"10 Cloverfield Lane" (2015)

Cloverfield is a street in Santa Monica where Abrams has Bad Robot. You won’t see a sign that has the branding on it. It’s a quiet warehouse they’ve converted off the main strip. It was the exit I use to take to get to work. Just some stupid trivia.

The movie is about…fuck if I know. But it’s a fun ride. The story is of Michelle, a girl who’s just had a bad breakup with a fiancée. On her way to…anywhere but at home, she is sidetracked into a fallout bunker. This is when we first meet John Goodman, doing his damndest to make us forget he’s Dan Connor from “Roseanne.” He’s a interesting dude. Not sure what the accent he’s taking, but he seems to be channeling Taylor Pruitt Vance, and his odd inability to look you in the eyes. Or just has a twitchiness to supplement his capability of bad behavior. THIS, I believe. For those not in the know of Goodman’s talent, they are in for a treat. He is an ex-military guy who has brought Michelle down to the bunker to supposedly save her from the attack. Of what? Who fucking knows. Only that what you see in the trailers only set up for the “people stuck in a bunker” scenario. To which they play well. It’s crafted well. It’s “The Mist” done with less people.

Look, there’s no way a guy who builds a bunker can be sane. However, Goodman argues those who build a bunker AFTER a fallout are the nutty ones. He’s not wrong. And you do get sucked into his good will. But somehow, maybe a guy who builds a bunker has other uses for them. A place where people can’t get in, and no one can get out. If you’re claustrophobic don’t watch this flick. It’ll suffocate you.

There isn’t really that many surprises, and the fact that it plays into the first “Cloverfield” lore is shoehorned in. Which wasn’t that big of a deal to anyone watching. I’ll put it this way, I saw it in a cruddy dirtbag ghetto theater where there are loud people…generally. I didn’t hear a peep from them or the children they brought. To me, that is a miraculous feat. To that, it’s worth the watch.

Incidentally, the girl who plays Michelle is Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who’s had a bigger dossier than you realize. She’s THAT girl in a lot of shit, whom I’ve seen just bouncing around movies. I would nominate her for the next Ripley, when they do the next “Alien” installment or reboot, as she could be a younger version. She has the same thing Sigourney Weaver has. She’s not beat-off-your-meat-hot but commands the screen with her off features. A girl that elicits both vulnerability and can beat the shit out of an alien if need be.