CCNP certification validates a network professional’s ability to install, configure and troubleshoot converged local and wide area networks with 100 to 500 or more nodes. Network Professionals who achieve the CCNP have demonstrated the knowledge and skills required to manage the routers and switches that form the network core, as well as edge applications that integrate voice, wireless, and security into the network.

Benefits of CCNP Certification

• In general, Cisco certification validates an individual’s achievement, so it increases the holder’s professional credibility by ensuring high standards of technical expertise.
• In particular, the Cisco CCNP certification indicates knowledge of networking for big enterprises. It also confirms the ability to work in organizations whose networks have 100 to more than 500 nodes.

How to prepare for CCNP?

You have identified your goal and are ready to prepare yourself for the highly recognized CCNP Certification Exam. You want to score high, the course is vast and the time is less. The question is:

• How to prepare fast and accurate?
• How to focus on important topics first, master them fast and retain what you’ve learnt?

Master the course and prepare scientifically with the help of Exam4sure CCNP Preparation Software.

Exam4sure Practice Exams for CCNP certifications are written to the highest standards of technical accuracy, using only certified subject matter experts and published authors for development.

They also offer free demo of each product. You can check out the interface, question quality and usability of our practice exams before you decide to buy CCNP exam simulators.

List of Exam4sure Cisco CCNP Certification Exams Practice Engine

» 642-812 BCMSN - Building Converged Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks
» 642-892 Composite
» 642-901 BSCI - Building Scaleable Cisco Internetworks
» 642-845 ONT - Optimizing Converged Cisco Networks
» 642-825 ISCW - Implementing Secure Converged Wide Area Networks
» 642-891 CCNP’s Composite Exam
» 642-831 CCNP’s Cisco Internetwork Troubleshooting (CIT)
» 642-821 CCNP’s Building Cisco Remote Access Networks (BCRAN)
» 642-811 CCNP’s Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks (BCMSN)

Exam4sure CCNP will certify that the successful candidate has knowledge and skills necessary to gather information from the technology basics to some of the more updated features and functions.

You can learn more about CCNP certification from Cisco Systems.

Benefits of CCNP Certification

• In general, Cisco certification validates an individual’s achievement, so it increases the holder’s professional credibility by ensuring high standards of technical expertise.
• In particular, the Cisco CCNP certification indicates knowledge of networking for big enterprises. It also confirms the ability to work in organizations whose networks have 100 to more than 500 nodes.

How to prepare for CCNP?

You have identified your goal and are ready to prepare yourself for the highly recognized CCNP Certification Exam. You want to score high, the course is vast and the time is less. The question is:

• How to prepare fast and accurate?
• How to focus on important topics first, master them fast and retain what you’ve learnt?

Master the course and prepare scientifically with the help of Exam4sure CCNP Preparation Software.

Exam4sure Practice Exams for CCNP certifications are written to the highest standards of technical accuracy, using only certified subject matter experts and published authors for development.

They also offer free demo of each product. You can check out the interface, question quality and usability of our practice exams before you decide to buy CCNP exam simulators.

List of Exam4sure Cisco CCNP Certification Exams Practice Engine

» 642-812 BCMSN - Building Converged Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks
» 642-892 Composite
» 642-901 BSCI - Building Scaleable Cisco Internetworks
» 642-845 ONT - Optimizing Converged Cisco Networks
» 642-825 ISCW - Implementing Secure Converged Wide Area Networks
» 642-891 CCNP’s Composite Exam
» 642-831 CCNP’s Cisco Internetwork Troubleshooting (CIT)
» 642-821 CCNP’s Building Cisco Remote Access Networks (BCRAN)
» 642-811 CCNP’s Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks (BCMSN)

Exam4sure CCNP will certify that the successful candidate has knowledge and skills necessary to gather information from the technology basics to some of the more updated features and functions.

You can learn more about CCNP certification from Cisco Systems.

