Cloverfield

I recently watched Cloverfield on DVD. I'm gald I didn't watch it on the big screen because I suffer from cinema vertigo, caused by the use of QueasyCam. It's bad enough in the corner of my living room but when I'm assaulted by massive amounts of blurred, jerky, flashing shots I want to vomit; I get migraines and want to scream, 'Just use a sodding tripod, you moron!'

So, that aside, it was actually not bad. Best (and often) described as a cross between The Blair Witch Project and Godzilla, it is a disaster film set in New York City and filmed from one perspective of a bloke with a hand-held camera. He decides to capture the devastation on film rather than fleeing to safety because 'people are going to want to know how it all went down.' As you do.

He doesn't mention the fact that if it all works out he could flog this footage for a fortune, but seeing as he and his mates are prime examples of the shallow, materialistic, vapid, self-obssessed, Gen-Y, you can't tell me this didn't cross his mind, tiny though it may be.

The case of the missing plot or explanation has been heavily criticised, but I think the lack of omniscient director makes it interesting, albeit frustrating. In fact, despte the beautiful people, tumbling cities and giant scary monsters, the banal dialogue and unresolved ending add a touch of realism.

When this film was released, there was concern that viewers might suffer shellshock due to memories of 11th September when towers collapsed and the streets were full of dust and panic. The powers that be dismissed these worries. Do the movie moguls simply not care if it makes them a buck - or two million?

Does this mean we're immune to it now? Have we learned to live in the shadow of terrorism and destruction? Is that a part of our lives now? Or is it that we are resilient enough to bounce back? Seven years - is that what it takes?