all first-timers, they fail to pull off the naturalism that is required for a film that is supposed to appear more real than a staged theatrical picture. Director Booth has obviously paid attention in film class when they covered the chapter on visual effects, but must have dozed off during the lecture on character. This is one Diary that perhaps should have remained under lock and key. http://www.spout.com/groups/Community_Recommendations/Re_Collaboration_Best_Films_of_2008/643/38152/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: mercurial
Post To: Community Recommendations
Post Date: 12/9/2008 6:30:49 PM
Body: Liked these (in no particular order): Cloverfield Incredible theatrical experience. Might be hampered watching at home. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist Cutesy teen flick. Had a great 80's feel to it. Hamlet 2 Perverse and just plain hilarious throughout. Great original music. House Bunny I'm a sucker for Anna Faris and she plays a ditzy Playmate perfectly. The Dark Knight A comic geek's wet dream. My Winnipeg Immensely creative, original film. A flurry of emotions in a bizarre little package. WALL-E Heartbreakingly sentimental love story; action packed galactic adventure. Iron Man Another comic geek's wet dream. And Robert Downey Jr. Nuff said. The Fall Just insanely wondrous film. Deserves the comparisons to The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Speed Racer Seizure inducing fanboy fun. Savage Grace Frightening 'Based on a True Story' film. Amazing performances. The Strangers Nothing new, but executed perfectly. Dark, abysmal terror. My Blueberry Nights Subtle, nuanced performances and beautiful direction. Packed with emotion. Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day Carefree, fanciful period flick. Amy Adams and Frances McDormand are a perfect slapstick duo on screen. Jumper Big budget Sci-Fi blockbuster without all the annoying garnishes. Watching the Detectives Made for cinephiles about cinephiles. Hokey fun. Movies that might be on my list that I haven't seen yet: Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead The Curious Case of Benjamin Button The Spirit Doubt The Wrestler The Brothers Bloom Revolutionary Road Repo! The Genetic Opera Humboldt County Just Buried Milk Australia Rachel Getting Married W. Fear(s) of the Dark Synecdoche, New York Zack and Miri Make a Porno Towelhead Vicky Cristina Barcelona The Wackness Brideshead Revisited Glass: A Portrait in Twelve Parts
]]>Tue, 09 Dec 2008 23:30:49 GMTmercurialCommunity Recommendations12/9/2008 6:30:49 PMLiked these (in no particular order): Cloverfield Incredible theatrical experience. Might be hampered watching at home. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist Cutesy teen flick. Had a great 80's feel to it. Hamlet 2 Perverse and just plain hilarious throughout. Great original music. House Bunny I'm a sucker for Anna Faris and she plays a ditzy Playmate perfectly. The Dark Knight A comic geek's wet dream. My Winnipeg Immensely creative, original film. A flurry of emotions in a bizarre little package. WALL-E Heartbreakingly sentimental love story; action packed galactic adventure. Iron Man Another comic geek's wet dream. And Robert Downey Jr. Nuff said. The Fall Just insanely wondrous film. Deserves the comparisons to The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Speed Racer Seizure inducing fanboy fun. Savage Grace Frightening 'Based on a True Story' film. Amazing performances. The Strangers Nothing new, but executed perfectly. Dark, abysmal terror. My Blueberry Nights Subtle, nuanced performances and beautiful direction. Packed with emotion. Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day Carefree, fanciful period flick. Amy Adams and Frances McDormand are a perfect slapstick duo on screen. Jumper Big budget Sci-Fi blockbuster without all the annoying garnishes. Watching the Detectives Made for cinephiles about cinephiles. Hokey fun. Movies that might be on my list that I haven't seen yet: Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead The Curious Case of Benjamin Button The Spirit Doubt The Wrestler The Brothers Bloom Revolutionary Road Repo! The Genetic Opera Humboldt County Just Buried Milk Australia Rachel Getting Married W. Fear(s) of the Dark Synecdoche, New York Zack and Miri Make a Porno Towelhead Vicky Cristina Barcelona The Wackness Brideshead Revisited Glass: A Portrait in Twelve Parts http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/12/2/37866.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 12/2/2008 6:00:40 PM
