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I saw this last night at an early screening with some friends. I went in to it not knowing ANYTHING about it exept for that it had monsters in it. I think thats what helped me like this movie, because I had no expectations of it.

Anyway, the whole movie is filmed from a first person view, kinda like Blair Witch Project. I dont think I should tell you much more than that, because I could give something away. Ill just say that it had me LITERALY holding onto my hat. It was crazy, and it was frightening. I MIGHT go as far to say that it was the most ......well, not SCARY, I guess, but...maybe THRILLING is the word Im looking for. DEFFINATLY movie you need to see in theaters.

I've talked to a few others who got into advanced screenings. 

Extremely slight spoilers:

Apparently the monster is seen quite a bit throughout the film, unlike what most people were thinking.  It also seems that the monster design is not even close to what has been posted around the net.

I haven't even seen the pictures of the monster on the net.

<update>

Alright, i did some resurch and I found this picture, and Ill tell ya right now, its totaly inacurate. Its not fish-like at all.

(http://wayangtopia.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/cloverfield-monster-picture.jpg)

That's an early one that was debunked. We're now going with a fish thingee with a hunch-spineback two tiny arms, two huge arms and a long lizard tail.

I heard it was supposed to look like this (http://www.wwtdd.com/photo.phtml?post_key=3375&photo_key=5692).

Bingo! Thats what I was talking about! Karma for you!

My son is going to see it tomorrow in the cinema.  Any creature that can pull the head off the Statue of Liberty and lob it down the street gets my vote   :thumbup:  I just hope they explain things.  I hate it when s**t happens and you have no clue why.

Not sure how the whole first person camera Blair Witch thing will be though.  You don't get to see good detail like that and all the jerking around would give me a headache.  Still, I'll be watching it when it comes out on DVD.

I have to give credit to the film's producer's for not giving a bunch away in the previews.  Its genius to me and I may just go out to see this soon.

Thats a LITTLE closer to what it looks like.

SPOILER!!!!









You're gonna be p**sed, then.

They don't show the whole thing, and they're low quality, but this is it.

Do not click these links if you don't want to see the monster.

http://i13.tinypic.com/6wpalx5.jpg

http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/6899/cloverfieldsmalleq0.gif

What is said to be a very accurate new sketch:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e240/bubhui/CLOVEY1.jpg

Very, very low quality camera phone video of ending(?) and tunnel scene:

http://my.break.com/content/view.aspx?ContentID=435291



The whale monster, by the way, is by Doug Williams. Here is his blog.

http://dougblot.blogspot.com/

If we actually do get to see the monster, then I will go to see it.

It's getting extremely mixed reviews overall. I'll probably just wait for the inevitable "extended too intense for theaters director's cut of the producer's cut" DVD.

Really?  Every review I have seen so far has been very positive.

I'm going by Rotten Tomatoes.  Well, actually my bad. It's up to 73%  as of right now. It was staying around 50% up until now.

HOLY ZOMBIE JESUS! That thing is ugly as hell! :buggedout:

I really want to see this one, sounds like it might even be worth a trip to the theater with the wife, only have to pawn her Toyota to get the money. Actually I'm going to wait for the DVD, I agree with Killer Bees, having a creature throw Miss Liberty's head down the street is pretty impressive, the trailers have been pretty good, looks like this one's worth a look.

Dude, if possible, you should see this one in theaters. It makes it TERRIFYING.

Okay, my son came back from the cinema a couple of hours ago.  He went to see it with my sister.

He said he's never been so scared in all his life  *lol*  Can you imagine trying to scare a 16 yo teenager these days?  Apparently being in a darkened cinema with the first person camera thing really adds to the terror of it all.

I'm still at work, so I won't find out the full story until I get home in another couple of hours.  Can't wait.

This sounds like a good thing, I'll go see this one on the big screen then.

Just got home from seeing it.

I went into the film with the highest of expectations.  I figured the film would be "OK" but would fall well below what I was hoping for.  Thankfully the film far surpassed anything I had expected.  It is superb, fast paced, and all out terrifying.  I consider myself to be a big fan of horror films, and not much affects me anymore; but this film is just pure terror.  It all feels so...real.