This has been the most competitive of the three series taking flight tonight, though you wouldn’t know it by watching the first half of Orlando’s two wins over Toronto.

This is significant, because while both of these teams are pretty evenly matched talent-wise, how the Magic respond to what figures to be a furious start in front of the Raptors’ home crowd will say a lot about Orlando’s chances in the rest of the series. And it will say even more about the team’s second round chances, should they move on.

It’s easy to make excuses and lay down in front of a blowout that most think inevitable, and if the Raps get off to a hot shooting start, the Magic will think that they have every right to curl up and take in a beating that most would regard as due.

But it doesn’t have to be inevitable. You can still put up a fight. You can still try and eliminate an 18-point deficit without heading out beyond the three-point line and trying to come back by flinging 25-footers.

You can be a seven game winner, and rely on that home crowd, or you could place yourselves a step above the fray.

That isn’t to say that I think Orlando is an easy favorite to pull out this series. I’m just saying that, with the weight of expectation lifted from the team’s shoulders, the Magic’s play in Game 3 will say quite a bit. Because you know that the Raptors, with Skeets in attendance, will come out firing.

Cleveland at Washington, Game 3

I think the Wizards romp in this one, mainly because I haven’t seen anything in any Cavalier outside of LeBron James that would leave me to believe that the Cavs have it in them (talent or attitude-wise) to put their collective boot on a Wizard’s throat.

(”Wizard’s Throat,” being, of course, one of my favorite brands of incense.)

That, and familiar surroundings, will do wonders for Roger Mason Jr., Andray Blatche, and even a vet like Brendan “I’m Lucky To Be In Uniform” Haywood.

(What does it say that, in probably eight out of ten suspension cases, I think a punishment that stretches beyond an in-game ejection is too severe and unwarranted? I’m usually falling on the side of, “his fall made it look worse than it was.” Not this time. Brendan’s lucky.)

The best team vs. best player conflict is still in place, which is why you can’t count LeBron out. I just don’t know if James’ game will be enough in the face of a Washington team that should have its act together.

If Cleveland does come out, as a team, and diminish any hope that the Wizards would have by going up 3-0 … whoa. Time to re-evaluate the Cavaliers.

Houston at Utah, Game 3

If the Jazz win by an average of 25 points over the next two games, I wouldn’t be surprised, but don’t buy into the idea that some supreme home court advantage will play more than a minor part.

Houston is full of vets, they’ve been around the block, and even the youngsters seem pretty impervious to this stuff. Once you’ve played 84 games, worked on national TV, lost your franchise player, and run under the glare of the 22-straight spotlight, a little cowbell action hardly matters. To say nothing of the fact that Houston has already won in Utah.

If the Jazz romp, it will be because they have a championship-caliber team, and because Houston is an incredibly flawed squad at this point.

Huselius is no stranger to harness racing; he owns horses in Sweden and follows the industry closely. “I just do it once in a while,” said Huselius of the wager. “I don’t know (what his previous biggest payout was); it wasn’t that big, I can tell you that.”

Huselius has no plans for the windfall. He’s focusing on hockey. “I’m not thinking about it at all,” he said. “We’re in the middle of this playoff series, so I’m just focusing on that. It was fun, obviously, but I’m just trying to focus on hockey.”

Rick Tocchet laughs at your legalized wagering! Huselius isn’t the only NHL player with connections to the thrilling world of Swedish horse racing: Peter Forsberg was involved in litigation against a track he claimed caused an accident that forced one of his horses to be put down. The track counter-claims that, based on the player who owned the horse, it’s possible the animal was just taking a dive. (Jokes, people … just jokes.) At this point we’d normally make some horse-racing quip about the Flames being long-shots; instead, we’ll acknowledge that, more than anything, the San Jose Sharks are in serious need of some lasix.