Body: You’d think a movie about YouTube users would have a great viral campaign, but the trailer for Chuck Potter’s I Want My Three Minutes Back is rather simple. I think it’s in the documentary’s best interest, though, to have a series of spots, each created by a different YouTuber showcased in the film. One trailer would be made by Kevin Nalty (“Nalts”) and employ a lot of fart noises. Struggling filmmaker Nick James (“nickynik”) could do something awkward and reflective. And Cory Williams (“Mr. Safety”) could do a music video for an original rap he’s written about the film. Other users featured in the doc should contribute their own personal take, as well. While we wait for that to happen, though, check out the basic trailer (via YouTube, of course) below. Now, I know what you’re thinking: when is this film going to get a proper release? And I wonder, too, when we’ll be able to see this thing for free on YouTube. Well, for now it’s apparently being submitted to the festival circuit, so it may be awhile before it’ll be available in its entirety online. Wouldn’t it be ironic, though, if some big studio like Paramount bought it at a film fest and then refused to allow it to be uploaded to YouTube? If they can believe Cloverfield is worth seeing on a big screen, they’d probably go with a theatrical release for this thing, too. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Tue, 02 Dec 2008 23:00:40 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com12/2/2008 6:00:40 PMYou’d think a movie about YouTube users would have a great viral campaign, but the trailer for Chuck Potter’s I Want My Three Minutes Back is rather simple. I think it’s in the documentary’s best interest, though, to have a series of spots, each created by a different YouTuber showcased in the film. One trailer would be made by Kevin Nalty (“Nalts”) and employ a lot of fart noises. Struggling filmmaker Nick James (“nickynik”) could do something awkward and reflective. And Cory Williams (“Mr. Safety”) could do a music video for an original rap he’s written about the film. Other users featured in the doc should contribute their own personal take, as well. While we wait for that to happen, though, check out the basic trailer (via YouTube, of course) below. Now, I know what you’re thinking: when is this film going to get a proper release? And I wonder, too, when we’ll be able to see this thing for free on YouTube. Well, for now it’s apparently being submitted to the festival circuit, so it may be awhile before it’ll be available in its entirety online. Wouldn’t it be ironic, though, if some big studio like Paramount bought it at a film fest and then refused to allow it to be uploaded to YouTube? If they can believe Cloverfield is worth seeing on a big screen, they’d probably go with a theatrical release for this thing, too. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/dibot/archive/2008/10/29/36786.aspx Post By: dibot
Post To: dibot Blog
Post Date: 10/29/2008 10:50:15 PM
Body: Borderland is another good After Dark film. Based on actual events, though I didn't check into that claim, the story follows three friends headed down to Mexico for some fun. They end up involved with a cult that practices blood sacrifice. It's gritty and fascinating, though not that scary. Just creepy and intense. I enjoyed it.Lake Dead is also an After Dark movie, and this one is good for people who are frightened of incest and camping. Two girls inherit a hotel they've never seen. They go with some friends to check it out, and killing ensues. Most of the acting is atrocious, but there are some good scares and many tense moments. Enjoyable.Thanks to the Sci-Fi Channel, I caught yet another After Dark horror movie, Mulberry Street. This one is really good. All over New York, rats are biting and infecting citizens. These bites turn the victims into violent, hungry rat creatures. The film focuses on a group of tenants in a run down apartment building. It's tense, the characters feel real, and I cared about them. It's very much like a zombie movie, with infected friends and family turning against each other. Good times.The Last Winter sets a group of oil drillers in the Alaskan wilderness where the land is rebelling against them. Due to how humans have abused the earth, the Alaskan permafrost is melting and releasing spirits into the world. It's an interesting premise, but not that well executed. Ron Perlman ("Hellboy II: The Golden Army") is the main character, and he is belligerent and annoying. The other characters are only slightly interesting, and I didn't care that much when they died. The effects are pretty good. But mostly, this is a forgettable movie.I finally caught up with Cloverfield, and I really liked it. It's not going to change the world or anything, but I don't see where all the hate is coming from. The premise of a surprise party gone awry when a giant monster attacks New York City is awesome. The guy from the party running the video camera films all the action from a first person point-of-view. I think that was a good way to handle the chaos. And the guy was amusing. The characters are believable and established quickly. And not too much of the monster is shown, which builds suspense. Then, when we do see it, the pay-off is worth it. Check this one out.
