Escape to the Movies: Monsters

[5-0]

Despite MovieBob's review, I'm still very much interested in seeing this. I just wanted to pick up on the point "none of them ever speak like a believable human being". From what I have read about the film, that's exactly what they do. The director said that the idea of a script went out the window and instead the actors were told to improvise in order to hit the basic plot points. Now it might be that the basic points are bad themselves, but just saying.

 

[Alex Solis Praxis]

I saw the review then saw the film.

I've gotta say, I'm not sure Movie Bob and I were watching the same movie. The movie I watched did not have a "surprise twist" (and certainly a reference to Shyamalan seemed unwarranted).

The movie I saw seemed to be about how people get caught up in their own personal narratives. Over the course of the movie, the two main characters get slowly stripped of all the structure that they build up around themselves. The guy, a photographer, starts off hoping that this will be his big break. The girl, an engaged heiress who seems to be busy trying to "find herself", has been spending her time in Mexico, presumably trying to live some adventure. By the end of the movie, most of the personal conceits that come with their lives had been so broken down that they become able to actually see their own lives clearly.

I'm not sure whether it's because Movie Bob is American and I'm not, but the whole "illegal immigrant" thing did not seem to have anything to do with the movie's theme. It seemed more like a plot device - the infected zone is a place outside all normal experience; of nationality, of career, or personal desires (all the things that make up our personal dramas) and the border-crossers are just getting them there. In fact, it's particularly telling that the border-crossing party gets completely wiped out, leaving them behind and alone, that illegal immigration is NOT what the movie is getting at. It's also worth noting, Monsters is a BRITISH film, not an American film, and the US/Mexico border is significantly less of a focus for the British.

I think what the movie is actually getting at is exemplified by the aliens themselves. Throughout the entire movie, everyone is trying to kill the aliens. Everyone sees them as an invader, as something that needs to be destroyed - working the aliens into their own personal narrative as some massive invading enemy. But the main characters, having lost all their real attachments and having phoned their loved ones in calls that seemed very much to be farewells more than "I'll see you soons", are able to see that the aliens themselves don't even see people, let alone care about "invading". They're just living, and responding to people attacking them. They have no real motive or story. They just are.

With this realisation and the complete loss of all the personal bullshit they'd had at the start of the movie, the female lead then says "I don't want to go home".

And then "civilisation" swoops in to "rescue" them, but being completely obsessed with their own little story of heroism ("Da da daaa duh, da duh-duh dah duh, dun dun dun dun! It's my personal theme song! Everyone should have a theme song!"), they thunder off and get them all killed; too blind to see that they caused it in the first place.

It's not Cloverfield, and it's not District 9, I'll give Movie Bob that. But I definitely think he's missed the point of the movie... possibly in an ironic way, if my reading of the movie is correct.

 

[fullbleed]

I disagree, I saw it today and I really liked it.
I think Bob is being overly dismissive of the film's political allegory. There is more to it than just US immigration policy, the director himself said that he intended it to be a metaphor for the war in the Middle East. A film like Cloverfield is like 9/11, Monsters is supposed to be like the war in Afghanistan, prolonged conlfict with no end in sight, people adapting to new way of life in a war zone, Millitary causing more problems than it solves by provoking the monsters and killing inocents?
This is most clear I think in one scene where they ask a cabbie why don't they leave, they say where else would they go their whole family lives there, best just make do.

And it's no more heavy handed in its message than District 9, and I hate when people act like they're some great intellectual for realising that Distric 9 is a politcal film about apartheid. Well DUHH! Its not hard to spot, everyone knows it, get over it. Infact Monsters is better in its message I feel than Disrict 9 as Monsters keeps its message at its core all the way through where as District 9 takes time out at its end to descend into balls to the wall action and black humour. Not that its a bad thing, its the best part of D9.

Also this is a film made for $500,000, that is a staggeringly low amount of money for any kind of film let alone one thats full of monsters and beautiful exotic locations and crumling civilisations. I mean Moon was made for around 5 million and that film was practically made with remote control cars and lego (don't take me seriously on that.)

And the acting is good I think and the girl in particular, I don't get what Bob is saying at all, she's not irritating she's an amazing actor. I don't know, maybe she doesn't get her tits out enough for Bob to be interested.

Ignore Bob, see this film.

snip for justice

You win.

 

[lead sharp]

You lot are missing out on some genius stuff by not seeing this film.

Everything the two guys said above me is spot on.

I came to see what Bob said about this out of morbid curiosity and I honestly don't know why he's reviewing films.

 

[wandererbkb]

Monsters is a good movie. It is however not a monster movie. the monsters are completely irrelevent to the story. It's basically a road movie about two people trying to get back home. All the monsters do is provide a mostly unseen danger to the main characters, it could be anything doing that.

I think so many people are annoyed by this film because it has been marketed so misleadingly. Yes, there are monsters but this is not in any way a monster movie. Almost every person I have talked to about this film were just waiting for the mayhem to start, and it never does. Fortunatley I had not been exposed to any trailers or reviews before I saw it, which is why I was able to really enjoy it. Although I must admit I was expecting some degree of monster mayhem due to the title. I was slightly confused as the film proceeded and I didn't get any.

Moviebob is right to lament the fact his passion is now a job, he has to expose himself to all the hype, he has to know whats coming out far in advance and what everyone thinks about it. That can give you expectations so instead of sitting there waiting to see what will happen you are waiting for something specific to happen and get annoyed when it doesn't. I can avoid this problem, I just turn up at the cinema and go and see something. I have no expectations or preconceptions. Those ruin movies.