I consider this to be the big event film of the year.  I can't see it working as well on DVD.  This has to be seen in a dark theater with the sound cranked up.  It's truly an experience.

I'm supposed to see a 7:20 showing of the spanish horror film The Orphanage on Saturday, but my friends and myself might go see a showing of Cloverfield afterwards as they're really wanting to see it.

As long as we get some good looks at the beastie than that's all I ask for.

I'm with Torgo, Nothing ruins a monster film than a bunch of jump cuts and close ups of warty skin or something.   So far its one I would see. 
-Ed

Torgo, you're seeing The Orphanage?  Be sure to check out my review in the Good Movies section.  I loved the hell out of that film.

I've heard pretty much nothing but good things about it.  I'm surprised that any of the theaters that are near where I live got it actually considering it's more of an art house type release film.

Well, I saw it today and I think this thread might need to be moved.

I don't know what movie you all saw, but the Cloverfeild I saw the was horrible. I wasted a half hour and 12 bucks.
The motion of the camera made me sick (they could have switched views sometimes).
The beginning was so amazingly BORING. I was like ... whens the monster gonna get here?
There is practically no plot.
It was not scary at all, except for a few parts.
The movie made NO SENSE in many places. Why would Hud, while running for his life, lug that camera around with him?
Why would the other guy go through all that to see a girlfreind had did it with for one night. Yeah.... no.
And no camera could survive all that, let slone have that much battery. And flashbacks started at random spots, Hud would not have gone to look back at that in the middle of the movier (just like... who would keep the camera that long!?)
And what about Mel.. mel something? She just kept bleading until she blew up? No possible.
It would have been nice if the movie continued and explained things a little/a lot more.

Overall, I very much disliked this movie.

I haven't seen the movie myself, but I've heard a lot of bad things about it. The trailer itself didn't make me interested in seeing it either. It looks like Godzilla rehashed, from the perspective of a shaky cameraman. I'm going to wait until it's on television.

Well, that's JJ Abrams for you.  Look at Lost.  No explanation, just frenetic pacing and story you find yourself dumped in the middle of.

It's a good technique, but you do have to explain SOME things.  And never underestimate the power of a guy with a video camera wanting to catch some action.  Can anyone say YouTube?

I'd still like to see it, but I'll wait for it to come out on DVD.

You might want to put up a spoiler warning.  Those are some things that could potentially ruin the film for people.

GGGRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :hot:

I was gonna catch the late showing of this one after church tonight, and then I found out our local theater doesn't HAVE a Sunday night late show!!! :hatred:

What's a Baptist supposed to do????????? :question:

I was really excited about this film, since I've always loved giant monsters. This is probably the most I have anticipated a film since Tri-Star's Godzilla ten years ago (geez, has it been that long already?). I was planning on going yesterday, but Friday I came down with a cold and have been stuck in bed ever since. Bummer. I'll have to wait til next Saturday now.

Caught it tonight and enjoyed the hell out of it.

I wasn't actually terrified by the film, but it was sure exciting, and I bet my heart beat a bit faster in a lot of it.  Personally I found a few scenes in I Am Legend to be a bit more scary.

BUT I didn't go see it to be scared, but to watch a good movie.  The shaky cam was at a minimum in terms of out and out shakiness [the bits it happened on weren't such a focus, more just a blind panic].  Anyone who has handled a camera will be used to it so it wasn't nearly as bad as, say, bits of Bourne where they just zoom in too far and it's hard to focus on what is going on.

Besides, the whole point of the movie was to be hand-held-style.  Sure it may be annoying for some but that's the reality of how this thing was filmed.  I'm pretty sure they made sure anyone who saw a trailer knew that was how it was going to happen.


Spoilers:


Why would the guy keep the camera someone asked?  Well why not?  He was the 'documentation guy' and said himself 'people are going to want to know what happened'.  I suppose you COULD say that in times of stress you go think of one thing and focus on that and forget the rest.  As for the battery, some of them last a while nowadays, and besides, it was only used for the time you see on screen, which really wasn't alot.  It's not like they recorded the whole time you know? 

I know my camera can go almost 1 hour and 45 minutes on just a normal battery.  But I suppose that's being too technical.