• - somehow i’ve never seen this
• - more sonny chiba. whitney’s looked better
• - arch hall jr!
• - an incredibly mcclure-esque title.
• - it’s odd how many films there are about fixing point shaving
• - what can you say.

i like the idea of the beginning a lot - alone in the city with little dialogue or anything, just doing shit - but they were so broad about things i thought they missed a lot of opportunities. the best example of this is when he’s going through the apartment and finds the baby room. you’ve got endless opportunity for some great bittersweetness but instead they go full throttle with the most obvious tragedy possible. and will smith too - he did a good job for sure but there’s just something too corny about him for me to buy into any deep notions. i was also annoyed by the broadness of the bob marley songs. the ironic ‘don’t worry about a thing’ and calling a compilation the best album ever recorded. i do think the video store scenes were incredible. especially the ’say hello to me’ bit as some sort of ‘alone in a sea of people’ metaphor.

the final two things that annoyed me - his dog in the front seat as he’s chasing the deer - that dog would be smacking his head on the dash every gear shift and turn. and that he passed up his chance at boning anna! damn, that’s why you are dumbass.   

i guess my other problem is i never got much of a sense of his art or writing.  other than his sense of humor i had no idea what the themes of his art were.   

Hits a High Standard of Excellence… GREAT Film

All too infrequently, a much hyped blockbuster hits the mark with such power that it resonates above all others. Mark my words, Iron Man is such a movie. I’ve been privileged enough to view an advanced screening and, honestly, it’s the best big budget movie that I’ve seen in many years. It hits a high standard of excellence for mass audiences by combining humor, a smart plot, breathtaking action sequences, a heavy dose of self discovery and realization, betrayal, forgiveness, love and puts it all together in one amazing package. The special effects and CGI are probably the best I’ve ever seen in terms of relatable effects. They’re not over the top and don’t overwhelm your senses. What’s even more remarkable is this movie will surprise a lot of people with its depth while sacrificing none of the fun. The inner turmoil worked well, the beautiful thing is that we can relate to each character, especially that of Tony Stark. Stark’s indomitable charm mixed with his flawed character makes this hero more interesting then most. Iron Man delivers action with great emotional moments and a movie that lives up to all the hype it has generated.

The cast is obviously stellar but that doesn’t always mean greatness. (American Gangster, Street Kings anyone?) I’m happy to say this amazing cast delivers in every way. Downey himself delivers one of the greatest performances in a comic adaptation film EVER. Maybe it’s because the character itself is one of the most complex and intriguing that any genre has to offer but that doesn’t diminish just what a home run Downey has hit. They took the character seriously but still remembered to include fun and humor. I almost can’t convey how much I enjoyed his performance.

i did think it was a bit too much to have otilia agree to the abortionist’s demand.  maybe it was realistic for that time/place and what needed to happen, but it felt unnecessary to the narrative.  yes, otilia had her own concerns in mind, but she was already going to ridiculous lengths to help gabita.  and tension and weight-wise i thought things were pretty tight and heavy as they were.  when otilia finds the knife that was enough for me. 

gabita’s dinner was also pretty awesome. 

i like with movies about kids the freedom and necessity to change tone scene to scene to an extreme.  the music when they skip school is maybe over-the-top happy-go-lucky but it’s still fun.  the mischievous touches like ‘bonjour madam’ helped these bits seem less forced.  i also liked the patheticness of their grand plan to steal a typewriter.  that seemed like the real deal to me.

when shreck and murnau have their first scene alone and establish the ‘filmmaking is dangerous, predatory work!’ theme they lost me completely.  i watched it last week and don’t remember the specifics of the scene though.

i really liked the use of zissou’s own films and especially his scores. the guitarist also i thought was great so i wish he would have just left out any actual pop songs altogether. the design details were fun but a big source of the cutesiness for me (along with the non-realistic effects on a movie with a $50 mill budget.) i’d say they got in the way but there wasn’t really anything to get in the way of. i liked defoe’s character but i would have liked a non-name there to emphasize his confusing nature. especially his angry appreciation of the flag on the helicopter.

