Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Best movie ever!

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

I didn't mind the shaky camera business too much, but the whole exercise seemed rather pointless. I suppose if you considered the action in the story as something you would have to undergo if faced with a similar catastrophe, then I guess it works. But I just got tired of the whole thing after a while and didn't care much about what would happen. A funny thought crossed my mind at one point when much of the dialog sounded like it could have come from the old "Dick Van Dyke Show". That was when some character started calling out "Rob, Rob, Oh Rob". If you're of a more recent era you won't get the reference, but for us old timers, I thought that was hilarious.So in the Awards section for this film, I see it won a Golden Schmoe in 2008 as Best Horror Movie of the Year. Not having seen any of it's competition for that year, I would have thought it would also walk away with the Trippiest Movie of the Year as well. Oh well, I guess you can't win them all.

'Cloverfield' is a smart and engaging found-footage monster horror that will keep its viewers on edge. The team of director Matt Reeves, producer J.J. Abrams and writer Drew Goddard create a great horror flick that is surprisingly unpredictable and one of the tensest films I have seen in a while. The well-thought out pacing enables it's viewers to know just enough about the main characters to care about them, so when the action starts you're actually hoping that the characters will make it. Character establishment is an important aspect of any film, particular horrors because the audience needs to have some sort of attachment to it's characters in order for them to actually enjoy the movie because you have people you want to root for. From the very moment that the terror begins, it essentially doesn't stop, resulting in that edge-of-your-seat feeling that we all love. The fact that the entire film is done in an amateur manner, through a shaky camcorder, helps the viewer immerse into the film and it adds a sense of reality. Therefore, when the scares come, they are nothing short of frightening. However, this film did have a few flaws as some scenes seemed rather far-fetched, particularly at the end, which broke the sense of realism. There was also some predictability, but it was balanced with a few moments that were surprising.

A first-person-type movie... familiar? Yeah, let's not talk about the fact that this idea has already been done by other movies, as long as it's done good. So, what we got here is a giant monster and its origins are unknown. Initially I presumed it is an aquatic creature - I noticed the tentacles and at some point in the movie, even some kind of external gills near its head; but then, I saw its incredibly non-hydrodynamic body... maybe from outer space? It actually doesn't matter; it matters that it's huge... and it's on the rampage! The characters in this movie are pretty well-contoured and credible. In a giant monster/disaster movie, its greatest challenge is to aim at the reaction of masses during any form of cataclysm. Where "2012" failed, this one succeeded. Well, I'm talking about loosing sanity, the well-known self-preservation behavior etc (See "The mist", a movie which relies more on that than the creatures themselves). Oh, I forgot to mention the subliminal messages scattered throughout this movie; all I'm gonna say is "Them!", "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms", "King Kong", and also something crucial that happens at the end of the movie. Do the research yourself!

Cloverfield (2008).Chipper F. Xavier, Esq.After its shocking release 10 years prior, a repeat viewing of Cloverfield still manages to disgust and terrify. Unfortunately, many viewers do not recognize its genius. Imagine going to a famously hip New York nightclub on a Saturday evening and being shocked that there are heavy, 808-styled drumbeats interspersed throughout the catchy-but-vacuous lyrics as half-drunk people madly carouse about the parquet dance floor. A reasonable person would argue that you should have known what to expect. An open-minded person might even say, "... heck, that was different!" But only a 'hater' would exclaim: "That sucked!"Cloverfield, directed by Matt Reeves, written by Drew Goddard and produced by J.J. Abrams, is a shaky-camera, found footage horror film which begs the question: What would happen if a gigantic, intelligent, malevolent alien monster attacked New York City? In order to properly frame this fantastical event, the director filmed the movie using a hand-held camera to establish a sense of timely realism and cast relative unknowns as protagonists to force the audience to focus on what was happening within the camera frame. The result is partly unique, partly hilarious, very unexpected and 100% terrifying... But only if you, the viewer, allow a willing suspension of disbelief.Cloverfield works well because the field of view is grounded by normal twenty-somethings attending a going away party for a friend, brother and paramour, as viewed behind the lens of a handicam. When this banal celebration is interrupted by the surreal experience of unnatural disasters in a population-dense New York City, the fear is amplified and very real as the audience is taken along for a very bumpy ride.Some of the more original OMG-worthy moments include: 1) The head of the Statue Of Liberty flying through the air to land at the fleeing feet of pedestrians; 2) The giant, rampaging monster disgorging smaller babies from its body that fall to the ground and immediately begin attacking people; 3) The giant, rampaging monster carefully considering the cameraman before ruthlessly biting him in half.You don't have to like roller-coasters, haunted houses or Santa Claus to enjoy a good horror flick - but you are probably in the minority of the human population if you don't. Escapism only works if you give it permission - or else, you'll always be that person wondering why everyone but you is having such a great time.