Cloverfield (2008)

Cloverfield (2008)

Written by Drew Goddard

Directed by Matt Reeves

 

            It comes as no surprise that my love for this movie is due in part to the participation of both J.J. Abrams and Drew Goddard.  My fascination with Lost is well documented and widely known by my friends and family members.  Not so coincidentally, J.J. Abrams produced both Cloverfield and Lost, in addition to writing and directing the pilot and several episodes of the latter.  Upon Abrams’ departure to focus on directing Mission Impossible III and Star Trek, Drew Goddard briefly became the showrunner for the remainder of season one of Lost, until Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof took control.  So, when I saw the trailer for this then at-the-time untitled movie before Transformers with my good friend White Goodman, I nearly shat my pants in excitement.  If you haven’t seen the trailer for this, well then I certainly suggest you do (I tried to post it here, but I had trouble finding the original teaser, so I abandoned that venture).  It was a simple teaser trailer, shot on a handheld camera, following people around a party in New York City.  Suddenly there was an explosion and the head of the Statue of Liberty came flying at the camera, landing in the street.  It was about 1 minute long and ended just as simply as it began– with the words “From Producer J.J. Abrams” and then “Coming 1-18-08.”  Needless to say, I was floored, just like everybody else.  The movie soon became a cultural phenomenon, taking the internet by storm with a vicious (then unheard-of) viral marketing campaign, leading to rumors upon rumors about what the film was about.

            Cloverfield is presented as “found footage,” similar to Paranormal Shitivity and The Blair Witch Project, as well as countless other films.  The difference, in my opinion, is that Cloverfield has a story worth watching.  The story revolves around a small group of 20-somethings in New York City.  During a going away party for Rob (Michael Stahl-David), a monster attacks New York City, not surprisingly leading everybody to panic and flee the city via the Brooklyn Bridge.  When the monster tears the bridge down, the group turns back to Manhatten, now intent on rescuing Rob’s unrequited love from her semi-collapsed NYC apartment.  The story is told via a hand-held camera, shot by a cast member.  It’s a home video, essentially.  Now, in most movies, hand-held doesn’t work, unless the viewer is given a damn good reason for the camera to never be shut off.  Here, they give us a good reason.  Rob’s brother Jason (played by Mike Vogel) and Jason’s girlfriend Lily (90210’s Jessica Lucas) give a camcorder to their friend Hud (played by the hilarious T.J. Miller) in order to document Rob’s going away party before he moves to Japan for his job at Slusho (Slusho is a regular staple of everything J.J. Abrams produces, from Alias, this, Star Trek, and MI:3).  Hud is in love with Marlena (played by Lizzy Caplan, who I have a not so secret crush on), and Rob is in love with Beth (played by Odette Yustman, who is the worst excuse for an actress I have ever seen, although I suppose she looks nice, although wayyyy to skinny for my tastes).  Much carnage and destruction ensues.

            Here’s what I like about this movie…pretty much everything.  The cast works great together.  You really believe that they are friends and that they have been for years.  Rob is a little whiny, but not too much that you are annoyed by him.  Lily is strong enough that you really care about her.  Jason is the smartass little brother.  Hud is absolutely hilarious, spitting out one-liners and witty remarks deep into the third act of the movie.  Marlena is just the right comibination of uncaring bitch and sweet young woman.  One thing that might bother some people is the hand-held aspect.  It does get a bit shaky at times.  I’ve been told that this can cause nausea, although it never has for me.  In fact, it’s quite the opposite.  For me, the hand-held camera only helped me get more into the movie.  We only know what they know.  We only see what they see.  There are no clever camera manipulations.  I’d like to see Transformers 2 from a hand-held perspective.  While those giant Autobots and Decepticons are destroying each other and the pyramids, what does it look like from the civilians’ point of view?  I can only imagine that it’s absolutely terrifying, and in Cloverfield, I really felt that.  The special effects for this were awesome as well.  The filmmakers definitely went the same route as the makers of District 9 and used the “Less is More” philosophy, and it really worked.  This movie has one of my favorite cinematic scenes ever, as well.  For those of you who have seen the flick, it’s the subway sequence.  For those of you who haven’t seen it, then why the hell are you still reading this and not watching the movie?

