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| Cloverfield | 
 enlarge | Director: Matt Reeves
Actors: Odette Yustman, Lizzy Caplan, Mike Vogel, Jessica Lucas, Michael Stahl-david
Studio: Paramount
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.99
Buy New: $1.99
You Save: $28.00 (93%)
Buy New from $6.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  (629 reviews)
Sales Rank: 1028
Format: Ac-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 84 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: PARD352064D
UPC: 097363520641
EAN: 0097363520641
ASIN: B0014Z4OQG
Release Date: April 22, 2008
Theatrical Release Date: January 16, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Absolutely Amazing!!!!! January 20, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
If you'll notice, most of the bad reviews here focus on the shaky camera movement and the unanswered questions as to the origin of the monster. When I first saw Blair Witch when it came out in theaters, I absolutely loathed it because of the shakiness of the camera. But upon subsequent viewing, it has since become one of my all time favorite horror movies.
Besides the fact that obviously the camera will be shaky if the person filming is constantly running away in terror, if you stop expecting the movie to be another bland. orchestrated, run-of-the-mill, choreographed Hollywood movie, you'll get past the shakiness. In fact, the realness of the camera movement makes the movie, in my opinion. It is one intense thrill-ride. As soon as you think it's gonna let up, BOOM! Something else sends you reeling back into their nightmarish world. The way that one of the main characters meets their fate, I'll probably never get that image out of my head. Seeing Manhattan destroyed through the eyes of a home video camera made it look so real, I can't even describe the feeling.
I am an end of the world, apocalyptic movie nut, so I was expecting a lot when I went in to see this movie, and it exceeded my expectations. Is it just me, or is it true that from the time the attacks started, the camera basically never stopped rolling? That makes it even more amazing. I loved the realism, felt like I was there. I loved the surprises, LOVED the monster, and loved the people. BEST movie I've seen in a while! Did anyone else laugh at the noises the mini-monsters made when they attacked? My girlfriend and I laughed hysterically! We definitely got the humor.
I wish more movies were made in this fashion. I didn't want it to end. But the ending, oh! Heartbreaking! GO SEE THIS MOVIE! Put aside your expectations and you will not regret the experience you'll have watching this movie. It lingers with you long after you leave the theater.
 Could've been a great movie January 20, 2008
7 out of 14 found this review helpful
From all those trailers and commercials of Cloverfield, I was real excited to see this. It gave the intense feeling other monster movies use like Alien. However, many fall backs keep this (probably) great movie from reaching its potential. For one, the camera is very shakey; I understand the producers are trying to give the authentic point of view feeling, but they overdid it and made the camera bounce up and down and moving very rapidly. The beginning was horrible...party scene was tasteless and very long. As I said, don't watch this movie if you know you are sensitive to motion. I left early because I almost threw up, and I'm just giving you sound advice. Hope you find this helpful.
 Hud's Cam January 20, 2008
64 out of 109 found this review helpful
Last year when "The Bourne Ultimatum" was released several reviewers commented that the hand-held camera movement made them dizzy. Well, I wasn't even aware of the camera in "BU" as the story and performances were so solid. But from the minute that "Cloverfield" began I was more than aware that the character Hud (would parents really name their son after a disrespectful, often vile cad?), who was capturing all the action with a digital camera, was indeed filming. By that I mean the Hud's camera jerks, flips, flops...just as it would when an amateur is filming. So far so good. The camera movements make sense on a real-life level but all the putzing around of the camera made me physically ill...to the point that I had to look away several times as I thought I would barf.
On the positive side: the physical production is amazing and the use of pretty much unknowns sets up a situation in which the moviemakers have to do their homework with the script, character-development-wise in order for us to invest our interest and time.
There is nothing earth-shaking about the story per se: a monster attacks and goes about demolishing New York City while focusing on a small group of good looking young Lower Manhattan types who take flight as the monster goes about its rampage: everyone is beautiful, everyone is sensitive, emotional and humane which sets this film apart from others of its ilk: these people are young but they are smart, upwardly mobile and more importantly care for each other. It's refreshing, really.
"Cloverfield" is extremely well thought out and plotted. It is also stylistically sophisticated and well written. It's definitely worth the 10 bucks and an hour and a half of your time. Check it out.
Best Giant Monster Movie since the original King Kong... January 20, 2008
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
Why Cloverfield works is because it gets right what so many monster movies get wrong. I'm not talking about the Blair Witch gimmick - Cloverfield would have still worked without that. Cloverfield is a good movie because it takes its premise seriously. Yes, the idea of a giant monster destroying a city is inherently ridiculous, but so what? The American Godzilla failed because Emmerich and Devlin didn't try - they just padded out their endless movie with lots of lame humor and watered-down scares.
Cloverfield avoids the obvious pitfalls and cliches of monster movies: the inept public official, the general who just wants to blindly shoot at the monster no matter what, the scientist who explains it all. The premise defies rational explanation, so Cloverfield just skips that part. It relies on the oldest trick in the book: creating characters who you care about. (You think other filmmakers would catch on to that?)
The story is about Rob, a yuppie New Yorker who is moving to Japan (inside joke) the next day. Beth, his would-be girlfriend, shows up at his surprise party with another man. They have a terrible fight and part badly. Then something (possibly a terrorist attack) happens. Beth calls Rob to ask for help - she is injured and can't move. Rob then has to travel through the chaos to get to her.
The gimmick in this movie works brilliantly. All the footage is from a camcorder found "in the area formerly known as Central Park." The brilliant thing about it is that the footage of the monster is "recorded over" the tape of Rob and Beth's first romantic day together, which allows for backstory. (Watch the background when they are on the Ferris wheel.) Yes, it is implausible that the camera is always on to catch just the right crucial information, but that is simply part of the premise.
I find myself thinking about this movie much more than other such entertainments. It is obvious that Rob loves Beth deeply and I was heavily invested in his quest. This is the type of movie that will improve with repeated viewings.
Favorite movie January 20, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is my all time favorite movie. It was just about perfect. It was funny, sad, creepy, and by far the most creative ive seen. It was FUN! The only thing to critize is that then ending could have been better. Watch it all the way through the credits! Also if you get noziated easily this is not the film for you the camera idea is almost like a roller coaster and there are some gross sences, but this movie truley does rock. I can't wait for a blu-ray release of this movie!
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