The girl who got bit was pretty intense, I really liked that scene.  I'm almost disappointed there wasn't more of those little monster things running around since it seemed like the place was just raining in them.  Did anyone else thing they were like mini versions of the Starship Troopers arachnids?

As for the ending and not knowing what's going on... Sure it would be nice to know more [I was sure itching to know more] but let's face it: the whole idea of the film is for a camera to film in first person from the perspective of someone who was there.  They wouldn't know squat either, so we only know what they get to know.  That's the reality of it.  As it is I think they were pretty generous in giving us as much info as we got, from things like the news segments and whatnot.



All up I quite enjoyed it.  Good to see at a cinema, but sit at the back if you get queasy from shaky-cam.

Now I'm just waiting for the sequel shot from the point of view of the monster.  Now THAT would be a hell of a movie...  :teddyr:

Slight Spoilers!


Dean,

I actually felt that they were more like the Antlions in Half Life 2.  They had a similar creature design, although a bit smaller.  They also made the exact same sounds as the antlions.  It was certainly the first thing that sprang to mind for me.

I don't know what I expected from this movie -- I managed to miss all the hype except for the trailer, seen at the beginning of another movie much inferior to it *coughWILL SMITHcough* -- but it ROCKED MY FACE OFF.

Guys, seriously, for those of you who are going to wait for the dvd, DONT! This is DEFFINATLY a movie that you need to see in theatres! If you have no intrest in seeing it, thats fine, but if you DO want to see it, the theatre is the way to go.
 It makes it so much more TERRIFYING! Take my advice!

Ya know, they kinda reminded me of those small evil robots that the decepticons made in the Transformers movie.

I just got in from seeing CLOVERFIELD.  This movie rocked my socks off!!!!!!!!!!!!  I mean, seriously, I had to go peel them off the back wall of the theater.

This is one of the most overwhelming movies I have ever seen.  It was so open-ended, so devoid of explanation or context, so doggone RAW that it just rubbed your face in the panic and terror of the event.  You were sucked in, and left gasping in places - I LOVED THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


One thing I wondered about the small monsters . . . do you think they were offspring of the big beast, or parasites clinging to his hide that bailed off when the napalm started hitting him?

And the monster . . . not even the still shots earlier in this thread prepared me for the total alienness of it.  It resembles no creature that has ever lived on earth.  And it's freakin' HUGE!!!!!!!

Anyway, hope you loved it as much as I did.  Catch it on the big screen, it's worth the six bucks.  The trailers looked pretty good too . . . .

What?!?! You mean it really IS a monster? Aww, indy, you ruined the surprise! And here I had spent weeks expecting the twist in the film would be that all the apparent destruction we saw on Cloverfield's commercials would turn out to just be Donald Trump's latest heavy-handed revitalization-via-urban-Renaissance project for central Manhattan!

You only pay six dollars to see movies these days? Here in Phoenix ticket prices are $9.50.

Well, even if you have to pay a gross amount of money to see it in the theater, I would recommend seeing Cloverfield that way to everybody; it's definitely an experience.

attack of the SPOILER!!




Ya know, i kinda felt sorry for that one black-haired girl. Think about it. She gets all DRUNK at the party right? so then all hell starts to break loose and she has to run all over new york toatally CRAP-FACED and panicy at the same time! Then she gets bit by that parasitic spider-dog thing and later her stomach pops open with blood! All while shes drunk, mind you! Ya think maybe she would have survived if she was sober and had a clear head?

I don't know.  I've gone from drunk to relatively sober when put under stress.  Fear and panic have a way of sobering you up pretty quick.

You guys are all dead lucky.  We pay $13.00 for a cinema movie, regardless!

You don't have matinées down under?  That's when I catch all the movies I think are theater-worthy...even if it means dragging my (occasionally) hungover a$$ to meet my straightedge friends at the theater at 10:30 AM.   :bouncegiggle:

Yeah that's a good point.  It was the jaws that got me thinking of Starship Troopers, but they definitely acted and sounded like Antlions!


