Starting out in the Evening

The quartet of fine actors couldn't rescue this talkathon from its overwritten dialogue & lack of dramatic weight.  An underrated novelist in his twilight, an adoring grad student, a daughter looking to start a family, all are given short-shrift.  A wasted opportunity.

Cloverfield

The viral hype machine did its work and I was lured into the Blair Monster Project hook, lilne & sinker.  30 minutes in, the shaky-cam gimmick (it's ostensibly shot by a character w/ a handheld camera), I got too nauseous to sit & had to leave.  By then, I'd only seen a few shots of NYC destruction (already glimpsed in the trailers) and nothing impressed as yet.  Preferring not to throw up, I decided to sit this one out and maybe attempt it again w/ a dramamine (which got me through a couple of the Bourne films).