Somewhat disappointingly, the film begins as Jesse James pulls off his last robbery. The scene is staged and shot elegantly (massive props to Roger Deakins, who also mastered wide open landscapes in the Coens’ masterpiece “No Country for Old Men”), and the brutality that America’s favorite outlaw was capable of really shines through. Before and after this, we are given a montage of Jesse James’ life by a cool, impartial voice over that works marvelously. The voice details such things as Jesse’s physical deformities, his daily habits, and the mysterious way he always knows when to leave town. These moments are breathtaking, but they don’t last. Robert Ford pops up, and even though he is pathetic and unsure of himself, James allows him to tag along with him, and so begins a strange little dance of death that leads to the events so eloquently stated in the title.

The idea for this movie is as brilliant as its casting, and there’s a sensation that it’s going to be pulled off as the movie gets underway. The first thirty minutes or so are guided with a deft hand, efficient yet subtle and mysterious. Casey Affleck’s Ford is pitiful and sweet, and Brad Pitt owns Jesse James to the point that it’s creepy. They even have a weird romantic chemistry with each other; Ford clearly needs to possess James in a way that his social world gives him no means for, and James is both repulsed by and drawn to this need. These parts of the story are exciting and deadly effective, and then Dominik gets distracted and wanders off the reservation. He follows subplots with members of Jesse’s gang which are not only uninteresting, but are also unimportant. Sometimes a piece of information such as “so and so has an affair with this guy’s wife” will be explained out in several thirty minute scenes, adding in all kinds of details which enhance nothing, when a single line of dialogue would have communicated the ideas necessary for the plot even better. We are told things that don’t matter, shown events that contribute little, and taken away from the characters we actually care about. Movies in this genre often make the viewer wonder if they’re just being yanked around at first, until they search deeper and find meaning in scenes that seem pointless. When one searches and finds the exact meaninglessness he was so afraid of, the feeling of letdown is intense. It’s Pretentious Folly 101, and it breaks my heart to see it in action.

But let’s not be all negative, there is a great deal to appreciate about this film. As I’ve said several times already, the two leads are unstoppable. Affleck had made a career playing meeker characters, but this is not a comfort zone role for him; Ford is a complex, difficult man who gets a lot older and wiser over the course of the film. Brad Pitt nails this role for the same reason he got Achilles so right in the underrated “Troy”: because he probably lives this when he walks off the set. The way he smirks and struts around the characters who drool on him all through this movie feels like a wink at us; aren’t we doing the same to him in real life? Also commendable are the accents, which are finely honed and suitably difficult to understand. They really pull you into the reality of the story. Of course Roger Deakins is the man, and Dominik lets him rule the lens, but we knew that going in.

When the movie does focus, it hits some amazing highs: consider the scene where James is assassinated, and how he sighs and lets himself fall right into death. He isn’t just not resisting, he’s actually participating in his own demise. Or the scene where James brutally assaults a young boy for information, then weeps about it almost accidentally. There are also quite a few grand moments where Ford’s voice squeaks like he’s in puberty, thoroughly eliminating all menace from his presence when he wants it to be there most. His eyes shift, his shoulders raise up, and his meekness pours out of him like he’s throwing it up. And last but not least, I really enjoyed the scenes late in the movie where Ford and his older brother re-enact the killing for a live audience over and over. The eldest Ford plays Jesse, and at first he’s terrible, but by the end of the film he is a frightening avatar of the dead man himself, taunting Robert from the grave. I only wish more time had been spent on *that.* Credit to Sam Rockwell for playing these transformations so well.