Oh and we don't have cheap matinee films, but we do have Tight Arse Tuesdays in which all tickets are $9.00 each.  Bear in mind these are Aussie prices of course, and of course some cinemas are cheaper than others, but stock standard $12.50 is about the average.

Attack of the RETURN POST SPOILER!

I doubt it.  The soldier they carried in on the stretcher with his guts hanging out probably wasn't drunk when he got bitten.

Ya but it didnt show that guy get bitten. We have no IDEA what happened to that guy. Maybe one of those things ate his stomach off or gave him a nasty shanking or something. and Im not saying that her alchohol level caused her to burst, but maybe if she was sober she could have avoided getting attacked because her reflexes and proper judgment would be in check.

As far as I'm aware, all tickets are $13.00.  They have cheap Tuesdays, but then prices are still about $9 or $10.  Prior to me seeing I Am Legend last weekend, I hadn't been to the movies literally for years.

The independent cinemas (of which there are very very few left), have even cheaper prices, but they don't often show standard fare and they are way out in the 'burbs so it's hard for me to get to them.

I'll start by saying that after seeing this, I would suggest seeing it in the theaters like others have mentioned.  Now onto the spoilers...

WARNING SPOILERS

I guess I should start what I liked.  The monster rocked.  It's design was creepy, fresh and innovative.  The camera guy gave some good one liners that broke up the tension here and there.  The realism isn't too convincing but it was just enough to buy. 

Now on to my dislikes.  The camera angles became annoying as hell after awhile.  Yeah, yeah I know its supposed to be amateur footage but I hated Blair Witch for it and this film took on the same idea.  I really wanted to see more full body shots of the monster as well.  That and shots of him actually causing the destruction.  The best view of the monster came when the stealth bomber landed a few bombs on him and that unfortunately was short.

I also felt there was way too much wasted time on dialog.  As mentioned earlier in the post by someone else, the first 20 minutes are basically a waste.  That and as soon as my adrenaline starting going, the film would switch to conversations in a "safe" spot that consisted of,
"Dude we have to do something"
"Yeah"
"We need to get out of here"
"What are we going to do man"
"I don't know man"

The snippy little parasite things didn't do much for me.  Been there done that many times in movies.

END SPOILERS

Overall I found it good, a step up from the mess Blair Witch if you will.  I'm glad the film's producers opted not to do another crappy remake of a monster movie already done.

However, I doubt the re watch value on DVD would be good for yours truly.  Once in the theater is enough for me.

I had a great time with this one, as well.

 :question:DUH! ALERT! :question:

Am I the only one who thought the monster was having babies when the critters started raining down on the street? It wasn't until after I'd seen the movie and then read some of the info online did I realize they were parasites, not little baby monsters.

Hmm....they COULD be little baybeh monsters....

My thoughts:

The early scenes in the apartment were a waste.  I'm only 29, and I'm already at the point where I don't give a rat's ass about the social lives of 20-somethings.  I'm not at that point anymore, you know?

I HATED Rob.  "Oh, wah, I had sex with this girl once and I'd rather die (and bring all my friends along to die with me) than be without this girl!"  Shut up, emo b***h.  Is that the best excuse anybody could come up with to keep the characters in the midst of it?

I rather came to like Hud.  I was upset when he died.  It should have been Rob.

The big monster was rather like an embiggened version of the landstriders from The Dark Crystal.

I'm not sure how many monsters there were.  There was one quadrupedal monster clearly several hundred feet tall, one the same size that appeared to walk upright (might have been the same one), the monster that ate Hud which was MUCH smaller than the main monster, and the little crawlies.  I was disappointed that the crawlies were "nippy".  I prefer my monsters to take big bites, not nibble.  They didn't seem much more dangerous than a viscious chow or English bulldog, save for the explodey thing.

The ending was crap.  Should have ended with the helicopter crash.

In all, I think it was okay.  I'm glad I saw it in the theater but I doubt I'll be getting the DVD, unless it comes with a super-duper monster's POV edition.

LOL at akiratubo!   That's the funniest review I've read in a while. "Emo b***h" - classic!

The only reason I would stick around is if my son, my sister or my partner (if I had one) went missing.  Otherwise, I'd be getting out of Dodge real quick.

