The full review at
http://hkfilmnews.blogspot.com/2008/04/clo...iew-by-ian.html

I just picked up the DVD - what the hell is an "alternative ending?" Does the monster just "go gay" all of a sudden? Isn't "alternate ending" a good enough term? Did I miss the memo?

The monster attacks Seattle in a cynical, disaffected manner.

Maybe something to do with 'alternate' (originally meaning 'things happening by turns' or 'one of every two') actually being an Americanization of 'alternative' (meaning 'different from what is usual'). Seems that someone in the production of the DVD is a stickler for grammatical purity.
Actually, recently I've seen one British genre journalist get a bit irate in his DVD reviews at this particular example of cross-Atlantic, linguistic modulation.

Us snooty Brits can get awfully protective of our mother tongue when you pesky Yanks start abusing it in all manner of frightful ways. ;)

I'll buy that. The explanation, I mean. Thanks, Neil, and Bill (for the laugh).

Oaky, I loved it. It's a "monster movie," okay, but post-modern, with loose ends and unexplained phenomena.* The technical side of things, with locations in NY and stdio and backlot shooting on LA seamlessly blended, is amazing, and the monster is downright frightening. I watched about half of it again with the director's comentary, and having read the article in Cinefex which reveals a tasty little addition in post.**

Does anyone know what the "secret" message in the last little piece of sound wash at the very end is, after the titles?





SPOILERS

*Now, we all know the monsters in the tunnel are parasites knocked off the he big kahuna, but only from PR, reviews, and effects articles. The critters are never explained in the flick, and the characters don't even have time to wonder about them.

**In the film's last few moments, as we're seeing tape shot days earlier, there's a shot from the ferris wheel at Coney Island, of the sea. And all of a sudden, a huge object plummets from the sky, creating a distant spash. The visitor arriving?

Mp3 of the reversed soundbyte

Bob, how d'ja like that Giacchino end credits overture? I may have to see the whole thing again someday to fully judge, but I thought that was the best part by far.

I think that's a bit ungenerous, but it's certainly the movie's funniest, canniest Godzilla joke.

Had I not been in on the joke I think it might've made me think "Wha tha fa?" But since it was so clearly an homage, I thought that music was written and placed there with a lot of love.

(I'll check that reversed sound byte tonight - thanks! )

It's also a great joke on perspective: it's the score for the movie we're not seeing...

Uh-huh!

It's sort of explained in the flick. During the looting of the electronics store, when everyone stops to watch the tv, it shows the parasites dropping off of the big guy, and the tv reporter even says something like "Hey, there's things dropping off of it!" Then, as soon as the bugs hit the ground, they attack the soldiers.

Yeah, and Paul is dead.

I listened to it a couple of times and, regardless of what many are saying it "clearly" states, I say it's pretty indecipherable.

I hear it Ok.

It seems clear to me.

There's a bunch of back-story stuff that was on some "viral" sites prior to the release.

Something to do with the Japanese company that the lead character was leaving NYC to work for. I think they made soda/energy drinks, and the object dropping from the sky was one of this company's satellites -- which triggered the events.

Or something.

EDIT: Found this on wiki:

As part of the viral marketing campaign, the drink Slusho! has served as a tie-in. The drink had already appeared in producer Abrams' previous creation, the TV series Alias.[36] Viral websites for Slusho! and a Japanese drilling company named Tagruato (タグルアト, Taguruato?) were launched to add to the mythology of Cloverfield.

and this.

Yeah, me too, and I didn't know what it was supposed to be saying before I heard it. The beginning is completely indecipherable, just a lot of static bursts, but the final second or so (just long enough to say the phrase) is clear.

!sknahT, ekiM

Finally got to check out the audio clip - I HEEEEARD IT!

And Joel, thanks for pointing out that "what am they?" scene.