Professor Popinjay's Compendium of Perspicacity

A Non-Review by Professor Popinjay

MAJOR SPOILERS

HUGELY MAJOR SPOILERS!!!!!

I PRETTY MUCH EXPLAIN THE WHOLE MOVIE

YOU WERE WARNED!!!!

Basically, only read this if you’ve seen it or you’re kind of curious about this film but have been unsure about it because of its possible content.

Here we go…

So within the first five minutes our female lead ends up chained to the wall and I’m thinking this is not my kind of movie. That kind of stuff in movies makes me very uncomfortable. I don’t find it suspenseful or thrilling. I find it disturbing.

Once the kids were definitely in bed I figured I’d give this a chance and see if it got less uncomfortable. Happy to say it did, sort of. Yes, John Goodman is playing a paranoid man with some clear narcissistic and abusive tendencies. While he eventually explains very good reasons for bringing her into this bunker, it’s also later revealed the situation was advantageous to him due to his unhealthy obsession with replacing his estranged daughter. Gradually more and more disturbing clues are revealed but what actually happened in that bunker before she and another male lead got in there is left to your imagination to some degree.

What I appreciated in the long run is that despite all these very creepy aspects, it never once became sexual. The man missed his daughter and kind of went crazy. End of story.

Except there actually is an alien invasion going on outside? You bet your sweet bippy! See, this movie is called 10 Cloverfield Lane because it’s events are happening concordantly with that “found footage” kaiju movie called simply “Cloverfield.”

There’s an actual alien invasion going on outside this bunker while our hero and heroine are being kept “safe” by John Scaryman. It’s a little jarring to find this out if you don’t suspect it from the title alone. Simply calling this Cloverfield 2 might have created weird expectations though as this is definitely not a Kaiju film and it’s not filmed with a camcorder. I’d admonish those who go into this film blindly, not realizing it’s a sequel, but I’ve done that myself plenty of times only to learn after the fact the movie was a prequel or sequel to something else. Meh, what can you do, research every title before you haphazardly turn something on? Ain’t nobody got time for that!

So…

The acting was superb. SU-PERB! John Goodman blew my mind! I don’t know what they were doing at the Oscars around this time but they obviously missed this one.

The storytelling was excellent. The female lead played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead is a very different person by the end. This situation changes her and the world will benefit from that change.

Dude. The scene where the three of them are just passing the time by playing an innocent game of Password becomes one of the most intense moments I’ve ever seen in a movie. So. Well. Done.

So glad I pushed through an uncomfortable situation and gave this a chance. I can’t wait to see the third installment, The Cloverfield Paradox, which yet again is related but looks to be a VERY different kind of film from the last two. Such an interesting concept, making these connected but so different. I’m legit loving it.