I saw it again last night at the theater, this time with my wife.  She enjoyed the hell out of it, as I did my first time around with it.  The second time around, it doesn't hold up so well.  With all of the suspense missing, it becomes quite boring.

I did find myself noticing a ton more stuff in the film though.  Anyone else catch something crashing into the water at the very end of the film when it shows Rob and Beth at Coney Island?  Interesting.

Whoa! no way! Ill need to check that out! did it look like a meteor or a tiny capsule or something?

Whatever it was, it was small.  You have to look closely to see it.  I looked it up on the internet after coming back from the film and a lot of people are saying it was a satellite that fell.  I myself am not sure.  I'll see if I can find a photo online.

I was so excited to see this movie and what do you know god damn cock suckers Marcus Theaters won't show it because of some stupid beef with the movie company. Unfortunately the only other theater showing it around here is 30 min away.

Skaboi, please don't make me watch this film again...lol...that is interesting though because I was under the impression that it was one of Chlutu's spawn or something. 

I'm with you there akiratubo.  He was kind of dickish.  That whole subplot seemed to get more time than the monster on the loose main plot after awhile. 

Something else I thought of since seeing it.  I could never figure out why or how certain characters can have a lovey dovey moment at the worst time.  In this film, Rob and his chick decide to kiss with a giant monster less than 20 yards away.  I don't care if Jessica Biel wants to lay one on me, I'm keeping an eye on that giant bastard

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdH6Ora1pn8

It's at the three minute mark.

The buzz is that it's a satellite that fell and woke the monster than according to J.J. Abrams, has been down there for "thousands of years."

I couldn't see it in the Youtube . . . . too blurry.  Seeing that clip made me want to see the movie again, though.  Man, that monster was spooky looking!

Thanx Shadow!  What part of the screen should I be looking for the falling object?  I imagine that clip will be removed sooner or later from YouTube.

Darksider,

Sort of over to the right, kind of near the yacht.  It's slightly to the left of the yacht.

Thanx Skaboi, I think I can almost make something out there.  I'd have to see it when it gets out on DVD. 

Wanna watch Cloverfield online?
If so, check out the links below.

It's obviously been shot by a person who brought a camera into the theater but unlike most theater/cam jobs, the quality is actually pretty good.   :thumbup:
And instead of having to watch between 3-5 seperate parts, this one is just one part.  You can watch the entire movie in one shot.

It would be great if the pirated camera version somehow compensated for the movies jerkiness :teddyr:

Andrew,

I wondered if I had stepped over the line by posting that link.
Now I know better.

Won't happen again.  I promise.
Cross my heart and hope to die.

Okay, I'm p**sed now, I saw Cloverfeild, must have been the best movie I have ever seen. Now I have been getting a whole bunch of reviews like "The movie made no sence" and "What is the monster?" and "Why is the monster attacking things?" and so forth. Well, here is the lowdown of it.

First off, the movie is not supposed to have a plot, a Goodbye party turns disasterous  when a giant aquatic monster begins attacking New York (New York is like "Monster Central").
Secondly, the movie isn't about figuring anything out, all you need to know is that there is a giant monster running around, releasing it's counter-bodies, and destroying things. (Spoiler Warning!) He even says at the end "If you are watching this, you probably know more about it than I do"
Thirdly, The whole "Home camera" idea was only to give the viewer a first person experience of such a tragedic thing like this. The flashback wasn't a flashback, the movie is playing the tape after all of this happened, and the cuts to when Rob was with his chick was just parts that the tape already had recorded earlier, they just recorded over it.
(HERE IS THE BIG ONE!! Oh noes!) Fourthly and finally, the movie is supposed to make you think "What would I do if this all actually happened to me?" and "Oh my god, what if this actually happened?". The producers want you to walk out of the theatre or put the DVD back in it's case while thinking "Holy s**t, I would probably run for my life.." or something like that.

So don't start asking stupid questions, the movie was the best I've seen, and if you watch it again on DVD, and remember what i have said here, it will turn out better for you.

(SPOILER) P.S. For those of you who did like the movie but didn't see this, on the last recording of Rob and his girl, look to the left of the Yacht in the background, and if you can, put the DVD on your computer and play it backwards, a whisper in reverse says "It's still alive".