]]>Thu, 30 Oct 2008 02:50:15 GMTdibotdibot Blog10/29/2008 10:50:15 PMBorderland is another good After Dark film. Based on actual events, though I didn't check into that claim, the story follows three friends headed down to Mexico for some fun. They end up involved with a cult that practices blood sacrifice. It's gritty and fascinating, though not that scary. Just creepy and intense. I enjoyed it.Lake Dead is also an After Dark movie, and this one is good for people who are frightened of incest and camping. Two girls inherit a hotel they've never seen. They go with some friends to check it out, and killing ensues. Most of the acting is atrocious, but there are some good scares and many tense moments. Enjoyable.Thanks to the Sci-Fi Channel, I caught yet another After Dark horror movie, Mulberry Street. This one is really good. All over New York, rats are biting and infecting citizens. These bites turn the victims into violent, hungry rat creatures. The film focuses on a group of tenants in a run down apartment building. It's tense, the characters feel real, and I cared about them. It's very much like a zombie movie, with infected friends and family turning against each other. Good times.The Last Winter sets a group of oil drillers in the Alaskan wilderness where the land is rebelling against them. Due to how humans have abused the earth, the Alaskan permafrost is melting and releasing spirits into the world. It's an interesting premise, but not that well executed. Ron Perlman ("Hellboy II: The Golden Army") is the main character, and he is belligerent and annoying. The other characters are only slightly interesting, and I didn't care that much when they died. The effects are pretty good. But mostly, this is a forgettable movie.I finally caught up with Cloverfield, and I really liked it. It's not going to change the world or anything, but I don't see where all the hate is coming from. The premise of a surprise party gone awry when a giant monster attacks New York City is awesome. The guy from the party running the video camera films all the action from a first person point-of-view. I think that was a good way to handle the chaos. And the guy was amusing. The characters are believable and established quickly. And not too much of the monster is shown, which builds suspense. Then, when we do see it, the pay-off is worth it. Check this one out. http://www.spout.com/blogs/usesoap/archive/2008/10/20/36516.aspx Post By: usesoap
Post To: usesoap Blog
Post Date: 10/20/2008 12:47:36 PM
Body: (Note: This is actaully written as part of my newspaper review column, whose readers may not be as obsessive about their horror films as members of the Spout community, but I felt I would include it nonetheless) Let's face it, the current economic news is far more terrifying than any feature that can grace the big screen right now. For horror devotees, there's the never-ending “Saw” franchise making its fifth trip to the multiplex this weekend. And there is really only one other legitimate fright flick for it to contend with (and no, “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” and “W.” don't count). The film is “Quarantine,” which I will get to later. But first, may I suggest a few more economically friendly ways to get your scare on this season of the witch by suggesting some DVD titles that you may have overlooked. For the discernible horror fan, it's always a tough trip to the video store, where, through the magic of Photoshop, DVD covers hold promises that the crappy films inside could ever keep. Fear not, for I have sifted through mounds of gore guano and will provide you with a few under-seen flesh-crawling flicks that are created with style, substance and sufficient scares. “Them (Ils)” (2006): Forget “The Strangers,” the Liv-Tyler-headlining film released this week on DVD (actually, that's unfair, for that film does create a palpable atmosphere). The similar plot of “Them” is the standard couple-stranded -in-an-isolated-locale horror theme. But after about 15 minutes of setup, the film rarely stops to catch its breath, as a young couple relies on their wiles to elude a faceless tormentor (or tormentors?). Clocking in at less than 90 minutes, the film zips by at a frenetic pace, and while the French-made film does have subtitles, the numerous bumps, creaks, crashes and screams that pump through your surround sound need no translation. “Slither” (2006): For those who enjoy a few more chuckles to lighten the mood between scenes of terror, “Slither” is an homage to those fantastic alien invasion films of the '50s, updated with a millennial sensibility. Director James Gunn lovingly recreates a world of icky aliens, intentional humor and genuine scares. Also, look for a wonderful cameo from Gunn's real-life wife Jenna (“The Office”) Fischer. “Rogue” (2007): It's hard to convince scare skeptics to give a chance to a giant killer crocodile