*** Official CLOVERFIELD Discussion Thread

Re: *** Official CLOVERFIELD Discussion Thread

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Re: *** Official CLOVERFIELD Discussion Thread

wow, listen to this!


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Re: *** Official CLOVERFIELD Discussion Thread

Well, I'm not sure about that. The whole point about a Scooby Doo episode is that there is a mystery that builds to that moment where the creature is unmasked. Nothing in Cloverfield made any kind of pretense that we would find out anything about the creature. Frankly, I'm sure any explanation would have been dissapointing. I know I have posted earlier that I wouldn't mind "knowing more" at some point. But that still doesn't mean I want it all spelled out. And if people can't get that, then they should all go see the hilarity that is "Mad Money" with Queen Latifah this weekend.

Hell, ID4 didn't reveal all that much about that alien race either. I didn't see people complaining then. I guess it was OK because we won

I couldn't make it out. Can someone just put what was said in spoilers

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I can't say enough how much I enjoyed this movie. The character setup was great. The monster was awesome. Hud was funny as shit. Loved the flaming homeless guy line. The tunnel scene had me freaking out. And the ending was spot on. I mean they tell you in the first minute of the movie how it ends. Can't wait for the DVD.

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Please, no more spoilers! If you haven't seen this film then you shouldn't be reading a discussion thread about it that has over 60 posts.

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Yeah, there has got to be some great potential for this on DVD, I would love to see stuff like all the full news broadcasts and stuff like that as extras.

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It's from the very end of the the movie. At the end of the credits, you hear some static and some reversed speech. The clip linked to is that played in reverse. What you hear is "It's still alive".

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Agreed. If you don't want to know that none of them survive then you shouldn't have read this post.

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^ Well, I believe Lily survived. At first I thought that thing crashing to the ground while the others took off was her helicopter, but looking closer, it wasn't.

I saw it again today. Just as effective the second time around. I got a better look at the splash I mentioned earlier. Definitely something there, though the IMDB boards confirmed that for me last night.

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I saw you mention the splash but I don't understand its significance? A splash means what?

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Possibly the arrival of the monster.

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Oh I was thinking this took place at the end of the movies time line, the Ferris Wheel scene is one of the "flashbacks" with Rob and Beth right? If so, I find it unbelievably coincidental that they'd happen to film that weeks before the attack, and wouldn't people have noticed a giant monster, or even a little monster who grew up bitter and unloved, splashing into the ocean?

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I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It's genuinely scary, and the constraint of information enforced by the POV was extremely effective. The gimmick of taping over an existing account of Rob and Beth was also effectively done, and very heartwrenching at the end. The film maintained its integrity with regard to its self-imposed constraints, and most directors, I think, would have found this unworkable. But they pulled it off in Cloverfield.

I missed the splash at the end. Now I have to buy the DVD.

We do know one thing about the ending that wasn't on the recovered footage. The military was authorized to commence with operation "Hammer Down" (or "Hammer Something"), which I think was a nuclear strike on Manhatten. Since we know the camera was recovered, I think it's a fair bet that they didn't nuke the city. So they managed to subdue the monster, or the monster got bored and left on its own, or they were prevented in some way from initiating the nuclear strike. Any of these scenarios would be good fodder for a sequel.

One nitpick I have, however, is that I simply can't abide the premise that a creature made of flesh, blood, and bone could take such abuse from very powerful military weapons and still be a threat.

I hope a sequel is forthcoming soon.

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How come? It got stuck in the rubble of the bridge, so the fact that the camera survived the collapse means that it had a chance of surviving a nuclear blast.

That, my friends, is build quality.

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I'm not sure if it was ever stated that it was a nuclear strike. I recall it pretty much called for the leveling of Manhattan, but I took it to mean, at the time, non nuclear. I would think that even though it was a massive monster, nuking a metropolitan area would be a complete last resort.

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Aside from the monster's arrival, some at IMDB have theorized that it was part of a satellite mentioned in the viral marketing that fell into the sea. I haven't delved into the marketing much yet, so I wouldn't know, though I intend to check all of that out soon. As a fan of Lost, it's nice to see this kind of little "in the background" touch that's so prominent in that series.

Another interesting little tidbit: If you go by the days which the dates fall on, the film should take place in 2009.

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Obsessed with the splash, I've done some research (I read the boards at IMDB and someone else explained it). The splash was from a fallen satellite (or piece of).

One of the viral websites for the film was TAGRUATO CORP. . A fake corporation whose site talked about a damaged satellite, when the film opened the site went "offline" because the satellite "crashed."

I think the idea may have been that they went looking for the wreckage and woke the monster up. I'm still pissed at the unlikeliness they'd have caught this on tape, but w/e.

I've read that J.J. Abrams was quoted saying the monster laid dormant in the ocean for thousands of year, if anyone sees this quote somewhere please link.