Thanks -Aiden

Good point, Aiden.

On another board that I sometimes visit ( I stopped going regularly because they are all such whiney sissies), one poster complained bitterly about how bad the movie was and complained about all the things that Aiden mentioned.

I read the post and thought, "belt up, you idiot"   :bouncegiggle:

The movie is what it is.  If you try to make it something it's not, it's going to disappoint.

I have no issue with the giant monster bits, but I didn't like or care about Rob or the girl he nailed once, dumped, then risked his life to save.  The little crawlies didn't do much for me, either.  That scene was pretty much rote.  They're walking around in the dark.  They hear something.  They turn on the night vision to suddenly reveal -- critters scuttling all over the walls and ceiling, eeek!  (Been seeing that same scene since 1986, if not earlier.)  The explodey bit was just too silly for me, as well.  It would have worked better had she just suddenly bled out.

IMHO, Cloverfield isn't anywhere near great, but it is worth seeing at least once.

I almost agree with the crawlie things, but I enjoyed the fact that there was another dimension to this monster than just 'arrgh, monster smash!'  Gives people more reason to not just cower in the subway all night.

Also as for the girl thing, they mentioned at the party that he was obsessed with her, or in their words, "In love with her" since he was 12, or something like that, so it makes sense that he chases her, especially if she rings crying, begging on the phone to be rescued.  Sure it's still more common sense to run away like all hell.

Spoiler-ish

I'v just seen it, and I liked it a lot. Perhaps not the best monster movie ever, but still a very refreshing take on a well known genre. There has been lots of criticism about the 'realism' of the camera work. People, this is a movie in which a creature tears the head of the Statue of Liberty clean off. One should make some allowances. That being said, I would like one of those camera's. It goes on for hours on end and for all we know, it might have been nuked when they found it.

What I liked about it, is that is goes against the grain of the classical blockbuster monster movie: it has no explanation, no reassuring happy end, no love interest in the classical sense, no authority figures in charge, no Will Smith saving the world, very little of the comic relief character (well Hud a bit). What you do get is chaos, destruction and beautiful people getting eaten. They took a major risk with the characters, because none of them is your traditional hero, or is even very likable. (What Hud saw in Marlena is beyond me, and Rob is just on a guilt trip, getting everyone killed)

As for the atmosphere, the WTF review mentioned Lovecraft, and there is a certain Lovecraft touch to the atmosphere: mankind is suddenly confronted with unspeakable monsters from beyond time, and is utterly powerless to stop them. You don't know what it is or why, only that it is terrible and it is out to get you.

It has its weaknesses. I can see why they needed the small critters in the story, but they lacked bite (literally). However the final result of their bite was nicely done (is that a hat tip to the Beast of 20,000 fathoms)

Also, the final scene might have been cut. Again, you have the parallelism with the last scene on the tape, so I see why they did it. These repeated endings still bug me.

The only thing I'm worried about now is that we may get a spate of shaky cam movies.

More like a nod to Godzilla 1985's mutated sea louse.  :smile:

Just saw it.  Thoughts:

*Overall, a pretty good popcorn-type thrill ride movie.  I enjoyed it in the theater on a visceral level but its not going on any of my "best of" lists.

*I'm with everyone who was complaining about the length of the party scene.  For twenty minutes I thought I had walked into some independent film whiny hipster yuppie drama by mistake.  Character depth is great, but not in a giant monster eating Manhattan movie.  When the government found the tape, they would've fast forwarded through the character development segments to get to the monster footage; why couldn't the theater audience be extended the same courtesy?

*I'm surprised so many people are so cynical about the romance angle.  I thought this board was filled with incurable romantics?  Anyway, while I'm watching the Statue of Liberty's head rolling down 5th Avenue, I have no problem suspending disbelief in regards to a guy trying to rescue an ex-lover he's carrying a torch for from a disaster. 

*I noticed a little flash in the ocean in the final scene.  I wondered a bit, but it didn't add anything to the film.  Seems inserted precisely to create threads on Internet message boards.

*Terrible title.  THE BEAST THAT RATTLED THE CAMCORDER wouls have been a better choice.

3.5 out of 5 slimes.

