thesafemovie Reviews

The Orphanage (2007)

Builds up to nothing

[6/10 · 21 January 2008]

Let me first say that this movie had some great scenes, and the creepy atmosphere was very well done.

Now lets talk about what I didn't like...

This whole movie was all about suspense. Lots of bumps and loud noises in the dark accompanied with suspenseful music. Most of these sequences lead up to absolutely nothing, which really takes away from the purpose of the suspense. I didn't care for any of the characters and there were only a few bits of interesting dialogue. Generally speaking this movie didn't have a whole lot of original material. The whole concept of the little kid having imaginary friends in a haunted house has been done in so many different movies I felt like I had already seen most of what this movie had to offer.

Cloverfield (2008)

A Whole New Perspective

[8/10 · 18 January 2008]

Let me first say that I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The whole first person perspective style might irritate the hell out of some people, but I think it worked wonderfully. If you go into this movie expecting to have everything layed out for you, then you are gonna hate Cloverfield. The whole story is taken from the perspective of 1 guy, the cameraman, so there are a lot of plot-points that are left out. It leaves you to come up with your own conclusions. It is effing awesome. Every scene puts you in the shoes of these people, and it makes the action so much more intense. You can feel every footstep, and you experience all the fear. Everything feels very authentic. I love it. I don't think this film will be received very well. People are gonna want to know more.

Where did the monster come from? Why is it unstoppable? How did they survive that crash? Does it matter? If you knew, would that really make the film better? This movie is meant for you to make your own conclusions. No one is going to hold your hand and give you a resolution at the end of this movie, so if you were hoping for one, don't see Cloverfield.