Cloverfield: Meh or Blah?

Unless you've been living somewhere completely out of the way for the last 6 months or so or unless you are in fact somebody with a life who doesn't spend every waking hour on the internet then you can't have missed hearing the hype about Cloverfield. Nerd boards all over have been going on and on about just exactly what monster it is that we'll be seeing tear chunks out of New York and now they finally get their answer.

Whats the story?
A large and very very hostile creature arrives in New York and proceeds to rip it a new arsehole. The action is documented through a handheld camera which one character is holding (at the risk of his life) for the entirety of the movie.

This sounds oddly familiar
The Blair Witch Project perhaps?

Oh for fucks sake
Yup thats what I thought. To give it credit though, its not made on a shoestring budget and you do get to see some explosions and buildings falling apart in between all the shakey camerawork and people going "Oh My god! Oh My God".

So which monster is it?
Well actually it turns out that the monster is completely irrelevant. It could be Godzilla or the Stay Puft Marshmallow man for all the difference it makes. The movie is about people surviving and interacting and other stuff.

So you don't see the monster?
No you do yeah but as I said, the monster is irrelevant and as such you only really get fleeting glimpses of it and see it in the distance. Its all about people man and stuff.

So, Worth a watch?
Hard to say really. Its certainly something you've never seen before but then again, 2 girls 1 cup (google at your peril) was something I had never seen before and I'm not sure whether I'm a better man for it now that I have. The film is still filled with the kind of fucking asshole characters that you hate when you see them in the regular blockbusters like Godzilla et al and there's a few things about the home video footage that will make you ask all sorts of questions. Such as: If you're running for your life why the fuck would you continue to hold a camera up at eye level when your arms should be pumping at your side, or if you're in a dark tunnel and the light from the camera is the only illumination that you have why would you be the one at the back of the group lighting their backs instead of at the front lighting the way ahead?

Its just one of those movies that will probably piss you off more than anything else but there's redeeming features too so check it out if you will. One thing you can say about is is that the marketing campaign was absolute genius. Check out one of the many trailers below.