Others say...

"...Approximately Seven Hours Ago, some thing attacked the city...I don't know what it is...""


Introduction: The very first impression Cloverfield is bound to give many viewers, is a return of Roland Emmerich's 1998 adaption of Toho's Iconic Godzilla or maybe even a run of the mill teen-horror film, due to the youth of its actors and actresses your won't recognize unless you've watched certain television shows or movies. Better yet, if your fan of ABC's long running series LOST and you know who the producer is, then you bound to believe that its connected to the series itself. That said, I was among the many who caught the teaser trailer when it premiered in theaters the three days after TRANSFORMERS was released July 3d 2007. I thought it was sequel to Godzilla. However, the only thing Cloverfield has in common with anything mentioned above is that its produced by J.J. Abrams and is, more or less, a homage to Giant Monster movies of old. Because lets face it, monster movies are made as often as westerns are now-a-days if you don't include the latter's small revival this and last year.

Plot: Filmed in the style of a home movie, Cloverfield begins on the day of April 27th. Rob Hawkins (Michael-Stahl David) and Beth (Odette Yustman) McIntyre are awakening from a night spent in her father's apartment in the Time Warner Center. On the spur of the moment, Rob decides to take Beth to Coney Island. The video then fast-forwards to May 22nd. Lily Ford (Jessica Lucas) and Jason Hawkins (Mike Vogel) are preparing a farewell party for Jason's brother, Rob, who is departing for Japan after being promoted to vice-president of a Japanese company he works for. Originally burdened with job of recording testimonials (farewell) messages for Rob, Jason carts the job off to his brother's friend, Hud Platt (J.T. Miller), who reluctantly agrees to take the job with the promise of his long-time crush, Marlena Diamond (Lizzy Caplan), coming to the party at the behest of Lily. When Rob and his best friend, Beth McIntyre arrive to party, the film reveals that Rob has slept with Beth and thus created a rift between them, by shunning her (so to speak). Jason and Hud go to "comfort" Rob about the situation, but their attempt to console him is suddenly interrupted by a mysterious earthquake. When the group travels to the roof to inspect the situation, they are caught off guard by an explosion that sends flaming debris down on them and the statue of liberty's head rolling into the streets of New York shortly thereafter. The group attempts to leave the city via the Brooklyn Bridge, but the bridge is attacked by a hulking creature of a indescribable nature. Against the pleads of his friends, (who eventually decide to follow him), Rob decides to go after Beth after receiving a distressed phone call from her despite the danger lurking inside the city.


Overview: The storyline for Cloverfield is simplistic and straight forward; The beginning, specifically plays out like an episode of TheWB's Felicity (a tale of troubled relationships, romantic advice, and unrequited crushes). It never tries to dazzle you with an explanation to the events occurring in the film. Its told completely from the point of view of the civilian, thus there's no suitable explanation beyond the speculation of the characters. I think this is one of the things that works to the film's advantage. The lack of explaning as to what's happening keeps the film from being bogged down by the disbelief that most Monster movies are regarded with. If you didn't follow the movie's then-contagious Viral Marketing Campaign, then you'll may or may not be confused on some points. The atmosphere that surrounds the film is, at first a welcome lure of security and complacent within itself. Quite honestly the first half hour will have you wondering why you bothered to watch Cloverfield in the first place. Rest assured, once the main event begins, it will catch the viewer off guard --- destroying the security the film established in the beginning. Confusion and fear will be your companion and the lack of explanation only intensifies an already frightening situation.

Directed by Matt Reeves (writer/director for The Pallbearer (1996), and TheWB's Felicity), Cloverfield moves fast and hard once it gets started, but is severely lagged down by its half hour introduction of the main players of the central storyline, which I think words to advantage in some ways. Without it, you really wouldn't couldn't care whether or not the characters, already established in their personalities and lives, would live or die. (Depending on the person.) Which begs the question as to why it wasn't just a half-hour longer. Nevertheless, Reeves' straightforward direction works to the movie's advantage. As mentioned a dozen times before, Cloverfield is filmed and performed to something akin to [The] Blair Witch Project (1999), utilizing the amateurish camera work and crooked camera angles. However its quality its on par with that of the general motion picture image. Clear, mostly unfuzzy and not so frenetic or sloppy.

The Visual/Special effects implemented in the film by Double Negative (Batman Begins, Shaun of the Dead) and Tippett Studio (Consantine, The Spiderwick Chronicles) are fantastic. While there are obvious moments where the FX is plainly obvious, they managed to make their CGI blend in near-seamlessly with the real world environment of "New York City". The creatures (designed by Neville Page) themselves, the centerpiece of the film, are amazing. The photo-realism of their appearance are brilliantly crafted and the greatest achievement in the movie overall. One notable aspect of Cloverfield is the lack of an Orchestral Score. The closest to a soundtrack that this film has is several pieces of popular pop/rock singles played in the background of the farewell party in the beginning. The only actual score featured in the film is the "ROAR! (Cloverfield Overture)" by Michael Giacchino (LOST, Speed Racer), a powerful and romantic orchestrated theme that serves as a nod to the late Akira Ifukube's Godzilla (Gojira) Theme of 1950's without sounding terribly like it.

