Graham Hancock

Well, it’s time to throw my hat into the veritable ring with my thoughts on Cloverfield. Now, I know that my thoughts here may or may not be exposed to a massive audience anytime soon, and that’s okay. This is a new blog after all! But for those of you who are reading, know that the following post isn’t just my mini-review of the movie, but my account of the dying movie experience.

Beautifully conceptualized and visually stunning.

I saw Cloverfield, not once, but twice for reasons I will explain in a moment. But first, let me explain something: I have always had a soft spot for monster/disaster flicks. Several years ago I saw the new “American” Godzilla film with Matthew Broderick three times in theaters! I loved it at the time. Now, assuming I haven’t just shattered my credibility for taste-in-movies, I’ll say that I am now acutely aware of that movie’s specific flaws, but I still enjoyed it and here’s why: nothing is more cool than a huge freakin’ monster set loose inside of a metropolitan city. So, naturally, when the Cloverfield marketing campaign began, I was immediately hooked.

Last night I sent out a message on Twitter that I thought that the film was both beautifully conceptualized and visually stunning. I loved the no-name actors, the first person point-of-view, the special effects, everything! It was fresh and exciting, and that alone makes it a must-see movie in my book. It was humorous in parts, action packed and deeply scary in others. As an aspiring filmmaker, my eyes were opened to the range of possibilities that are still left in film. At present, Hollywood seems old and tired. They’re recycling old ideas constantly. So where are the fresh, new ideas? Hollywood has a lot of thinking to do, but that may not be their only problem.

Anticipation, meet disruption.

My first mistake was probably seeing the movie on opening night. I arrived at the theater early, I got a great seat, and all was right with the world. The previews began and the movie was about to start. Then it all went to heck.

Right as the movie began, a group of high school students chose the row behind mine and took their seats. They then proceeded to inject their own color commentary into almost every scene, despite my repeatedly telling them to be quiet. I eventually became fed-up and left my seat. They must have thought I was going to alert the management (but I was actually answering nature’s call); however, it seemed to have worked. They were much more quiet after I returned, but the damage had been done. For the rest of the film, I was unable to focus on the movie enough to enjoy it at all.

So I tried my luck again the next night at a different theater and at a different time. This time my experience was much better. I was actually allowed to enjoy the film. But there were still distractions. The people in the row in front of me sent out text messages on their cell phones constantly throughout the movie, blinding me every time they’d flip open their phones to tap out another message.

Is it worth it?

The question that I pose to the movie-going audience is this: is it even worth it to see a movie in the theaters anymore? It’s painfully obvious that the movie-going experience is dying slowly. Most theaters in America have outdated projectors and screens, rude and obnoxious audience members, cell phones, expensive tickets and food. Shall I go on?

So, how can the movie industry make the experience better with so many factors out of their control? My hope is that one day we will be able to download an HD copy of a film as soon as it’s released in theaters. That way, If you’re serious about watching a movie, you can download it and watch it in the privacy of your own home to cut out all of the distractions. The MPAA could charge twice the amount that they charge for tickets, and films would make tons more money. The folks who still want to see a movie on a huge screen can go if they want, and their experience may be even better: having to compete with downloads would be an effective way to force theaters to provide a higher quality experience for customers.