A movie enjoyed!

'Cloverfield' being a prime example of my idea, I shall give you not a review, but a written experience of an experience:

I sat next to my friend Sheldon in the auditorium, the one whom tries my patience most of the time we see a movie. He loves talking, bless him. But like the good Bible says, 'There's a time and place for everything.'

He didn't talk too much - the popcorn was a great idea.

Anyhow...The movie began [before I start this, I don't want to spoil the movie for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, so read this blog at your own risk]

My favourite films are called my favourite, because most of the time I've felt caught up in the realism of the story. Obviously Hollywood is far-fetched sometimes, but the human emotions are real. The screams are real. The laughter and music is real. The "Oh no she knows what I did" feelings are all tangeble.

So for Cloverfield specifically, the film-makers were clever in establishing the characters. They weren't just introduced as random heroes for a monster movie - they were mysteriously revealed to be as human as we are. They make screw ups too! And it's there we have that seamless connection. Are you in real life or are you in the movie?

Now that I'd passed through the gates into the fantasy world, the extreme parts of the film began. So well done are the special effects and sounds, that I become terrified and panic-stricken along with the actors. I allowed myself to get scared in the same way people allow themselves to get scared on rollercoasters or skydiving.

Symbolically, the movie also had a constant shadow looming over it, making us aware that there is a bigger picture. There is more. Our minds tried filling up as many of the gaps as possible:

'Did I see a long tail on the monster?'

'Why is THIS happening when the army guy said something else?'

Being inside of time, we humans are never satisfied without closure. Which is why the film-makers of Cloverfield made it very vague to find out what was going on. In fact, so vague that desperation will force you to research more about the film.

And this is where it gets interesting...

There are websites of fictitous companies and fake MySpace profiles of the characters. Cloverfield is linked up by conjured brands from the shows of Alias and Lost [all by JJ Abrams] All of which provide small, but valid clues, thus giving us more pieces of the puzzle, thus getting a better idea of the bigger picture.

Personally I think it's a brilliant setup and it adds quality to film-making.

I really enjoyed that one!