Cloverfield (2008)

A group of friends venture deep into the streets of New York on a rescue mission during a rampaging monster attack.

Director:

Matt Reeves

Writer:

Drew Goddard

Stars:

Mike Vogel, Jessica Lucas, Lizzy Caplan

5 wins & 30 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lizzy Caplan	...	Marlena Diamond
Jessica Lucas	...	Lily Ford
T.J. Miller	...	Hudson 'Hud' Platt
Michael Stahl-David	...	Rob Hawkins
Mike Vogel	...	Jason Hawkins
Odette Annable	...	Beth McIntyre (as Odette Yustman)
Anjul Nigam	...	Bodega Cashier
Margot Farley	...	Jenn
Theo Rossi	...	Antonio
Brian Klugman	...	Charlie
Kelvin Yu	...	Clark
Liza Lapira	...	Heather
Lili Mirojnick	...	Lei
Ben Feldman	...	Travis
Elena Nikitina Bick	...	Party Goer (as Elena Caruso)

Storyline

To celebrate Rob's massive promotion, his lover, Beth, and friends, decide to throw a massive surprise farewell party, now that he is about to move to Japan. However, a deafening explosion and the arrival of an enormous scaly and gangly creature will abruptly interrupt the festivities, as all hell breaks loose in New York City, and the Statue of Liberty is decapitated. As the reptilian behemoth levels Manhattan, a daring dash to rescue Beth begins, while at the same time, everything is recorded through the lens of a hand-held camcorder, amid mayhem and destruction. In the end, where did this relentless invader come from, and above all, is there a chance of survival? As they go to investigate, an adventure deep into the streets of New York begins, as the friends are determined to rescue Rob's true love.

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Plot Keywords:

found footage | night vision | gigantic monster | alien | party | 

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Taglines:

Some Thing Has Found Us

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence, terror and disturbing images

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the first weekend of the release, many theaters posted signs warning guests that the hand-held camera movements may cause motion sickness.

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Goofs

In the theatre, it is obvious that the footage is of very high audio-video quality, including multi-channel surround sound and ultra-high-resolution video at 24 frames per second, typical of movie productions, as opposed to 30-frame-per-second digitally compressed video with stereo sound that can be created with most consumer video. However, this is a necessary and deliberate change on the part of the crew, and not an error. Producing a movie with "authentic" quality based on the equipment Hud is carrying would have produced a very poor result when projected onto hundred-foot screens, and incompatibilities in frame rate between a 30-frame-per-second recording and the 24-frames-per-second provided by movie projectors would have created a movie which was unusable to most theaters.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Rob Hawkins: It's 6:42 AM. Beth's dad's place. He's out of town. And it's already a good day.

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Crazy Credits

During the Paramount and Bad Robot logos, the creatures footsteps can be heard growing louder and louder as the titles progress.

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Connections

Referenced in Mad: Pacific Ring/Horton Hears a Whodunnit! (2013)

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Soundtracks

The Ride
Written by Joan Wasser
Performed by Joan Wasser (as Joan As Police Woman)
Courtesy of Cheap Lullaby Records

User Reviews

An extremely well-made movie. Don't listen to the haters.

I can remember back months before this movie came out, watching the teaser trailer for this film for the first time. The sense of foreboding and mystery I felt watching the trailer was the same as when I watched the film in the theater. It is an excellently-made movie.

Although it starts off a little slow (with introducing the characters and their relationships), when the action kicks in, it doesn't stop. There are maybe 6-7 minutes where there is not some kind of thrilling event happening. The relationship between the characters Rob and Beth is palpable, as is the chemistry between all the actors.

Pros: -Many thrills -Surprisingly good acting for a 'no-name' cast -Great story -Convincing special effects

Cons: -The shaky camera may be nauseating to some people -The acting in some scenes could be a little better -If you are someone who likes for all the loose ends to be tied up at the end, this is not for you

Overall, I give this movie 8 out of 10 stars. I love it, and it is in my top 10 favorite movies. It always will be. I highly recommend watching this on a large screen, with the sound turned up loud for maximum enjoyment.

Details

Official Sites:

Paramount [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

18 January 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Clover

Filming Locations:

Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$40,058,229, 20 January 2008

Gross USA:

$80,048,433

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$172,394,180

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Bad Robot, Cloverfield Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1