What Now

I saw Cloverfield on Friday and I loved it.

I'm going to talk about it, so if you don't want to read any spoilery type things, please be on your way. Have a nice day!

OK, now for everyone who is left, let me elaborate. First off, I wasn't expecting Citizen Kane when I walked into the theater. In fact, I went to the theater prepared to be completely disappointed. I knew that it was going to be a "Monster attacks Manhattan and rips things apart" movie. I have a deep and abiding love for movies where well known landmarks are destroyed in spectacular ways. This is one of the reasons that Independence Day will always be one of my favorite movies. It's perverse, I know, but that's just how I roll. So, this movie was not only a good monster flick, but it was the most violent love story I've ever seen.

If you've heard anything about this movie, you've probably heard that it is shot from the first person perspective of a character in the film. Of course, as with any home movie, the camera shakes, rolls and whips around like crazy. I've heard that it actually made a lot of people sick, but it didn't bother me except for the fact that it was a little disorienting until the movie progresses. In all honesty, this shaky camera work and character perspective is the reason the movie was so good. It's a gimmick, according to film reviews I've read, but it is what made the difference between a run of the mill monster flick and really good movie that made me ball up in my seat and pull my jacket over my face a couple of times. The fact that you see things from the point of view of a participant, even if they are involved in a highly unlikely situation, forces you to get more involved in the story. There aren't any cut-aways or side stories, and you are basically seeing this terrible thing the way you would see it if you were there. One point of view, one story. We only get glimpses of the Big Scary Monster, but that makes it all the better! You don't exactly know what you're scared of or what it is, but you know you have to get away from it or it will eat you. Of course, most of us would have tossed the camera away much sooner than our friend Hud (who was the one filming everything) but who knows what some people will do when they are running for their lives, right? One thing about the movie that seems to drive a lot of viewers nuts, is the fact that you never learn any facts about what is going on. You never find out what happens to the characters (well, most of them) and you never find out what the thing is or where it came from. That was fine with me, though. I believe there should be more mysteries in life anyways. :)

All in all, the movie was fun. It was much more fun than many other movies I've seen for a long time. It's not to everyone's taste, granted, but it is a good way to spend an hour and a half not thinking about anything complicated. : )

Oh, and the most important thing, the Star Trek trailer was on this movie and I made a complete geek of myself about it.