"Cloverfield" Theatrical Review (4.2/5) -Three Geek Review

There's a short list of images that come to mind when people start talkin' giant monster movies: Godzilla wading through Tokyo, Mothra and its miniature twins, and King Kong swatting airplanes from the top of the Empire State Building. The cult classics, the conventions and the unending remakes... it's a tapped out genre, right?

Wrong. And shut up.

"Cloverfield" is destined to stand out from the pack of samey, radioactive rehashes pitched at the screen since the mid '50s. The broader premise of "giant monster attacks New York" is given a beautifully narrow frame of reference: a hand-held camera held in the hands of a regular guy.

T.J. Miller's solid portrayal of Hud, the man behind the camera, is at the heart of what makes this movie work. It's funny how the best character by far has the least screen time, Hud himself being shown for maybe 30 seconds. Then again, we are looking through his eyes for nearly the length of the film so, in a way, he's ever present.

There certainly are contrivances to deal with. Main man Rob (Michael Stahl-David) running headlong through a war zone to save the girl of his dreams (Odette Yustman), regardless of the unprecedented danger posed by a nightmarish hulk knocking buildings down left and right, is about as melodramatic an idea as you can get. But I was so engrossed by the film that this kind of thing pops up merely as a begrudging afterthought.

The presentation is slick beyond belief. The destruction and the violence are grimly realistic, and always from the normal human point of view. Snips of honest, modern mannerism pop up as we watch people whip out camera phones to record the carnage. And there are the back-story moments woven in at the party or in the snippets of tape that the movie was recorded over. It feels like we're looking at the real world, the real lives of these people, as trampled by an unstoppable colossus.

Not only do I hope that "Cloverfield" will be let past the velvet rope and allowed to sit at the Genre Classics table with all the rest, but I also want it to become the new standard. Not the shaky-cam, man-on-the-street angle specifically so much as the freshness and personality. This movie stands as proof, if you didn't know this already, that there are always new ways to approach an idea.

Audiences haven't been given the opportunity to be honestly freaked out by a giant monster movie in 60 years. This is something you shouldn't miss out on.

4.5 out of 5

-Thad out.




Finally, a shaky-cam movie that I can recommend without reservation. Finally an honest-to-God monster movie, not some slasher or demented madman who likes to torture college kids. Hell probably the best American monster movie for quite some time.

"Cloverfield" is an intense, low budget, hand-held camera experience of a movie. For a movie with a budget around $30,000,000 it looks surprisingly low budget. The money apparently went into the sets and the monster. The sets are gorgeous. Especially one particular scene involving two towering apartment buildings.

The editing is fantastic as well. It's not often I'm amazed by the shaky-cam, but this time I was. It lent an air of authenticity to the the film.

There is one scene in a tunnel, where the camera turns and stares down the blackness. Finally a movie that realizes that we can still be scared by the dark. Then a character utters the line, "Turn on the night vision." A line that anyone with a Level 2 Knowledge of Movies should reply with, "Yeah YOU do that, I'm hauling ass."

Also this movie should be seen in THX 5.1 Surround Kloiber. This movie was intense, but was made more so by my fellow reviewer and friend. We get a glimpse of the monster and suddenly all of Richard's limbs shoot straight out. It gave the movie a heighten sense of danger, knowing at any moment Kloiber would probably maim me by accident.

The directing by Matt Reeves, was far and above anything I was expecting. The whole movie had an air of realism, it had moments where you could tell this was a movie, but you didn't mind. The writing by Drew Goddard (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly) was fantastic. It was so good that I suspect there may have been improv. If there was none, then he has an ear for naturalistic dialogue that rivals John Cassavettes.

4.5 out of 5

See this movie. You won't be sorry.

Yours Until Hell Freezes Over,

Jeremiah




"Cloverfield" is the kind of movie you don't know what to expect going into. J.J. Abrams' track record is a bit hit or miss for me. I never got into "Lost" or "Alias," and his movies tend to be misses. Also frightening was Matt Reeves as the Director, who seems to have made a career directing failed television pilots and the movie the "Pallbearer," another Abrams project. I was relieved to see Drew Goddard, who wrote for television's "Buffy: the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel." I was afraid going into this is was going to be "Blair Witch" mixed in with Ed Wood films. By the first five minutes, after the action started, I knew that was not the case.

J.J. Abrams' monster movie "Cloverfield" defies convention. The entire movie is shot in the style of a handicam, and a lot of the shots seem amateurish on purpose. The suspension of disbelief that Hud, the film's cameraman, is actually filming the destruction of New York is not hard to buy. Other, less conventional technical elements worked as well, such as the lack of music.

What I enjoyed the most though, was the fresh look at main characters in a monster movie. There was no Mathew Brodrick telling me about Godzilla Babies, nor a crazy military guy hell bent on the thing's capture. There were only kids at a party when the shit starts to go down.

Rob Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David) is moving to Japan. His brother Jason (Mike Vogel) and his Jason's girlfriend Lily (Jessica Lucas) throw him a surprise party the night before he leaves. Jason suckers Hud (T.J. Miller) into filming testimonials and awkwardly flirting with Marlena. (Lizzy Caplan) Shortly after this, Rob's pseudo-love interest/friend Beth (Odetta Yustman) shows up with another guy, prompting an argument with Rob. She leaves and he sulks. Jason and Hud step out to cheer him up. And then a monster attacks.

Most of the cast does a decent if forgettable job. The plot defies so many monster movies, but falls trap to a few horror cliches. Rob wants to save Beth, no one else thinks it is a good idea, Rob says he is going anyway, everyone goes with him. Repeat this for an hour and you have most of the movie. That being said T. J. Miller really stands out. His portrayal of Hud is brilliant. It doesn't matter if he is faced with a life or death situation or just relaxing with his friends, Hud comes up with the best one liners to lighten the mood or get the group out of a panic.

Overall, "Cloverfield" does wonders for the giant monster genre, but is not as groundbreaking as some people will tell you.

3.5 out of 5

-Richard




threegeekreview's overall score: 4.2 out of 5