movie, but why are they so willing to embrace a 30-foot shark as one of the best films of all time? I'm not placing this on the same level as “Jaws,” of course, but I am saying that there are a number of effective flourishes in this film that merit it a spot on your rental list. A group of tourists in Australia get cornered by a rather rabid reptile with a taste for human flesh. “Rogue” earns its scales for treating its characters as more than just croc chum and leaving us to wonder just who will bite it next. “The Mist” in black and white (2007): Director Frank Darabont has been one of the most beloved screen collaborators of author Stephen King's work. “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Green Mile” consistently rate at the top of King's page-to-screen transfers. And while you may have witnessed this film in its brief theatrical run, or even caught it on DVD, you have not really “experienced” it until you watch it in its monochromatic glory, which is available on the two-disc collector's edition. Creating the overall mood of a classic B-movie monster movie from the '50s, the film's CGI-created creatures appear seamless, the shadows are more ominous and the overall tone just a little moodier. And finally, if you still enjoy your jolts surrounded by a roomful of strangers, there is a rather effective alternative to “Saw” still playing in local theaters. Based on a much-more-effective Spanish film called “[Rec]” (as in the “Record” button) that is not yet available on DVD, “Quarantine” is still the next best thing for a fun-filled fright night. The plot focuses on a young reporter spending the night in a firehouse for a story, and she certainly gets one when the station is called to a disturbance in a nearby apartment complex. While there, she and her cameraman capture its residents succumbing to a strange virus that causes them to be cordoned off from the general public. Even though the film is structured similarly to the single-camera style of “The Blair Witch Project” and “Cloverfield,” it does not fall victim to the “shaky-cam” shots that induced nausea for so many viewers. While the film feels more polished than its Spanish predecessor, it is still provides a number of worthwhile creeps and jolts. Purists may want to steer clear, though and wait for the DVD release, as this version is almost a shot-for-shot remake. But if you are wary of having to face Jigsaw for yet another go-round at the theater this Halloween, than “Quarantine” has more than enough bite.
]]>Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:47:36 GMTusesoapusesoap Blog10/20/2008 12:47:36 PM(Note: This is actaully written as part of my newspaper review column, whose readers may not be as obsessive about their horror films as members of the Spout community, but I felt I would include it nonetheless) Let's face it, the current economic news is far more terrifying than any feature that can grace the big screen right now. For horror devotees, there's the never-ending &ldquo;Saw&rdquo; franchise making its fifth trip to the multiplex this weekend. And there is really only one other legitimate fright flick for it to contend with (and no, &ldquo;Beverly Hills Chihuahua&rdquo; and &ldquo;W.&rdquo; don't count). The film is &ldquo;Quarantine,&rdquo; which I will get to later. But first, may I suggest a few more economically friendly ways to get your scare on this season of the witch by suggesting some DVD titles that you may have overlooked. For the discernible horror fan, it's always a tough trip to the video store, where, through the magic of Photoshop, DVD covers hold promises that the crappy films inside could ever keep. Fear not, for I have sifted through mounds of gore guano and will provide you with a few under-seen flesh-crawling flicks that are created with style, substance and sufficient scares. &ldquo;Them (Ils)&rdquo; (2006): Forget &ldquo;The Strangers,&rdquo; the Liv-Tyler-headlining film released this week on DVD (actually, that's unfair, for that film does create a palpable atmosphere). The similar plot of &ldquo;Them&rdquo; is the standard couple-stranded -in-an-isolated-locale horror theme. But after about 15 minutes of setup, the film rarely stops to catch its breath, as a young couple relies on their wiles to elude a faceless tormentor (or tormentors?). Clocking in at less than 90 minutes, the film zips by at a frenetic pace, and while the French-made film does have subtitles, the numerous bumps, creaks, crashes and screams that pump through your surround sound need no translation. &ldquo;Slither&rdquo; (2006): For those who enjoy a few more chuckles to lighten the mood between scenes of terror, &ldquo;Slither&rdquo; is an homage to those fantastic alien invasion films of the '50s, updated with a millennial sensibility. Director James Gunn lovingly recreates a world of icky aliens, intentional humor and genuine scares. Also, look