One of the fundamental rules of making art, and perhaps one of the hardest to follow, is that you have to let your thing be what it is. Andrew Dominik’s “The Assassination…” is a classic example of a movie that didn’t *want* to be long, but he forced it to be. This, sadly, is not a harmless vice, because if an audience begins to feel like you’re throwing scenes at them for no reason, they’ll stop trusting you. I think this movie achieved a great deal, but it is haunted permanently by how close it came to greatness, and how completely it failed at achieving it. Never underestimate the power of rambling to destroy the soul of a film.

but the sell-your-soul theme i loved and arthur’s monologue was great.  and i liked clayton’s reasoning with him of waiting, letting the revelation wear off.  the ending was a little much with the redemptiveness, and how’d they organize a whole sting in, what, an hour?  oh, also i found it funny that the realm and conquest book was bright red. 

there’s certainly plenty to criticize with the dialogue and acting and some clunky construction - the scene when he goes to buy the motor in particular, shot in a bunch of closeups with no sense of space and just wooden all around. but there are so many nice well-observed moments to overlook these problems.  my favorites were the girl singing to the radio while her mom puts on her makeup and then the slow dance scene.  that one ends a little too stagy with the cry, but is still a beautiful scene in just one shot. 

i didn’t even know the story of this until after i watched it.  and even not knowing it was a student film by a 21! year old i enjoyed it immensely.  

the gore was a bit disappointing too in its repetition.  there was a little variation with some piles of meat, but mostly it was just the neck spray over and over.  not very creative.   

It starts out as a very mundane story about 2 young girls, who share an apartment in Romania. Their day stars and we follow their everyday routine. The first 20-30 minutes are almost boring to watch, they’re just “normal”. Something is hinted at, but we don’t know what it is.

Once we do find out what they’re doing, I was glued to the screen and couldn’t stop being tense and emotional. One of the girls is attempting an illegal abortion, and her roomate is helping her.

The rest of the movie chronicles the events that occur that day, until late at night. Again this is not something that I’d want to watch again any time soon, it’s a really difficult subject, but I think it is very well done.

The movie is filmed in a hyper-realistic style, with long takes where we’re just following a character walking through the streets. Also there is no soundtrack at all, all the sounds are from the street or the environment around.

It’s amazing what Otilia does for her roomate/friend, but I think she does it because she knows she could be in the same situation, and Gabita would do the same for her.

I can’t say I recommend this to anyone, but I do think this is a movie well worth watching that will remain with you.

The story, as you undoubtedly must know by now, concerns a young girl named Juno MacGuff who gets pregnant after having sex with her best friend Paulie Bleeker. They do it almost on ceremony, and they aren’t well-educated on how to be ready for such an experience (I feel there’s a hidden message in there about our country’s continual failure to educate our children on the real issues of sex, but I digress). As the film starts, Juno begins the arduous process of discovering her pregnancy, telling the people who need to know, and deciding what to do about it. That’s all the plot you should know about, because the writing goes in wonderful directions from there.

It’s funny looking at the other Best Picture nominees for this year’s oscar. As you may have noticed, I have given my highest rating to every single one of them that I have seen (sorry, “Michael Clayton” and “There Will Be Blood,” I’ll see you soon). I adored “Atonement,” I was crazy about “No Country for Old Men,” and I’m nuts about “Juno.” What amuses me is how different this movie is from all of the others, which are frankly heavy, oppressive films. I admire that about “Juno.” It’s doing something different. Just thought I’d toss that in there.

The best thing about “Juno” as a film is that it’s unpretentious and genuine in script, direction and acting. The characters guide the story, moving through it like actual people might and discovering things about each other in a way that human beings are apt to do. This is a quality often missing from American cinema. I also greatly admired that “Juno” never tried to be an art house movie by introducing elements that don’t fit. It’s a sweet coming-of-age story, and it must have taken some resolve to stick to it and let the movie be what it is. In some ways, Juno the character epitomizes the movie named after her: she is simply and completely herself.

A lot has been made of Ellen Page’s performance, and sadly I don’t get to play the contrarion here. She’s fantastic. And that wasn’t easy to do, because Cody’s script could have leaned her into something like a hipster doofus who would have quickly grated the nerves. She needed to feel like a woman coming into her own deep underneath her exterior, and she does. One can kind of sense the person Juno is becoming, even when she doesn’t know it. That’s all credit to Page. She nailed it.

