Cloverfield (B or 3/4 stars)
Whoever said J.J. Abrams could only do TV shows? In his 'Cloverfield', a Sci-Fi thriller directed by Matt Reeves, 5 New Yorkers throw their friend, Rob (Michael Stahl-David), a going-away party the night a creature the size of a building attacks Manhattan. Told from the point-of-view of a home video camera, the film provides documentation of their attempt to survive the most terrifying night of their lives. Just like The Blair Witch Project, this film has that shaky handheld camera feel. If you can stand the shakiness & keep your popcorn in your stomach ... a fairly exciting & horrifying night is to be had at your local theater.
The film (literally) begins on April 27th with an endearing scene btwn. lovers Rob & Beth (Odette Yustman). It's the morning after their 1st night together, & they're lounging in bed. The video skips forward to May 22nd. Rob is leaving for Japan the next day & we are watching his going-away party. Those at the party include his brother, Jason (Mike Vogel), Jason's girlfriend, Lily (Jessica Lucas), Rob's best buddy (our cameraman), Hud (T.J. Miller), & the girl Hud has a crush on, Marlena (Lizzy Caplan). Things go from good to bad when Beth shows up to the party with a boyfriend. Rob barely has any time to take-in what's happening because all Hell is breaking loose outside. Fire is breaking out, explosions are going off, skyscrapers are crashing to the ground, & debris is flying.
All of Manhattan is in utter chaos. But this is no 9/11 (though it's eerily reminiscent), a giant monster is causing the fury & mayhem. Not only is it demolishing everything (the head of the Statue of Liberty & the Brooklyn Bridge are the early victims), not only is it eating everything in sight, not only does it release hundreds of small spiderlike babies upon the city, but it appears to fall unharmed by anything that the U.S. army throws at it! The rest of the film plays out with the remaining survivors trying (on a wing and a prayer) to rescue various other people & outrun the mysterious creature.
I won't divulge specifics of the plot; nor will I give any hint as to how this whole thing wraps up. I will say that it's bleakly appropriate. Where, oh where to start? I suppose the 1st thing to discuss is the technique of using the handheld camera throughout. I wasn't nauseated, though I could see it causing problems to many a folk. What I love about this technique is it made me feel like I was right there; everything was urgent, immediate, & scary (ex: there's a scene where the characters fend off some foes in a pitch-black tunnel with only the camera's night vision on). Something else I enjoyed was the fantastic special effects (great monster) & the acute sound editing. Though we watch the film through an inferior handheld camera, everything else going on around is top notch quality.
The film does leave us with unanswered questions (and ponderances). What is the monster? Where does it come from? Why is it here NOW? What is its future? etc. Also ... while I love the style/technique of the film, it's very short on plot. Aside from the insightful 1st 20 minutes, it also lacks meaningful dialogue and/or feelings of remorse for many of the throw-away characters. But we've seen many films where monsters attack NY, & 'Cloverfield' shows us the destruction from a different perspective. I like how we see very little of the monster; the less-is-more effect is almost always better in these types of movies. Really ... this film is almost exactly like someone's 80 minute long youtube clip that you can catch on the internet. It's swift, (mostly) entertaining, and a good way to start off 2008.
The film (literally) begins on April 27th with an endearing scene btwn. lovers Rob & Beth (Odette Yustman). It's the morning after their 1st night together, & they're lounging in bed. The video skips forward to May 22nd. Rob is leaving for Japan the next day & we are watching his going-away party. Those at the party include his brother, Jason (Mike Vogel), Jason's girlfriend, Lily (Jessica Lucas), Rob's best buddy (our cameraman), Hud (T.J. Miller), & the girl Hud has a crush on, Marlena (Lizzy Caplan). Things go from good to bad when Beth shows up to the party with a boyfriend. Rob barely has any time to take-in what's happening because all Hell is breaking loose outside. Fire is breaking out, explosions are going off, skyscrapers are crashing to the ground, & debris is flying.
All of Manhattan is in utter chaos. But this is no 9/11 (though it's eerily reminiscent), a giant monster is causing the fury & mayhem. Not only is it demolishing everything (the head of the Statue of Liberty & the Brooklyn Bridge are the early victims), not only is it eating everything in sight, not only does it release hundreds of small spiderlike babies upon the city, but it appears to fall unharmed by anything that the U.S. army throws at it! The rest of the film plays out with the remaining survivors trying (on a wing and a prayer) to rescue various other people & outrun the mysterious creature.
I won't divulge specifics of the plot; nor will I give any hint as to how this whole thing wraps up. I will say that it's bleakly appropriate. Where, oh where to start? I suppose the 1st thing to discuss is the technique of using the handheld camera throughout. I wasn't nauseated, though I could see it causing problems to many a folk. What I love about this technique is it made me feel like I was right there; everything was urgent, immediate, & scary (ex: there's a scene where the characters fend off some foes in a pitch-black tunnel with only the camera's night vision on). Something else I enjoyed was the fantastic special effects (great monster) & the acute sound editing. Though we watch the film through an inferior handheld camera, everything else going on around is top notch quality.
The film does leave us with unanswered questions (and ponderances). What is the monster? Where does it come from? Why is it here NOW? What is its future? etc. Also ... while I love the style/technique of the film, it's very short on plot. Aside from the insightful 1st 20 minutes, it also lacks meaningful dialogue and/or feelings of remorse for many of the throw-away characters. But we've seen many films where monsters attack NY, & 'Cloverfield' shows us the destruction from a different perspective. I like how we see very little of the monster; the less-is-more effect is almost always better in these types of movies. Really ... this film is almost exactly like someone's 80 minute long youtube clip that you can catch on the internet. It's swift, (mostly) entertaining, and a good way to start off 2008.