for a wonderful cameo from Gunn's real-life wife Jenna (&ldquo;The Office&rdquo;) Fischer. &ldquo;Rogue&rdquo; (2007): It's hard to convince scare skeptics to give a chance to a giant killer crocodile movie, but why are they so willing to embrace a 30-foot shark as one of the best films of all time? I'm not placing this on the same level as &ldquo;Jaws,&rdquo; of course, but I am saying that there are a number of effective flourishes in this film that merit it a spot on your rental list. A group of tourists in Australia get cornered by a rather rabid reptile with a taste for human flesh. &ldquo;Rogue&rdquo; earns its scales for treating its characters as more than just croc chum and leaving us to wonder just who will bite it next. &ldquo;The Mist&rdquo; in black and white (2007): Director Frank Darabont has been one of the most beloved screen collaborators of author Stephen King's work. &ldquo;The Shawshank Redemption&rdquo; and &ldquo;The Green Mile&rdquo; consistently rate at the top of King's page-to-screen transfers. And while you may have witnessed this film in its brief theatrical run, or even caught it on DVD, you have not really &ldquo;experienced&rdquo; it until you watch it in its monochromatic glory, which is available on the two-disc collector's edition. Creating the overall mood of a classic B-movie monster movie from the '50s, the film's CGI-created creatures appear seamless, the shadows are more ominous and the overall tone just a little moodier. And finally, if you still enjoy your jolts surrounded by a roomful of strangers, there is a rather effective alternative to &ldquo;Saw&rdquo; still playing in local theaters. Based on a much-more-effective Spanish film called &ldquo;[Rec]&rdquo; (as in the &ldquo;Record&rdquo; button) that is not yet available on DVD, &ldquo;Quarantine&rdquo; is still the next best thing for a fun-filled fright night. The plot focuses on a young reporter spending the night in a firehouse for a story, and she certainly gets one when the station is called to a disturbance in a nearby apartment complex. While there, she and her cameraman capture its residents succumbing to a strange virus that causes them to be cordoned off from the general public. Even though the film is structured similarly to the single-camera style of &ldquo;The Blair Witch Project&rdquo; and &ldquo;Cloverfield,&rdquo; it does not fall victim to the &ldquo;shaky-cam&rdquo; shots that induced nausea for so many viewers. While the film feels more polished than its Spanish predecessor, it is still provides a number of worthwhile creeps and jolts. Purists may want to steer clear, though and wait for the DVD release, as this version is almost a shot-for-shot remake. But if you are wary of having to face Jigsaw for yet another go-round at the theater this Halloween, than &ldquo;Quarantine&rdquo; has more than enough bite. http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_August_25_Monster_Madness/625/34361/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: leeroy711
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 8/25/2008 5:06:52 PM
Body: [quote user="mercurial"] Well, before I go into my long list of monsters, I'm going to go ahead and say that I loved Cloverfield. I saw it in the theater the weekend it came out, I followed the viral marketing campaigns, and am slowly becoming a J.J. Abrams fan (despite never seeing a single episode of Lost). I must also say that I am one of the freaks that loved The Blair Witch Project. The Blair WItch being one of my favorite unseen movie monsters. To the point, Cloverfield was just one of those adrenaline rush movies for me. Where you never get a sense of the monster that's lurking around every corner. You really get a sense of the characters and root for them to survive the whole ordeal. Granted the guy holding the camera was rather annoying and certain scenes (the climbing from one demolished building to another, I mean, really!?) were implausible, but yet, I was completely absorbed into the whole film. [/quote] I think I really have a problem with the whole cinema-veritas style in general. I guess the idea is: Make what you are watching seem more real by making it more obvious that what you are watching is through the eyes of a camera. I also have a problem (for somewhat of the same reason) with movies shot entirely in digital like Cloverfield and Diary of the Dead. I can't say that I loved Blair Witch, but as a whole, I thought it was extremely clever, especially the marketing. If you recall, the trailers were extremely short and they didn't show anthing. And the actors hid away for the first few months of the release. There was a similar film that came out a few years before Blair Witch called The Last Broadcast in which these guys go into the woods to find the Jersey Devil. I think the set-up was a little bit better than Blair Witch but the acting wasn't very good.
