Movies: 10 Cloverfield Lane

I didn't enjoy it as much as Cloverfield, but part of that may be because I saw that one in a cinema full of people and this one at home.

10 Cloverfield Lane also does not have the conceit of "found footage." Instead, its the story of Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who leaves her fiancé after an unspecified argument, packing her things and driving off only to get in a terrible car crash. She wakes up in a bunker where Howard (John Goodman) tells her he saved her from some kind of terrible attack. Howard used to be in the Navy and has evidently worked for years on building this bunker for just this purpose. Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.) helped him build it and demanded admission when the attack occurred. So the three of them live there amidst questions of whether there really has been any kind of attack, or if maybe Howard is crazy. The story tilts one way then another, and the answer lies somewhere in the middle, but I won't give it away.

There was definitely some tension, and no one but John Goodman could have pulled off the part of Howard. But aside from the tension and the questions hanging over everything, I can't say I was as entertained with this one as with Cloverfield. It was clever and interesting but not, somehow, actually as engaging. Again, that might be the difference between a darkened cinema and my living room, but that is what I walked away feeling.

That said, still definitely worth watching.