 

[Mr_Jellyfish]

Gotta disagree, I liked the movie, the title is misleading sure but it's not nearly so bad as Bob makes out, nor as bad as some of the film's bob has praised. Also, I liked District 9, but it was in no way a masterpiece, in fact the robot suits and explody guns, while fun, didn't fit at all well with the tone of the film, actually it was like watching two movies which was a shame because the first half was much better, and less would have been more

 

[SamElliot'sMustache]

There was so much wrong with this movie that I kept hoping the monsters would eat the main characters well before they even had to get to the "Infected Zone." It tries to be a subtle character drama, but can't spend time properly developing the leads' romance outside of a few unsubtle plot beats (the ending, any scene where they bring up how the media heiress is engaged but doesn't want to be). It tries to be this big political statement about immigration, the military, and media excess, yet can't be bothered to let those develop beyond lip-service (again, the ending, and when they mention the wall in passing before getting there). It tries to build this intriguing sci-fi/horror world, but can't be bothered to keep even the basic details straight ("the creatures" have been around for six years, yet no one's gotten around to naming them, not even derogatory nicknames like District 9's prawns; despite the leads knowing about these things for six years, and spending most of the movie trying to avoid them, when the things show up they repeat the line "What was that?" for three minutes; Mr. Jerkwad Photographer is trying to get a great photo of the creature to sell to the papers, despite the creatures being clearly seen on television. The picture isn't even fuzzy, for crying out loud! Your photo would be pretty worthless). This movie's got nothing on The Host, District 9, or the original Godzilla (and I shudder to think what Edwards is going to do with his new Godzilla movie).

Doesn't help that the characters are whiny and self-absorbed the entire movie, talking to the locals in patronising tones of voice and sitting around pontificating to each other about life like they were on a college campus rather than in the middle of a jungle full of "creatures." Yes, I get that everyone's pretty much gotten used to these unnamed beasts, and tries to resume a somewhat "normal" existence (shades of Afghanistan and Iraq), but the least the movie could do is at least pretend like they're just trying to ignore the reality of their situation so that it could create tension (rather than oblivious to it, as the repeated "What was thats" or "What happened heres" show). The characters in Cloverfield were pretty awful, too, but at least that movie had the decency to put them in situations that were exciting, whereas Monsters never misses a moment to make everything happening uninteresting.

 

[NeoGuardian86]

While I didn't think it was as bad as Moviebob seemed to make it out to be.

I... figured if your bored as hell, this is as good of a distraction as any.

Seriously it just sort of ends, didn't feel like there was any conflict resolution or anything.

to the blond woman....
what? you don't wanna go home? that was pretty self evident in the first moments of the movie.


I thought the aliens looked neat sure. but i'm sort of of two minds with the aliens invasion bit. I don't need to know what the hell all the details are, but some more details would of been nice. At the same time, with how the villagers just seem to try to get by, I couldn't help but get a sense of an allegory to the Iraq/Afghanistan occupations.


I didn't think the political allegories were that heavy handed really. Just worked out as a plot device really. Mexico really isn't (except for a few towns in the north) a hell-hole prison in constant war.

Nevermind i couldn't help but feel, seeing how the aliens are basically giant whale-sounding illuminating octopus's, and the armies of the world and their firepower. I know it's a lot of ground to cover but... wouldn't we - and by we i don't mean just the USA but the world - easily win this fight?

I mean how many countries in the world are just itching for a reason to fight? lol.


but all in all, i honestly would have to give a D.

seriously the two main protagonists are just ugh... the photographer is an ass, seriously any reasonable person tasked to go retrieve someones daughter is gonna do it no if and or buts, do the right thing. the woman is just too self absorbed, and maybe i'm just bad at it, but i could not for the life of me read her, just seemed to be sulking a lot.


Anyways those are my own thoughts.

 

[Strain42]

MovieBob, I doubt you're reading this, but I've seen most of your movies, and I have to say that your list of all the things you love mashed together is without a doubt the FUNNIEST THING I HAVE EVER HEARD COME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH!

I had to pause the video to laugh, fall out of my chair, resume laughing, post the quote to Facebook (credit given of course) re-watch the scene, laugh some more, go get a drink, think about the line while drinking, spit Razzleberry tea onto my keyboard, clean it up while gigging, re-watch the line again, and then continue the movie.

Thank you, you've made my May.

 

[Ashoten]

So 2 years after the fact and I finally tried to watch Monsters. I want to emphasis tried here because it was just to wretched for me to get to the halfway point. Then I went to see if any critics bashed on it like it deserved for my own catharsis. Boy was I disappointed to see that every critic seems to be giving it rave reviews. This is probably because critics are afraid to say anything bad about such a low budget indie film and want so desperately for it to succeed that they have blinders on. Then I remembered that Bob had issues with it (probably explains why I didn't bother watching Monsters till just today) so I re-watched this episode of escape to the movies.

Bob you are a champion of the geeks opinion never holding anything so sacred that it is above criticism. Thank you for bashing this piece of shinola. No I mean it, this movie insulted my intelligence and I may have to finish watching it just so my outrage can reach its Apex. Mexican characters that are ether Angelic beings of delight or horrible opportunistic scumbags? Are we suppose to think this is grownup script writing? I FEEL DIRTY!