2/5 The camera guy
  by Hamad H. A. Khawary (kuwait)
my reviews is always short cuz i dont want it to be boring while reading it and cuz of my poor English.

first of all this movie would be a lot better if it is just viewed or let me say if we watch it just like

the other movies .. the standard camera p; .. not the camera guy :) .. so u can not see it clear

u miss something some times cuz of this Camera .

sounds are great in this movie ,, thanks for reading.

5/5 Great movie
  by John J. Voss
Not your normal monster flick. The handheld/home movie camera concept worked preffectly in this and the effects are great. Almost beleivable. I have wathced it more than once and will surely watch it again.

Highly recommended.

5/5 A pleasant (and creepy) surprise
  by Pellaca (Another boring suburb)
After all the hype (pro AND con), I was pleasantly surprised to find that this is one of the most intelligently written sc-fi/horror flix I've ever seen.

There's a bit of subtle social satire buried between the lines, and a pretty fair amount of incidental humor as well... particularly in the early "party" sequence, which starts with every indication of just being another boring "yuppie tweens in trouble" yawner. Don't be fooled, though... that's just the set-up, and it really helps to pay attention to all the details (if only to try to keep all the names straight, later.) It doesn't take long before all hell suddenly breaks loose, and you are convincingly sucked into the chaos and panic of the emergency that ensues.

Not to be too much of a spoiler, but I particularly enjoyed the touch of having the film being represented as a "found" going-away party tape, which happened to accidentally erase most of an earlier, date movie made by one of the main characters... this really helps to flesh out the personalities and adds to what is a surprisingly deft character development for this type of film. (Hint--pay attention when the unerased parts of the earlier video peep through.)

I also appreciated the fact that when things really hit the fan, the viewer never knows much more about what's going on than the movie's characters. This really adds to the suspense, and draws you emotionally into their viewpoint, and the immediacy and confusion of their plight. Also helpful is the lack of a dramatic or trendy hit-laden film score. Though they may have lost in after-marketing, they gained in atmosphere, and realism.

One warning though-- if you didn't like the jerky hand-held camera and the you've-got-to do-some-thinking-to-know-what's-happening aspect of, say, the Blair Witch Project, then you won't like this flick either. Some people get downright queasy when the camera isn't balanced by those expensive studio gyros, y'know? And maybe also when they actually have to think things through, rather than just sitting & screaming at splattering blood and severed body parts.

To wrap up, I thoroughly enjoy this DVD-- It's a keeper. The story line is surprisingly well planned and executed, especially considering the relatively small budget. And the writers don't insult the viewer by "explaining" everything at a jr-high school level, as so many films do these days. The acting is actually quite good, for the most part (again, a pleasant surprise). The, um, "critters" are well conceived, well represented, and pretty damned convincing.

The only real complaint I've got with this film is minor, and probably directly due to the budget limitations-- there's a rather obvious inaccuracy regarding the size of the statue of liberty's head-- you'll know what I mean when you see it.


4/5 A Clever Monster Movie
  by Christopher Hivner (Dallastown, PA USA)
Cloverfield takes on a familiar movie subject, a monster appears out of nowhere and attacks New York City, destroying landmarks, crushing cars and eating people. The military is called in to deal with the beast. What makes Cloverfield unique is the way it is filmed and the fact that it doesn't attempt to explain what the monster is or where it came from.

The entire movie is the recording of a personal video camera that was being used at a party to record the going away messages for the guest of honor. Because the guy manning the camera is a doofus we also get to eavesdrop on conversations that weren't meant for the tape, but help set up character development. When the attack begins everyone runs outside naturally to see what's going on and the doofus never puts down the camera believing that the event should be recorded for history.

The rest of the movie we tag along with a group of friends as they try to rescue an injured friend from her destroyed apartment building and then find a way out of the city while the military attempts to destroy the monster.

I enjoyed Cloverfield. I thought the story was told in a clever way and the characters were believable. The special effects were good as well. Overall an interesting take on the monster movie genre.

3/5 GOOD MOVIE!!!!
  by Explorer
It was a good movie... It was different than your typical film because you the viewer watch everything through the view of a camcorder as if what you were seeing really happened. You experience everything with the guy holding the camera from his moronic interactions with those around him from the fear of running from the chaos created by the monster.

Beyond that the special effects were great from the decapitated Lady of Liberty to the monster(s).

I would have probably given this movie 4 stars had their been more screen time of the monster. While watching the film I was a bit frustrated because I wanted to see more of the monster as opposed to people running away from it.

So....