1-18-08 Project Cloverfield - Warning! Spoilers: Rotten Tomatoes Posts Cloverfield Reviews

Rotten Tomatoes Posts Cloverfield Reviews

1/16/08 | Labels: 1-18-08, cloverfield, cloverfield clues, cloverfield monster, cloverfield movie, cloverfield screenings, cloverfield spoilers | |

Now that the official screenings of Cloverfield have taken place we will start to see what the critics think of the movie. The best site that gathers all the reviews and lumps them together is Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic.

The first series of reviews are being posted on Tomatoes today and as it stands there are 11 turned in. 6 are good, 6 are negative giving it a 50% rating for now. The review count should be well over 100 reviews by the end of the week so keep checking back to see what they think. Metacritic only has 2 in but it should be full in the next day.

Even though only a few reviews are in right now I have noticed that the website based critics liked the film more than the traditional print critics. Sites like IGN and Dark Horizons helped propagate the viral campaign so I'm curious as to how other similar sites review the film when compared to someone like Robert Ebert

There's a few more "top critic" reviews out there not yet on Tomatoes and one thing I've noticed in them is that the main stream critics seem to be split on the movie. The ones that do not like it continue to point out the hand-held style of cinematography and label it as a Blair Witch/Godzilla remake. The ones that like it enjoy the fresh look of the style. I've taken some samples below of the reviews posted so far as well as a few that haven't popped up on Tomatoes yet.

Cloverfield Reviews

Dark Horizons Cloverfield Review (read)

Coming in under a heavy weight of expectation, there'll be some notable deflation when people discover that all the filmmakers have done is simply taken a "Blair Witch Project" style approach to what is essentially a New York-set "Godzilla" movie - nothing more or less.

Variety Cloverfield Review (read)

Despite its indie-flavored shooting style, first-rate visual effects, reasonable intensity factor, nihilistic attitude and post-9/11 anxiety overlay, this punchy sci-fier is, in the end, not much different from all the marauding creature features that have come before it.

New York Press Cloverfield Review (read)

Too bad the movie is a less-than-satisfying experiment with contrived fake documentary aesthetics.

Cinema Blend Cloverfield Review (read)

Cloverfield is exactly what you’d expect it to be if you’ve been paying attention and the opposite of everything you probably think it should be if you haven’t. Let’s get this out of the way right now. It’s not a monster movie, and it’s not trying to be.

Hollywood Reporter Cloverfield Review (read)

The people they're playing aren't particularly interesting or developed, but who has time to exhibit intriguing character traits when you're trying to outrun a monster? Besides, there's something refreshing about a monster movie that isn't filled with the usual suspects, like The Hero, The Rebel and The Cynic.

IGN Cloverfield Review (read)

Cloverfield is an intelligent take on the genre. But the question must be asked - how clever do we want this genre to be? At times, Cloverfield almost feels a little bit too clever for its own good. All the devices that are used to draw the audience into the action, though pretty effective, are obvious. In fact, some of these devices are so apparent that they could prevent more discerning viewers from being totally absorbed into what is still a rollickingly fun destruction-fest.

Epinions Cloverfield Review (read)

The film has a story to tell, and it tells it in a fashion that never flags from the beginning until the end credits roll.

Fear.net Cloverfield Review (read)

And I'm very happy to report that not only is Cloverfield a very good monster movie, but it represents a very welcome advance for the aged sub-genre. Between this flick and the Korean import The Host, one can't help but enjoy the mega-monster resurgence we're being treated to. Enjoy it now ... before all the chintzy copycats show up

Stuff.co.nz Cloverfield Review (read)

Don’t believe the hype. Forget about the endless internet campaign, and flag away the confusing puzzles, photographs, videos and bizarre advertising for a milkshake called Slusho. None of it means a thing once you've seen Cloverfield.

MSNBC Cloverfield Review (read)

Japan may still have it on us when it comes to electronics and fuel-efficient cars, but it looks like the United States is finally, more than 50 years after “Gojira,” catching up in the monster-movie department.

Underground Online Cloverfield Review (read)

The hipper-than-thou house style of executive producer J.J. Abrams is evident all throughout Cloverfield, and this is not a good thing. Talk about your high concepts and imagine the pitch meeting: "It's a first person episode of Felicity interrupted by a humongous, pissed-off crustacean!"

Gothamist Cloverfield Review (read)

It’s no accident that Cloverfield, which opens Friday, is not seen through the eyes of social workers and busboys. Our heroes here are the self-absorbed young Turks buying the condos, crowding the Meatpacking district and pricing the rest of us out of town – and as depicted in Cloverfield they can be just a little annoying at times. (Especially the cameraman.)

