Seen on: January 20, 2008

The players: Director: Matt Reeves, Writer: Drew Goddard, Cast: Lizzy Caplan, T.J. Miller, Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel, Michael Stahl-David

Facts of interest: Produced by J.J. Abrams, creator of "Alias" and "Lost."

The plot: A group of friends launch a perilous rescue mission after a gigantic monster descends upon Manhattan.

Our quick thoughts: Do not be fooled by the poster of "Cloverfield." It’s definitely not your average monster movie. It's so much better. In this day and age, we are used to the scripted, sound stage quality of films, but all that is missing in this movie. It's filmed in “The Blair Witch Project" style of a hand-held camera. Besides the times when the screen is whizzing around so fast you feel like you're having a seizure, "Cloverfield" not only brings the action to you, but it puts you straight in the middle of it. 

The movie follows a group of highly attractive (aren't they all?) 20-year-olds as they spend the night outrunning a really pissed-off ‘Thing’ that's reaping havoc in New York City. No reason is given as to why this is happening. Instead, buildings start exploding and the race for survival begins. But instead of leaving Manhattan, Rob (Michael Stahl-David) and his friends attempt to rescue one of their friends, who escaped the wrath of the creature and is stuck on the 39th floor of a downtown skyscraper. Oh yes, the big bad monster is hungry and generally likes people, but not in a good way. So does its offspring, which falls off the behemoth and looks like a five-foot long crab. The movie is entirely seen through Rob's best friend Hud (T.J. Miller), who was supposed to film Rob's going-away party.

Overall, producer J.J. Abrams has done it again. Allowing the audience only to see glimpses of the action heavily increases the anxiety set off by the story line. Director Matt Reeves uses the audience's imagination as his tool and it works perfectly. The visual effects of "Cloverfield" are very well done, even quite credible, and Abrams and Reeves found the perfect way to convert a historically unbelievable story into a very compelling and exciting movie.

Freaky quote: "My name is Robert Hawkins. Approximately seven hours ago some thing attacked the city. If you found this, if you're watching this then you probably know more about it than I do." - Michael Stahl-David

The final word: Taking in $46 million after only four days in release, "Cloverfield" is bound to become a smash hit. So much more than just a fantasy, this movie is definitely worth seeing. As Hud accurately puts it, "People are gonna want to know how it all went down."