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Yeah, but after a nuclear blast, would YOU go into the hot zone to recover that amazingly well-built camera?

I thought not.

As for nuking vs. leveling, I think it's correct that nukes were not explicitely mentioned. But I fail to see what good it would do to level the city using the same conventional weapons that couldn't destroy the monster directly. If they level the city, and the monster is still alive, then what's next, leveling the state?

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They may have waited until the hot zone wasn't "hot" anymore. It could've been months or years after the bombing until the camera was found. Or, they may have sent in robots to start the cleanup work and found it that way. Who knows?

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I loved the movie but it sure made me sick. I fought throwing up and several people had to walk out. It's too bad they couldn't have made it easier to watch visually. I was kept from really enjoying it because I was fighting nausea so bad.

Also so we know that at the end the "whipser" says "it's still alive". Wouldn't the question be who said that? Did Beth and Ron survive after all? Who's whipser was it?

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I freaking loved it... and yes both me and the wife heard the comment that is at the very end of the movie. Can you say part II!

We thought the person who said it was more of a military person....

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I really enjoyed it. Here's my theory about the monster:

It's an Alien creature from deep space that has lived in the ocean's depths for millions of years. The monsters(I believe there were many) were brought to earth by an alien race long ago, and upon their command the monsters are programmed to annihilate the human species, so they can take control. The monster was seemingly impervious to all weapons so it couldn't have been an earthly creature.

It sounds really dumb, but it's the best I could come up with

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that my friend is the premise of war of the worlds

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Yeah, that bothered me also.

But, those little lice monsters were sick.

Finally, when they went onto the street for the first time and saw the Liberty head. I kept thinking. Man I would hate to be a NY State Farm insurance agent after this.

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Forgot to mention it also, Hud was freaking hilarious... and I agree with what someone else said about the homeless guy on fire.. I was almost in tears.

I also like how Hud, at the party would get right up in the peoples face for the good bye's. Too funny.

I actually did not get sick to my stomach. I did find myself wanting more in terms of look to the left, look to the right etc more. But that was part of the beauty of it for me.

I can fore see a sequeal coming our way.

Re: the splash. When and where do you see it in the film exactly?

Fixed name from Hug to Hud....

Re: *** Official CLOVERFIELD Discussion Thread

I believe his name is Hud, as in Heads Up Display lol.

The splash happens in the very last cut scene shown of Coney Island.

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Shawn..

Thanks... that means I will just have to go see it again!!

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Oh! I've never seen it.

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I loved it. It was fast, scary, intense, and surprisingly funny - not just during the opening sequence (which had some terribly funny moments), but peppered all the way through the film (the flaming homeless guy scene being a particular highlight).

I thought the POV was on the whole effective, and made the film a very unique experience - seeing the experience through one person's eyes. I was however bothered by some of the moments where I didn't think a person would actually be filming (the bridge collapse, the attack of the "lice monsters", and crossing between the buildings, were all moments where I would have thought Hud would just drop the camera to his side and run). I am disappointed by the number of people that seem let down because the origins of the monster was never revealed. The film was never about that - when you're running for your life, you may wonder "what is that thing", but you're not going to actually stop and try and find out the answer because it's not actually important to you.

One thing I found myself thinking about in the leadup to the film was the way Godzilla was originally about the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and I found myself pondering whether Cloverfield would be similarly about 9/11. And I found the film actually works quite well when viewed in this way - and some of my friends even picked up on the similarities. The destruction of a New York icon, following immediately by the collapse of a building, the dust enveloping the streets, and the POV format - I found these to all be strong elements that seemed to be using the fantastic element as a safe way of exploring the immediate impact of 9/11 on the people involved.

I am worried by reports that they are working on a sequel. As I said in another thread, it is difficult to think how they could make it work. Using footage from another camera would be way too similar and improbable (there were two people running around NY with cameras trying to get close to the monster? The only way you might make that work would be if it was a news crew, but didn't they use that in Godzilla '98?). You could do it as an after-the-fact documentary compiling various sources of footage (news, video cameras, camera phone footage), but that would be too distancing with no characters in the events to get close to. Or they could do it as a more conventional movie, which would definitely work, but would probably be disappointing after a film as radical as this one.

But it was a brilliant movie, and one I absolutely loved.

Re: *** Official CLOVERFIELD Discussion Thread

I was thinking of the Hiroshima/911 similarities the whole time. This is in many ways a far truer successor to Godzilla.

I also think a sequel is probably a bad idea for the same reasons you mentioned. If they do another "found footage" premise, that would just be stupid. Sequels should further the original, not repeat it. And if they go with a traditional narrative, it will likely devolve into a standard action movie. They'd probably bring back Lily and turn her into a Sigourney Weaver. Given all that, they COULD make an excellent sequel with another, different, more evolved premise, but I won't hold my breath. They've already gone on record saying "maybe someone else was filming their journey that night too!" Brilliant!!