Cloverfield - So Good It'll Make You Sick!

OK, so I'm just back from Cloverfield. *Whoo!* My head is spinning.

****** SPOILERS AHEAD...I'LL TRY TO KEEP THEM MINOR ******

First the good:

1. The movie was totally intense. The decision to watch the whole thing through the lens of a video camera (a la Blair Witch) really put you in the middle of everything. I was genuinely frightened a few times. (I'll tell you one thing, I'm never going in a subway again!)

2. There were a few good moments of humor These were totally necessary to break the tension, but they never took you completely out of the moment.

3. The acting was good. No one will be getting any awards for their performance, but you totally bought that these people knew each other, were friends, and were scared out of their minds.

Now the bad:

1. HOLD THE FREAKING CAMERA STEADY! My eyes were going cross-eyed during the running, jumping, action parts. I understand the theory of why that should work. You never get a good look at what's going on (adds to the tension). The sense of things coming at you really puts you in the moment. But I have two problems with this cinematic device. First, if all that movement doesn't give you motion sickness, it will at least give you a headache. Also, I can't help but think throughout the entire movie "PUT THE F*CKING CAMERA DOWN! THERE'S A HUGE FREAKING MONSTER CHASING YOU!" I mean, seriously, does history really need a record of the giant monster wrecking New York that badly? Surely someone would notice something like that...it's not going to slip under everyone's radar.

2. The characters are totally forgettable. I honestly think this was done on purpose, though. From the few snippets I've read on Cloverfield before we went tonight, it seems like it was really important to the filmmakers to put "everymen" (and "everywomen") into the story so that it would be easier to empathize. Which, I think worked quite well. Still, you would think they would make the characters a LITTLE more appealing? As I said, the acting was good, I believed in these characters...I just didn't fall in love with them.

3. "I totally saw that coming!" While much of this movie feels incredibly fresh and innovative, who didn't know what was going to happen when Rob said, "The camera has night vision. Here, let me turn it on!"

I suppose I could go on, but it's not really necessary. The movie is worth the hype. It's a wonderfully fun, scary, roller coaster ride of a movie. The viral marketing was genius, and totally adds to the fun of the whole thing. Fried Geek does a great job of rounding up the links and easter eggs hidden across the Internet.

So GO! Enjoy! Be scared! You will have a great time getting wrapped up in Cloverfield. Just remember to take your motion sickness pills.