10 CLOVERFIELD LANE Review

I feel deeply conflicted after walking out of 10 Cloverfield Lane largely due to the fact it doesn't seem to need the word "Cloverfield" in the title. The fact this "distant relative" of a sequel to the 2008 monster movie came out of circumstances that didn't necessarily create it for the purposes of being what it has become becomes a bigger deal the further one gets into the experience of watching the film and the further it gets away from being anything having to do with Cloverfield. If anything, this film is more of a pseudo sequel if you're a fan of the original and go in hoping for more of the same. Rather, gone is the handheld technique that defined the first film and gone are the monsters (for the most part) that made the film and that handheld technique so noteworthy. Instead, what we are given here is a different type of monster movie; one that excels and propels itself forward based solely on the character interactions and lack of awareness from the circumstances in which these characters come. It is the peeling back of these layers that not only reveal to the audience who each of the three main characters might be, but also the revealing of each's true agenda to one another that makes the proceedings completely enrapturing. 10 Cloverfield Lane sustains such momentum for much of its 100-minute running time due to the fact it is a generally great piece of tension-filled filmmaking that elicits grand gestures of horror and the types of thoughts that come with finding one's self in such situations as typically presented in the thriller/horror genre. It is in the last act, the last fifteen minutes or so that the film stumbles in attempting to connect the dots and make this little film about three separate individuals more than it needed to be. Maybe I'm simply not satisfied by the answers the film chooses to provide for all of the mysteries that were laid out from the get-go and yet the answers provided in the more contained spaces of the film felt satisfactory whereas when the film attempted to expand its horizons things didn't feel as natural as they should. There was certainly a better way to create reason for having the word "Cloverfield" in the title, but it is this inorganic last act that knocks 10 Cloverfield Lane down from something great to a cog in the franchise machine, if not a shiny cog at the very least.

First Trailer for 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE Takes Audiences by Surprise

Apparently some folks were treated to a trailer for a Cloverfield sequel that no one knew was happening in front of their 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi screenings last night, but I wasn't one of them. While I did see the first trailer for Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising in front of Ride Along 2 that doesn't seem to have made its way online yet (though I expect it at any minute) I would have loved to have been surprised by the fact this earnest-seeming trailer would actually turn out to be a "blood relative" of the mystery box movie that used this same tactic eight years ago. While I am more a passive fan of the original rather than one of those who place it among the great monster movies of all time I am still excited at the prospect of what this new movie brings. Taking over for original helmer Matt Reeves is Dan Trachtenberg, who gained attention for his short film Portal: No Escape. Originally going under the title Valencia, what we now know as 10 Cloverfield Lane was written by Josh Campbell, Matthew Stuecken, and Whiplash writer/director Damien Chazelle. In the trailer things start out cheerily enough as we are introduced to what are supposedly the only three actors in the film: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Gallagher Jr., and John Goodman before it creepily peels back the layers to reveal a more hostile environment than initially expected and an unknown truth about the outside world. What secrets this movie holds I'm sure it will keep close to its chest as I doubt we'll even get another trailer given the film opens in less than two months. Going the opposite route of overexposure consider me hooked by the mystery of it all. 10 Cloverfield Lane opens March 11th, 2016. Hit the jump to check out the trailer.

SHORT TERM 12 Review

Short Term 12 is a slice of life dramedy that will suck you in immediately and have you engulfed in the world of its timid characters that are doing nothing more than trying to do their part to make a difference in the world with an approach that truly means something to them. This film is one of those rare cases where I walked in knowing little to nothing about what I was going to experience, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a well balanced tone of what mirrors real life the closest. None of us live completely within the bounds of these genres that Hollywood has so conveniently put together so as to garner massive audiences for each one that cater to the dominant attitude one might carry. Despite the fact humans generally tend to gravitate towards specific personality traits or uncontrollable factors that determine how they are perceived the majority of us live a life filled with moments of equal highs and lows. Granted, this range of emotions is usually reserved to be explored in the smaller, less expensive films that tackle more singular subjects and therefor may have a more narrow audience looking for it, when they are done well they can likely appeal to whoever stumbles upon them and it seems Short Term 12 has the potential to have that appeal. Writer/director Destin Daniel Cretton has expanded his 2008 short film of the same name into feature length form and in doing so has given himself room to explore the devastating effects of what mental, physical and sexual abuse have on children and not just in the immediate aftermath but years and years on when you would hope the victim might have been able to look past and move on. It is as much an enlightening and inspirational film as it is a heart wrenching and extremely personal documentation of the individuals who have experienced such disgusting encounters and have had to grow and learn to adapt in a world that often times expects them to get over it without ever being able to accept the fact they might live what most of us would call a "normal life". With a strong script and some purely exceptional performances Short Term 12 turns out to be one of the more affecting films of the year that has probably been seen the least.