On Cloverfield

Yesterday, I watched Cloverfield. I avoided it at the theater because of warnings from reviewers about the vertigo caused (for those who are susceptible) by the shuddery, handheld camera. I picked it up at the library yesterday, with some hesitation, given that it might be unwatchable even on a small screen. This turned out to not be a problem, for two reasons, I think: first, I could always pause the film and look around a bit, exercising my eyes; second, though the camera was shuddery, it wasn't as extreme as it might have been (the few times it was, I looked away), nor did it swing abruptly from one side to another very often, which can be vertiginous.

I enjoyed the film much more than I expected to. The performers were all fine, the script worked, the special effects were integrated well into the cinematography (an easier task given the grainy mock-video effect in any case), and the film contained quite a few shocks and surprises, which is what's wanted in a monster/horror film. I recommend it.