Cloverfield The Movie

Last week, hubby and I got to see the premier of Cloverfield, courtesy of free tickets from my colleague Ben. I don't know whether to thank him or hit him on the head for this, which I will explain why soon.

The movie premier was being held at Cineplex Damansara, so hubby and I decided to leave home early and grab some dinner over there. Both of us were famished so we ate at Manhattan Fish Market. We ate…a lot. This fact is crucial because it explains our condition after the movie.

The movie should have started at 9pm but because of the strict security screening (we had to surrender our handphones and cameras before entering), it only started around 9.20pm.

What was the movie about? Well, if you’ve read any of the reviews about it, you’ll know that it’s a monster movie. A monster basically rises from the sea (I’m presuming here coz it looks kind of slimy) and rips Manhattan apart. I mean literally. The Statue of Liberty gets decapitated!!! Buildings fall over each other and bridges get destroyed. The army gets their asses kicked, even after they drop an A-bomb, this thing just keeps on going.

And the monster isn’t the only thing attacking NY. Apparently it comes with these “mini-monsters” (like hang onto the monster, like lice), which has an appetite for human flesh. Giller ganas!!

What about the human characters in this movie? For one thing, they all looked like they just stepped off pages of Vogue. Major babes, both dudes and dudettes. Character development was at a minimal because the movie was basically a home video of what started as a going away party for the “hero” and ended up with shots of a group of friends running around NY, trying to save their lives and the life of the “heros’ girlfriend.

Yes, the whole movie was basically 80 minutes of handheld (some, very unsteadily) shots of NY, the monster and the group of friends. If you threw up watching Blair Witch, chances are you’ll throw up watching this movie too. Both hubby and I got headaches and we almost lost our dinner (remember, we entered the cinema with very full stomachs).

What did I like about the movie? Well, it was creative for one thing. However, I have no idea what Cloverfield is or represents. The movie title sounds so…innocent. The monsters looked real enough to be afraid of them and the whole hysteria atmosphere was nicely captured on film. The characters were nice to look at and despite their desperate situation, there were some funny, lighthearted moments (“You’ve never heard of 12chesthairs.com?”).

What didn’t I like about the movie? Well, the whole handheld camcorder thing was a little too much for me, especially when they started running and the whole camera is just shaking up and down. The storyline had some unrealistic moments (everyone knows you can’t use your handphone down in the subway). Plus, when a monster 100 feet tall is looking down at you, pondering whether to eat you or not, I would think the last thing you’ll think of doing is to make sure you capture the monster’s good side on tape.

That been said, would I recommend this movie to my friends? Yes, just for the sheer joy of it. If you can get over the motion sickness, you have a pretty nice monster movie. Not too much gore but just enough that you feel squeamish and start praying for the group to find their way out of NY.

So, go see it. Have fun and prepare for the cliffhanger. Just make sure you don’t enter with a full stomach.