Cloverfield

Just watched a movie alone at Princess cinema.

Some circumstances caused me to be stranded alone on a fine saturday, with no work and no date. I'm already spent working the whole week and I seriously needed some entertainment. Books would knock me off and anyway, I'm in no mood to read. I did the next best thing - watch a movie.

I chose Cloverfield because I do not know what it is. The poster entices me to find out more about it, though the wording "Some thing has found us" gave a huge clue as to the genre of the movie. But rest assured, this is no usual hollywood summer flick.

There is something about this movie that I like very much. The filming is not done in a God's eye view point, but rather, it is done through the eyes of a person holding a video cam, creating a rapid and frantic pace dubbed the 'Blair Witch' effect (named after a movie of the same title). I believe not everyone likes this kind of filming. I can vouch for it because one seriously f-up auntie yawned audibly and shouted to her companion during the show. Yes, shouted because I can hear clearly what she said. Another female told her male companion, to the effect of saying it's a waste of money.

I beg to differ.

This is one of the most original movie I've watched this year. It captures the very essence of citizen journalism. That was one scene in the movie, when the head of the above lady in the poster rolled out on the streets, possibly killing some citizens along the way. Instead of running, people are taking out their handphones and snapping pictures. I can picture myself singaporeans taking out their handphone and snapping pictures when there is something interesting happening. STOMP is such a hit here, which testify the power of citizen journalism.

Unlike in usual films, nobody has a clue what is happening to them. And you can empathise with the characters in the movie, who are somehow caught by up the action that unfolded unwillingly unto them. This crisis made the usual disturbances in their life so minute and small that it made me wonder...perhaps crisis are very important experiences. It humbles and re-prioritizes life. In the end, relationship is more important, perhaps more important than life itself. Do you have something that you always wanted to do but never put yourself to doing it while you are busy living life?

That's something to think about.

For all of you who thought of catching the movie. Pay attention to the movie's last scene, when the main character and his gf are talking to the video cam. Pay attention to the water in the backdrop.