            What do I not like about this movie? Well, there are a few things, and they’re both minor and major.  First, I don’t like Odette Yustman or the Beth Character.  She does nothing buy whine and cry the whole movie, and she irritates me.  You can’t make a movie where the plot hinges on the fact that the main character loves another character that is annoying and whiny.  Fortunately, Beth is actually kind of a minor character, and she only appears in the movie for about 15 minutes total.  This brings me to the only other thing that I didn’t like.  Why did Rob go back for Beth?  Not just that, but why would Lily, Jason, Marlena, and Hud follow him?  What the fuck do they care about Beth?  From what I could tell, she was barely a part of their group anyway.  I can tell you that the only people I would have gone back into that terrible, terrible shit for are my brothers and sisters, and even then, once I encountered those horrible creatures in the subway, I would have abandoned it all together.  Not only that, but Rob wasn’t even sure if Beth was even alive!  IMHO, it’s not worth it to risk your life for somebody else who might already be dead.  I mean, what if they got back uptown and Beth’s building was collapsed, not just on a tilt? Where would the movie have gone from there?  Those are just two minor pet peeves of mine about a movie that I absolutely love, so take them or don’t.

            Overall, Cloverfield is a great action movie with a lot of heart and humor.  The pace is incredibly quick, and you’ll be on the edge of your seat the entire time.  My last comment comes from my 12 year old brother, who after watching it, said “I think I’m gonna have nightmares.”  I think that’s pretty awesome.  I’ve officially succeeded as an older brother.  I’m giving it a 8.5/10.

Sugar (2008)

Sugar (2008)

Written and Directed by Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden

           

            This movie completely surprised me and in such a way that it now comes highly recommended.  What I thought would be an inspirational sports drama soon became an introspective look at hope, lost dreams, desire, and the cruelty inherent in “The American Dream.”

            Having seen Half Nelson, I was already anticipating the follow-up from Boden and Fleck.  For those of you who haven’t seen it, Half Nelson is little more than a masterpiece, and the performance that Ryan Gosling delivered was nothing short of God-like.  The fact that he didn’t win an Oscar for it remains to this day a mystery to me.  Another thing that defies logic is the fact that he followed it up with Fracture, a mediocre movie at best, and then followed it up with Lars and the Real Girl, yet another mind-blowing performance in a movie that was at times both incredibly sad and gut-wrenchingly hilarious.  Tangent aside, Boden and Fleck are incredibly capable film-makers and I have no doubt that they have great careers ahead of them.

            Sugar tells the story of a young Dominican baseball player named Miguel “Sugar” Santos.  His teammates and friends call him Sugar because he always eats more dessert than anybody else.  After achieving success in the Dominican Republic, Sugar is signed by MLB recruiters to play for an affiliate of the Kansas City Royals.  He attends their spring training facility in Arizona where learns the lessons that America has to offer.  He has to learn English, deal with racism, girls, and is constantly terrified of not playing good enough.  In his home town, Sugar is a superstar – the best around.  However, when he arrives in America, he is just average, and the rest of the movie details his fight to overcome mediocrity. 

            As the titular character, newcomer Algenis Perez Soto is absolutely fantastic.  The making-of featurette told me that Soto was actually a Dominican baseball player who auditioned for a role as an extra, but Boden and Fleck made a terrific find.  This was one of the best performances I have seen in years, and the fact that it was by a non-actor gives me great hope for the future of filmmaking.  The first 30 minutes or so of the film takes place in the Dominican (it was also filmed there) and I loved the way that Sugar interacted with his friends and family.  Everything seem well-researched and authentic, despite the fact that the Spanish some of the characters spoke seemed a little bit too “textbook.”  By this I mean that I could understand everything they were saying, and as a non Spanish speaker, it seemed dubious that I could understand.  It just didn’t seem like they would really speak that way.  All of the supporting characters were just as good as Soto, never taking too much attention away from the lead, but always adding to the emotion and authenticity of the character.

            Another thing that I liked was the way that the story unfolded.  Like I said before, this is not your average rags to riches sports movie.  There is no happy ending here.  Our lead does not make it to the majors.  The thing is – that’s not really the point of the story.  We’re not supposed to feel bad for Sugar, and he never feels bad for himself.  Despite the sadness that comes with the fact that Sugar isn’t good enough, the movie still illicits hope and happiness.  Even though he doesn’t make it with baseball, Sugar still manages to find his way in America, and the film definitely ends on a hopeful note.

