6WH: October 16th

Chef Gregory drove down this weekend for his annual visit and we managed to squeeze in a horror movie in-between solving Contra for the first time in twenty years and jumping around in Blaster Master.

Cloverfield (2008) directed by Matt Reeves
I love this movie. I think it's a modern classic. Perhaps I would feel differently if I'd seen it in the theater or had a larger TV, but the shaky cam stuff does not bother me in the least. I think the civilian, ground's eye view of a Godzilla attack was something that was missing from the genre that we hadn't realized. I like the design of the critter just fine. I think dumb-but-lovable Hud as the cameraman was a great choice that allowed for some tension-relieving jokes to be told in an otherwise dire movie. I like that nothing was explained about the beast. I think the actors created believable twenty-somethings, with perhaps the exception of Marlena's decision not to leave the group when she had the chance. Then again, the last time to she followed the military's orders for evacuation she was almost killed on the Brooklyn Bridge. And, I'm glad I was relatively disconnected from the marketing this movie had before it was released. It seems to me that the ultra-hype the movie generated before it came out backfired, causing folks to react more negatively to the film than they otherwise might have. That, or the shaky cam on the big screen made them sick. (9/10)




Metalocalypse: "Religionklok" (2006)