Movies: Cloverfield

So here's the thing: This movie won't blow your mind, it's not a groundbreaking film, and it's certainly not worth all the hype. But it's not bad either.

The Good: The idea of the entire movie filmed with a consumer grade video camera is creative and fun to watch, the special effects are fantastic, and most of the loose ends are tied up by the end. Also, the 90 minute run-time is a nice touch. Anything longer would have made the option of this being all on one tape null and void. It's still a little unbelievable the battery would last the entire 90 minutes... but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

The Bad: CGI is stupid. Seriously, this would have been SO much better had they not shown the monster at the end. It's way more scary to only catch glimpses of what's going on than to be bombarded with just another CGI mess. And the same thing applies to the parasites from the monster. There was no need to show them or make them sound like rabid cats in heat... shadows and hints of them would be much more effective. The characters are annoying too. Lastly, there's a lack of consistency that distracts from the movie. Supposedly, we are watching this as a tape someone has found after the event. However, at no point during watching this is there simulated fast forwarding. So how can we skip from looking at a bridge a few miles away to being on the bridge without the camera turning off or without someone fast forwarding through the walk? All I'm saying is, if the filmmakers want people to go with the idea of recording on "shaky cam," you need to make it consistent. Having the other recording playing while the camera is off is realistic, so why not keep it that way?

So is Cloverfield worth seeing? Yes. Just don't expect it to be mind-blowing. And don't pay $10 to see it. Go see a matinee.

My rating: B-