Discland
edited by Jonathan Doyle
Cloverfield [BLU-RAY] (Paramount Home Entertainment, 6.3.2008) Disguised under deliberately goofy, yet deliciously edible-sounding, aliases such as Cheese and Slusho, Matt Reeves' Cloverfield was produced and rushed into theaters under an equally appetizing shroud of secrecy. From last year's incredibly elusive Super Bowl ad to the film's viral marketing campaign, Cloverfield had everybody scratching their heads and drooling in anticipation. Aside from the as-yet untitled title and the Blair Witch-ian visual style, the film's biggest appeal was the enigmatic creature who was last (un)seen hurling the decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty onto the crowded streets of New York City. All we knew about the mysterious beast was that it was big and angry. Now that the highy-anticipated project has come and gone, one question has fortunately been answered: Cloverfield was a major success. (continued)

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Defiance

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Cargo 200

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Silent Light

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MCN columnist David Poland's recent

MCN columnist David Poland's recent take on the presumed potency of Mike Nichols' potentially Oscar-worthy Closer (Columbia, 12.3) has been, I have to admit, one of his more astute calls. The fact that it's said to play "a little cold" is an indication, he believes, that producers of other presumed Oscar-calibre films are a bit scared of it. "When people start lining up to smear a film this early, that film has some power," he wrote earlier this week. "And that is why bad buzz can be a good sign." My own view is that the Patrick Marber play it's based upon is a little bit cold (i.e., it reads that way), but it's also a devastating, well-cut diamond. The Godfather, Part II is a little bit cold also, but if Francis Coppola had warmed it up he would have totally screwed it up.

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on September 28, 2004 at 8:43 AM

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