Out of Sight, Out of Mind: A Review of the Cloverfield Trailer

wI have never been a big fan of monster movies--Dracula, Frankenstein, King Kong, Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Mothman, Godzilla vs. Rosie O'Donnell, etc. I've only seen two "monster" movies: Peter Jackson's King Kong and the execrable '90's remake of Godzilla. One assumes that underlying the popularity of Kong, Godzilla, and et al is the vicarious visceral pleasure of wanton destruction on a large scale. The absurd powers of these mutants, their huge size, taps into some subconscious will to power manifested as a leviathan at war with civilization. Or it could be that fifty-story tall radioactive monsters are really cool if you're a male under the age of 16.

Whichever it is, the trailer for the new monster movie Cloverfield promises something slightly different: Godzilla crossed with The Blair Witch Project. The premise: An unseen monster destroying New York City was caught on tape and we are about to be treated to the recently discovered footage.

The fundamental selling point of the movie is "What is the monster?" The trailer fails because it chooses to focus on how the protagonists deal with the monster rather than on the monster itself. We do see a massive military attack on the monster, but no shot of the monster. We do receive several images of destruction, culminating in the head of the Statue of Liberty landing right in front of the camera. All this is intercut with our main characters in situations not directly related to the monster. Shots of a makeshift hospital. Some guy crying about his girlfriend dying. All fine and good, but it distracts from the fundamental premise: A huge creature is destroying New York City. A solider admits he has no clue what it is, "but it's winning." Am I shown anything indicating that it's winning or demonstrating the consequences thereof? No. I have no incentive to see the army win, since I have no connection to the monster. We only see effects of the attack, never the cause, not even a fleeting glance. By not focusing on the monster more, the net result is apathy.

Impression: Meh. (i.e. C)



Update: Compare this to the far superior trailer for Godzilla (1998). The movie sucked but the trailer works really well:



Have you seen Cloverfield? I welcome your critique of my review in the comments section below. More >

John Boyer: Rank Amatur Movie Trailer Critic

I don't go to the movies as often as Paul does. I tend to pick and choose which films I see each year based on four things:

1. The reviews
2. Award Buzz
3. A certain je ne sais quoi
4. The trailer
   

The result is I miss a good number of decent to excellent films (I have yet to see 3:10 to Yuma, No Country For Old Men, or There Will Be Blood), especially because that certain je ne sais quoi--money--has been lacking. However, this my criteria also means I avoid almost all the bad ones--The Mist is the exception that proves the rule. I have discovered good movies via trailers, e.g. Brick, and gained interest in films which I had unthinkingly dismissed, e.g. Persepolis.

Thus, emboldened by Paul's well turned movie reviews, a certain idea has leapt to the front of my mind: review movie trailers. I might end up seeing more movies (since my job prospects seem to be looking up, the je ne sais quoi won't be lacking). So in the tradition of Trailer Park, let's begin. My purpose: To determine if a film deserves anticipation or apathy.

And where to begin but with movies that haven't come out yet. Yahoo! Movies has put out a list of the 10 Most-Anticipated Films of the Year. They are, in order of release date:

1. Cloverfield
2. Rambo
3. Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who
4. Iron Man
5. Speed Racer
6. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
7. Sex in the City
8. WALL-E
9. Wanted
10. The Dark Knight

If this list seems a bit incomplete or inadequate, it is. The Dark Knight, the last film on the list to be released, comes out July 10th. Yahoo! has left out all the Fall and early Winter fare which traditionally garners awards Spring and Summer films rake in money. Late Winter films generally scrape the bottom of the barrel and prove that audiences don't listen to critics, e.g. Norbit. Even if this list is inadequate, reviews of bad movies can be more enjoyable than reviews of good movies. Look for reviews of these trailers soon!

If you think any films coming out in the next six months were unjustly left off, tell me in the comments! More >