Cloverfield

A deft online marketing campaign finally pays off with the release of “Cloverfield”, a thrilling monster romp that’ll leave adrenaline surging in your veins long after the credits roll.

Director Matt Reeves, writer Drew Goddard and producer JJ Abrams have excelled in depicting what happens to a small band of friends when a furious leviathan descends on New York City.

“Cloverfield”’s plot has been shrouded in secrecy, so one of the great joys of the film is watching it unfold with no idea of what’s coming. As such little of the story will be revealed here, beyond that it reveals what happens to Rob (Michael Stahl-David) and his friends when his going-away party is interrupted by the monster’s devastating attack.

The conceit of “Cloverfield” is that it’s been shot on Rob’s handheld camera, “Blair Witch Project”-style. The resulting jagged camerawork will inevitably have detractors who moan about motion sickness: get over it. The “handicam” look heightens the claustrophobic terror and realism, giving audiences an insight into what it might be like to experience an event of this scale.

The monster itself appears early and often; again, it’s unfair to reveal too much about it here. At first we only see it in baffling, frustrating, horrifying glimpses, but by the end we get a satisfyingly good look at it and the unexpected methods it has of killing New Yorkers (one in particular is especially gruesome).

“Cloverfield”’s only downer is its romantic subplot, wherein Rob resolves to rescue his on-off girlfriend Beth (Odette Yustman). Yes, it’s contrived - sometimes annoyingly so - but it drives the story and has a poignant pay-off.

It’s not often that a movie offers such a visceral experience, but “Cloverfield” does exactly that - you’ll leave the cinema half-expecting to see a screaming monster on the horizon, bearing down on you at a horrifying speed.

Rated: [ M ] frightening sequences and sci-fi violence
Cinema release: 17 Jan 2008
Director: Matt Reeves
Running time: 84 mins

The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep

We all know how the old story goes: boy meets fantastical creature, boy develops deep bond with said creature, boy learns important lessons about life while rescuing creature from peril.

"The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep" doesn't stray from the formula - yet despite rehashing a plot that was hoary when Steven Spielberg used it in "ET" more than 25 years ago, the film nevertheless has its charms.

Based on the novel by Dick King-Smith (who also penned "Babe"), "The Water Horse" tells the story of Angus (Alex Etel), a Scottish boy who lives with his mother, Anne (Emily Watson), while his father fights in WWII.

Angus's life turns upside-down when he finds a large egg washed up on the beach; he's stunned when it hatches into an aquatic beastie he nicknames Crusoe. With help from his sister Kirstie (Priyanka Xi) and Lewis (Ben Chaplin), a handyman who works for Anne, Angus must keep Crusoe secret from his mother, the townspeople and from a regiment of English soldiers charged with protecting the Scottish coast from the Nazis.

"The Water Horse" was co-produced by Walden Media (the company behind "The Chronicles of Narnia" adaptations), a production house dedicated to making entertaining films for families. They've lived up to the mandate here, with a flick that will enchant the younger set and amuse parents ... so long as they don't expect any surprises.

Though "The Water Horse" treads a predictable path, there are unexpected moments of sadness, as well as a lot to like. Etal is a bright young star, and scenes of him riding Crusoe across Scotland's stunning lochs are a joy.