edited by Jonathan Doyle

Cloverfield [BLU-RAY] (Paramount Home Entertainment, 6.3.2008) Disguised under deliberately goofy, yet deliciously edible-sounding, aliases such as Cheese and Slusho, Matt Reeves' Cloverfield was produced and rushed into theaters under an equally appetizing shroud of secrecy. From last year's incredibly elusive Super Bowl ad to the film's viral marketing campaign, Cloverfield had everybody scratching their heads and drooling in anticipation. Aside from the as-yet untitled title and the Blair Witch-ian visual style, the film's biggest appeal was the enigmatic creature who was last (un)seen hurling the decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty onto the crowded streets of New York City. All we knew about the mysterious beast was that it was big and angry. Now that the highy-anticipated project has come and gone, one question has fortunately been answered: Cloverfield was a major success. (continued)

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When I mentioned yesterday that the winner of the 2007 Best Picture Oscar will most likely be one of those Iraq War/Afghanistan movies (Charlie Wilson's War, Lions for Lambs, In The Valley of Elah), I didn't mention three others set in that troubled area. My reasons for excluding them are mostly sound. Peter Berg's The Kingdom is sounding more like an out-and-out thriller. Marc Forster's The Kite Runner may be a bit too smallish and exotic to be considered an early Oscar favorite. And Brian DePalma's Redacted looks...wow, interesting as hell. But the day-and-date release scheme places it in a exposure category that handicappers tend to dismiss.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on June 22, 2007 at 4:11 PM

comment #1

Mgmax says ...

"Brian DePalma's Redacted looks...wow, interesting as hell."

So it's clearly disqualified?

Posted by Mgmax at June 22, 2007 4:48 PM

comment #2

T. S. Idiot says ...

One day DePalma will prove Pauline Kael right and make a truly good film.

Posted by T. S. Idiot at June 22, 2007 6:19 PM

comment #3

jeffmcm says ...

(slow burn)

DePalma is probably the most underrated filmmaker working today. He made good movies like Sisters and Carrie thirty years ago and he's still making good movies today.

Posted by jeffmcm at June 22, 2007 6:26 PM

comment #4

T. S. Idiot says ...

Just peaked by Brian's credits again, and what he did from Greetings in 1968 to Casualties of War in 1989 is fairly impressive. Only Wise Guys jumps out as a total dog. Since then, alas . . . .

Posted by T. S. Idiot at June 22, 2007 6:33 PM

comment #5

jeffmcm says ...

Since then he made the highly entertaining and fascinating Raising Cain and Femme Fatale (the latter one of his all-time best films), Carlito's Way, which is regularly placed on lists of the best movies of the 1990s, the best of Tom Cruise's M:I movies, and three intriguing if not entirely successful other movies (Snake Eyes, Mission to Mars, Black Dahlia).

Posted by jeffmcm at June 22, 2007 6:51 PM

comment #6

JD says ...

De Palma is odd in that nobody can agree on which of his films are good and which ones are trash. For exmaple, I've always considered myself a big De Palma fan, but I thought Femme Fatale and The Black Dahlia were terrible. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I thought Mission to Mars, Snake Eyes, and even Wise Guys were pretty good (with some giant caveats). Either way, I think he's too weird and unwieldy to make an Oscar contender. His movies are incredibly self-indulgent -- that's what I like about them -- and that's a big stumbling block with the Academy.

Posted by JD at June 22, 2007 7:07 PM

comment #7

Jeff says ...

RENDITION?

Posted by Jeff at June 22, 2007 7:35 PM

comment #8

bmcintire says ...

Amen, J.D. De Palma is as wildly hit or miss a director as I can think of. For me, his crowning achievements have been his crime films - especially THE UNTOUCHABLES (followed closely by CARLITO'S WAY and SCARFACE). It's almost incomprehensible that the same guy did BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES, MISSION TO MARS or WISE GUYS. And his Hitchcockian stuff leaves me much colder than my memories warrant.

Posted by bmcintire at June 22, 2007 9:26 PM

comment #9

Rod32303 says ...

Check out "Dressed To Kill," and "Blow Out" again - masterpieces both, and some of the best acting Michael Caine and John Travolta have ever given. It is THE best thing I've ever seen Angie Dickinson do - almost a silent film performance is hers.

I love DePalma, trash and all.

Posted by Rod32303 at June 22, 2007 10:20 PM

comment #10

Patrick says ...

"Dresses to Kill" and "Blow Out" are MASTERPIECES?

Give me a break!

DePalma is only good when he's a director for
hire on a studio film. Outside of that, his films
never seem to come together.

Posted by Patrick at June 22, 2007 10:53 PM

comment #11

Doug Pratt says ...

Brian DePalma is a great, even pantheon level director, but of scenes, not movies

Posted by Doug Pratt at June 23, 2007 5:26 AM

comment #12

jeffmcm says ...

Blow Out is a masterpiece. Dressed to Kill is merely very good.
It all depends on your criteria. To me, DePalma's movies fulfill many of the characteristics of what makes a movie not just good, but also cinematic.

Posted by jeffmcm at June 23, 2007 7:14 AM

comment #13

BurmaShave says ...

Am I the only one here who actually considers SCARFACE an amazing movie?

Posted by BurmaShave at June 23, 2007 7:35 AM

comment #14

MiraJeffAICN says ...

black dahlia was indefensible. no excuses. garbage to the nth degree. depalma's been rsponsible for some greats but how can he be underrated when he's made some of the worst movies of the last ten years, true story

Posted by MiraJeffAICN at June 23, 2007 3:59 PM

comment #15

jeffmcm says ...

Oh, well if it's a true story then why did I ever have a differing opinion?

Read Matt Zoller Seitz's review on his blog if you want to see what some of us who don't react with knee-jerk anger to DePalma's name thought about Black Dahlia.

Posted by jeffmcm at June 23, 2007 8:53 PM

comment #16

jeffmcm says ...

Oh, well if it's a true story then why did I ever have a differing opinion?

Read Matt Zoller Seitz's review on his blog if you want to see what some of us who don't react with knee-jerk anger to DePalma's name thought about Black Dahlia.

Posted by jeffmcm at June 23, 2007 8:54 PM

comment #17