Movie Review - Cloverfield

Southern Man generally isn't one to succumb to the sort of artificial hype and viral marketing that preceded Cloverfield, but he's glad he caught this one with the enthusiastic early crowds. It's a little slow out of the gate but once the first tremors hit it's a nonstop thrill. As you've no doubt heard, the entire movie is seen from the view of a handheld video camera a la Blair Witch Project but with an actual budget, which allows the filmmakers to both do and get away with quite a bit. And, quite effectively, you only get to see blurred glimpses of the Cloverfield Monster for much of the film. In fact it's kind of a disappointment when you get relatively clear shots of the thing towards the end. The film is tense and gripping and a fine way to spend ten bucks and eighty minutes. Plus, there was a preview for Star Trek X so Southern Man left a happy camper. Go see this one in the theatres while it's fresh.