I agree on the length of the party scene. After a while I was like 'we want to see the monster'. It is a bit like the pathetic attempt in the first Jurassic Park to create an air of mystery, when we all knew that the dinosaurs were on the loose. Still, as a monster movie, it is better than most.

One thing I forgot to mention.  I didn't see anyone else comment on the similarity between the movie's panic footage and the World Trade Center disaster.  There was a scene where a building collapses, a cloud of dust and debris comes rolling down the avenue, and Hud & company duck into store just before the cloud reaches them.  I swear this is a direct quote of some of the live newsreel footage from 9/11.  Not sure if this angle affects my opinion of the movie one way or another, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

Erm, the dinosaurs get loose long after we've learned about them, and there's no beating around the bush about it in the script.

I think you mean, "when we all know InGen is breeding dinosaurs."

And anyway, if that is what you mean, I fail to see what's pathetic about it. Admittedly in hindsight, Jurassic Park hasn't got much dinosaur action compared to more recent films (especially the two sequels), but I rather liked the slow buildup in the first act. It works because the story hops to and from different locales introducing different characters, as opposed to, say, staying at the same party with the same characters for twenty minutes straight.

Looking around on the net, I'm confused why everyone is so "high" on this film.

For a monster movie lover such as myself I am very interested by everyone else? Puh...

They're actually going to make toys of the creature I hear.  I'll probably go out and buy that over the DVD.

http://www.hasbrotoyshop.com/ProductsByCategory.htm?CD=2&ST=SO&ID=21030&PG=1

It took them forever to release the toy's image.

HOLY CRAP DEMONS! they're asking A HUNDRED BUCKS  for it?! No way!

wait till they get overstocked, and notice no one buying them, there be super cheap.  :tongueout:

Good point...Lets cross our fingers.

Yes indeed...I think perhaps waiting a year will see a 75% mark down.

Sorry I'm late (by 2 months) but I think it's time I gave my opinion on the film.
When a project as excessively hyped as Cloverfield appears on my radar, I approach it with enthusiasm, but a nagging voice always appears in the back of my mind that this movie may not be all it claims to be, and it may end up just like Spiderman 3 (a competent but ultimately dissapointing film) or I Am Legend (a movie that wouldn't be so bad if it hadn't completely missed the point of Richard Matheson's excellent novel).
Twenty minutes into the movie, and those voices shut up.
Cloverfield is a masterpiece. However, it is a very different sort of masterpiece than one usually comes to associate with the term. It tears down the rules of how to make a film, and builds its own. Some people may not be comfortable with...
#1: the wobbly camera,
#2: the lack of explanation for the monster, or
#3: the seeming banality of the acting.
These elements, in my opinion, actually add to the experience because...
#1: The unstable camera increases the sense of chaos, the feeling that a steady world is falling apart before our very eyes. Also, If you were there, trying to record the entire city of Manhattan crumbling under the siege of a giant monster, would you be able to keep the camera steady?
#2: The lack of explanation for the monster is also realistic, because if you were among the throngs of panicked New Yorkers, seeking a way out of the city (or, in the case of our protagonists, a trapped loved one) you probably wouldn't come across a scientist saying "Okay, people! This is what happened!" Furthermore, leaving such a question open to the viewer will keep people talking about the movie long after it has left theaters, much like the unknown contents of the suitcase in Pulp Fiction.
#3: The acting reinforces the notion that these are regular people, of the sort you might meet at a prom or college campus. You can't come in expecting the sonnets of Shakespeare from those people.
I feel that if Cloverfield was shot in a traditional (third-person) perspective, it would have diminished the film considerably because it would set up a barrier between the viewer and the events occurring onscreen. The viewer would be secure in his/her knowledge that he/she was stitting in a perfectly secure movie theater where the worst thing that could happen to you would be to step in something sticky. By shooting the film from a ground-level, first-person perspective, that barrier crumbles, and as death comes steamrolling down Times Square, every "Holy crap!!!" shouted by the characters becomes our own.
The only reason I am giving this movie a 9 instead of a 10 is because, as I said before, Cloverfield is not for everyone. Not every filmgoer (or said filmgoer's stomach) will be confortable with the unconventional direction Cloverfield takes in the making a movie. If you fall in that category, that's okay. There'll be plenty of other good movies coming out this year for you to watch. As for me, I give major Kudos to J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves for making the film Godzilla (1998) fervently wanted to be.

