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Movies / On DVD / Cloverfield
Cloverfield

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Cloverfield (2008)

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Reviews Counted:192

Fresh:147

Rotten:45

Average Rating:6.8/10

Consensus: A sort of Blair Witch Project crossed with Godzilla, Cloverfield is economically paced, stylistically clever, and filled with scares.

Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for violence, terror and disturbing images.

Runtime: 85 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Theatrical Release:01-02-2008

Synopsis: Director Matt Reeves (THE PALLBEARER) and producer J. J. Abrams (LOST, ALIAS) turn a mysterious monster loose in Manhattan in the disaster flick CLOVERFIELD. The movie begins at a party for Rob... Director Matt Reeves (THE PALLBEARER) and producer J. J. Abrams (LOST, ALIAS) turn a mysterious monster loose in Manhattan in the disaster flick CLOVERFIELD. The movie begins at a party for Rob (Michael Stahl-David), who has accepted a promotion that will send him to Japan. Hud (T. J. Miller) is entrusted with the responsibility of videotaping the party--and as the trouble grows, he holds on to the camera, recording everything that happens. In fact, the entire movie is seen through the lens of his camera, reminiscent of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. As terrified people in a post-9/11 New York City take to the streets, Rob decides to head uptown to try to save Beth (Odette Yustman), the woman he loves, though he's afraid to tell her so. Rob is joined by his brother Jason (Mike Vogel), Jason's girlfriend Lily (Jessica Lucas), Lily's friend Marlena (Lizzy Caplan), and Hud, who has a thing for Marlena. Rob is determined not to give up, even after almost being crushed by the Statue of Liberty's head and as the military shows up to force evacuation of the city. Reeves and first-time screenwriter Drew Goddard, who previously has written television episodes of such series as BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, ANGEL, ALIAS, and LOST, focus in on the central aspect of the story: people trying to survive the monster attack. Very little else is explained, since the story is told completely through the video camera. And there is no additional score to heighten the drama; the only music is that which is picked up by Hud and the camera's microphone, including snippets of songs by Kings of Leon, Parliament Funkadelic, Of Montreal, and others. The anticipation of CLOVERFIELD's release was enhanced by a viral marketing campaign that included Web sites built around the main characters and even the fictional drink Slusho. [More]

Starring: Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel, Odette Yustman, Lizzy Caplan

Starring: Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel, Odette Yustman, Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller

Director: Matt Reeves

Director: Matt Reeves
Screenwriter: Drew Goddard
Producer: J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk
Studio: Paramount Pictures

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for Cloverfield

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41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> >|
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This conceptual hybrid %u2013 call it The Blair Godzilla Project %u2013 is competent, occasionally inventive, and provides adequate, if less than profound, thrills.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
02/07/08
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

Un produit de haute qualité qui satisfaira au plus haut point le spectateur averti, et bien conscient de la forme du spectacle avec laquelle il s'apprête à entrer en contact

Full Review Source: Panorama | comment Comment
02/05/08
Jean-François Vandeuren
Jean-François Vandeuren
Panorama

The special effects are excellent, withjust enough being shown of the marauding "attacker," and its minions to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Full Review Source: Nolan's Pop Culture Review | comment Comment
01/31/08
Michael A. Smith
Michael A. Smith
Nolan's Pop Culture Review

once the film has fully run its course there is little left to take away with you beyond rattled nerves, a mild sense of nausea, and the uneasy suspicion that the true horror of 9/11 has just been reduced to a dumb-assed entertainment.

Full Review Source: musicOMH.com | comment Comment
01/31/08
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
musicOMH.com

It's like Abrams and crew have looked into the void and thought: the only thing worse than Armageddon is if no one witnessing it is hot.

Full Review Source: I.E. Weekly | comment Comment
01/29/08
Amy Nicholson
Amy Nicholson
I.E. Weekly

The viewer spends huge chunks of the movie battling motion sickness.

