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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Slumdog Millionaire

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A Christmas Tale

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The Betrayal

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Hazy Milk Response

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The Playlist's Rodrigo Perez "just got an interesting tip" from a friend who got an early look at Gus Van Sant's Milk (Focus, 11.26). But I don't know why he'd call it interesting since the guy doesn't say if the biopic was any good or not.

All the tipster said is that (a) it's much more "old school" Van Sant in the vein of the assured and economical days of Good Will Hunting or Drugstore Cowboy, rather than his recent experimental phase (Elephant, Last Days, etc.); (b) the editing was fantastic; (c) the use of old, archival footage rather seamless and adroit and (e) that the film "pops" with vibrant color.

That's it? Earth to tipster: Did you like it? Is it well made? How good is Sean Penn? How did it make you feel? Does it...you know, deliver anything close to the emotional impact of The Times of Harvey Milk? Who are the standouts supporting players? Is it a derby movie?

Milk is about gay super-martyr Harvey Milk (Penn) -- the first openly gay man elected to office (i.e., San Francisco city supervisor) in U.S. history, but who was later killed by a disturbed ex-supervisor named Dan White (Josh Brolin) who also shot SF mayor George Moscone on the same day.

James Franco and Diego Luna costar.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on August 29, 2008 at 10:51 AM

comment #1

Richardson says ...

Is the guy in the beard next to Penn Diego Luna? I was hoping, for a moment, it was Franco.

Posted by Richardson at August 29, 2008 11:35 AM

comment #2

p.Vice says ...

This reaction tells me much more about the movie than that "how does it make you feel" jive. Why do I care what someone else feels? I care how I feel, and I usually feel pretty good in films that are well-edited, old school, and popping with color. I guess this guy's thread count was a bit too high for you, eh Jeff?

Posted by p.Vice at August 29, 2008 11:50 AM

comment #3

BurmaShave says ...

Sort of a minor point, but that still shows me they didn't over do it with the hairstyles. It's marred even some great movies. All you need to do is watch films of the era to see that not everyone was a douchebag with a huge mane . Most recent example, and maybe shallow, but Chris Pine's wig in BOTTLE SHOCK just about ruined the movie for me.

Posted by BurmaShave at August 29, 2008 12:08 PM

comment #4