To say that there was a lot of hype surrounding the release of Cloverfield is an understatement.  The trailer for the move debuted in front of Transformers this past summer and since then, there's been a pretty extensive (and really mysterious) viral campaign on the web that's been drawing people in ever since. 

The movie follows a group of twenty-somethings who are throwing a going away party for one of their friends (the viral marketing played a significant role in the back story here).  During this party, the unthinkable happens:  a freakin' huge (and unbelievably cool looking) monster attacks New York City.  The movie then follows this ever whittling group of friends as they try to make their way across Manhattan to save a trapped friend and then off of the island.  Throw in a few chills, jumps, and a little comic relief and that's pretty much it.

OK, so a lot of people didn't like the way this film was shot.  Those people are wrong!  The whole thing is filmed with a home video camera a la The Blair Witch Project - and it works beautifully!  The perspective they got with the handi-cam made every experience so interesting and personal and at times terrifying.  Sure, the camera movement was jerky at times and peoples heads weren't always in the frame, but hey, that's the way home movies end up lots of times. 

This movie is really intense.  Aside from the first 20 minutes which are spent introducing the characters, etc (which was done rather cleverly considering the "home movie" style), the film is non-stop.  Basically, there are moments to catch your breath once or twice between the big action sequences, but aside from that, you'll be gripping the armrests like there's no tomorrow.  Seriously!

The monster in this movie is unlike any that you'll find in other monster movies. This thing is totally gnarly (wow, that's a completely under-used word). 

So, a word on the viral marketing.  There's so much to sift through to get the entire gist of the viral stuff, but here are the basics:  this guy Rob has gotten a job as a VP at a company called Slusho which is a frozen drink that has a really bizarre website (trust me, bizarre).  They are a subsidiary of a company called Tagruato which also has some deep sea oil rigs/drills.  One of these rigs gets attacked by something on the open ocean and is totally destroyed.  It's all pretty cool, but didn't really help you understand anything in the movie.  It was however successful at getting folks hyped about the movie (at least the internet/movie blog community).

Now, questions, questions everywhere, and not an answer to be found.  The thing that people will find most troubling about this movie is that it asks more than it answers.  You never find out what in the hell this monster is or where it came from for instance.  Then there's the scene at the end of the movie (a flashback of sorts) where something can be seen plummeting into the water off of Coney Island in the background.  Is this our mysterious monster?  Did it come from space?  Who the hell knows?!  And what's more, who cares?  Just go with it - it's a giant monster of unknown origin beating the hell out of New York City - and it's really cool.  There's also supposedly a small clip of audio at the end of the credits that when played backwards (really, who has time to capture the audio then play it backwards) says "Its' still alive".  That obviously leaves things open to a sequel or is it just the filmmakers giving the fanboys something to argue and muse over?  I guess only time will tell.

This movie is bad-ass!  Get over the motion sickness thing and take some dramamine before you go if you have to, but this movie is really entertaining and totally worth the cost of admission.  It definitely lives up to the hype and is destined to be a classic monster movie.

Questions. More questions. Even more questions. No answers. The end. This, is Cloverfield.

A godzilla-esque story about the destruction of New York (as seen through the limited vantage point of a small group of friends) the movie not only leaves you hanging in every conceivable way, but leaves you spinning, too.

The latter stems mostly from the way the filmmakers unabashedly serve up images of 9/11 as a sky-scraper high reptile ravages the city. Our first real hint of the destruction is a familiar scene: a building collapses under its own weight, sending plumes of smoke hurtling through the streets of Manhattan.

Pushing all that aside, you're left with a thinly-plotted film that reveals next to nothing. Where did the monster come from? Was it ever defeated? Which characters lived? Which characters died? You can't really be sure. But still, one thing is clear from the beginning: the ending isn't happy, seeing how you're told that you're watching highly classified camcorder footage that was recovered from the area "formerly known as Central Park."

On some levels, the unanswered questions do serve to heighten the tension. You see only what one of the characters sees as he totes a camcorder through the city, giving just hints of things like the military response as he and his friends manage to stumble into the monster's path. The story is claustrophobic, operating in a maddening vacuum that, if it doesn't leave you disappointed, will make you ill at ease.

And that's Cloverfield's genius. This constricted style could've been disastrous, but the filmmakers played it fairly smart throughout; the hints at the broader story are usually enough to satiate. And when it comes down to the really important stuff, like the monster, they give you enough. By the end, you've seen so much of its undulating jaws and flailing tentacles that you're begging for a reprieve that doesn't come.

Still, a little more disclosure wouldn't have killed them or their movie, especially where the main characters are concerned. Not knowing can be scary... it can also be aggravating. While Cloverfield is an obvious top draw on its opening weekend, its shelf-life is going to drop quickly as word about its unanswered questions spread.