Great Comments, PZ!!!!!

Yeah I'm late to the thread, but I just saw the film.

Spoilers follow ... be warned.

In short it was OK, that's what I said it was just OK. My wife heard people left the the theater terrified, some people puked and it was just that scary and I said I've got to see it. So with great excitement I found one un-rented copy in my town after hitting 3 rental stores, so I grabbed it and with my prize I ran home and waited until late and popped it in, snack and drinks at the ready. So there I sat in front of the electric glow of the big screen with glorious 7.1 surround sound and began watching it. WHAT? 20 minutes into the film I watching a going away party ... WTF? Then finally some action and the entire premise of this film and some guy so tore up over and piece of tail he had to go find her, never mind the fact there is a 300 monster dropping killer babies everywhere destroying everything and every one in it's path ... are you kidding me? I've had some nice tail in my day, but nothing worth running into a 300 monster for, none. Sorry been nice knowing you, but there is a 300 foot monster on the loose, good luck. Now if you've seen it you know it's filmed in a Blair Witch style ... sorry for an entire film it's annoying. I little is ok to convey action, movement etc... but a entire movie is to much for me.
 
I think the opening scene went on way to long and the character development of the monster was nil. Where did it come from and what happened to it? (Yes, I saw the thing go into the ocean at the end.) Nor was ever really explained why someone will blow up if bitten by a parasite. (Ok maybe they didn't know.) But I didn't see anything worth all the HYPE. As I've said it was OK, it wasn't everything that it was hyped to be. Nothing in the film was that scary, that terrifying, that groundbreaking, that nail biting that it deserved that much hype, it built some pretty big shoes and failed to fill them.

What I found interesting was that the director said that he was in Japan an said we (America) had nothing like Godzilla, and we needed a monster of our own. I think he was having visions of marketing and the royalties that come with it. Well Mr Director we, U.S. Americans (a la Ms SC) don't have a monster of our own? Hello, King Kong, Frankenstein (ok not our book but we gave him life), Alien, Predator, Rosie O'Donell and many more? What he means to say HE doesn't have a monster HE can market and sell little Cloverfield monsters to the masses.

Overall it was OK, worth watching again but I'm not sure it will become a icon of American cinema. Maybe I'm being to hard on it.

I'll give it 3 out of 5, I just don't think it lived up to all the hype, with less hype it would have been a better film. I just don't like HYPE that fails to deliver. 

Tough to judge this one. I just saw it myself, and I have to say that it probably wouldn't have been nearly as good without the documentaries on the DVD to expand on the filmmakers' intentions.

The hard thing is that the style of this movie precludes any of the sort of plot development and exposition we expect. It's a monster movie from the point of view of the people on the street, who are traditionally just seen running away. That is an interesting take on it, but it leaves out so much, and it made for a pretty disappointing ending. I almost want to see a sequel done as a more traditional monster movie.

The impression I got was of a theme park ride, and I suspect that is where they've been intending it to lead all along.

What seemed weird to me though, was that the monster always seemed to be wandering around wherever the main characters happened to be. Thirty storeys or not, he should have been easier to avoid than that.

I bought the DVD and watched it a few nights ago.  I liked it, but didn't love it.  I think they could have cut down about 10 - 15% on the shaking camera stuff and it would have been easier to watch without losing much of the "you are there" apsect.  But it did have its share of creepy moments and "did I just see what I thought I saw" chills.  So, I guess this gets a "pretty good" . . . maybe 2 1/2 to 3 stars out of 4.

I'm tellin' ya man! Shoulda seen it in theaters!

I know.  I wanted to, but I never got around to it.  I'm sure it was better on the big screen (as most movies usually are).

This movie had to be the worst movie i have seen since Punch drunk Love.
Half of the people in theater got up an left . I would rather have a bike stuck up my a$$ then sit throught that again. An the other people had there heads down cuz they felt sick. It is by far the worst movie in the world ..