 KSL Movie Show Review:...
CLOVERFIELD ***1/2 By Steve Salles Standard Examiner movie critic GO: If you like seeing people jump including you DON’T GO: if the jolting camera work reminds you of that jeep ride you took on that rutted road where you lost your lunch. I remember sitting down to a Sundance prescreening in 1999 to a little movie none of us had heard about. The film was “The Blair Witch Project” and it completely freaked me out - that - and I had to move to the back of the theater to keep from losing my bagel and cream cheese. The reason I mention it is because “Cloverfield” has the same hand-held, jittery camera style that can make some people nauseous and others simply flee in fear. And believe me, at the screening, I saw plenty of examples of both. I’m just saying, you may want to reverse that “dinner & a movie” plan for this particular evening. My only other concern was that the film couldn’t possibly live up to the hype created by one of the best prerelease and marketing campaigns I’ve seen in years. If you recall last summer, we saw a strange trailer right before the much anticipated “Transformers” movie with Lady Liberty’s head rolling down a Manhattan street. We looked at each other and thought, “What the heck was that?” Well now you’ll get to see what the heck that was and much more as I think “Cloverfield” definitely lives up to the hype. Shown from the perspective of a small group of friends gathered for a going away party in a New York high-rise, the evening plays out as most parties do, the awkward introductions, the blatant flirting, the testimonials of good-bye and “we’ll miss you.” Then boom! It feels like an earthquake. A quick turn to the TV news suggests a tanker has capsized in the harbor and some kind of explosion has rocked downtown New York City. A curious run up a flight of stairs to the roof shows buildings ablaze in the distance, but suddenly fireballs are screaming in their direction. In panic, everyone heads down to the street level. They come out of the building just in time to see the aforementioned head come careening passed them. One stunned lady completely covered in ash mutters, “It was eating everyone.” And so this night of the unknown begins as we learn right along with these people what is happening in the City. How caught up was I? Normally, I try to maintain a sense of cool in these movies, sort of an unwritten critic’s code. But a couple of time I found myself waving my notebook at some impending doom like an idiot and then when I left the theater, I realized the gum I had been chewing so fervently was no longer in my mouth. Only two possibilities there - I either swallowed it or sent it soaring into the aisle, neither of which is good nor cool. So if I tell you “Cloverfield” is so intense, it’ll make you lose your gum, believe me. It got my attention and it didn’t let go. THE FILM: “Cloverfield” OUR RATING: ***1/2 STARRING: Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller, Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel and Odette Yustman BEHIND THE SCENES: Directed by Matt Reeves (“The Pallbearer”) - filmed in Los Angeles and New York City - produced by J.J. Abrams PLAYING: Running time: 90 minutes MPAA RATING: PG-13
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