It's Sunday already?

[cleolinda]

Oh, my beautiful snow. We got an inch, and then by noon it had started melting. The pups had fun all afternoon in it, though. I mean, we didn't let them stay outside the whole time, because it was damn cold, but every time they got to go out they'd be running and skidding and Scout would paw the snow up into big lumps so he could carry them around in his mouth (he loves ice cubes). We've had plenty of freshly-made vegetable soup and chocolate cake this weekend, at least, and it has stayed freezing-ass cold (it's currently 27°F, with a low today of 19), which is something.

Cloverfield questions:

So what was the thing that dropped into the sea at Coney Island, at the end? At the Movie Spoiler: "J.J. Abrams put a lot of Internet websites and clues to be found before the premiere. It can safely be said that the monster was created by the Slusho company in Japan (the one Rob works for). Slusho is a drink that many of the party-goers were drinking at the beginning (some were even wearing T-shirts). From what I understand, the Slusho satellite crashed into the ocean (this was the falling object, not the monster), which created some sort of off-balance in the formula and the monster was an underwater accident." Wait, they had a satellite? Oh... they totally did. Maybe the satellite was tracking the thing that fell, as the page says? Huh.

wendyzski, in my opinion, has solved the question of what exactly happened to Marlena: "[Those things are] some kind of monster-parasite, like lice. Imagine the kind of anticoagulant you would need to feed off THAT! So first she gets dizzy, then bleeds from various orifices, and then kind of explodes in a big wet smoosh."

Someone said they saw the wreckage of Lily's helicopter next to Rob and Beth's near the end--can anyone else confirm this? Because... I really need to believe that Lily made it out somehow. ETA: Sister Girl saw the movie again last night and was able to confirm. Dammit! Pour one out for Lily, y'all.

And I'm curious as to what precisely happened to Hud--someone (at the Movie Spoiler?) said that the monster actually bit him in half (you do see it coming at him teeth-first), and that's why Rob sounded particularly hysterical afterwards. You know, because... uh. Ew.

Also, we were told to watch for someone sacked out on Rob's couch, so I assumed it was going to be some kind of cameo, like maybe Greg Grunberg or something. So when it was some random blonde chick, I was a bit nonplussed. Turns out it was Jamie of Jamie and Teddy, from the viral marketing (see Cloverspam below). In a further twist, apparently she was tripping out on Slusho's "seabed's nectar" the last time she was seen in the in-story videos (more below).

Has no one found Michael Giacchino's Overwrought Monster Opera yet? I think the credits said it was called "Roar: The Cloverfield Theme," if that helps. (ETA: More precisely: "ROAR!: Cloverfield Overture.") I don't even know if it's out anywhere to buy. First poster to find it gets an e-cookie--seabed's nectar optional.

(Speaking of Slusho and the "seabed's nectar"--the bottom of that page mentions "Ravaille Research Center's [in-story] report on Seabed's Nectar mentioned the following effects: accelerated cell growth, increased strength, increased soft muscle tissue growth, sharper eyesight, better digestion, smoother skin, and a full-body, pleasant sensation that one of our researchers actually described as 'a wave of pure happiness.' It has also been implied that it is quite addictive." There's two branches of theory going on--one is that the monster fed on seabed's nectar, which Slusho was harvesting for commercial beverages, and the other is that a Slusho-related satellite fell into the sea, as mentioned, and was involved in the creation or birth of the monster. Now, these branches may very easily meet at some point [it was born and started feeding? JJ Abrams said in production notes that it was "a baby"]. I just find "accelerated cell growth" and "increased strength" interesting in the context of the monster, as well as "a wave of pure happiness" and "quite addictive" in the context of the monster then being denied whatever it is because of commercial harvesting. Abrams even mentioned "separation anxiety," which sounds like the monster was missing a parent, but this may actually refer to the seabed thing. Maybe the destruction of Manhattan happened because Darwin had the DTs, I don't know.)

