Cloverfield‘s first trailer was shown during Transformers, at which time, it was simply the untitled film that showed an attack on New York and the date 01.18.08. Being the king of viral marketing, J.J. Abrams setup a very elaborate scheme to keep the film, and it’s monster, a secret until opening day. Shooting under a cacophony of working titles to keep everything under wraps, Abrams was mostly successful at building the suspense for the film.

Sadly, I think the film didn’t live up to that suspense. Going into the theatre, I knew Cloverfield was a monster movie. It had previously been suggested that this was going to be ‘America’s Godzilla’. Knowing that, you are treated to a film that isn’t so much about the monster, but the actors in the film about the monster. While it is an interesting and unique story, it really leaves nothing known about the monster itself. The cliffhanger may have been what J.J. Abrams wanted. Currently, Hollywood is very good at milking a franchise for all it’s worth; the Cloverfield monster seems to be destined for a similar fate as Saw and Spiderman.

The acting in the film was surprisingly well done, considering all those cast were relatively unknown. The actors didn’t actually know what film they were trying out for until they agree to join the project. The special effects were very well done at both a large and small scale. Scenes containing large landscapes of New York had as much detail as scenes shot in a subway tunnel.

I do have two gripes with the film though; first, most of the film was shot without a steady-cam. This leads to the very home-movie feel for the film, which is horribly nauseating. Multiple times I was forced to cover my eyes to settle my stomach, not from the gruesomeness, but from the jarring cinematography. The second issue I have with the film is with the idea of switching between the videos on the tape. A DV tape, as is suggested to be used in the film, doesn’t behave in the way it is show in the film. While recording over a tape, there isn’t a way to stop recording while keeping the tape playing without manually forwarding it. The seamless switching between stories doesn’t make much technological sense.

Other than my personal gripes, I’d say Cloverfield is an interesting monster movie. Plans are already in the works for a second film due out in 2009. Be prepared for another installment, and be sure to stock up on Dramamine before viewing.

When he returns, Barker is no more; Sweeney Todd(Depp) is his new name, and revenge is what he wants most. Returning to his previous home, he learns that Judge Turpin tried to wed his wife and steal his daughter. Todd’s wife poisoned herself, but his daughter did not managed to escape the horrors of Turpin and is being raised as his own. Setting up his new barber shop above Mrs. Lovett’s(Bonham Carter) store, Todd and Lovett scheme to revive her meat pie business while he figures out how to exact his revenge on Turpin.

Based off of the amazing Broadway musical by the same name, Sweeney Todd is a well-done screen adaptation. Normally, I’m not a fan of musicals that are turned into films. I think something is lost when people are singing on screen. It’s just me. But what this movie lacks in dramatic dialog, it makes up with in spades in amazing cinematography and detailed computer generated images. While the stage performances of Sweeney Todd require a large dose of imagination on the part of the audience, Tim Burton brought everything in one’s imagination to life.

I’ll admit, I enjoyed the movie. It got a little gory at times, but that’s to be expected. I think the biggest pitfall for this film for me was the fact that it is based off a musical. I’ll agree that it was amazing(it’s already received several nominations) but my personal preference is against musicals in movie theatres. If you enjoy these types of films, Todd is one of the best. If you, like me, enjoy Todd on the stage, don’t expect it to be as good.

Building the back-story of his previous life, Saw IV delves into what made Jigsaw do the things he does. Before he became a sociopath, Jigsaw was an expecting father. But when a junkie attacks his wife, killing her unborn child, Jigsaw realizes the horrors of the human existence. That, coupled with the knowledge of his progressive brain cancer, builds in him a need to make others value their lives and pay for their sins.

Saw IV rebirths the Saw legacy with twisted plot points and gut-wrenching visuals, and while it’s all in Saw style, it’s different; and not in a good way. What is different about Saw IV is the lack of immediate context for each of the life-threatening puzzles. In previous movies, entire hours were spent building the suspense and revealing different aspects of a “contestant’s” puzzle. Now, the reveal, the build-up and the execution all occur within ten minutes. This is obviously because audiences expect a quick progression, having seen the previous three films.

Slowly, the series has become less about the “contestants” in the puzzles, and more about the police and FBI officers hunting Jigsaw. In the end, all those officers and agents have ended up contestants themselves, leading to the question, ‘*sigh* Alright, who’s next…?’ I remember seeing the first Saw and absolutely loving it. I remember staring in wide-eyed amazement during the end of the film just saying ‘What the f*ck!?’ Not really knowing how everything played out until the very end.

Not so with the latest film. Throughout, I was constantly thinking, ‘How much more of this will I have to endure before the film is over?’ The first film built the story fluidly and deeply; focusing on one puzzle and the story of the two men in a single bathroom. The latest has no fewer than 10 people in 8 puzzles all getting only slivers of screen time before moving on to the next victim.

I guess when a studio has a good idea, they’ll run it into the ground. The problem is, the Saw series is lacking in quality and there isn’t an end in sight. Saw IV ended with an obvious cliffhanger and we can expect another film. Hopefully, Lionsgate will have the foresight to bring a big climatic finish sooner rather than later to preserve the genius that is the Saw series before audiences get bored.