Cloverfield (2008)
Directed by Matt Reeves
***1/4
The film with the most tantalizing campaign in recent history (its name was unknown until weeks before its release) becomes what I feel comfortable in naming the best monster-attacks-city film since King Kong (1933). I realize that's a fairly narrow category, but it's such a famous one that this hand-held videotaped wonder took even me by surprise. Armed with the Blair Witch method (i.e., presenting the film as if it were a "found" tape), Cloverfield develops in a couple bits of story. A man who loves a woman, and is planning a day on the town with her that just may end up being the most enjoyable of their lives; and the preparations for his going-away party, leading in to the event itself. When the evening among friends is rudely, and puzzlingly interrupted by power outages, noises, and mass hysteria outdoors, the friends set off to escape from the terror. One interesting aside: since video doesn't "lie" (it just doesn't tell everything), Cloverfield curiously interacts between its dumb-as-rocks cameraman (an unreliable narrator) and the limited, but objective story we get to see on film. Monster movies may not be for everyone, but you might be surprised to enjoy this wild ride.
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