Jan 25 2008
Dinner and a Movie: Cloverfield and Arby’s
I’m almost a week late with this post. Last weekend I went and saw Cloverfield, the new movie by J. J. Abrams (the creator of Lost, the most addictive TV show ever).
There was a lot of hype about this movie. I was waiting for its release ever since I saw the teaser trailer when I went to see Transformers. Since then there were trailers, TV ads, and websites advertising the movie. The problem with hype is that movies frequently don’t live up to it.
The movie was filmed in the same style as the Blair Witch Project. For those unfamiliar with that movie, the whole film looks (on purpose) like it was taped by a guy carrying a camcorder, so you get the camera bouncing around a lot and sometimes it takes a second for the camera to focus when its pointed as something far away. I am not entirely against this style of filming. It does draw you into the movie since it gives you a first person view. The downside is that its very jerky and constantly moving around so you don’t get a good look at whats going on. On top of that, the character they have carrying the camera, Hud, is an idiot. I instantly did not like him. The main character, Rod (played by Michael Stahl-Daved), needs a new best friend. During the party at the beginning of the movie Hud is attracted to Marlena, but does not get the clue that she is not interested in him. Then he finds out about Rob having sex with his girlfriend and tells everyone about it.
For most of the movie is about Rob, Hud, Marlena, and Lily running around New York city trying to escape the monster and rescue Beth.
Honestly, I was disappointed with the movie. There was virtually no character growth. Only Rob was anywhere close to three dimensional. Hud was annoying. The camera was jerky at all the wrong moments. And I hated the ending. I won’t say why because that would ruin it for you. My rating for this movie is a C-, or on the banana scale 2 and a half bananas.
Cloverfield wasn’t the only thing that opened recently. They opened up an Arby’s near my regular job. We’re so happy now. They have really good sandwiches. I love their Chicken Bacon Swiss. Also, corporate owned Arby’s, not franchises, are installing larger soda machines which now include Sobe, the greatest drink there is.
After some more research, here is what movies to look out for.
January 25th: Meet the Spartans. A comedy lampooning everything from the 300 to You got Served to Deal or No Deal.
Jumper comes out on February 15th, 2008. It is based on a novel by Steven Gould. Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Hayden Christensen and Rachel Bilson.
Return to the prehistoric era on March 8th, 2008 with Camilla Belle and Steven Strait in 10,000 BC.
May 1st, 2008: X-men Origins: Wolverine starring Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in a prequel to the X-men movies.
May 2, 2008: Iron Man starring Robert Downey, jr as Tony Stark in another Marvel Comic series turning into a big screen blockbuster/disappointment.
The Chronicles of Narnai: Prince Caspian will be released on May 16th, 2008. Starring William Moseley and Ben Barnes.
May 22nd, 2008 will give us the long awaited Indiana Jones movie. Finally the eternal question will be answered, can Harrison Ford pull it off?
On Friday, June 13th M. Night Shyamalan’s new film The Happening will be released.
June 25, 2008: Is the estimated release date for the as yet unnamed X-Files movie.
July 11th, 2008 is the release date for Hellboy 2: The Golden Army.
July 18th, 2008 is the slated release date for The Dark Knight staring Christian Bale and Heath Ledger, may he rest in peace.
Sometime in July, 2008 Alice will be released, based on American McGee’s macabre video game. Possibly starring Sarah Michelle Gellar.
August 1st, 2008 it’s not over, but that goodness Brendon Frasier is here to save us from the mummy again in the Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.
Dragonball returns to torture the wold on August 15th. This will be the live action version of a painful anime. You have been warned.
Criminals beware, on September 12th Frank Castle is back in Punisher: War Zone.
November 7th, 2008 Daniel Craig returns as James Bond in Bond 22.
On November 21st, 2008 Harry Potter returns to the big screen in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.
