Good movie, but a bit dizzying

Rating: 7/10 (21 January 2008)

I would like to say that I wasn't particularly super-hyped to see it. Sure, a movie looks okay, but that doesn't necessarily mean I want to see it. Anyway, my friend talked me into it, and it wasn't too bad.
A vague description:
So, in New York City, this guy, Rob, is filming in the morning with his friend Beth, who he had slept with the previous night, so it seems. Later on in the movie, a bunch of people are setting up a surprise going-away party for their friend Rob, who's going to Japan. They have the party, but soon Beth comes with a date. It's not Rob. Lily tells Jason, Rob's brother, and Hud, Rob's best friend, that Rob and Beth slept together. Soon the word gets around, thanks to Hud. Beth leaves with her date. All of a sudden, an explosion occurs, taking the power out for a short bit. Just about everyone goes to find out what happened. They realize that it's a monster attacking the city.
Continuing on, Marlena, a woman from the party who Hud seems to like, comes from outside where she says she saw the monster eating people. I don't like that thought. The Statue of Liberty's head gets decapitated and lands where our main characters are, of course. What happens next goes throughout the city, where one by one, the people die. One of the people's future is uncertain, because you don't know what happens to them, but that's all I'll tell.
What I like about this movie is that it used unknowns in the lead roles, so it seemed more convincing, because why use Will Smith in a movie where he obviously would die when he's not really dead? This movie is sort of like The Blair Witch Project, which I haven't seen. It's all hand-held camera, and it feels like you're part of the movie. However, we know for sure that it's fake--unlike what some people thought about Blair Witch--because it's in New York. HOW MANY TIMES HAS NEW YORK BEEN DESTROYED IN MOVIES??!!! King Kong, Godzilla, Farenheit 9/11......well, the last one had actual footage, and it's a documentary.
What I didn't like about this movie was that the movement of the camera was shaking a lot. I felt pretty dizzy, but that also could've been because I ate a granola bar, a piece of pizza, and a bottle of pop. Also, if the setting were in the middle of nowhere, like Blair Witch, it could have been more convincing in my eyes, but New York has just been used too many times, and they should set it somewhere else. Another thing, although it's pretty cliché, I like the 'somebody lives' ending. I have never liked the whole 'Everybody Dies' ending. Even though Cloverfield went against what everyone expects and did well on it, I am a sucker for the ending where there's hopes for our hero(es).
Anyway, although I don't recommend it that much, it's an okey-dokey movie for me.