![\"0A730Fd1-6721-41Bb-B242-8597273F750C.Hmedium\"](\"https:\/\/kk.org\/ct2\/0a730fd1-6721-41bb-b242-8597273f750c.hmedium.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\n\nJust saw Cloverfield. \n<\/p>\n
\nThe premise of the movie (this is not a spoiler) is that it is a found camcorder tape. From beginning to end. \n<\/p>\n
\n(BTW, that means 84 minutes of very shaky, jerky, sideways hand-shaking video. The camera moves drastically the entire time. It can get nauseating and tired. My advice: do not sit up front.) \n<\/p>\n
\nThis movie is not a story. This is an experience. Closer to a Disneyland ride than a film. Lots of the usual story-telling ingredients are missing. Instead you get an immersive plunge into what it would feel like if a monster attacked your neighborhood. I’m sure if this had been done a few years from now, it would have been 3D. The result is a sci-fi encounter filmed as if it really happened. Cloverfield is seamless in that respect. An experience probably worth trying once. \n<\/p>\n
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\nIf I were to repeat it, I know how I’d like it. The ideal way to distribute this film would be to hand someone a camcorder tape and say, “Here, watch this.” The ideal screen to see it on is the tiny preview screen on a video cam corder. Or at the very least watch the whole thing on YouTube. Or maybe your cell phone. JJ Abrams, Cloverfield’s director, said he wanted to come up with a “YouTubification” of the monster movie, assuming the ubiquity of video cameras and cell phones cams. And that’s how it should be watched: on a tiny screen. \n<\/p>\n
\nSome say there is a resurgence of doomsday art. Time magazine has a piece this week (Apocalypse New<\/a>), cataloging newly released apocalyptic works. The New York Times reports today on the DVD appeal<\/a>. This year has seen the simultaneous debut of several end-of-the-world films, books, TV shows, music, comics and video game updates, which gives the appearance of a cultural preoccupation. Among the works: \n<\/p>\n \nFilms: Cloverfield, I Am Legend, Life After People, Wall*E \n \nIt’s a nice high-profile set, but doomsday art is a very durable and perennial genre. You could probably gather a similar set in almost any year in the last three decades (Terminator, Day After Tomorrow, Oryx and Crate, etc.). Apocalypse scenarios have been a mainstay of science fiction, comics, and B-list movies for a generation or more. Perhaps they are going more mainstream. I’d like to see some data. \n<\/p>\n \nThe prospect of being the last person(s) on earth is weirdly seductive. It’s not about the end at all. It’s a romantic vision of rebirth, of starting anew, but with more assets and wisdom that the last birth. It’s a romance that will probably continue to generate works of art in all media every year from now on, until …. the end of the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Just saw Cloverfield. The premise of the movie (this is not a spoiler) is that it is a found camcorder tape. From beginning to end. (BTW, that means 84 minutes of very shaky, jerky, sideways hand-shaking video. The camera moves … Continue reading
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Books: The World Without Us, The Road
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TV: Jericho, Battlestar Galactica
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Comics: Y: The Last Man
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Games: Half-Life 2
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Music: Year Zero
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DVD: The Apocalypse and Doomsday DVD Collection \n<\/p>\n![\"Life190\"](\"https:\/\/kk.org\/ct2\/Life190.jpg\")
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