Remember that one movie that I was so fucking pumped about?


I was so excited about it for awhile and then got caught up in school, work, my new camera, etc., that I just realized last week how close the release date was.

So Friday I had lunch with Ghey and DebonEric, and the movie came up in conversation. (It was more like me saying "OMG OMG OMG GUYS IT'S 'CLOVERFIELD' DAY OMGGGGGGG.")

DebonEric suggested that we book it to the closest Carmike in a city long forgotten and indulge my obsession. During the trailers (HELLO "STAR TREK"), I kept punching him in the arm in disbelief. I was seeing "Cloverfield" on opening day. See, I had the sneaking suspicion all along that nobody would want to see it with me, so I'd a) have to see it alone, and I really wanted to experience it with someone, or b) have to see it when it came out on DVD, and by that time, it would have been spoiled for me. And damn it, I REALLY wanted to see it on the big screen.

And I loved it. I love love love love loved it. The monster was not that scary, honestly - there were some other... things in it that were downright terrifying though - but it was a great piece of film making. I was nervous that I'd get motion sickness from the hand-held camera (I didn't) and I was nervous that there would be way too much blood and gore for me (there wasn't -- the majority of the violence was implied) but I was on the edge of my seat from the second the attack started until the very end of the movie. It was fun, it was scary; I jumped, I laughed, I gasped, I cringed, I covered my mouth, I got really involved in it. (I actually yelled "OH SHIT!" in the theater during the helicopter scene. ) It was a great ride.

The silent credits rolled at the end and the audience booed. I was shocked. I loved it. Even DebonEric was pretty disappointed. I couldn't understand why, so I went home and hit the internet. I was met with mixed reviews but they were polarized: the people loved it or they hated it. Among the bitching about the monster, the majority of internet was whining about how the movie didn't live up to the hype. I was really annoyed with these people because the hype machine that was created had nothing to do with the people making the movie. J.J. Abrams simply removed all the information available about the movie, and the media and the public created this frenzy because they didn't have any information about it. The viral campaign was clever, but Abrams didn't set out to create hype like this. It was fueled by our need - desire - obsession - to have all the information available at the touch of a button. Putting the surprise and secrecy back into a movie production was a smart idea, and it proved to be the best marketing move since... well, ever.

After pages and pages of l33t speak bitching, I finally ran across a diamond in the rough:

"People ruin films for themselves by having too many expectations. They expect one thing, they get another, and it's the film's fault? That's ridiculous. [...] Just go knowing that the movie isn't about the monster, it's video footage from one guy's camera of what happened during a monster attack. If you go in knowing that, then I think you'll have a great time. And understand that's all it's supposed to be: A great time."

Finally! Someone with some common sense. Someone who doesn't take this shit so seriously. I banged out an "IAWTC!" reply and decided to get off the internet (er.. off of the forum, anyway).

The bottom line is that the movie is a good time. No, it's not an amazing movie. No, it's not going to change the game. Keep that bit of internet wisdom in mind and you'll have a great time.

That being said, holy crap, go see "Cloverfield."