A Four Leaf Cloverfield

Daniel Scillieri

Personal Grade: B/B+
viewed: Saturday January 19th 1:30 at Loews


YES WE ARE BACK!!! We here at Talking In Movies apologize to our fans for our extended absence. We decided to get back into the movie going groove and go see the highly talked about "Cloverfield".
Cloverfield is a science fiction thriller/ horror movie that can be best described as The Blair Witch Project combined with Godzilla. The movie takes place in present day Manhattan where the main character Rob Hawkins, played by Michael Stahl-David, has a surprise "going away" party in his honor. During the celebration, his brother Jason Hawkins(Mike Vogul) and best friend Hud Platt (T.J. Miller) decide to film testimonials from all of his friends who want to say goodbye. After some standard party drama, the entire building is shaken by a freak "earthquake" and the suspense begins as the the guests witness mysterious explosions in the distant New York skyline.

THE PROS:
I definitely liked the unorthodox style of camera work this movie presented. Like stated earlier, this movie had the elements of The Blair Witch Project due to the fact the entire movie was shot through a hand-held video camera. This added a sense of fear and excitement as in some shots of panic and screaming you couldn't really see what is going on. Certain parts give you a clear view of why the entire city is in chaos but other times the camera is literally staring at a wall or the street. Throughout the entire film, the growing sense of terror at this unstoppable force that is devastating N.Y.C. is very lifelike and locks you into the film. This aspect of fear alone gave this movie's grade a serious boost. The movie left several things unexplained but in a strange way it helped. Not knowing where the monster came from or how it could be stopped were just a few things that race through your excited mind. The acting in the movie was done very well, each character presented a genuine level of fear and emotions. Hud Platt, who was the cameraman for the majority of the film also threw in some very funny lines at certain times that not only made you laugh but gave the film a greater sense of realism.

THE CONS:
For the entire duration of the movie, only very minor things didn't sit well with me. Certain things such as one of the characters running through the city in designer high heels just made me shake my head. Another example of classic " SURVIVOR STUPIDITY" (as stated in previous reviews by Talking In Movies)is the main characters decide to race through a New York that is ravaged and infested by monsters WITHOUT A WEAPON! Even if there was a stick on the ground, it would have been in my hand just in case something terrible came around the corner. One of the more ridiculous events of the movie that bothered me was the overall lack of urgency, efficiency, and resources of the United States Military. The monster was freaken ENORMOUS, it tore through every building it came close to and it looked like the National Guard was the only armed forces to respond. Back to the monster being huge, the military had some of the worst accuracy I have ever seen. Several scenes of the movie show stray rockets zipping past or a building behind the massive creature blowing up. I just think that if this were to happen in real life, every known resource of the U.S. Military would of been unleashed on this thing. That leads to my final minor detail that just didn't feel right. The beast dropped several littler monsters to attackthe city as well. These creatures, while scary and tough, were killable by conventional weapons. The big monster on the other hand, seemed invincible. While it made the creature definitely scarier, I just don't think our technology, with tank-buster missiles and special weapons to kill people deep underground, is so primitive that it can't pierce this thing's skin. One more quick note, where can I buy a super indestructible with an extra long battery video camera?


To wrap things up, Cloverfield earns its grade of B/B+, leaning towards the B+ half. The unorthodox camera work mixed with an unstoppable giant monster in New York City makes this movie a must see in early 2008. Solid acting and visual effects leave you wondering what you would do if some unknown thing came to Earth and began destroying everything in it's path. If you have a strong stomach (the entire movie could easily make you nauseous with all the shaky camera work) and love a good action thriller than Cloverfield is a MUST SEE movie.


Special Thanks to Rick Bencivenni, honorary guest of Team Talking In Movies.