]]>Mon, 25 Aug 2008 21:06:52 GMTleeroy711Weekly Theme8/25/2008 5:06:52 PM[quote user="mercurial"] Well, before I go into my long list of monsters, I'm going to go ahead and say that I loved Cloverfield. I saw it in the theater the weekend it came out, I followed the viral marketing campaigns, and am slowly becoming a J.J. Abrams fan (despite never seeing a single episode of Lost). I must also say that I am one of the freaks that loved The Blair Witch Project. The Blair WItch being one of my favorite unseen movie monsters. To the point, Cloverfield was just one of those adrenaline rush movies for me. Where you never get a sense of the monster that's lurking around every corner. You really get a sense of the characters and root for them to survive the whole ordeal. Granted the guy holding the camera was rather annoying and certain scenes (the climbing from one demolished building to another, I mean, really!?) were implausible, but yet, I was completely absorbed into the whole film. [/quote] I think I really have a problem with the whole cinema-veritas style in general. I guess the idea is: Make what you are watching seem more real by making it more obvious that what you are watching is through the eyes of a camera. I also have a problem (for somewhat of the same reason) with movies shot entirely in digital like Cloverfield and Diary of the Dead. I can't say that I loved Blair Witch, but as a whole, I thought it was extremely clever, especially the marketing. If you recall, the trailers were extremely short and they didn't show anthing. And the actors hid away for the first few months of the release. There was a similar film that came out a few years before Blair Witch called The Last Broadcast in which these guys go into the woods to find the Jersey Devil. I think the set-up was a little bit better than Blair Witch but the acting wasn't very good. http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_August_25_Monster_Madness/625/34359/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: mercurial
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 8/25/2008 4:44:48 PM
Body: Well, before I go into my long list of monsters, I'm going to go ahead and say that I loved Cloverfield. I saw it in the theater the weekend it came out, I followed the viral marketing campaigns, and am slowly becoming a J.J. Abrams fan (despite never seeing a single episode of Lost). I must also say that I am one of the freaks that loved The Blair Witch Project. The Blair WItch being one of my favorite unseen movie monsters. To the point, Cloverfield was just one of those adrenaline rush movies for me. Where you never get a sense of the monster that's lurking around every corner. You really get a sense of the characters and root for them to survive the whole ordeal. Granted the guy holding the camera was rather annoying and certain scenes (the climbing from one demolished building to another, I mean, really!?) were implausible, but yet, I was completely absorbed into the whole film.
]]>Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:44:48 GMTmercurialWeekly Theme8/25/2008 4:44:48 PMWell, before I go into my long list of monsters, I'm going to go ahead and say that I loved Cloverfield. I saw it in the theater the weekend it came out, I followed the viral marketing campaigns, and am slowly becoming a J.J. Abrams fan (despite never seeing a single episode of Lost). I must also say that I am one of the freaks that loved The Blair Witch Project. The Blair WItch being one of my favorite unseen movie monsters. To the point, Cloverfield was just one of those adrenaline rush movies for me. Where you never get a sense of the monster that's lurking around every corner. You really get a sense of the characters and root for them to survive the whole ordeal. Granted the guy holding the camera was rather annoying and certain scenes (the climbing from one demolished building to another, I mean, really!?) were implausible, but yet, I was completely absorbed into the whole film. http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/friendship/MemberTagFilms.aspxfriendship
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