Seeing this in a few hours.

I'm so excited to see this I'm going to the midnight showing.

Is it just me, or "Some thing has found us" sounds a bit clumsy?

how??

Just finished preview screening and the audience seemed to hate the ending enough to make them hate the movie, even though they ending was evident from the first shot of the moviie

C-
First...the monster: not terrible, not worth wondering about. It's just kinda whatever.
The little monsters looks like shell-less hermit crabs that are about the size of a goat or something.

Audience reaction: REALLY BAD for this type of movie, especially with the ending (which you'll see coming right away if you're of moderate intelligence). Also, the characters kept living through what looked like fatalaties and there were lots of screams "that's gay," and "wtf" in the audience. When it ended, I definitely heard a couple of "that's it?" and even a "that was the worst movie ever." No applause at any point except when it started...which shows the audience was excited, but very let down.

I was going to take a picture of the monster, but they warned us there were men with night-vision goggles to make sure no one took pictures, so I opted(/chickened) out.

I think the movie was better than the audience gave it credit for. They wanted more explanation, and I don't think they understood the concept.

It was dumb (but still smarter than the audience), loud and all over the place, but still a decently enjoyable ride. But still, a let down.

First off, that's awesome you got to see it! But when I look at that statement, and then the grade...it doesn't seem to fit.

An all monster, no story movie should be more than decently entertaining.

It's such a high-concept picture that a remarkably simple plot doesn't fit it well. Blair Witch Project at least had a great story to go along with its revolutionary style...from the sound of it, this film could've worked just as well if it was filmed like a beautiful movie, but the style gave the idea that there was something more than just a simple monster movie, but that seems to be all there was.

That sucks to hear...this continues the streak of films I have a "soft spot" for before I see and hope to see success for that end up failing (Spider-man 3 - leg-wise, Lions for Lambs, The Golden Compass, Walk Hard, and now this...if the streak continues, this film's in trouble).

I'm still seeing it, though. When I saw that trailer back in July, I'm not sure I'd ever looked forward to a non-sequel more before, so some bad reviews now won't let me down.

I'm keeping an open mind going in, and I'm trying not to spoil too much for myself, but I agree it's very disappointing there doesn't seem to be more behind the curtain.

CLOVERFIELD

GRADE - A

I'm probably gonna be one of the few who likes this movie. I caught this at a screening tonight and after the film I heard quite a few "this film sucks" "what a waste a time" "perfect film to sleep through" type of comments. Oh also the shaky cam got a extremely negative reaction, but I think that's to be expected. Plus, I don't think most people realized or knew that film was going to be nothing but digicam the whole way. I certainly didn't but shaky cam doesn't bother me unless it's being strictly used for action sequences.

I wasn't bothered at all the at it's basic the film was nothing but a group of friends in distress seeking to save another friend with the monster just being a background incident really. I can say I actually enjoyed following the group of friends, I liked the shaky cam, I wasn't bothered by the look of the monster and I actually was content with how it ended as well. I was also a fan of blair witch so I think if people enjoyed that they'll probably enjoy this as well or at least not be phased by how it was filmed. I was pretty glued to the screen from beginning to end and I think I'm even going to watch it again on a bigger better screen cuz the theater I saw it in was a pretty tiny one.

You know, when I think about it, most people really, really hate Blair Witch Project. I remember watching it a year ago, loving it, then going to talk with my friends about it...I couldn't find one who liked it. I think that might be what happens here. It'll be huge, and it'll be appreciated within the crowd that appreciates its style - but general audiences won't dig it. Everyone will wanna check it out, though.

I agree with this. Cloverfield should open big then drop like a rock. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on which side one falls under.

Only difference is, Blair Witch had a style (whether you appreciated it or not)...this doesn't.

Reviews seem to be very love/hate. On RT it has 63% with some critics HATING it and other loving it.

Ah yes, who could forget the Dickensian web the filmmakers spun with that narrative-heavy classic. From the multi-layered nonsensical ranting as strange things happened sparsely and randomly, to the leaden picking off of characters in typical horror-movie staple order.

By comparison, Hamlet has all the depth and narrative coherence of a Where's Waldo book.

Sorry billybob... count me as one of the people who hates The Blair Witch Project.

Well the theater was packed so we initially thought we would have horrible seats. we sat seperately until this group told us they'd move over and give us 2. turned out we had the best seat in the house.