Full Review Source: Sci-Fi Movie Page | comment Comment
01/29/08
James O'Ehley
James O'Ehley
Sci-Fi Movie Page

Suggests the influence of YouTube and (inevitably) 9/11, but actually belongs to the old-fashioned exploitation tradition as it uses state-of-the-art effects and ballyhoo to update B-movie subject matter for a new audience.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
01/28/08
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

If you can stomach it, expect to leave the theater shaken yet entertained by every jolting, unexpected minute.

Full Review Source: Spectrum (St. George, Utah) | comment Comment
01/26/08
Bruce Bennett
Bruce Bennett
Spectrum (St. George, Utah)

Blair Witch's bigger-budget, slightly stupider baby sibling... it's a fleet-footed lizard apocalypse with the good sense to end right about the same time the novelty wears off.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Weekly | comment 3 Comments
01/26/08
Sean Burns
Sean Burns
Philadelphia Weekly

... there's a lot of visual imagination in the way certain moments are staged, and I think there are few films that better capture the panic and the chaos of a crisis in a big city.

Full Review Source: Ain't It Cool Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/25/08
Moriarty
Moriarty
Ain't It Cool Movie Reviews

Crudely naturalistic yet innocative and effective.

Full Review Source: SSG Syndicate | comment Comment
01/25/08
Susan Granger
Susan Granger
SSG Syndicate

...an interesting Blair Witch-type experiment...

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
01/25/08
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review

Cloverfield is further evidence of the nerd ascendant: It may be a product of the 'Wouldn’t this be awesome?' school of filmmaking, but at least it results in an awesome film.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
01/24/08
Mark Keizer
Mark Keizer
Boxoffice Magazine

When all is said and done, and Cloverfield plays out, we're left with...'a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.'

Full Review Source: Metro Weekly (Washington, DC) | comment 1 Comment
01/24/08
Randy Shulman
Randy Shulman
Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)

Cloverfield is a real 21st century kind of movie; it's a horror film for the You Tube generation. It's also bleak and scary.

Full Review Source: Aisle Seat | comment Comment
01/23/08
Mike McGranaghan
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat

It’s the Cloverfield hype campaign -- not the dissatisfying, unimpressive film itself -- that is the work of art.

Full Review Source: New York Press | comment Comment
01/23/08
Armond White
Armond White
New York Press

The techs and the promise of scares is the draw for Cloverfield. Personally, I would wait for the DVD and rent it (but only on a big screen TV).

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
01/23/08
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

If the film reinvents anything other than the public's acceptance of a kind of YouTube crudery as viable entertainment, I missed it.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
01/23/08
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

It might be a clever new-media commentary, but it's an awfully circumspect one.

Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | comment Comment
01/22/08
Tim Brayton
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy

An engaging thriller that should thoroughly satisfy genre fans during a time of year when their choices are essentially between bad and worse.

Full Review Source: IGN Movies | comment Comment
01/22/08
Todd Gilchrist
Todd Gilchrist
IGN Movies
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> >|
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Latest News for Cloverfield

April 27, 2009: Five Favourite Films with J. J. Abrams
The blockbuster season is upon us and amongst the line-up is the highly anticipated reboot of Star Trek. RT spoke to the man in the captain's chair, J. J. Abrams, about his... More...

March 02, 2009: Abrams Plots Cloverfield Sequel-Type Thing Opens in new window
Saying "the idea's pretty sweet," J.J. Abrams has confirmed that a sequel to "Cloverfield" -- or at least a new movie "related to" it -- is on the table. More...

September 25, 2008: Matt Reeves Will Let the Right One In Opens in new window
Overture is prepping a remake of Tomas Alfredson's Swedish vampire movie "Lat Den Ratte Komma In," to be helmed by "Cloverfield" director Matt Reeves. More...

April 21, 2008: RT on DVD: Cloverfield, Charlie Wilson and 2008's Worst-Reviewed Film
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a Slusho, whatever that is! Cloverfield stomps its way onto DVD as not only the most exciting new release of the week, but the one most... More...

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