SPOILER ALERT!
Cloverfield (R) !!! 1/2
Rob (Michael Stahl-David) is having a great time at his going-away party until his friend/crush/one-night stand Beth (Odette Yustman) shows up with another guy. Things get even worse when an enormous monster attacks New York. The chaos is recorded first-hand on Rob’s video camera by his best bud, Hud (T.J. Miller), whose footage is periodically interrupted by what was previously on the tape: Rob’s video of his and Beth’s best day together.
Catch it: The first great monster movie for the YouTube generation, “Cloverfield” captures New York, mid-destruction, with a startling, breathless urgency that legitimately deserves to be called a wild ride.
Skip it: If you scoff at the everyday, not-always-intelligent conversation of America’s twentysomethings. You’ll groan when someone tells Rob that Hud is, “like, your main dude.” But is anyone really expecting “Cloverfield” to sound like “Atonement”?
Bottom line: The camera’s durability — and Hud’s resolve to hold onto it — become a bit much, and for gross, scary beasts I prefer the monster in last year’s South Korean flick “The Host.” While the heart-stopping action in “Cloverfield” won’t disappoint the blogosphere, what sticks with you is the juxtaposition of video footage celebrating a perfect day and the worst-day-ever for the lovebirds.
For the complete review, go to metromix.com.
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mpais@tribune.com