Oh, and I hate to try to tease these things, knowing how unpredictable my ability to find anything in the Comedy Mines can be, but... if you haven't seen Cloverfield yet and you can in the next few days--it's only an hour and a half--you might want to think about going ahead and doing that. And taking some Dramamine. I'm just saying.

Cloverspam, mild spoilers: Cloverfield Breaks January Box Office Records!, although a steep drop is predicted for next weekend, given the gotta-see-it-now event quality of the opening weekend; 'Cloverfield': Making a monster (Entertainment Weekly); Sunday Discussion: Has Cloverfield Changed Hollywood Forever?; Movie Marketing Madness: Cloverfield (a step-by-step retracing of the entire ad campaign, internet and otherwise, with a breakdown of the Jamie and Teddy subplot); MySpace Update - Rob's Party (or rather, messages between the characters just before it. *sob*); Cloverfield Props For Sale (ETA: see the track listing/cover of the prop mix CDs that "Lily" made for the party); Is Cloverfield Really Over? The Discussion Continues!; Theories on the Whisper at the End of Cloverfield; Cloverfield is Out -- What Now? Oh, and the spoiler link I promised: Watch The Cloverfield Monster Do The Funky Chicken. Warning: It's mostly in silhouette, and despite being a face-to-face look at the monster... actually doesn't give you a very good idea of what it looks like. It looks way more humanoid there (in the shoulders, mostly) than it does from the side. This gives you a better idea, although it's still not perfect.

Linkspam proper:

Suzanne Pleshette dies in Los Angeles.

Has AT&T lost its mind? "Chances are that as you read this article, it is passing over part of AT&T's network. That matters, because last week AT&T announced that it is seriously considering plans to examine all the traffic it carries for potential violations of U.S. intellectual property laws. The prospect of AT&T, already accused of spying on our telephone calls, now scanning every e-mail and download for outlawed content is way too totalitarian for my tastes. But the bizarre twist is that the proposal is such a bad idea that it would be not just a disservice to the public but probably a disaster for AT&T itself. If I were a shareholder, I'd want to know one thing: Has AT&T, after 122 years in business, simply lost its mind?" The article in a nutshell: AT&T, by law, is not responsible for what its customers use its services to do under the theory of "common carriage" (they let all their customers use their services to do whatever without interfering, therefore they could not know what they're using them for). If AT&T starts screening for piracy, they are open to charges of being liable for aaaaaall kinds of things. Say, child porn. The planning of crimes. Hell, if the Drews had been AT&T subscribers under this new policy, AT&T could be held liable for what they did to Megan Meier. Which is ridiculous. Which is why you leave people the hell alone and don't expose your company to that kind of liability.

FBI buries docs showing US officials stole nuke secrets?

Mystery man's annual visit to Poe grave.

Young celebrities prompting early obits.

Mystery of skulls in a Florida forest deepens.

Cosmic Log: Tips for viewing UFOs.

Boy, 16, poses as playboy, can't pay up.

Behind Every Internet Meme Is A Better One You Never Saw.

No-Writers Oscar Plan Step One: The Internet.

Newsweek's annual potential-Oscar-nominees roundtable.

Sundance 2008 Day 1: Cold, Tired, Hungry, But Plenty of Movies!; Filmmakers find relief in Sundance showings; Polanski sex-scandal film shakes up Sundance; Sundance Deal: The Weinsteins Buy 'Roman Polanski'; Sundance Interview: Colin Hanks and Emily Blunt, Stars of 'The Great Buck Howard'; "The Wackness" Reviews from Sundance; George Romero’s ‘Diary Of The Dead’: A Sundance Review; Sundance Diary: Dinner with Alan Rickman!

First of the Half Blood Prince Set Visit Teaser Reports Online; Spall's in the Next Two Harry Potter Films; Wizarding World of Harry Potter Theme Park to Open December, 2009?

