It took me two viewing sessions but I managed to get through Cloverfield without hurling my lunch. (wTwNjzVFVU)
The story’s rather simple. You follow a group of New Yorkers as they try to rescue a friend and escape New York City amidst the chaos of a monster attack.
Overall, I liked it. It was a little slow to begin with. The whole party scene at the beginning, which was supposed to introduce the characters and set the stage for the emotional drama for the film, felt overly long— probably because I was trying to get through it without getting sick from all the shaky camera work.
The camera work did annoy more than just my stomach. While the camera shake is supposed to give the film a gritty realism, I think the filmmakers should have realized that ultimately, a movie must be watchable.
If it were up to me, I would have sacrificed some of the shakes even it meant making the camera work a little “unrealistic” in order to make the film easier for audiences to take in. Maybe I would have written it so that the camera the character used happened to be equipped with a stabilization device or something… 
At any rate, the film certainly picks up the pace from that point on.
Cloverfield is like the anti-Independence Day or Godzilla in that while those movies reveled in the very explicit display of full scale global destruction, Cloverfield is more “glimpses and aftermaths” which makes for better drama in some respects— as well as set-ups. E.g. subway tunnel sequence.
And unlike the Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield isn’t filled with scene after scene of foul-mouthed, screaming, leaky-nosed main characters that you really know nothing about. Cloverfield actually has characters you could actually give a damn about.
I found myself quite impressed with the visual effects in the movie. They were able to blend it seamlessly into the herky-jerky handheld shot footage which made it look as if it were actual live events were caught on video. Very convincing stuff!
I can’t really say much about Cloverfield as it’s one of those movies that you have to experience. If you haven’t seen Cloverfield during its theatrical run, then renting it to watch on the small screen might spare you some of the motion sickness.
I give it a score of 8 out of 10— but I probably got more out of it, being a 3D CG guy… 
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