The R wrote:mistyladybug wrote:And yeah, if anyone's one complaint about the film is the shaky cam, then they can just shove it. I loved the fact that it was something new, and I totally agree that it added to the atmosphere.
I beg to differ. Liked the concept, the monster, the CGI was good, a lot was good for me but of course they just had to make it completely unwatchable from the camera work. My other complaint was the annoying guy who took over the camera. Also, Blair witch; not that new.
It wasn't just the shakyness, it was as if they had filmed the entire thing with the zoom at mid-to maximum so you get this annoying depth-of field look (anyone who has owned a handycam can know what I mean by this).
I don't care if it makes it look more "intense" because all that work and story goes down the toilet if you can barley see anything and be nauseated in the process. I am sick to death by movies that substitute action for how fast the camera flails around. Even in the non-action parts it's all over the place.
This movie could have been done so much better even with a handycam. For example the average episode of cops is done with a camera on the run and it doesn't shake as bad. Went with friends who were looking forwards to this and they felt the same way. Also everyone in the theater was like "wtf" at the end.
TD;LR summary: So much potential and finally a decent non-cliche monster movie but makes it unwatchable.
I am
severely disappointed.
Well you, sir, are an idiot. Pun intended.
I honestly can't see how someone can watch that movie and hate the camerawork unless they
want to hate the camerawork. It entirely adds to the atmosphere of the film, and makes it all the more intense because you're in the guy's shoes; it's like saying Half-Life was shit because it was entirely first person.
And no, Blair Witch "did it first", but Blair Witch was utter shit. It didn't have at all the same kind of atmosphere, thus making it so much, much worse. Cloverfield might not be "new", but it's the only approach of said camerawork that has been SUCCESFULL, and I'd say that's something new.
The R wrote:It wasn't just the shakyness, it was as if they had filmed the entire thing with the zoom at mid-to maximum so you get this annoying depth-of field look (anyone who has owned a handycam can know what I mean by this).
I don't care if it makes it look more "intense" because all that work and story goes down the toilet if you can barley see anything and be nauseated in the process. I am sick to death by movies that substitute action for how fast the camera flails around. Even in the non-action parts it's all over the place.
What non-action parts? The most there is are zooms every once in awhile, and the autofocus was obviously on considering it's a home camera. Anyone who's watched a home video knows that this guy is doing EXACTLY what you would be doing (or, if you're experienced in film-making, exactly what an unexperienced person would be doing).
Yeah, Cops does do it without too much shake, but they ahve a
professional doing it. Hutt (or Hud, however it's spelled) has absolutely no experience, as it evident, and it completely adds to the atmosphere, and makes it all the more intense.
Relating this to movies such as the Bourne Supremacy (which I love, but the camera during action was a bit... much) is going too far. Obviously yes, Cloverfield was more shaky than possibly any movie ever (except Domino?), but the shakiness was clearly not an excuse to do away with any action. Once again, the point of this movie was NOT the action, but the atmosphere, and about the way these normal people dealt with the disaster. Also, there WAS quite a bit of action without too much shake; the axe into the alien in the stairway*, the carpetbombing of the monster**, etc.
The directing was simply magnificent, and I lol'd when I saw the shot of the pillar JUST blocking Rob's face at one point (from....I don't remember the movie, a shot of a woman in a bedroom talking on the phone, the doorway just blocking her face) and people leaning to the right and try to glimpse his face. Once again, showing how the camerawork just added to the awesomeness that is Cloverfield.
*This is a spoiler.
**This too