Indiana Jones Trailer Will Screen on Valentine's Day?; LaBeouf on Indy 4, Transformers 2 & Y: The Last Man.

Woody Harrelson Has Spoken To John Singleton About ‘The A-Team’ Movie.

Confirmed: Emily Blunt Joins Benicio Del Toro For ‘Wolf Man.’

Michelle Monaghan Talks Wolverine.

Diego Luna Joins Harvey Milk.

Get Ready Palahniuk Fans, Here's the First 'Choke' Clip!

Steampunk design notes on The Golden Compass, including a good shot of Lord Asriel's crazy machine.

United Artists to Remake 'Time Crimes.'

Colin Farrell Opens Up About His Love Of Little People And Profanity. Hey, man... I don't judge.

Comments

[gabsy.livejournal.com]

I think there may be a problem with your html...

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Ack, dammit. Brb.

[viorica8957.livejournal.com]

*blink* Something went wonky with the HTML.

Aww, poor Lily. Well, at least they might've pulled Rob and/or Beth out alive. Maybe.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Ack, fixed. See... I don't think Rob and Beth made it, either, despite "Help us" or "We're still alive" or whatever they said. I mean, by the time anyone actually found them and the camera...?

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Cloverfield made me so sick I had to leave halfway through (although I'm spoiled for the rest, so ... *shrugs*), which sucks because movies like that usually never make me sick. I'm probably going back to the theater tomorrow, though, to see if they'll let me see the rest of it.

I did adore the pants off of what I saw, though, but blow up some buildings and have lots of people die horribly and you hit every one of my kinks. :)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I thought my mother didn't want dinner afterwards because she'd had popcorn, but no, it turns out that she had to go straight home and lie down because she got sick, too. On the other hand, my sister has legendary carsickness and was fine--twice. For some reason, that kind of thing never gets me. Did you at least get far enough to see Marlena bite it?

[glass-radical.livejournal.com]

Hud liked Buffy, and apparently so did Rob. *MOURN*

[poinsley.livejournal.com]

Sister Girl saw the movie again last night and was able to confirm. Dammit! Pour one out for Lily, y'all.

Oh, man. I had hoped she made it out! Why were they flying that way, anyway? Why not away from the monster? Gah.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

The monster somehow has this way of showing up exactly where you thought he wasn't, if the camera footage is anything to go by. On the other hand, it may just be that people persistently ran/flew/fell towards the monster every. single. time. I still can't believe that Hud RAN TOWARDS THE MONSTER to get the camera. I mean, I can, I just--yeah.

[firei.livejournal.com]

I saw Cloverfield this afternoon, and I liked it.

Unfortunately, and I hate to admit this, I actually felt sea-sick for the majority of the movie, due to the videoing. Like, I might be sick, better close my eyes for a few seconds, deep breaths, okay, eyes open now let's go back for more!

And I dug the monster.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Don't feel bad--a ton of people in comments here have said they felt sick, and some of them even had to leave. My sister, who gets carsick like whoa, was fine through two different viewings, but my mother had to lie down afterwards. I don't know how I escaped it, but it seems to be a fifty-fifty division in terms of who got sick and who didn't.

[spectralbovine.livejournal.com]

It can safely be said that the monster was created by the Slusho company in Japan (the one Rob works for).
*headTARDIS* DUH.

From what I understand, the Slusho satellite crashed into the ocean (this was the falling object, not the monster), which created some sort of off-balance in the formula and the monster was an underwater accident."
Well, that...doesn't make much sense at all.

Dammit! Pour one out for Lily, y'all.
As soon as she got into the helicopter, I knew she was a goner. Because I'd seen I Am Legend a few weeks ago.

And I'm curious as to what precisely happened to Hud--someone (at the Movie Spoiler?) said that the monster actually bit him in half (you do see it coming at him teeth-first), and that's why Rob sounded particularly hysterical afterwards. You know, because... uh. Ew.
Well, I assumed he was definitely not whole afterward, since we only saw his head on the ground.

