Reviews

I gave this movie a three because the story of Rob and Beth was somewhat compelling. J.J. Abrams admitted that he conceived of the movie while visiting a toy store in Japan with his son and seeing all the Godzilla toys. The decapitated Statue of Liberty was taken from the 1981 film poster "Escape from New York". The title of the film, Cloverfield, is taken from the exit on the Santa Monica Freeway near Abrams office.

Anyway, you can barely see the monster. In typical "Lost" fashion, the menace is always unseen.

Unlike the massive Japanese military response to Godzilla in the 1954 movie, the US military reaction was abysmal against the attacking monster in Cloverfield. One soldier proclaims, "we're not winning..."(Could this be a reference to our present situation in Iraq and Afghanistan?)

The shaking camera, home-video style of filming just didn't work for me. It was amateurish and detracted from the movie. You could have used HVX 200's and been more creative with the camera angles.

In Godzilla we know that the monster is a mutation created by US nuclear tests in the Pacific in late 1940's and early 1950's. In Cloverfield we are not told what this monster is, where he (or she) comes from, or why it decides to attack Manhattan.

Godzilla destroys Tokyo only nine years after the city was actually reduced to cinders by massive US incendiary bombing raids. The Cloverfield monster brings down buildings and bridges, with huge dust clouds and fleeing humanity reminiscent of 9/11. It's been nearly eight years.

Many Japanese viewed Godzilla metaphorically, as the unbeatable monster (the Americans) who bombed Tokyo to the ground, in retaliation for the massacres and atrocities committed by their militaristic government. By 1954 the Japanese are aware of the holocaust they committed in China and their inhumane treatment of prisoners of war. Guilt-ridden they flock to see a monster destroy their beloved city. What is the real monster Abrams created to destroy Manhattan? And are Americans stampeding to see this movie based on their own guilt?

If you are buoyed by the hype, or burdened with guilt, then go and see this movie. If not, then wait until it comes out on DVD.

Craig Brewer grew up in Tennessee, it is evident in his movie. Forget the Black guy on White Girl action. It happens, but it isn't Samuel L. Jackson on Christina Ricci. More importantly this movie is about the values and culture of the people in this Tennessee town. How they deal with divorce, abandonment, sexual abuse and psychological disorders. While shrinks make millions in the cities of the North, Midwest and West Coast, the town minister, who also grapples with his own problems, becomes the counselor and mediator. It is a interesting concept and one that may not settle well with everyone.

Brewer shows us the region he grew up in. Yes it is still tainted with racial problems, though worse problems exist in many metropolitan cities. This is in the subtext and not the main plot of the story. People live a more simple lifestyle, yet life is still complex and excruciating.

Jackson and Ricci do a fantastic job in this film. Jackson the aging-former blues guitarist who eeks out a living on his small farm. His wife of 12 years leaves him for his brother, so he spirals into depression. Meanwhile Ricci and Justin Timberlake have a last wild sexually charged night before he ships off to the Army. Ricci suffers from a childhood of sexual abuse, though that isn't revealed until later, her torment can only be quenched by sexual forays with various boys (Black and White) in the town.

When Ricci is beat up and left for dead on the road near Jacksons farm, he finds her and nurses her back to health. He believes it is divine intervention that this half-naked White girl is left in his care. He clutches his Bible and prays for guidance. He refuses her sexual advances and instead treats her with dignity, respect and care. Something few men in her life have ever done.

She in time sees Jackson as a man of honor and morals, yet he also carries his own pain. He plays his guitar and sings to her. Yes it's the Blues and damn good too, With the minister counseling her, she slowly understands how to deal with her childhood sexual abuse. Jackson, through Ricci's transformation, realizes he must let his own pain heal.

Justin Timberlake comes back, discharged due to "anxiety problems". As he searches for Ricci, who has been living with Jackson during her recovery, he finds out she has been promiscuous and unfaithful to him.

He finds her and Jackson at a bar, where Jackson has decided (as part of his healing process) to come out retirement and play the Blues again. Timberlake follows them home and confronts Jackson and Ricci.

You will have to see the movie to get the rest of the story. Should you decide to see this film, remember to look at it from the aspect of a foreign or independent movie. It is a slice of life, from a particular region of America that few of us get to see. It is interesting and revealing. It also shows us that regardless of the color of our skin, we all have similar problems that can be fixed with similar solutions.

This is a film that you must watch twice to catch the nuances and clever Korean adages. Particularly if you must read the English subtitles. It is an interesting view into period of turmoil during the waning days of the Yuan Mongol rule in China and the rise of the Ming Dynasty.

Korea (Koryo) always the smaller more vulnerable kingdom, sends numerous diplomatic envoys into China. Peace and dialogue it seems, would benefit both Korea and the new Ming Chinese Emperor.

China in 1378 was land that was steeped in wars and danger. Three envoy missions, along with their military escorts, did not return to Korea. This is the story of one those missions.

The principle cast is mostly Korean, though the cinematography (filmed on location in China) captures the vast landscape of the region.

The Ming princess that the Korean warriors rescue from the Yuan troops is played by a diminutive but expressive Ziyi Zhang, who speaks Mandarin Chinese throughout the film. The young General, the diplomatic translator and the older, wise archer all speak both Korean and Mandarin (in that period educated Koreans could speak, read and write Chinese). Though you should be unfazed by this linguistic subtlety since you will be reading the English subtitles.

Is there a love story? Well, yes and no. The young Korean general is smitten by the Ming princess, and since he speaks Chinese and is educated, he would seem the perfect match. Unfortunately she is drawn to the tall, brooding, courageous and brave Yeo-sol. He is a servant to the Korean Emperors diplomat, who expires early on in the film. As a envoy servant he is trained in the art of warfare, though not educated enough to speak Chinese. Though they speak different languages, their interaction is the quintessential sexual/romantic tension.

You know the end of the story, this envoy mission didn't make it back to Korea. It is the journey that is most important here. The honor-bound Korean warriors who have pledged to protect the Ming princess and deliver their diplomatic message from the Korean emperor to the Ming leadership. The conflict with the larger Yuan forces who chase them relentlessly, the disputes among themselves over how they should proceed as their numbers are depleted in continual skirmishes with the enemy. Finally their last stand at the Clay Fortress among the Han Chinese civilians who see them as brave warriors and friends who they now must trust with their lives.

In the face of overwhelming odds and certain defeat, the young Korean general says, "I dreamed of an honorable death."

To the Western world this may not be a happy ending, but to the Korean warrior...it is.

There is some unadulterated violence, so this movie may not be suitable for younger viewers.