Cloverfield, dir. Matt Reeves (2008)

NIKKI says:
The Hype Machine murdered this one for me before I'd even finished watching the trailer. All the Blair Witch-wannabe Internet publicity, the handheld camera, the hiring of relative unknowns in leading parts. Is it a monster? Godzilla? A big, giant octopus? What is ravaging New York in this movie without a name from the oh-so-cool J.J. Abrams?

Whatever!

Sitting down to watch the thing tonight, long after the publicity began, I felt similarly. Alright movie -- just try and impress me. But keep in mind, I've had a long day at work, I hate CGI, and I care very little for party-going New Yorkers.

If the movie could have said "Fuck you", I'm sure it would have. Instead, it just sat there, did its thing, and was absolutely, ridiculously brilliant. "Fuck you" enough, I suppose.

What a great movie! Who thought of this? Party-going kids -- who, thankfully, didn't repulse me every time they opened their mouths -- are saying goodbye to their friend, Rob. He's in love with Beth, who he hasn't called in weeks because he's afraid of leaving her. But he has to go. So she comes to his party with another guy, he gets pissed, yells at her, she leaves. This is all recorded by their friend, Hud, who is in charge of documenting Rob's send-off.

So, Rob's brother tells him life is about moments. And if he wants Beth, he has to go fight for her. And about two minutes after that, the head of the Statue of Liberty comes to rest outside their apartment. Moments, indeed.

And it just doesn't stop after that. The kids run, they lose each other, the big thing swaps its tail about, and Hud films the whole thing. They go in the tunnels and things attack them. And they have to get to Beth, and a bridge collapses. Then someone gets bitten and, oh my god!

This goes straight up into my Top 5 for the year, and well into my list of Favourite Movie-Watching Experiences. Alongside, of course, Blair Witch. The only thing I didn't like was that everyone else in the group had families, but none of them mentioned their loved ones, or were contacted, or wanted to run to their homes and friends and whatever. It was all about saving Beth. So, that bugged me. Even mention of the others' families would have been good. Still ...

You win, movie!

4.5/5

Bee Movie

Directors: Steve Hickner, Simon J. Smith
Writers: Jerry Seinfeld, Spike Feresten, Barry Marder, Andy Robin
Released: 2007
Cast: Jerry Seinfeld, Renee Zellwegger, Matthew Broderick, Patrick Warburton, John Goodman, Chris Rock, Kathy Bates, Barry Levinson

NIKKI says: I'll admit, I wasn't expecting much from Jerry Seinfeld playing a bee in yet another animated movie about a little guy making good. Am I the only one sick to death of Pixar/Disney/Dreamworks/whoever taking one premise and just remaking it with different bugs? It goes like this:

Little bug tries to get by in his community. Sees something he doesn't like, usually this has to do with his desire for freedom, or world exploration. He battles the authorities, which can be parents, bosses, children, other bugs. He has a difference to make, dammit. And then he makes it and becomes a hero and Randy Newman sings a song about him.

Over it. Bee Movie follows pretty much that exact premise. But, this time around, I lost the battle against the Dreamworks Demon of Cuteness, and fell in love with Barry and his story. I think much of it falling had to do with the film's humour, which is very smart. And with the film's overall lack of condescension and sap. They actually tranquilise Winnie the Pooh at one point! And a guy pulls a box-cutter on Barry! They didn't do that in Finding Nemo, I bet.

Perhaps it was Seinfeld's humour that boosted this one for me? He's comedian with obvious ability to look at minutiae of human behaviour. Sticking his voice inside the mouth of an animated bee with a lot to say on that exact subject really kinda works.

This will be one of the few new animated films I'll watch over and over. The only other one I can think of is Toy Story, and maybe Ants. They're really running out of bugs.

4.5/5