            The last thing I absolutely loved about this movie was the cinematography and music.  It featured at least two scenes set to music by one of my favorite bands, TV on the Radio, and most of the other music was of the indie variety.  The cinematography was also great.  One of the key scenes, in which Sugar experiments with performance enhancing drugs, had the camera attached to Sugar, but facing him, Spike Lee-style, while he walked in a daze through several locations.  The shot was about 4 minutes long and brought on a huge range of emotions.  It was extremely well done, as was the entirety of the flick.

            Like I said before, I can definitely recommend this movie to everybody.  It has a very strong, if unknown cast, it is very accessible, and I hope it ends up getting recognized when it comes time for awards.   I’ll give it a 9/10.

The Hangover (2009)

The Hangover (2009)

Written by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore

Directed by Todd Phillips

            Here’s a movie that I think really took everybody by surprise this summer.  It came out of left field and it really delivered on all the levels that the other films failed too.  It was mysterious, dramatic, adventurous, hilarious, and had Mike Tyson in it.  Really, what more could you want from a movie?

            I think by this point everybody and their mother has seen The Hangover (literally – my girlfriend’s conservative mother took her 13, 15, and 16 year-old kids to see it), so I’m pretty sure everybody knows what it’s about, but for those not initiated, here’s how it goes: 4 guys go to Vegas for a bachelor’s party.  It’s really that simple.  The story is not told sequentially.  They arrive in Vegas, we see their first shots, and then they wake up the next afternooon with no recollection of what happened.  What really draws you in are the characters.

What I really liked about this was how each character was drastically different.  What more can be said about Zach Galifianakis’ Alan?  The man is an enigma, and I believe his beard should be nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama when it comes time for Oscars.  He really is fantastic and hilarious here.  Is he a retard or is he just really weird?  Who knows?!  More importantly, who cares?  Every line is delivered with the strength of the seasoned stand-up comic that he is.  Ed Helms’ Stu was excellent as well.  While I have been enjoying him for three seasons as Andy on The Office, the rest of the world has had no idea how truly gut-wrenchingly hilarious he truly is – until now.  He really does well playing the lapdog to his girlfriend Melissa’s (The Daily Show’s Rachel Harris) evil witch of a woman.  Also doing really well was Justin Bartha as Doug.  I thought he was hilarious in both Gigli and the first National Treasure movie (yes I saw both of them, and no, I’m not ashamed.  I was one of the few people to actually enjoy the former flick), and he was pretty good here, despite extremely limited screentime.  Of course, rounding out the primary cast is Bradley Cooper as Phil.  Now, I know people are going to hate me for saying this, but I’m not the biggest fan of Bradley Cooper.  He plays his usual here – the dick, and he does it well.  But it doesn’t take much to act like a dick.  Just ask 75% of the male population of New York.  They do it without trying.  I understand his appeal.  He’s suave, sexy, funny, charming.  I just don’t really like the character, and Cooper doesn’t seem to know how to get away from it.  What I can say in his defense is that he’s pretty funny in this, with some good one liners and zingers.  Also, I really liked the way that his character not just put up with Alan’s weirdness, but really helped him when he needed it.  If you want to see Cooper in a really great dramatic role, check out Midnight Meat Train, which despite sounding like a really demographically specific porn title, is a a really taut thriller.  Heather Graham rounds out the cast as a stripper.  Not much to say there except Lindsay Lohan turned down the role in what may have been the worst career choice of her life.  Graham does what she usually does with a role, and that’s not much, but I don’t think there was much there to begin with, as the movie is really about the bond between the 4 guys.  There are some really great side characters in here as well.  Rob Riggle, Mike Epps, Jeffrey Tambor (Uncle Father!), Mike Tyson, and Ken Jeong all deliver hilarious, memorable performances.

I really loved the way the story was told.  We don’t actually see what happened on that fateful night, and that’s what makes it great.  We learn what happened as the guys do, and they never cease to surprise us.  This movie goes to places that you would never imagine.  The story has a huge set of balls, and it manages to pull it off, not just good, but great.  Also, the cinematography is superb.  You really feel the heat of Vegas beating down in each shot.  The sweat, the filth, the booze, the drugs, the sand, this really feels like Vegas (probably because it was actually shot in Vegas).  This movie really is worth seeing.  I recommend it to everybody.  Grandmas, Mom, Dad, your gay Uncle, this is really a great movie with tons and tons of heart and if you haven’t seen it, then you’re missing out.  I’m gonna go with a 9/10.