LAist Cloverfield Review (read)

Unlike most movies that arrive loaded with hype, though (Snakes on a Plane anyone?), Cloverfield completely delivers. It is the most visceral, thrilling movie I've seen in years. Not since Trinity's opening bullet-time fight in the The Matrix have I heard an audience spontaneously burst into applause in the middle of a movie.

2 comments:

Anonymous says: January 16, 2008 5:41 PM
I just saw an early screening...the whole thing is a continuation of the Burger King commercial where they don't serve the whopper. Rosie O'donnel comes through the drive thru and then gets mad and starts ripping the city apart. Overall very believable.
Anonymous says: January 16, 2008 7:13 PM
Rob is leaving for Japan, right? On his last night in NYC his suprise going away bash is video taped for his personal enjoyment. Here's the skinny: The party ends before all the Godzilla-like creature attacks on the city begin.

Cloverfield, or Clover Field, was the original name of the Santa Monica Municipal Airport, 6 statute miles from LAX. Just because I used to work at an airport doesn't make me an expert on the fact that Rob would have to board a flight somewhere near LA in order to make it to Japan.

I don't know how it's all gonna go down; I'm no pyschic. Knowing some of Abrams work, especially with Lost, you can expect something totally nuts. I'm saying Rob is on his flight to Clover Field, Santa Monica Municipal Airport, for his link with the flight to Japan, when the movie ends with him waking up on the plane to the movie Godzilla. Or, who knows... maybe a plane crash.

What is Cloverfield?

Welcome to 1-18-08 Project Cloverfield Blog.

Cloverfield is the J.J. Abrams (Lost, Alias) produced monster flick directed by Matt Reeves. Get caught up on all the Cloverfield news including the viral world of Tagruato, TIDOwave, and Slusho!? And now Aladygma?

However, I love viral campaigns. Cloverfield taught me the fun of being involved with the viral world of movies and TV. That's why I'd like to branch out this site to cover some of the major viral campaigns as they are developing. Feel free to drop me a line or tip on any you find interesting.

Welcome to Cloverfield

Very few facts emerged from the viral campaign that was Cloverfield. It all started after a short, teaser trailer for Cloverfield appeared with the Transformers movie in early July of 2007. Since then, speculation surrounded what the title of the movie would be (Monstrous, Overnight, etc...) and what the monster really is and why it is tearing up New York City.

A few pictures and covert videos from the film showed up online and there were only a few core facts we knew of including the poster, the teaser trailer, and a few websites at 1-18-08, Tagruato Corp, and Slusho .

In November, the official full-length Cloverfield trailer was released that helped open up the story as well as cement the "Cloverfield" name for the movie. A short glimpse of the Cloverfield Monster was seen but for most people they still had little or no clue as to what it was.

The movie centered around five young New Yorkers throwing their friend a going-away party the night that a monster the size of a skyscraper descends upon the city. Told from the point of view of their video camera, the film is a document of their attempt to survive the most surreal, horrifying event of their lives. Cloverfield opened the weekend of 1-18-08 and set box office records for a movie in January with a monster take of over $40M. Continue to check back here for updates on the mystery and viral campaigns of Cloverfield.

Get Started with the Cloverfield Viral Marketing

If you're new to the Cloverfield viral world than let's get started. First off, for the beginners let's look at what we're talking about.

What does viral marketing mean? Click here.

1-18-08.com Updates with pictures randomly. Each picture is layered onto of the previous update and all can be dragged and moved around the screen. Click and hold the mouse to 'grab' an image and move it around. While holding the image, shake it back and forth quickly and it will flip over. Some images have writing on the back.

Slusho This is the Japanese frozen drink made from a secret ingredient gathered from the bottom of the ocean. Slusho gives you a kick and makes you extremely happy. Prior to 1-18-08 Slusho was not sold in the US. However, recent FDA approval gave Slusho clearance to come to the states. Rob Hawkins, the lead character, was recently promoted to vice-president of Slusho and was on his way to Japan the night of the attack. Slusho is owned by the Tagruato Corp. of Japan. Slusho also first made an appearance on J.J. Abrams Alias during a scene where characters buy the drink at a store.

Tagruato This ficticious Japanese company is the parent company of Slusho as well as the Yoshida Medical Research, Bold Futura, and ParafFUN! Wax Distributors. Besides drilling the oceans for Slusho ingredients, Tagruato builds everything from space satellites to medical gear.

T.I.D.O wave An activist group set out to bring to light all the damage Tagruato has done to the envirnoment.

Jamie and Teddy A minor character from the movie, Jamie popped up on a 1-18-08.com picture and the MySpace profiles for the movies characters before getting famous for her "Jamie and Teddy" website. The site is comprised of video journals from Jamie. The site is password protected but can be accessed by the password "jllovesth"