Re: Official Trek XI Website Has Teaser Trailer

RuPEDski wrote:
> "GeneK" <gene@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
> news:egSlj.64970$Rf5.29510@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> "Steven L." <sdlitvin@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote...
>>> Nobody ever expects a monster movie to be appreciated by folks over
45. 
>>> I'm surprised that it gets rated even as high as 7.0 by them.  I doubt

>>> that other monster movies ever got rated that high by middle-aged and 
>>> senior folks.
>>>
>>> Give the producers and the financiers some credit.  They knew all
along 
>>> that "Cloverfield" is not going to appeal to the same niche audience
as 
>>> "On Golden Pond."
>> I think I was somewhere between 12 and 15 when I realized
>> that all monster movies have the exact same plot:
>>
>> Monster appears.
>> Monster attacks.
>> People run screaming in panic.
>> Military and other heroes try to battle monster and rescue people.
>> Heroes win, monster is destroyed...or is it?  See the sequel.
>> or
>> Heroes lose, monster continues to attack.  See the sequel.
>>
>> The *only* thing that distinguishes one monster movie from
>> any other is how good the design and FX are for the monster
>> and the scenes in which it destroys Tokyo (or whatever city
>> is being attacked).
>> Any attempt to introduce any other plot or character emphasis that 
>> distracts from the cool monster-destroys-Tokyo-or-wherever FX, whether 
>> it's secret agent intrigue, romance or telepathic women with big ears, 
>> only serves to distract from the reason one is watching the movie (to
see 
>> the monster) and therefore from one's enjoyment of the movie.
>> You can pretty much rate any monster movie by how soon you get to see
the 
>> monster and how much screen time the monster has after it first
appears.
>> The more secretive the movie's creators are about what the
>> monster looks like and the greater the lengths they go to
>> to avoid showing it to you, the less likely the monster is to be
something 
>> you enjoy watching after the cat has been let
>> out of the bag.
>>
>> "Cloverfield" has now been out for an entire week, and there
>> still have yet to be any images of the monster released.  This
>> is not encouraging.
>>
> 
> Gene there is no doubt in my mind that the entire campaign...(which
seems to 
> have worked!) was to build up hype to cash in quick before the word
really 
> got out on this movie. I urge none of you to go see it, but when you do
view 
> it, I think you'll see what I mean. THERE is an attempt to change the 
> monster formula through the Blair Witch filming technique. Problem 
> is....it's a disaster! Ridiculous lines and the extremely stretched "i'm

> still filiming!!" premise, make any "reality" impact negligible. In
fact, it 
> takes you out of the illusion because you begin to wonder why this moron
is 
> filming and why you want to watch. but further, the EXTREME EXTREME
EXTREME 
> idiocy of the characters...in conjunction with the ridiculous writing
simply 
> make you unsympathetic, it takes the "stupid victim" from Horror movie 
> stererotype to all new levels.

But that was the subtle point, as some reviewers noted.  You're not 
supposed to sympathize with the characters.

If you've seen the YouTube videos of 9-11, you would understand Abrams' 
analogy:  On 9-11, all these same upscale yuppies in Lower Manhattan 
rushed to get their video cameras so they could record the unfolding 
attack for themselves.  All they could think of doing to make themselves 
useful was to stand there and offer a running commentary, which you can 
watch and hear on YouTube:  "Oh, s**t!"  "Hey, look at that!"  "Hey, 
where is that other plane going?"  You find yourself secretly wishing 
that the terrorists had obliterated all the yuppies once and for all.

Those of us who frequent YouTube got Abrams' point:  With these short 
video clips on YouTube, you become a *disinterested* voyeur:  You watch, 
but you do NOT become emotionally involved.  If anything, it leads to a 
kind of snarky contempt for the people whom you see in these videos. 
Compare these YouTube videos to the party scene from "Cloverfield":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZZdkdwSQyw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDZ0PSXqb8c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBhXQIYyUGE&feature=related



-- 
Steven L.
Email:  sdlitvin@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 the NOSPAM before replying to me.