Oh, and I hate to try to tease these things, knowing how unpredictable my ability to find anything in the Comedy Mines can be, but... if you haven't seen Cloverfield yet and you can in the next few days--it's only an hour and a half--you might want to think about going ahead and doing that. And taking some Dramamine. I'm just saying.
Eeeeeee.

Hmm, Shia LaBeuouf as Yorick? Hmm.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but people said he got bitten/torn at the waist, and what we saw was from the neck up. That is, there was more of him that we just didn't see, so you couldn't tell just from that shot that he wasn't... whole.

I was too busy freaking out--because I'd heard this in advance, stupid reviews with unexpected spoilers--and had imagined that maybe Rob was holding the camera and we'd see the whole thing full-frame. So I didn't actually realize at the time that we, the viewer, were vicariously getting eaten by a monster just the way Hud was until afterwards. Which is actually kind of awesome. I'd love to watch that again on DVD.

[theonlykow.livejournal.com]

Just so you know, it looks like there's no real "official" soundtrack for Cloverfield, just an "un-official" official album of music from Rob's party. It's an okay mix (huge props for Black Keys!) but it doesn't include any of the instrumentals from the movie. Keeping an eye out for Roar! myself, so I'll send it your way if I find it before you.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I saw a cover for the mix--it was a prop, as if Lily had been handing out "official" party mixes, which I thought was cool. I don't know if I lost that link or what--I was going to post it. So many people mentioned "Roar!" in reviews, though, that I thought for sure they'd at least put it on iTunes or something.

what is a lolcat alex?

[chocotaku.livejournal.com]

*facepalm* Behind every internet meme, there is 4chan. NEVAR FORGET!

Re: what is a lolcat alex?

[spectralbovine.livejournal.com]

Hey there! So, this is weird, but your icon was part of my inspiration to check out The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. So I thought you might like to read what I thought about it (http://spectralbovine.livejournal.com/116938.html).

[theferrett.livejournal.com]

Aw, man. I totally was hoping she made it.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Seriously. For some reason, it was really, really important to me that she got out. Maybe I just wanted someone to survive, but I may have identified with Lily the way a lot of viewers--particularly male reviewers, I notice--identified with Hud. Which makes sense, because he is the viewer surrogate, but for some reason, I didn't identify with him all that much. Maybe because Lily was the best friend, organizing the party, taking care of Marlena after the first attack--it seemed like the kind of role I would fall into. And if it comes with a hot-ass boyfriend like Rob's brother, well, bring it on.

[cleojones.livejournal.com]

Ehh, Cloverfield was decent. But wait...there was something in that last shot of the Coney Island video?!?

How did I miss this?

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

It's actually pretty easy to miss--just a black speck falling into the water on the right side of the screen, very far away. I was looking for it and I almost didn't see it--it happened sooner than I expected. If video turns up online--and I'm sure it will--I'll link it.

[wendyzski.livejournal.com]

And I'm curious as to what precisely happened to Hud--someone (at the Movie Spoiler?) said that the monster actually bit him in half (you do see it coming at him teeth-first), and that's why Rob sounded particularly hysterical afterwards. You know, because... uh. Ew.

We figured he'd been eviscerated - if you have all this food around, why bother dealing with the annoying crunchy bits - just scoop out the yummies and move on. This was based on 1) Marlena's "It was eating people" and 2) the body that was rolled past in the military hospital - seemed to have most of the middle missing. Of course we could be totally wrong, but the credits were long enough to debate this in some detail.

[nekoama.livejournal.com]

I'm fairly certain the body that rolled past with no guts was just the quick forshadowing to Marlena's fate. The way the camera moved when Hud got bit seemed much more jerky/shaky, as to bite through the bone or at least bite deep. With the teeth on that thing, one quick bite and tug would be all that's needed to pull out the soft belly.

