So I saw Cloverfield this weekend with some friends. I won't give too much away in case some of you haven't seen it yet.

I'm starting to admire this particular sub-genre of storytelling. Like Signs, Cloverfield takes an event that would normally make for a run-of-the-mill, humdrum disaster/action/scary movie and does something interesting with it. The former being an alien invasion of Earth, and the latter being a monster attack on a major city. They're subjects that have become cliché: and either could easily be a pallid copy of Independence Day or Godzilla, respectively. In such cases, the president of the U.S. and a bunch of high-ranking officers and scientists would likely comprise the main characters. Though you might throw in an elite soldier or hot-shot fighter pilot, <sarcasm> because that's someone we can all relate to.</sarcasm>

But when you put the camera on the ground, non-omniscient, following the story of average joes affected by the disaster, you come up with something truly interesting and terrifying. The viewer begins to be drawn into the characters' situation; the lack of information gives a feeling of helplessness.

Cloverfield does all this very well. As did Signs. But there's one reason why Signs is still head and shoulders over Cloverfield in my opinion: Signs doesn't make you want to FUCKING HURL.

Like the similarly conceived Blair Witch Project, the cinematographical premise of Cloverfield is that it's filmed by a dude holding a camcorder. This, in theory, adds to the immersion of the viewer. In practice, it gives half the audience SEVERE motion sickness. I literally struggled towards the end to hold on to my lunch, while many others were forced to leave the movie halfway through. The uncompromising shaking is completely unnecessary as well. If we can suspend our disbelief that anyone would bother to continue to hold the camera, much less actually FILM, during this crisis, then we can also suspend our disbelief that the camera remains STEADY. I'd rather make this leap of faith than endure the incredible discomfort I experienced while watching the otherwise riveting film.

Has anyone else seen this movie? Thoughts are appreciated.