10 Cloverfield Lane (surprise Cloverfield sequel apparently)

[drizzle]

Finallly got around to it. I enjoyed it but a. it unfolded exactly how I expected it to, down to minute details, b. the association with Cloverfield hurts it more than it helps.

spoilers I guess, although who cares at this point

Tying it to that name inevitably sets the focus and expectations on the end of the last act, so you're sitting there waiting to get through all the bunker stuff just to see what's outside. But that really doesn't do the movie justice, the whole point is the dynamics of what happens underground. All the bunker stuff is staged really well, ME Winstead and Goodman both kill their roles. It unfolds like how you would expect it to, which is a tiny bit disappointing in itself, but the execution of it is very strong. I imagine the version of the movie that existed prior to JJ Adam's attachment was a lot more ambiguous about the outside threat and much less happening after the girl gets out.

At the same time I can see why Abrams is so attracted to this as a 'spiritual sequel' or whatever. It's the same exact concept of regular lives being interrupted by an extinction level event, and it works better here than it did in Cloverfield itself. There's no burden of mythology or trying to have a found footage movie that works on both a personal level and as a giant monster movie (neither element felt very satisfying in Cloverfield). This one strips away all the extra shit to just 3 people trying to figure shit out while something huge and unfathomable looms out of sight, and it's effective.

[Employee]

Weird/kind-of-stupid genre-bender that actually works. John Goodman scared the fuck out of me. Jim from "The Newsroom" is actually likable in his role. Really enjoyed the last twenty-minutes or so.

Totally unnecessary as a movie though.

[Spartan]

Good film, but that's about it.

I was dead right about The Divide comparison. The escape sequence was a blatant copy.

[Philaflava]

solid flick until the end. the last 20 mins i could have done without all together and would have been satisfied. as expect goodman nailed it.