[greenwitch.livejournal.com]

We got to our theater only 15 minutes before showtime (dammit, I TOLD my friends we needed to GO NOW, THEATER WILL BE PACKED). The show was sold out but we had gotten tickets online -- and the only seats left were in the FRONT ROW.

WHICH actually wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. I pretty much have an iron stomach when it comes to blood and gore and the only time I've felt motion sick is driving with my Dad (rotten driver, doesn't believe in turn signals either), but what got me was the volume. I guess that the speakers were in the front of our theater where we were sitting, because I first started feeling the vibrations in my chest and about halfway through is when it started traveling downward to my stomach (so closing my eyes didn't really help). But I never got to the need-to-puke point, and I had a full stomach so that was good.

[wendyzski.livejournal.com]

I went into some more absurd detail about exactly what I think happened to Marlena and how in this post (http://wendyzski.livejournal.com/683705.html#cutid1), on the offchance anyone is interested.

[nekoyaksa.livejournal.com]

I just saw Cloverfield a few hours ago and was lucky enough to be in a theater where only one stupid comment was made (and at the very end). My friend and both really liked the movie, and surprisingly enough, I didn't feel seasick at all. (Back when I saw um, , I couldn't take the First Person camera angle shots at all.)

Now for what might be a really stupid question, but if anyone can answer it, great! I know Matt Reeves said the title would make sense once we saw the film, but I'm still not entirely clear on why it was chosen. Anyone want to shame me for not figuring it out?

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Yeah... I think he was lying, or overly optimistic or something. Or what he meant was, "See, it's right there in the title card! 'Case designate Cloverfield'! I told you!" Never mind that we have no idea why they designated it "Cloverfield." My understanding is just that that's the code name they were filming the movie under, and--no matter what Abrams says about that being the title all along--they realized that there was no point in releasing it under a different name once half the internet was buzzing about "this movie they're calling Cloverfield." I like it because it's totally vague and random and mysterious--it plays into the way the movie starts out being about one thing and suddenly turns into GIANT MONSTER OMG.

[robyn-ma.livejournal.com]

A halfway-okay mp3 of 'Roar! (Cloverfield Overture)' is here (http://www.members.shaw.ca/tach94/overture.mp3).

You can hear voices and I think candy bag crinkling, but it's serviceable until the official version drops.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Cookie for you!

[ponygirl118.livejournal.com]

Is it sad that when I see "Harvey Milk" i think of the highschool?

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

I would say that about 95% of the time our taste in movies are similar, Cleo, but this is one of those other 5%. It's not that I hate the movie -- I haven't seen it yet, and I can't work up any enthusiasm for it. I may have to see it at some point, just to understand the cat macros, but I can't say I'm looking forward to it. (I'm one of those people who are really put off by the shakicam too.)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I don't know why this grabbed me so much--usually disaster movies are the last thing I want to watch. I just get bored, for some reason, or possibly freaked out if it's a little too plausible (environmental disasters, for example. Fortunately, most disaster movies are too cheesy to be freaky). I think it's just the Abrams touch that got to me--the mystery and the sidelong, unconventional approach. It might be one of those things where you only feel this way the first time you see the movie, but because I wasn't expecting to see the monster so frequently, I was just hand-over-mouth stunned every time I did. Not by what it looked like, just "OH SHIT THERE IT IS!" Like seeing Bigfoot or something.

[falco-conlon.livejournal.com]

Colin Ferrall's character's love of little people! I've never actually heard Colin Ferrall give many interviews and I am very impressed with how articulate he seemed. You hear all the rumors about him, that he's a drunken womanizer (which he may be, I dunno) and you assume he's an idiot to boot. or at least I did. WAY TO PROVE ME WRONG, SEXY IRISH MAN.

[robyn-ma.livejournal.com]

Re: the splashy satellite bit: I don't think that in itself 'created' the monster. The splash only happened a month before the monster attacked. Rather, I think the splash indicates the whereabouts of the satellite. The splash is about where Tagruato would be drilling. So they drilled. And they woke the monster. Who came up and destroyed the tanker, hence the big boom that rains fire all over Rob and his friends on the roof.

