I feel like a fool...

Rating: 3/10 (21 January 2008)

JJ Abrams is a marketing genius.
With all the hype this movie has received ever since its teaser in July of last year, its no wonder Cloverfield made over 40 million dollars opening weekend. People are creatures of curiosity, and in turn could not help themselves from wanting to see this movie.
I'll admit, I was curious too. Afterall, it didn't even have a name until a few months ago and everything was so secretive. With such a big secret, this movie has GOT to be great, or at the very least, unique.
NO.
Not great, not unique, not even worth the sick, dizzy feeling I got from trying to pay attention. I didn't even pay to watch this movie, yet still I want a refund. I want my hour and a half back.
Now before you rip me apart for this, let me say a few things:
1. They spent about 30 million dollars on this movie. WHAT?!? I realize that 30 mil is pretty cheap for a movie budget but come on. Either the set had some really amazing catering or that statue replica was very expensive. Clearly that 30 mil was not spent on actors with talent. BTW 30 mil is about what they spent on Ghostbusters in 1984. At least Ghostbusters was entertaining.
2. And speaking of the actors... I realize that the point of using amateur actors is to give the movie a more "realistic" feel, to make the audience relate to the characters more. No. Screw you. If I wanted to see real people doing realistic things, I would watch reality TV.
3. Yes. The whole "let's shoot this from the perspective of real people with a video camera" idea is a great one. Look at the Blair Witch. But trying to get an audience to feel like this "really" happened is ridiculous. If a giant spider-monster thing attack could really happen, then maybe i'd be able to appreciate the use of "realism" in this movie. It's like trying to create a sense of reality in a movie like Transformers. Totally unbelievable. How about if we use this hand-held idea in a movie about a real natural disaster, or anything else that could possibly happen? Cool idea. Wrong story.
4. Can't anyone come up with any NEW ideas anymore? If Hollywood isn't remaking Japanese horror movies these days, it seems they are just retelling the same stories in a different way. Sure. Cloverfield is not a remake. But how many times has this "monster-attacks-city-and-people-freak" story been told already? Does Hollywood really not have anymore original ideas?
So i've wasted my time watching the movie, ranting about the movie, and writing this review. I just could not believe that so many people are saying how great this movie is. Maybe I missed something. Maybe I'm just upset by how much money is wasted in Hollywood. I'm not sure.
What i am sure about, however, is that I will be hanging my head in shame for giving in to my curiosity and actually wasting my time on this movie.