Theatrical Review: CLOVERFIELD
BLAIR WITCH PROJECT +JURASSIC PARK + GODZILLA + guy loses girl x serious J.J. Abrams special effects= CLOVERFIELD
Rating: 8/10
Motion Sickness rating: 47/10
Director: Matt Reeves
Writer: Drew Goddard
Cast: Michael Stahl-David, Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, Odette Yustman
Studio:Paramount Pictures
The Good:
I tried going into this movie knowing as little as possible, but considering it is the most hyped up movie of the year, I always seemed to stumble on spoilers and such. I'll tell you this, the less you know about CLOVERFIELD, the better. All you really need to know is that CLOVERFIELD is a new kind of monster film. Shot on a handheld camera, it follows four friends throughout downtown New York while the city is attacked by some kind of Godzilla-like creature. When we see the head of the Statue of Liberty tossed through the city like a rag doll, we know whatever it is isn't here for tea time.
The story starts off with a going away party for our hero, Rob (Michael Stahl-David), who is moving to Japan. We know early that he had a brief romance with the girl of his dreams, Beth (Odette Yustman), whom he has an argument with and she leaves the party. In what would be a story we've all seen before, suddenly a monster comes and destroys everything in its path. But what's different about this film is that it's more focused on the love story than the monster. Rather than take an easy evacuation, Rob sets out to find Beth in the mess of a city, rescue her, and take her to safety. Sound familiar?
The whole thing is pretty much shot by his friend Hud (T.J.Miller), who is extremely drunk and hilarious. You can never lose in a over the top suspenseful film with the funny sidekick.
Overall, this film was a fun ride, and at times I caught myself wanting to yelp, "RUN!"
The Ugly:
"Is it coming? No. OK good. Wait? Here is comes. Close your eyes! Deep breaths and count to ten. Maybe fifty. OK, it's comingggg.... false alarm again. WOW. That was intense."
I'm sure you're thinking I'm talking about the most hyped up monster in movie history, but I'm not. I'm referring to my vomit. After leaving the theater, I had to wait a few minutes to drive away due to the fact I was experiencing what Hitchcock made famous, vertigo. I'm not exaggerating either. It wasn't bad camera work as everyone knows it was shot quite like BLAIR WITCH, with a handheld camera. JJ wanted to give us the "I feel like I'm there with them" feeling, and they completed succeeded in that, but you will end up with "I'm with you, but I'm gonna vomit if you cannot keep that damn camera steady."
Overall, if you don't mind shaky camera work (which I thought I could and I was completely wrong), CLOVERFIELD is a film you no doubt need to experience. If not, there is always PS. I LOVE YOU.
Writer's note: "The Bad" section has been skipped for this review.
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