Cloverfield

When Monet, von Gogh, and Picasso first came out, people were shocked. You call those paintings? They are not finished; the figures are deformed; the proportion is way off. They are works of an amateur.

Most people don’t think that way any more.



J. J. Abrams intended to rock the audience off the usual comfortable observation deck with the best vantage point, and throw them right into the middle of chaos, confusion, and fear. Blurry images, disoriented angles, sharply truncated compositions, and hysterical and deafening screaming made me dizzy and caused a headache. A few times during the movie, I wanted to shut my eyes. However, I am convinced that’s the exact effect the director wanted to achieve. Maybe that’s how one would feel in a real apocalyptic moment.

For that, I applaud the artist’s ingenuity, audacity and integrity.

I love Monet, I am okay with von Gogh, and I don’t care too much for Picasso. As for Cloverfield, I wouldn't recommend it. I had feared the movie might just turn out like the trailer. I wouldn't have watched it if I'd known. The bottom line is: I wouldn't spend a nice evening watching a "hand-held" style movie on a big screen, no matter how professionally done it was.