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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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Blindness teaser

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A just-posted teaser trailer for Fernando Meirelles' Blindness (Miramax, 9.19), which may screen next month at Cannes (according to one trade magazine report), appeared a few minutes ago.

Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo

Based on the Jose Saramago novel with a screenplay by Don McKellar, the futuristic drama costars Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Alice Braga, Danny Glover and Gael GarcÃa Bernal. Meirelles is of course known for having directed City of God and The Constant Gardener.

"When a sudden plague of blindness devastates a city, a small group of the afflicted band together to triumphantly overcome the horrific conditions of their imposed quarantine," the company synopsis reads.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on April 4, 2008 at 3:37 PM

comment #1

lipranzer says ...

Saw the teaser before LEATHERHEADS today. Very intriguing. Didn't recognize Moore at first. Sandra Oh is also in it.

Posted by lipranzer at April 4, 2008 4:04 PM

comment #2

Jeffrey Kunze says ...

Horribly clique narration. I feel like I've already seen this movie 20 times. Enough with these end-of-the-world thrillers.

Sandra Oh was laughable. "May God help us all"

Indeed.

Posted by Jeffrey Kunze at April 4, 2008 4:26 PM

comment #3

bmcintire says ...

I'm actually a fan of these, the more cynical and downbeat, the better. Though I will agree with the Sandra Oh sentiment.
However - "clique"? I don't think I've ever heard that word used that way. Not sure what you mean.

Posted by bmcintire at April 4, 2008 4:32 PM

comment #4

Mr. Gittes says ...

The Constant Gardener is sooooooooo bad.

Meirelles is sooooooooo good.

Posted by Mr. Gittes at April 4, 2008 4:35 PM

comment #5

MilkMan says ...

Don Mckellar rocks. Loved Last Night.

I'd like it if they made a movie about everyone losing their voice so I don't have to listen to everyone in my office clearing their throats anymore. Every old man I know clears his throat. Am I going to do this too? No way. I'll be dead before I'm 40, so take them, Phlegm-fuckers!

Posted by MilkMan at April 4, 2008 5:03 PM

comment #6

bmcintire says ...

ClichÃ©d maybe? The premise might feel a little shopworn by now (CHILDREN OF MEN, countless Zombie-infection movies), but the trailer is actually free of any outright "narration."

Loved THE CONSTANT GARDENER. Appreciated but could not actually embrace CITY OF GOD.

Posted by bmcintire at April 4, 2008 5:11 PM

comment #7

actionman says ...

The Constant Gardener and City of God are both masterpieces.

This looks excellent.

Posted by actionman at April 4, 2008 5:18 PM

comment #8

JohnCope says ...

Why are they masterpieces?

Posted by JohnCope at April 4, 2008 6:39 PM

comment #9

actionman says ...

Because I wouldn't change anything about them. Because for me, they were perfect. Because they never once felt compromised.

Posted by actionman at April 4, 2008 7:15 PM

comment #10

JohnCope says ...

Well, I guess there's no arguing that.

Posted by JohnCope at April 4, 2008 7:32 PM

comment #11

source188 says ...

The cinematography immediately stands-out, haven't read the novel but I've been intrigued with this film since first announced, this is by-far the most interesting concept in all the end-of-the-world onslaught we've had lately.

Posted by source188 at April 4, 2008 8:42 PM

comment #12

MilkMan says ...

Some people have very low expectations.
BTW: There was another person who directed City of God. That's forgotten. The movie was Co-directed.

Posted by MilkMan at April 4, 2008 9:05 PM

comment #13

K. Bowen says ...

Saw the trailer with Leatherheads tonight. Looks interesting, at the least.

Posted by K. Bowen at April 4, 2008 11:20 PM

comment #14

diesel says ...

i hated hated hated the novel and stopped reading the minute saramago decided that all women in the novel found it okay to sell their sexual services for food. not sure if the julianne moore was one of these.

she, however, was a truly frustrating character. she is the only one who can see and yet she does nothing against these bullies that control the food supplies.

a truly irritating effort from saramago.

besides, did anyone really enjoy 'the constant gardener'?

Posted by diesel at April 4, 2008 11:53 PM

comment #15

diesel says ...

oh sorry, didn't see that actionman found 'the gardener' to be a masterpiece.

and we can add johncope to that.

guess i'm in the minority.

Posted by diesel at April 4, 2008 11:55 PM

comment #16

Dzayson says ...

Meirelles is one of the very best in the biz today, right up there with Joel and Ethan, PTA, Alexander Payne, and Wes. I'd pay to see anything he directs just on principal.

And what I like about this one is that while it strays towards the end of days thrilller genre, it seems much closer to the sublime Children of Men than your average zombie shite.

Posted by Dzayson at April 5, 2008 12:29 AM

comment #17

JohnCope says ...

No, diesel, I absolutely did not like The Constant Gardener. Sorry if my earlier posts were unclear.

Posted by JohnCope at April 5, 2008 2:02 AM

comment #18

Rich S. says ...

No spoilers, please. But I'm curious. After everyone goes blind, do giant, mobile carnivorous plants show up? Or am I thinking of a different movie?

Posted by Rich S. at April 5, 2008 4:45 AM

comment #19

Ben C says ...

"BTW: There was another person who directed City of God. That's forgotten. The movie was Co-directed."

It's true they shared credit, but directed is a bit of a tenuous term.

Working mostly with non-actors, Katia Lund was the liason, the wrangler between them and the filmmaking team. More of a social-worker/acting coach/producer than anything else, but there's not really a term for that, is there?

Posted by Ben C at April 5, 2008 7:00 AM

comment #20

Josh Massey says ...

For a movie so close in tone to Children of Men, the presence of Julianne Moore doesn't help. The self-important dialogue certainly doesn't either.

Posted by Josh Massey at April 5, 2008 8:03 AM

comment #21

Mr. Gittes says ...

Max Brooks' World War Z needs to be made into a movie...Paul Greengrass anyone?

Posted by Mr. Gittes at April 5, 2008 11:26 AM

comment #22

bb says ...

Intriguing concept. Not sure about the execution.

Posted by bb at April 5, 2008 11:47 AM

comment #23

Aladdin Sane says ...

Yeah, cos a minute and a half trailer can sure tell us all we need to know about execution.
I'm with actionman when it comes to Meirelles. I love Constant Gardener - it was my fave film from '05, and City of God is beautiful too. He has my money no questions asked.

Posted by Aladdin Sane at April 6, 2008 2:32 PM