In November of 2007, I moved from my Sister's house out in the country to Downtown, Forth Worth, Texas. I had never lived in a big city before that point. It was always either the suburbs, a trailer park in the middle of nowhere or an apartment complex near a college campus of some kind. In this downtown area, I resided on the sixth floor (I think the top floor was the seventh) of an apartment building with concrete walls and linoleum floors.

On the release day of Cloverfield, in January, I took the elevator down to the lobby and walked three blocks (may have been more, but it still wasn't far) down the street to the AMC Palace 9. It was a cool, overcast Friday, early afternoon. I sat in the theater with my snacks and not very many people and was mesmerized for 90 minutes by this intense, creative American monster movie I had been anticipating since I saw the trailer online, back in the Summertime.

When I came out of the theater, walking home was a surreal, tingling experience. I kept looking up at the towering skyscrapers, waiting for that lumbering creature to make an appearance. I know that's silly but I couldn't help it. The movie had worked its magic on me. It was one of the more effective Horror films I had seen in a long time. It got under my skin and stayed with me.

Teague's theory, of simply putting characters in peril to garner sympathy without having to know them, is interesting and probably works for a number of other movies but is debunked here by the fact that most (if not all) of the panelists don't like or care about the characters, even after they are put in this terrible situation and one of them even loses a family member.

I do think Trey is on to something about trimming the party scene way down. I'll go even further with it and say we don't even need the stuff before it, with the footage of the couple being playful in bed, or Jason and his girlfriend getting items for the party. I think the film would be better to start the "recording" immediately on Rob entering the apartment and getting surprised at his friends and family having setup this going away party.

I never had an issue with Hud continuing to shoot the events of the film, even going back for the camera when he drops it, which ultimately results in his demise (Fun Fact: Leading up to the film's release, Hud had his own MySpace page, where his stats, such as his height were listed. After the film came out, his height was changed to read "3 feet", the monster having bitten him in half). I always thought of the camera as Hud's security blanket, a way for him to distance himself from everything he was seeing, thereby being able to cope with it better. It was as though looking upon these horrible things through a camera lens made them less real.

My issue has always been Hud, himself. "Douche bag" was indeed the wrong word. I believe Teague meant to say, "obnoxious". I know there are people like Hud who make light of everything to help deal with the severity of their situation. It's a survival instinct. However, I just couldn't get on board with Hud NEVER, eventually sobering up and taking things seriously. Even after Marlena died, he was still robbing every scene of its full tension by being overly wacky, in my opinion. I remember thinking, "Why did our surrogate have to be THIS GUY?" Having said all that, I absolutely love how after all of Marlena's constant snubbing of Hud trying to chat her up, she specifically turns to Hud for help when she's about to die and her last words are, "Hud? I don't feel so good."

Sure, Cloverfield could have been tighter, especially given its brisk running time to begin with. Sure, our heroes are kind of self-involved, rich kids with childish relationship issues but I kind of like that they're not the typical, "Man of Action" proactive stock. This is an indie drama with occasional interruptions from a terrifying, Monster Movie blockbuster. I think that's kind of neat and original. Having been a fan of Drew Goddard's work on Buffy and Angel for years beforehand, I knew that was his bread and butter. Those Whedon collaborators are all about approaching the mundane and melodramatic through a genre convention, making the whole thing unconventional.

Cloverfield is one of my favorite films but I don't watch it often because frankly, that monster's awkward design creeps me the hell out and I don't like looking at it (by the way, thanks to the Asshole on these forums who decided to use that monster's fucking face as their god damn avatar!).

Oh, and Lizzy Caplan gets first billing in the credits because they're going by last names, alphabetically.

"I can hear John Pavlich and Zarban yelling, 'Oh my God, please talk about the classic film you're watching!'" -Teague

Yeah, well, somebody has to keep you crazy kids in line! I swear, your show would be a complete mess without us!

"Who is us in the past?.... Pavlich!" -Teague

AH!

I love you guys.

FUN FACT: Tom Tykwer and I share the same birthday, May 23rd.

I see. Well then, tomorrow, we settle this like children!

The quote is from the Pan's Labyrinth commentary. You can also find it in one of Ryan's awesome year-in-review mixes.

FUN FACT: Throughout any and all incarnations of "Lassie", Timmy never once fell down a well from which he needed saving by his dog and some code breakers.

I edit with Audition for all of my podcasts. I think it's like version 4 or something. Does the CS6 version have some features you need that mine doesn't have?

Also, since this is May and my birthday is also this month, I'll take May if it's available. However, I have no idea what you need/want me to do. I'm sure I can do it, I just need directions/instructions.

EDITED TO ADD: Never mind. I just saw the post with the template. Yeah, I'll take May if it's open.

Teague's special move is he reaches into a bag, pulls out Tesla the cat and throws it at you. The counter attack to this is to save the cat.

Brian's special move is he blinds you with science. The counter attack to this is Spider-Man 2, for he can never understand it and its acclaim.

Dorkman's special move is he strikes an inappropriate, sexy Black Widow pose, making you uncomfortable until you forfeit. The counter attack to this is to charge at him with a giant hypodermic needle.

Trey's special move is to be muscular, aggressive and busy at you. The counter attack to this is THIIIIGHS! (a James Cameron mask is also acceptable).

Whatever name you guys decide to go with, I would be delighted to have the opportunity to submit potential logo designs, as I love doing stuff like that and I want to help out in any way that I can.

ETA: For example, if the show was called Fridge Logic, I'd create a brain popping out of a refrigerator laying on its back. Maybe the brain could be wearing a Fedora. Seeing as how the first commentary you guys ever did was for Indy 4, before you were even called Down In Front, this would be especially fitting.

He's allowed. We all are.

Attention all people responsible for my love of film in some way: Please stop dying.

Teague, my Stepfather passed away a week ago, and I've been massively depressed, tired and stressed out as of late, so thank you for making me smile.

Cabin isn't revolutionary for doing what Scream did. What's revolutionary is how it did what it did. Yes, both movies are essentially saying the same things, but they're each going about it in vastly different ways. While Scream is a commentary on the Teen Slasher sub-genre, Cabin is more a commentary on the Horror genre overall and the people who crave it.

Sigh.... I need to expose you to some more Horror movies, I think.