The Good
- I don't see why people complain about unknown actors. I thought the performances were excellent. Very believable from everyone .. maybe a little over the top for the person holding the camera but throughout the movie, they sort of hint towards why hes being that jokey and idiotic and well ... the type. I really really loved the characters and their dialogue and behavior felt really real. in every scene, i kept putting myself in their shoes and said "yea .... those are the reactions i'd be expecting from myself". ofcourse, what they were trying to do may depend from person to person.
- very short film but felt much longer, thus i would conclude it was the perfect size. any longer would have been repeating itself. any shorter could have worked but lost some of the impact.
- Monster: I'm annoyed by people who keep saying the monster looked like something out of star trek. well screw you. i thought it looked great considering the point was to show it from an everyday camera at night where the camera spent most of its time focussing on and dealing with the debris in the air. come to think of it, its not that it looked great. again it comes down to from this type of filming method, the monster looks how i would expect it to under these conditions. i dont think anyone can qualify how realistic or unrealistic the monster was and how the CGI was. the footage and the way it was shot allowed me to feel it was believable. without any spoilers though, yea ... some 'aspects' of the monster looked CGI .... i will not discuss the aspects other than that thefact that these aspects weren't exactly on the 'monster itself'.
i also think they showed the perfect amount of the monster
- atmosphere: again, it sets the mood quite great. you feel a party is happening. some behavior was off but afterwards when everything happens, the crowd, the characters, the army all feel very good. and you feel intense. things happen very quick in the film.
- the end. really. it depends on you. but i was happy they did 2 things in the end that made the ending for me very satisfactory. i'll discuss that in the critics forum.

The bad
- There is very little i didn't like about the film. i wasn't impressed by the first 10 minutes of the film ... like seriously. horrible camera, dialogue and everything. but after that, no issue.
-ofcourse, considering the kind of footage it is, sometimes, you're not sure about what happened and the dialogue that you would be interested in listening to isn't always the loudest words being exchanged on screen .. they're not the focus .. again, it feels like a real camera is being used capturing everything it can so you may miss out on a few things.

Bottom Line
Its one of those films that i never really anticipated. i found it was overly hyped. however, in general, i really enjoyed it. if you're too critical, looking for a reason to hate it, you will find them. if you're out there to see a monster movie, you will be disappointed. this isn't a film about the monster. its a story of a few people stuck in manhattan. the monster shows up if they are in the vicinity.

Personally, at the moment, i will give it an A and maybe even lean towards an A+. While I don't quite understand why some people aren't liking it, i can say that a few people around me looked like they enjoyed it but also had complaints. some were indifferent.

pffft

i hate these blair witch comparisons.

the only similarity between blair witch and cloverfield is that they're being filmed by a person who happens to be in the movie. everything else is different.

and umm ... blair witch had a better story?

this film had no story. guy leaving, big huge monster attacks and they're tyring to save someone and get the fuck out. its a simple premise? what do people want? twist and turns? jack bauer to come in and realize that the terrorists are controlling the monster and then suddenly, a subplot where the marching band of new york insists they go ahead with their parade!?!?

B-

I agree with bABA on the whole comparison with Blair, it doesn't hold up. the scene under the bridge left a lot to be desired though.

I had a problem with the main character Rob. He was probably the weak link in the cast and I thought the whole Beth thing wasn't strong enough for him to warrant him to go into Ground Zero to save her.

I thought the film was doing a great job until Marlena's death. It was a good death too.

Even though this was 80 mins long, it felt like 2 hours.

The final scenes are just terrible probably because the whole thing was stupid to begin with.

But overall, this was entertaining and I'm glad they went with the non-Hollywood ending.

if the final scene had been just that .. the final scene, i'd walk away pissed. what i like was how it occured.
i like that one person DID get away and the person who got away was completely random. I was glad for that. it wasn't that everyone died
nobody seemed to die in expected sequences. yea, the main dude died right at the end but i truly thought beth would be the oe to escape
camera guy dies much before the end fo the movie that i wasn't expecting.
i think what happened at the end was believable but considering the people escapting and those dying along the way, more acceptable.

but like i said, really, just like I am legend, the ending isn't for everyone.

I don't understand how you can say "the ending isn't for everyone." You know the ending from the second the film starts. It IS the concept of the movie. So if the ending "isn't for you," neither is the movie.

I don't considering it to be an amazing movie. I consider it to be one of those atmosphere films. Sets it up perfectly where all the players compliment it.

You know that people weren't going to make it out. You're well aware of that. You do not know HOW this will occur. you're missing what i said a few times now. The beginning of the film implies that 5 friends will all die by the end when they come to central park. there is also the assumption that they'll die by the hands of the monster.

well, one dies relatively quick (the most likable, which usually doesn't happen but i guess likable is subject to opinion). Halfway through, you're not sure anymore. Now one would think that they die cause they are stuck in the hammerhead operation. One actually escapes, negating that they'll all die. Impression at this point is that the monster attacks, which it did and the next heli won't take off. but it does so one thing you're sure of is that it will crash for some reason or the tape will fall. well it does crash straight into central park and i was sure thats the end of that. but they're still awake and i'm almost expecting them to leave the camera, making me think that the movie will leave their fate ambiguous. But they go back for the camera.

What I liked was that the beginning told what the end would be but none of it plays out as expected, cept maybe the final scene of them recording their testimonies but even then, at the beginning, you're under the imrpession that their death is a result of the monster. well, as it turns out, not all get there, some escape, and the final death is by hands of the monster and the human carpet bombing.

You can't WALK into the movie expecting them to survive unless you're hoping that the camera just falls. but when i say the ending isn't for everyone, i mean those who walk in need to be satisfied by how everything plays out. if you're mad that they died (irrelevant how), then really, anyone who is disappointed by the end is an idiot for just walking in. the commercials themselves have stated that the footage is found, implying death.