When concerned with the performances from the actors in the movie, I half expected them to be the weakest part of the film. While it may take a second viewing to fully appreciate the acting, I was pleasantly surprised by how well everyone did in this film. This group of little known actors, consist of the likes of Jessica Lucas (Life as we Know it, CSI, The Covenant), Lizzy Caplan (CBS' The Class, and Mean Girls), Mike Vogel (Poseidon, Grounded for Life, 2003's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre [Remake]), Michael Stahl-David (NBC's terribly irsh-ganster-cliched The Black Donnellys), stand-up comedian T.J. Miller (ABC's Carpoolers) and Odette Yustman (UPN's South Beach, and ABC's October Road). All of which give way-above "average" performances in their respective character roles. What will be held against them of course (besides being worthy of being Magazine Ad models) is the fact that most of their performances consist of sobbing, running and screaming at the monster lurking in the dark. But even when their doing this, their performances come off as believable and natural. Something I appreciated in the aforementioned TV series, Felicity.

The natural performances from the large cast of actors; The ability to come off as genuine while in the guise of their characters for four long seasons. This sort of acting translates excellently in the film. The actors many have been charmed by, is the semi-recognizable Lizzy Caplan (arguably the only vetran-character actor, first to Mike Vogel) and T.J. Miller; Their chemistry, comedic chops, and rapport on-screen pays off in more ways than one, most likely due to the heavy use of improvising. Performances I was particularly concerned with were the ones coming from Jessica Lucas and Mike Vogel, both of which have starred in movies where I never paid too much attention to them in. Jessica Lucas, more than proves that she is worthy of becoming of a brilliant actress with her under appreciated performance as Lily Ford. While Mike Vogel, as usual, is far too convincing in the role as the laid back and rather lazy older brother of Rob Hawkins, Jason; a man who hands out "wiser-than-you-should be" advice to his troubled younger sibling. Its one of his better performances despite his lack of screen-time, certainly not one to be ignored. And before I forget, Michael Stahl-David and Odette Yustman (the focal characters of the film), give great performances as estranged friends (or lovers) struggling to reconcile their differences in the middle of an unexpected disaster.

Overall, Cloverfield is an excellent film that falls into the "love it or hate it" category. Its certainly not for anyone looking for an straight-forward monster-movie in the way of Godzilla and King Kong, especially if your think of it as an "Gimmick(y)" sort of film. For me, all the elements utilized in Cloverfield fell into place and left quite the lasting impression on my memory. My biggest problem with the film, falls down to its length. Once you realize how short it is, you'll wish it was longer. And with the word of mouth already spread about the general public about this film, in the end, your enjoyment of Cloverfield will probably come down to your ability to suspend your disbelief and how well you can stand a film not filmed in the proper motion picture style. A highly recommended movie. --- [4 out of 5].

"Worst movie ever, if you could call it a movie"
This is just garbage. I would give it zero stars if I could. I don't even know where to begin. I couldn't even watch this mess. All it seemed to be is a bunch of hysterical losers screaming the same thing over and over.

"Good Movie"
Cloverfield surprised me. I was expecting a Godzilla type movie and it acted more like the Blair Witch Project. It was done with a handheld throughout the movie and it gave it a great scary feel for the movie. It also helps that the creature was seldom seen and when it did show up it made you jump out of your seat.

"Monster Holocaust..."
I've heard / read others write CLOVERFIELD off as a BLAIR WITCH PROJECT rip-off. That's pretty amusing, considering the way BLAIR WITCH owes it's entire existence to CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (released many years earlier)! Besides, CLOVERFIELD is at least an invigorating experience, while BLAIR WITCH is about as frightening as Casper the friendly ghost! CLOVERFIELD features a hideous behemoth, smashing buildings and slaughtering thousands. BW had some folks running around in the woods, scared by off-camera noises. There's simply NO comparison! I do admit that the bachelor party stuff is weak, but once the creepy critter shows up, all is forgiven! And yes, when watched in total darkness, this movie accomplishes the illusion of inserting the viewer into the story. Just let yourself go w/ it. It's a lot of fun! 4½ stars rounded up to 5...

"My Favorite Movie This Year"
Whats wrong with ppl?? Unless you are prone to gettng motion sickness this movie is incredible. The graphics exspecially on blu ray are incredible, I am picky as hell and this is the only movie made this year I could watch more then once. If you do not care for bad endings then you wont like this movie, Thats where the bad reviews are comming from, Some ppl just cant handle it. Even if you dont like the plot (which I doubt) The graphics exspecially on blu ray are just incredible! Its a new movie with a new idea. I really hope they come out with a second one.