Not Phil Collins…

Singing A Song In A Subway – For more funny videos, click here

Phil Collins

Phil, you’re still the man. I remember listening to this song on tape when I was a kid. Phil did a great job on Miami Vice as the drug lord Phil “The Shil” Mayhew. What a great show. Too bad the movie sucked.

Jason

Was it worth the hype? This viral marketing campaign success story lived up to it’s potential. But it’s not all good, and for the obvious reasons.

To start with, Cloverfield lived up to the marketing hype. It’s a handycam-shot, low-budget ($25 million), monster movie. This movie wasn’t a secret Transformers movie, it wasn’t The Blair Witch Project and it wasn’t Godzilla. Liberally it was a combination of the three, with a dose of 9/11 thrown in.

I’m going to avoid spoilers. I don’t want to ruin it for anyone and you can find enough spoilers on the Internet.

Acting
None of the actors are known or famous. This is probably what keeps the budget affordable. For the most part the acting is solid, though I have to ask, if you’re going to be running for your life just why in God’s name are you hauling a handycam around?

Sound
Exceptional. Top-knotch. Don’t look for a music score, this movie is pretty much music free. The sound work is very immersive, believable, and my hat’s off to the women who screamed like they were being torn to shreds. Your acting classes were worth it!

Cinematography
I loved the cinematography in Saving Private Ryan and Collateral. Both were hyperrealistic, visceral, immersive and well done. I can almost say the same thing for this movie. The handycam really made the movie immersive and the glimpses you get of the monster were really well shot.

Having said that, I haven’t had a movie make me one to throw up before. Maybe it’s a combination of the sinus cold I’ve been fighting and my inner ear is messed up. I spent 80 minutes of my life trying not to hurl up bits of Twizzler. To be honest I will probably go see this movie again so I can enjoy it more.

Overall I give this movie a good 3 out of 5. The acting is OK for the most part, nothing really stellar. The sound was great but I think the handycam footage got stale. It would have been interesting to use a combination of steady-cam footage with the handycam sequences liberally mixed in.

Go see the movie, bring the wife or girlfriend (or boyfriend.) This is a monster movie cum horror movie that’s well-told and worth the wait.

Jason

Before you ask; yes I went to see this today. I had brunch with friends and then went to see the movie. Get over it, there were a LOT of people at the theater.

First, I love the Aliens movies. The ones based on the works of H.R. Giger. Creepy I know, I just can’t help it! The first Aliens Vs Predator movie wasn’t bad. It was okay. I’d go with six of ten stars. Not the greatest but I’ve suffered through worse, like Alien Resurrection.

AvP-R picks up immediately after the original. The dead/dying Predator host is laying on the slab. The ship leaves Earth. The chest burster explodes in a gooey, yellow mess. Predators freak out and start dying and the ship crashes back to Earth. To be honest, I’d hope anyone who can easily fly between the planets knows not to shoot at the outer hull of their ship, but hey, if you’re going to get eaten by a Predalien (predator, alien combo) why not?

The ship crashes back to our beautiful planet near a small Colorado town. Much mayhem and carnage ensues. The Predator home planet sends forth someone to clean up this mess. God forbid humans learn about the Aliens or Predators.

I’m going to go with an 7 of 10 on this one. There are no big time actors; to be honest I recognized ONE guy and he’s in the movie for about 2 minutes total.

The effects are good, the Aliens less slobbery then in Resurrection, and they squeal like they did in Aliens. There’s much gunfire and a few explosions and it’s sadly almost fun to watch the alien infestation maul a platoon of National Guardsmen.

To me, the best part was the Predator. Apparently the home world decided to send the bad ass of all bad asses to pick up the pieces. Let’s just say that he puts to shame the rookie predators in AvP.

Overall, the movie ends well, and it progresses the story along. There’s an even better blending of the Predator and Alien races together into the overarching Aliens theme. You even get to meet Yutani of “Weyland-Yutani.”

Leave your ladies at home. It’s about as graphic as Aliens and I don’t know many women who like Sci-Fi. I may be looking in the wrong circles.

Jason