Cloverfield

First off, let's get this out of the way - IT'S NOT A GODDAMNED LION. HA! FACE! Also, let's get it out of the way that this movie is LOADED with shakycam. LOADED. Not a few instances here and there, not being utilized for artsy-fartsy effect now and again - LOADED. There are scenes where the character holding the camera has it at his side and is RUNNING while paying NO attention to where the lens is being aimed at all. I'm lucky enough not to get motion sickness, so for me, it took me right into the action of the movie and made it feel a thousand times more immediate and real than any conventionally-shot smash-em-up monster movie ever could. So, in my opinion, if your only opinions about Cloverfield stem from bitching about the shakycam, uh, yeah - we know. Get over it. Rant over.

The comparisons to Blair Witch Project are going to be far and wide, and most of them are going to root from the cinematography of the two movies. Personally, I feel that Cloverfield kicks the living shit out of BWP in a lot of ways, and mostly because WE GET TO SEE THE GODDAMNED MONSTER. Yes, it's alive, yes, it's huge, and holy FUCK is it beautiful. I want a great big plastic one to sit on my toy shelf as soon as is humanly possible. I seriously jumped the first time I saw its face, and the way its appearances are cut into the film are slow, gradual, and then RIGHT up in your face just when they need to be. Oh, and the lice creatures? Real. VERY real, and their screen debut is fucking awesome. Remember how disappointed you were in the baby Godzillas in 'Ferris Bueller's Godzilla Movie'? Yeah, this is nothing like that. These things want to KILL YOU.

Fear is a very real element in this movie. Near the beginning, there is a scene that so invokes some of the imagery associated with 9/11 that I was surprised it was used. Too soon? Not anymore. This movie WANTS you to be afraid, and it's not afraid itself to use some of the more apocalyptic real-life film imagery of recent memory in order to do so. I think the reason it was used is the same reason this movie wasn't released as a summer blockbuster - this isn't your average smash-em-up monster movie special effects bonanza. Its tone is lightened here and there for the sake of a little levity and showmanship, but at its core, Cloverfield wants to scare you. This isn't light-hearted entertainment at all.

What surprised me most about Cloverfield is how human it is, and what does that are the characters. You LIKE them. You feel for them. Hud, for example, is fucking hysterical. He serves basically as the narrator of the film, the voice in our own heads that would probably be reacting just like he is. He also serves as the cinematographer of the film, so if you still want to bitch, do it to him. Rob, as you know, is our hero character. He's about to leave for Japan for a new job, monster attacks, plans diverted, blah blah. You've heard all that before, but what you might not know about him is that he's in love with Beth, a girl he had a fling with a few months ago that he hasn't completely gotten over. There are layers to this relationship that we find out about over the course of the film, but I'll let you discover them for your own. The way they're played into the very texture of the film is an interesting one.

Part of me wants to call Cloverfield a Dogme 95 monster movie, even though it breaks nearly every rule of that genre right off the bat. There are killings, special effects, the most hellacious audio mix you've ever heard, and perhaps the most important rule-break of all, this is a genre movie. This is a MONSTER movie, but it's not really about the monster at all. This is a monster movie that is about all those scrambling little sockpuppets you always see running for their lives as Godzilla stomps through Tokyo. Cloverfield is about what happens below, what would probably go through your head if a giant fucking creature from God-knows-where came stomping through town to kick your ass.

It's exhausting, challenging, fun and funny as hell, and the best ride I've had in a movie theater in a long damn time. Cloverfield is a victory for Bad Robot, and it thrills me to say so. I love those guys like some people love their hometown football teams. This movie brings to life an interesting genre, and it will be fun to see what all the copycats do with it. Oh yes, there are going to be copycats. Be prepared. Be sure to stay for Michael Giacchino's theme 'ROAR!' over the end credits, too. It's a, um, monster. Heh.