Originally intended to document my experience of DeLorean ownership, focus is often radical and strange, boring and obtuse.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Twelve Thumbs Down To Cloverfield

Cloverfield? More like BLOWverfield.

I like J.J. Abrams. I've liked his work a lot. Based on his past accomplishments, I had no reason to think anything bad about Cloverfield. In fact, I was expecting it to be awesome.

J.J. Abrams produced and wrote the TV shows Felicity, Alias, and Lost. With that track record, one would think he knows what he's doing.

One would be wrong.

Cloverfield is filmed entirely with a Handycam, from the perspective of a young dude, exactly along the same lines as the Blair Witch Project. The main difference between the two styles is that the main character in Cloverfield seems to be suffering one enormous epileptic seizure for the duration of the movie.

I've seen my fair share of home movies, and I know they shake and cause motion sickness. But Cloverfield is unreal. It's simply impossible for most normal human beings to watch this kind of vomit-inducing camera shake, and I have the math to prove it.

Our theatre, on a Sunday afternoon, contained 47 movie-goers. At $10 a pop, the theatre was potentially earning $470. Out of the 47 viewers, six walked out of the theatre, hands covering their mouths, chunky-liquid-ketchup-flavoured popcorn spewing forth - both onto the floor and anyone sitting in an aisle seat.

These viewers were not to return.

Cloverfield's legacy.Six is exactly 12.7% of the audience. Using that as a baseline, assume that every theatre will lose up to 12%* of its audience. Opening weekend, Cloverfield apparently blew the competition away, earning an average of $12,000 per theatre.

But subtract the 12% of viewers who blew the technicolor rainbow all over the theatre manager's shirt, and you're left with $10,560. Add to that the word of mouth spreading rapidly about Cloverfield's unwatchability and you can see where those numbers might go.

Right into the toilet, just like everybody's popcorn and hotdogs.

The Cloverfield story is excellent, and I would have loved it and likely bought the DVD, had it been filmed properly. I know exactly what they were trying to do with the whole Handycam thing, and I love the idea. But the camera shake is so unbelievably bad that the special effects are all but wasted, as you can never really see what's going on. Even the tough-stomached people who sat through it complained as they left.

Two thumbs up to Cloverfield's story, but twelve thumbs down for the idiotic execution. Cloverfield is so shakey, it makes The Blair Witch Project look like it was filmed with a tripod.

*Individual theatre results may vary!

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12 Comments:

Blogger Akhor said...

I think your declining viewer factor method is already in full effect.

I was approach to attend the movie but had heard of the camera epilepsy so decided to decline.

My vomit is reserved for too much whiskey and beer.

1:49:00 PM

 
Blogger Jerry Bowley said...

Check out the end of this article on MSNBC.com:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22870052/

Looks like you hit the nail on the head.

2:33:00 PM

 
Blogger Martini said...

Sweet! Thanks for that supportive link.

6:25:00 PM

 
Blogger Monogram Queen said...

I am so glad I found this out before I went to see it because I seriously can't watch most home videos because of the motion sickness factor. I'm VERY susceptible to it. Very.

10:57:00 AM

 
Blogger ZoeyBella said...

Well your problem is you went to a SilverCity... that's enough to ruin a movie for anyone ;)

12:52:00 PM

 
Blogger Martini said...

I really wish I had known before I went - I would have seen Atonement instead. Atonement. Did you hear that? Atone... yeah, you know what I'm saying.


You know what Zoey? I hate Silvercity. I honestly do. But they're the only theatre around.
I'd love to go to the 1 independant theatre right near my house, but the speaker system is 1930s original I think, and they don't show any kind of action movie. Just talkie movies.

9:20:00 PM

 
Blogger Ellie Creek Ellis said...

cool! you saved me $$ by letting me know ahead of time! Thanks, Mart! Now I can afford another vacation!

10:59:00 PM

 
Blogger Martini said...

With the price of movies, yeah! You could go to the Bahamas for a week!

11:43:00 PM

 
Blogger Jay said...

To be fair, the pukers have already paid.

2:51:00 PM

 
Blogger The T-Dude said...

I went to go see a movie with my kids and when it was all over a woman was standing in lobby talking to the manager of the theater. (We had gone to explain that the theater we were in was way too cold) She said that she had to walk out of Cloverfield because she thought she was going to puke. The manager gave a free pass because she couldn't sit through it.

6:01:00 PM

 
Blogger Bella said...

Oh my. I wanted to run out of the theater puking after The Blair Witch.

8:48:00 PM

 
Blogger Martini said...

But Jay, you can always get your money back. (The t-dude witnessed it happening.)

Granted, it's harder to get a refund if you sit through the entire movie, but if you leave half-way, it's no problem.

8:30:00 AM

 

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