Review: CLOVERFIELD (2008)

If you're just tuning in, last summer, my eleven-year-old son, James, and I decided to watch as many kaiju movies as we could between then and the opening of the new Godzilla film on May 16.  So we compiled a LIST ... nearly ninety movies long.

And we're almost done.

Today's is Cloverfield (2008).



I'll let James go first:

Well, this is one of my favorites. Basically, a gigantic monster attacks manhatan with the help of some crab spiders. my favorite part is when Clover throws The Statue Of Liberty's Head and the crab spider's growl. The unique part about this movie is because the camera's moving like someone is holding it. 

So, rating wise, i'll say 4.7 Atomic Breaths of Awesomeness!!!   

My turn:

I remember the mystery surrounding this film when that first trailer debuted ... it was pretty incredible how far and wide that went online and even into real life.  I don't remember what I thought about it, other than, "OK.  I want to see that." 

It turned out to be a "found footage" movie.  (And one that nauseated my wife.  Motion sickness)  The concept wasn't played out yet.  Interestingly for kaiju films, I believe this was the first one to use that conceit.  It's also one of the very few to follow "normal" people around. Typically, the narrative remains with scientists, reporters and/or people in the military. 

After watching the movie yourself, I highly recommend watching the "making of" featurettes.  You'll be staggered at how the film was made.  The budget for the movie was $25 million, but they managed to make it look like so much more on screen. 

 

People-wise, the film is well serviced.  The main characters are likeable enough and Hud (the guy holding the camera) is funny.  Many of these movies have a hard time balancing humor and seriousness, but I felt this one did the job well. 

In the end, the movie is short.  The credits begin to roll after about an hour and ten minutes.  That's just right.  The energy of the movie can be draining and to make the action play out much longer would have been a bad move. 

Other tidbits: Lizzy Caplan's in it, which is never a bad thing.  ...  Michael Giacchino's "Roar" over the end credits is awesome.  ...  The louse crabby things make a funny little noise that I'm able to imitate, which tickles my son no end.  ...  I know there was a big online mystery about "Clover"'s origins and it's related to Slusho drinks and the satellite that crashed into the ocean at the end of Rob and Beth's Coney Island video. ...  Also, this monster is supposedly a baby.  How big is mom? 

Cloverfield ... a very enjoyable flick.  4 out of five atomic breath blasts.

Here's the teaser trailer that captivated everyone's imagination for a little while:



Also, the Rifftrax guys did this movie, too:



Next, Demeking the Sea Monster.

(GIFs from stevesgifs and noticingtheunnoticed)