That wasn't half bad

You may remember a couple of months ago that the interweb was all up in a tizzy* about a certain movie. I know, a couple of months is a lifetime at the speed the interweb moves, but, if you think hard you'll remember a certain monster movie, with a viral marketing campaign, named Cloverfield. You remember it now, don't you? Yes, I know, it was forever ago. I mean, fucking JANUARY! It's APRIL now! I don't think anyone was alive back then! I only heard about it because of my history books! But, that's life in the internet age. Everything just happens so fast!

The 'story' of Cloverfield is straight forward enough. Rob is moving to Tokyo, so everyone is having a going away party, and Hud is documenting the party, getting people saying goodbye and , you know, that kind of shit. Suddenly, the shit gets real** and big fucking piece of copper flies down the streets of Manhattan. I'm sure the copper is of some sort of symbolic significance, but I have to admit that it eludes me at the moment***. The decision is then made to evacuate via the Brooklyn Bridge. This, naturally turns out to be a mistake****. A mistake that costs Rob's brother his life. His tombstone will read 'Jason Hawkins: Crushed by a Tentacle". Let's just hope they spell that right.

So, our intrepid gang heads back to the city where Rob makes the decision that he has to go find Beth*****, the girl he digs. So, they go looking for her. Rob, Lilli, Marlena and Hud...traveling 40 blocks up to Central Park to get to Beth.

I found nothing likable in the characters themselves. They were all pretty shallow and underdeveloped. The movie itself was entertaining. I'm not sure that I could watch it again though. The constant camera movement wasn't enough to make me queasy or anything, it just felt like a gimmick. I had the same problem with The Blair Witch Project. The first person perspective is definitely engaging. It draws you into the story, and there are times when it's hard not to react to the action on screen, but, like I said, it feels gimmicky in a way. It's a novelty******. It's certainly a movie worth seeing though. 7 spider looking monsters attacking you and making you explode out of 10.

* Hmm...I really thought the spell checker would flag 'tizzy'...but no. It seems to feel that it is a valid word.
** I watched Hot Fuzz again over the weekend.
*** I'm lying, I totally know it was that statue from the end of Planet of the Apes. I didn't know that JJ Abrams was such a fan of Chuck Heston's work.
**** It's not really a MISTAKE, per se, it was the best option given the available information.
***** Whom you may remember from Kindergarten Cop.
****** Like an ice cream taco.