The monster isn't really a mutant, or at least the mutation wasn't caused by the satellite bit falling (we're probably talking the effects of decades of pollution). Remember, too, there's lots of weird-ass shit in the deep water. We see photos all the time of scarily large squid, etc. And those are just the critters we can reach to photograph. Or the critters who haven't killed deep-sea explorers. I'm not saying there actually is anything like Darwin down there in the depths. But I ain't goin' down there to find out.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Okay, that at least makes more sense.

Re: Poe

[padawansguide.livejournal.com]

The visitor was definitely there this year - here's a pic from tonight:

Cognac? Check. Roses? Check. :-)

Re: Poe

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow, that's a really good picture.

[wirrrn.livejournal.com]

I don't want a concrete exp-lanation for Darwin, dang nabbit! I *liked* how the movie gave us multiple theories and no real answers. Darwin just *is*. Although he/she did look very aquatic/amphibious (especially like the pulsating tympanium on either side of the head)...

I totally thought that they were parasites falling off of Darwin during the news footage, and subsequently got into a hissy fit with some other folks who thought them offspring. It makes sense that the parasites, once separated from Darwin would seek out another host- they aren't trying to hurt The Entourage of Party Doom, but they're so big that their attempts to attach themselves are kind of bad for us... Plus parasites that take a blood meal from their host routinely (Mosquitoes, Vampire Bats, Congo Floor Maggots) inject an anti-coagulant into the blood stream of their hosts to keep the blood flowing, so it makes sense that poor Marlena went splat.

I second Hud getting bitten in half- that was an awfully big mouth...

[biomekanic.livejournal.com]

I took the sacs to be air sacs, since they seemed to be in time with the breathing.

And I second the "keep the mystery" approach.

IMO, Darwin looked very bat like, sans the wing membranes.

[beansalad.livejournal.com]

So I saw Cloverfield again today with a friend that hadn't seen it, and I decided to test out the "noise" at the end of the movie. I recorded it on my voice memo program and emailed to myself, then took it to voice recorder on windows and reversed it.

I can guarantee 100% that it says "It's Still Alive" I just wanted to double check the theory. But indeed it does. Hurray! MOAAAR CLOVAAAHFIEEELD

omg so good XD

[troubleinchina.livejournal.com]

To answer your question - I used to work for AT&T.

They are not the brightest crayon in the box, and haven't been for years.

[naeelah.livejournal.com]

Here's a random thought I had.

I wonder if the deep sea nectar isn't somehow derived from petroleum? If it's not actually a chemical component of the petroleum itself, then I figure it's something that exists deep in the sea bed that's brought up with the petroleum -- like an algae getting mixed in, or something like that. The first things the monster attacks are a drilling platform and an oil tanker. I assume it attacked the platform because it was the source of disturbance. But what if it also wanted to spill the oil? What about the tanker? Is it just coincidence, or is the monster actually seeking out the oil?

Also, does anyone have any good theories yet as to how, exactly, the satellite has anything to do with this beast? Surely it didn't just bump it on the head and get on its nerves? And how are you reconciling the idea that this monster is a baby (as mentioned by JJ and the director) with JJ's statement (in the production notes) that it's been down in the sea for thousands and thousands of years?

Is there a logical explanation, or is this just a case of: they didn't actually think the back story through? JJ does love his infinite possibilities, so it's possible they decided to leave that aspect wide open, even to themselves -- which means their clues wouldn't be too consistent.

So many questions! I love that they leave all these questions open to explore, I just wish that somewhere, in someone's mind, there was an answer, so that we knew the clues were actually headed somewhere (even if we never found out where).

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

The theory I'm hearing now is that when Tagruato, the industrial conglomerate whoever, went fishing for its fallen satellite, they woke the monster. Which makes more sense than my vintage sci-fi explanation of, like, mutational space dust.