All the Real Girls (2003)

All the Real Girls (2003)

Written by David Gordon Green and Paul Schneider

Directed by David Gordon Green

           

            It’s hard to say exactly what it is that I liked about this movie.  Then again, it’s impossible to say what I didn’t like, because I liked damn near all of it.  This movie was subtle and underrated, brilliant and beautiful.  My mistake was watching Green’s movies in reverse order.  I started with Pineapple Express, then moved on to Snow Angels (another beautiful, moving drama), and then finished off with this, what I consider his best (but I think I need to revisit Snow Angels sometime soon).

            The plot is like this: Paul is the local hometown hero in a small North Carolina town.  He’s the guy that has all the friends and he’s had his fair share of the nether-regions of the local ladies, if you know what I mean (I mean he’s laid nearly ever girl in town).  In other words, he is to a small town in 2003, what Shia LaBeouf is Hollywood in 2009.  He hangs out with his friends Tip, Bust-Ass (played by the always brilliant Danny McBride, in an early role), and Bo.  When Tip’s sister Noel (Zooey Deschanel) returns home from somewhere, only to be immediately pursued by Paul.  Because they are BFFL, Tip knows that Paul has, until very recently, been a womanizing asshole, and doesn’t want Paul to have anything to do with Noel.  Thus begins the fight that most young, male friends have simply called “Can I Date Your Sister.”  Some other stuff happens, Noel does some fucked up shit out of left field, Paul ends up broken hearted from the first girl he actually cared about, end picture.

All the Real Girls plays as the non-funny, sequential version of 500 Days of Summer.  In both, Zooey Deschanel plays the love interest and proves, yet again, why she is my dream girlfriend.  Funny? Check.  Smart? Check.  Quirky? Check.  Beautiful? Check Check Check.  In all honesty, I’d be fairly content if she played every love interest in every movie for the rest of history.  Comedy, drama, action, it doesn’t really matter to me.  This was the role she was born to play, and the only reason that my framed 500 Days poster with 500 pictures of her came down was so it could be replaced by my not-so-secret man crush Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter in the new Alice in Wonderland.  If I had to choose between a theoretical life without either of them, I’d gladly theoretically lay my head on a train track and wait for the 3:38 to Penn Station to arrive.  Zooey’s performance here got her nominated for an Independent Spirit Award in 2004, amongst other things, and she really deserved it.  Going into this flick, I’d seen her in plenty of flicks but nothing really stood out acting-wise.  Well in this one, she proves why she’s such a hot commodity in indie flicks.  She really does a fine job, and I commend her.  Also performing incredibly well is Paul Schneider, co-writer and male lead.  You may have seen him before in Parks and Recreation (the increasingly funny other show from the makes of The Office), Away We Go, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Crawford, or Elizabethtown, amongst countless others.  He really does a good job here, essentially playing me, or you, or anybody else who has ever been fucked over by all of his friends, family, and (most recently) a significant other.  Patricia Clarkson also shows up here as Paul’s mom, but it’s kind of weird because she’s a clown and she really looks like she’s about 4 and a half months older than Paul, who is supposed to be 20, but looks 29, which is much closer to his actual age (he was born in 76, which would make him 33 now, which would make him about 26/27 at the time of filming).  The performances are the real star here, as the entire cast delivers on every level.  At times it doesn’t seem like they’re acting, so much as just having natural conversations.

Also worth noting is the cinematography by Tim Orr, who has worked with David Gordon Green on all of his features.  If there’s one thing that Green excels at, it’s making his pictures look fantastic, and that case holds true here.  He lingers on sunsets, faces, landscapes for far longer than most directors would dare, and it helps him.  This movie is nothing short of beautiful, and its scenery is conveyed in a natural way.

Chances are you haven’t seen this one.  It went largely unnoticed in its 2003 release, but received heapings of praise by critics and film-goers alike.  If you’re in the mood for a small, touching drama, then check this one out, it’s well worth your time.