I just got back from watching Cloverfield. There are very few movies so interesting to me that I will actually go by myself to see them. I had tried to get a friend to come along, but he complained of “homework” and other such nonsense, and Donna can’t handle anything with monsters in it. Without spoiling anything, I will say that the movie was absolutely freaking awesome. It was definitely a brilliant new take on the classic monster movie.
Since this is my blog, let me just rant quickly: people who bring six-year-olds to movies like this are bad parents. You’re just not a good parent if you do this. You are bad. And stupid. You may think your kid can handle it, but you are wrong. And stupid. Ok, back to the movie.
Spoilers follow. I am putting a preview here to take up space on the page to prevent you from accidentally reading further if you don’t want to see the spoilers.
The movie consists of camcorder footage taken primarily during one night in Manhattan. It is often jerky and not getting the shot, like you would expect a real person to take. It’s basically one long, uncut YouTube video. The effect is that for an hour and 20 minutes or so, I completely forgot where I was. I was running next to these guys as they made their way through dark subways, leaning high-rises, and streets filled with dust. It was truly a brilliant piece of work.
It was also really short. Sometimes this is better with movies that are as intense as Cloverfield. You just can’t handle your nerves being on edge for much longer without it becoming troubling. I am Legend was far more intense and there were points in that movie where I was almost not able to tolerate it. In the end, the mystery of Cloverfield is still wide open. There is plenty of room for sequels, and I sincerely hope the powers-that-be restrain themselves. Was Cloverfield an ailen? A government project? Something from the deep? Knowing will probably only be a disappointment.
