Cloverfield

On the eve of his move to Japan to start a new job, Rob is thrown a surprise party. At the request of his brother's girlfriend a video camera is present to record goodbyes. As it should happen this same night the party goers are witness to disaster. Something has begun to destroy downtown New York. We follow a group of survivors led by rob as they travel through the city in hopes of rescuing a trapped friend. All of this is faithfully recorded by the conscripted party camera man. There trials are documented by this camera which the film opens by claiming was recovered from an incident site formerly known as "Central Park".

This is about as much synopsis as one needs except to say one last thing. The entire movie is shot from the point of view of the camera wielding character. This means an entire film shot in pseudo-verite style. Those who get easily motion sick, beware, this is not the film for you. Even for those who aren't expect to have a headache by credit roll. Which is ultimately one of the problems of this film. Its built on a conceit (not even original since we previously witnessed the jerky camera in Blair Witch Project) which wears thin really quickly.

But beyond its very annoying style, the movie has more problems then that. Namely, the dumbest characters in an action film award goes to these geniuses. The cameraman Hud incessantly drones on with a diarrhea of the mouth. He narrates idiotically and keeps you up to date on the most inane of things and seems to reinforce a thousand times that this needs to be documented. Why? Why when your friends and loved ones are dying! would you feel the need to maintain the perspective of the non-interfering third party? At times he doesn't even put down the camera when he is selected to help drag wounded people from point A to point B.

Not that all my critical anger should be pointed at hapless Hud. The rational of the group willingly following idiotic Rob back into the thick of the monster attack all to save one person is lacking. And why is it that they are never halted by military or police except when its convenient for the purposes of moving the plot forward? There is a really embarrassing scene late in the film that offers up the key expositional plot points in the finale.

I choose to not waste another minute thinking or writing about this disaster of an attempt at reinvigorating the monster genre. I have to go take some aspirin for the headache that's arising just from thinking about this film.