Why the tricks of talent shouldn't be used by the untalented

Rating: 1/10 (20 January 2008)

I went to Cloverfield on opening night (as, I imagine, most of the rest of the reviewers here did). I was unsure of what to expect, but I thought that at least it would be worth eight dollars to satisfy my curiosity. I had forgotten that it would also take up two hours of my life, which is the part I want refunded. The attempts at verisimilitude via the hand-cam were, in a nutshell, ridiculous. The movie was a B-movie with a C-movie script and cinematography but A-movie advertising. Instead of breaking new ground and becoming the next Leone or Wenders, Abrams even went so far as to deny the viewer a decently entertaining film. The plot was predictable and clichéd, without any real attempts at creativity.