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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Marina Zenovich's Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, which HBO opened in Manhattan and Pasadena last Friday in order to qualify the doc for a Best Feature Documentary Oscar, was reviewed by plenty of people at last January's Sundance Film Festival, but N.Y. Times critic Manohla Dargis has taken advantage of last Friday's very limited, zero-profile opening to formally review it.

The doc "gets at the strong, curiously divisive reactions" that the famed director of The Pianist, Rosemary's Baby and Chinatown "has long inspired, reactions that have as much to do with the disturbing power of his best work as his own history as a victim and a survivor," she writes. "Mr. Polanski survived the Holocaust and the murder of his wife, Sharon Tate, in 1969 by followers of Charles Manson. It was the American legal system that almost did him in."

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on March 31, 2008 at 5:44 PM

comment #1

T. Holly says ...

So does this mean it won't show up to compete at any more juried film festivals? Can someone tell me the point of having a jury at a premiere-neutral film festival?

Posted by T. Holly at March 31, 2008 6:19 PM

comment #2

T. Holly says ...

About the review, it helps to link it, so we can read it for free (wait, was that a test?) and note her reluctance to use the R word and ease with sexual content and note that the NYTimes reviews everything opening in NY, supposedly. I don't think it'll score any HBO subscriptions, but I hope it shows up in the HBO doc section of Netflix after it airs, reportedly in June.

http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/03/31/movies/31roma.html

Posted by T. Holly at March 31, 2008 6:55 PM

comment #3

Dublin101 says ...

"It was the American legal system that almost did him in."

Really? I was under the impression that his raping of an underage child almost did him in.

Posted by Dublin101 at April 1, 2008 3:52 AM

comment #4

Josh Massey says ...

Why all this fuss over the guy from Rush Hour 3?

Posted by Josh Massey at April 1, 2008 4:30 AM

comment #5

Richardson says ...

"and note her reluctance to use the R word "

She says he was arrested for rape, but pled guilty to "illegal sex". He wasn't found guilty of "rape", so that probably explains why she only uses the word when referring to his arrest, not his guilty plea.

Posted by Richardson at April 1, 2008 11:55 AM

comment #6