Cloverfield (2008)

The lights go down and a booming sound hits the cinema, followed by a few more, then the film begins and straight away i was hooked. We pick up the film from the view of retrieved footage, that we assume was picked up by the government / Army with the case titled "Cloverfield" started at an area "once known as Centeral Park" this immediately sets up a sense of dread. Then it's followed by footage of a young couple who have just spent the night together, planning their day and traveling on the train. Then it flips between two characters planning a party. With the date at the bottom of recording changing it set up an idea that these two stories probably inter-connect but it was a brilliant idea to get you thinking. I was like "ok so thats like a month and a bit between the dates" getting the audience thinking, genius move. Setting up the emotional aspect and real human lives established a solid base to actually care about these people. It's funny because obivously i knew a monster had to attack at some point but during the party scenes, the interaction between the characters was so solid and engaging that when the monster did attack, it came as a suprise, i was like "oh yeah the monster". Actually part of me was like "damn i have to get used to a new film now" because i was worried the tone would change in terms of the characters. However it didn't when a character dies they take time to show how to effects the fellow characters. Obiviously they don't spend too much time on it, as it's a action movie with a monster, but it was enough and many other disaster movies wouldn't take anytime for the characters.

The monster itself (not too give anything away) well actually thats a good point. To go off on something else for a second. The viral promotional campaign was the main part of this factor. I don't feel right to mention the details of the monster because the viral promotion was so good that it kept you guessing. Whether it was slight glipses on trailers, posters, internet stuff (including fake myspace accounts for the characters) it was so brilliantly done, i don't want to ruin the suprise for thos who have not seen it. I will say that the action is tense and gripping. There is a moment where the monster strikes at a helicopter, emerging from smoke, it was made me jump and i challenge you not to do the same.

The director Matt Reeves had previously directed The Pallbearer. A quiet, dark romantic comedy. A brilliant film that i loved for many years (it's in my top 10 of all time) , way before Cloverfield was announced. However given the genre of this film, then contrasted with the genre of The Pallbearer, i was a little worried that it might not be carried off due to the staggering difference in tone. Don't be alarmed by that, this is as good as a disaster movie i have ever seen, the best i've seen in fact. He seems to of taken to it like a duck to water.

Before this turns into a lovefest i should point out that although i loved the film as a whole, there was one moment that i really did not like and was made for irritating by the fact it went against everything the rest of the film was about. There is a moment where Hud, the character who has the camera, is approached by the monster in a "he's behind you !" sort of manner. He turns and the charatcer looks up (as does the camera) it sticks on the monster for like 5-7 seconds. My issue comes two fold :

1. The camera angle was too prefect, if you were look at a huge monster you wouldn't be bothered about filming it, you'd look with your eyes

2. By seperating them and making it a face off between him and the creature, what that did was make it obivious these are the main characters, like the monster was like "i could go over there .. or maybe here where the stars are" where the rest of it was it was happening around them, for that moment it was happening TO them, which i have issue with.

All in all, those issues i had with it above, mainly made more prominent because i felt it went agianst what the rest of the movie stood for. However that was a small moment that i had issue with, because the rest of the movie was so brilliantly done. There is so much to like about this movie, but, the key reason for me is that after the film was done. I was silent, the rest of the audience was silent and i felt drained. It made me care, and to top that it was at the same time one hell of an exciting ride. A triumph.