Weblog Licentiae Moeticae

I believe that we were promised a Ken Hite review of Cloverfield.

Or at least there was the strong implication that the existence of a review was an inevitable by-product of the natural unfolding of the universe. I mention this not because I am still as intrigued in the movie as I was - I've seen it, after all - but because I find that Mr. Hite has the happy ability to make blindingly obvious observations about various works of art that I still somehow managed to miss when I perused them myself.

It'd be annoying, except that it's not.

My take on Cloverfield.

Having actually been asked about it - by a commenter, and everything! - I would have to say that the movie did what it set out to do. It was not a standard Japanese 200 foot monster film; it is a film about people stuck in the middle of a Japanese 200 foot monster film, and as such, it works. The camera work is a personal-taste issue: it didn't distract too badly for me, but I can see where shaky-cam might annoy. The monster may have been a little too visible, towards the end... but that may just be my latent "this would have been cool if it had been Cthulhu up there" attitude talking. JJ Abrams wasn't going for cosmic terror; he wanted horror-excitement, and he generally got it. Well worth the matinée price

That's about it, except that there's already talk about doing a sequel, and frankly, I hope that they don't. This was essentially a gimmick film - I say that without meaning it as criticism - and I'd rather that the gimmick not be revisited.

Moe

PS: The theme music was excellent, and placed at the end of the movie, where it would not distract. Watch until the end credits.

I... I have a confession to make.

Wow, this is awkward, but here goes...

(Looking around)

Cloverfield. That viral campaign that they've got going? Yeah. I've been totally sucked into that.

I feel so dirty, now.

Moe

PS: Still, Saturday morning, my butt's in that seat at the cineplex.

Roger L Simon's a smart guy...

...and in Other Topics of Conversation Never Mentioned Here he's sound, but when it comes to Batman Begins he's smoking teh crack.  That movie did what it came to do, Oscars or no.

Then again, the last time the Oscars interested me was when Peter Jackson swept every category Return of the King was in, and at that I nearly missed his Ascension to the King Geek Archetype on national TV.  Which would have been a shame; the special effects were fantastic.

I guess that we discuss movies we're planning to see or something.  LW&W, King Kong, Walk the Line if I can get off of my butt long enough to go see it; how about the rest of you?

Shiny.

Got up early to see Serenity. 
Went wrong way on highway.
Eventually turned around.
Nearly got killed by rampaging driver.
Nearly got stuck in speed trap.
Got Movie listings wrong.  Read Saturday's for Sunday's.  Movie not on for hours.
Went to go find other theater.
Went one way on road.
Went the other way.
Eventually ended up at my house.  Took hint.
Along the way, chose to fill up on expensive gas rather than run out.
Went back to first theater a couple of hours later.
Spent extremely high amount of money on ticket.
More on lunch.
Much more.
Halfway through, film cuts out, computer shows ads instead.
As I am the only person with hearing at that viewing, had to find person to complain and explain to deaf people that a complaint was made.
Now have to cram work from office into couple of hours instead of all day, or stay up later.

Worth it.

Movies to Game By.

Heh.  That title makes, like, no sense at all.  Hey, it's almost midnight on a weeknight, so work with me.

SNAKES ON A PLANE II: THE MEME CONTINUES!

Well, not really a meme, given that this guy was hyped about the project long before I was.  But it's interesting*, I got sucked into Civ III again, I still need to do some In Nomine work before I hit the sack... so read him in lieu of me.

SNAKES ON A PLANE!

Fair warning: there will be ranting, below.  And profanity.  And some more ranting.  And maybe a Russ Meyer reference.

Please raise your tray tables up and put your seats in the full, upright position; on the other hand, smoke 'em if you got 'em.

Take it away, Shaenon...

Finally watched Kung-Fu Hustle, and I cannot really compete with this comment:

"Kung-Fu Hustle," like "Sin City," is one of those movies that made me wonder why other movies are always forcing me to look at boring things, when they could be showing me machine-gun-toting hooker armies or middle-aged landladies using the Lion's Roar Attack against the World's Greatest Killer.
- Shaenon, commenter

...except to note that if anyone has ever wondered what kind of universe I live in, well, it's that one.  Only with more ninja and giant death robots.

The Fantastic Four Movie.

Eric Burns has done a bit of a review on it; for my part, it's so clearly going to be a DVD special for me.  Don't get me wrong; I'm doing the Happy Moe Dance that we're finally getting at least some superhero movies that don't, well, suck, and I understand that F4 is one of them.

But, I mean.  Come on.  The Incredibles.  The Incredibles. I could feel that movie consume any urge that I had to see F4 in theaters; there's no way that the latter could beat out the former.  Hell, the only way that The Incredibles could've been better is if it had Samuel Mother[bleep]ing Jackson in it... wait a second.  It did have Samuel Mother[bleep]ing Jackson in it.  And he was Teh Bomb.

Just saying, that's all.