Nichols | House

This is an amazing movie. My initial reaction is to recommend it to every person I know… But I don’t want to give the wrong impression. You might not love the movie but I can guarantee Cloverfield will keep you riveted (and I’m talking beyond Bourne Ultimatum riveted), and afterward you certainly will respect it.

Genius storytelling.
Great camera work.
No score (well we could get technical if you want…there is “music”).
Killer, yet unknown, actors.
And JJ Abrams.
It all adds up… This movie rocks.

I won’t spoil any plot points, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but oddly enough I left the movie wanting someone I could truly love (haha yes true love what a cliché, but honestly). I mean lots of action  flicks try adding in the noble love story and usually fail (check out Pearl Harbor for what not to do). There might be a lot of stuff going on during this action packed rampage but no movie has made me want to find true love more.

OH PS I strongly disagree with MANOHLA DARGIS (NY Times film critic). Her review seemed to expect we all went to Cloverfield to see the greatest movie of all time. In fact many people probably went for one of these reasons:

1. Lost is amazing,
2. Monsters generally mean great action.
3. After seeing I Am Legend you had… still have… an obsession with seeing a New York destroyed.
4. You thought one of the girls in the trailer was hot.
5. You got dragged along.
6. (did I mention theres lots of action?)
7. You had free screening tickets.
8. You were just bored.

Cloverfield is what it is and nothing more. Certainly its a better version of War of the Worlds (though I thought Cruise did a great job).

Times Review: http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/01/18/movies/18clov.html

I was duped. In order for me to explain I have to go back a year. When I first saw the trailer for Blood Diamond I instantly laughed at what struck me as the most obscene accent ever (Dicaprio as a South African). Little did I know that Blood Diamond was an amazing story with a heart in all the right places. Fast forward a year. I saw Blood Diamond on DVD and realized that accents, even ones that make you cringe at first, can sometimes work. I loved Blood Diamond and felt stupid for judging it so quickly.

SO… back to Eastern Promises. I saw the trailer, I hated Viggo’s accent, yet I told myself, “Eric don’t judge this like Blood Diamond.” So I rented Eastern Promises and wow. The blatant throat slicing complete with spraying blood in the first thirty seconds should have been a hint. I really did not like this film. Yes it has stars like Viggo Mortensen, and Naomi Watts. Yes it has a compelling plot twist, but when the credits rolled I felt a little empty- and not in a good way “I just finished Children of Men” empty.

I guess I read the reviews saying how great a film Eastern Promises was and so I expected something great, not something a step below good and a step above OK.

Take my advice and only see Eastern Promises if you have a compelling reason because on a whole its almost boring and we have seen the story before (a lot). It’s not a bad movie but it feels slightly tired.

PS Mortensen does a good job with his part and eventually I was OK (still didn’t love it but OK) with his accent. Oh and he has a completely nude fight scene.