She’s not the only one working hard, however: J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney are both superb as her father and stepmother. Again, running against the art house stereotype, they are loving and supportive, trying to do the best they can in spite of the shock of their situation. Michael Cera is probably the only human being who could have played Bleeker, and play him he does. And special recognition should go to Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman, who play the parents most likely to adopt Juno’s baby. These are not necessarily sympathetic roles, both characters’ flaws are presented quite openly, but they hit them with honesty and humility, never trying to steal the spotlight. And lastly, Olivia Thirlby is fantastic as Juno’s loyal friend Leah. She doesn’t get the recognition that the other actors do from this movie, but she’s really a crucial part of this movie’s emotional texture, and playing her as goofy but not an idiot couldn’t have been easy.

There are so many wonderful scenes in this movie, and I don’t want to spoil any of them, but it’s so hard not to mention them. One my favorites involves a friend of Bleeker’s running up next to him and asking him if he heard that Juno is pregnant. Bleeker replies “yeah.” The kid then asks if Bleeker had heard that the child is his. Or the moment in the beginning where Juno shakes her pregnancy test angrily in the middle of a convenience story, and the clerk (cameo by Rainn Wilson) points out snidely that it’s “not an etch-a-sketch.” Or the oft-mentioned scene in the mall, where Jennifer Garner’s Vanessa feels her baby kick for the first time; she’s anxious and unsure at first, but as soon as the baby responds, you can see the character come to life.

I’m giving a whole paragraph to the scene where Juno heads to an abortion clinic and discovers a classmate protesting out front, because it was the moment I truly fell for this movie. I was so sure I was about to get preached to, and braced myself to receive an annoyingly one-sided sermon from the screenwriter, and instead I got an incredible little scene that swept me off my feet. No one is condemned, no one is held up on a pedastal, instead the moments just plays out…truly.

The best scene in the entire movie, however, takes place between Juno and her father, as they discuss in a very real way the nature of “true love,” and if it exists. Many movies tackle this with a boring sentimentality, but “Juno” approaches it seriously: in the *real* world, does this phenomenon really exist, or do we just suffer through because we said we would? What Juno’s father tells her about love is not only wonderfully written and superbly acted, it’s true. If it didn’t strike you that way, I must quote Roger Ebert to you: “How can your heart be so cold?”

There is a kind of unsung hero here, however, and that is the director, Jason Reitman. I would not have changed a single second of his fabulous debut “Thank You For Smoking,” and it’s pretty exciting to see him still going strong now. Comedy is normally a genre of film I have a harder time getting passionate about, but this guy makes hilarious movies that can be watched again and again. He has a quirky, light sense of humor that belies a sharp wit and a powerful gift of observation. His movies tell things the way that they are. “Thank You For Smoking” deftly pronounced our anti-smoking craze as fanatical while still condemning cigarettes. “Juno” does the same thing with abortion, pregnancy, parenting, adulthood, childhood, and most of all love. It looks at these things honestly and completely, without cynicism or sappiness.

Whew. What a movie.

But the Blair Witch this ain’t.

In fact, “Cloverfield” is one hell of a good movie. It’s the first really successful use of the “home video camera movie” thing that has been attempted and disastrously botched for years now. We probably should have seen this amount of quality coming, since J.J. Abrams was behind this project as a producer, and he’s one of those rare Hollywood guys with a genuine *imagination,* combined with the savvy to make his ideas commercial. This is the kind of movie that feels obvious when you’re watching it (in a good way). You think “oh of course, why didn’t someone else do it like this?”

But truth be told, that’s not why I gave the movie five stars. Other movies have accomplished that. No, dear reader, I gave it five stars because this movie did something I really haven’t experienced in some time: thrill. Allow me to elaborate: “Cloverfield” contains inredients like pop-outs, massive waves of destruction, and sympathetic characters getting wiped out which have been used countless times before. However, there was a certain joy to experiencing them this time that was extremely unique. Pop-outs in particular tend to wear on me extremely quickly, but I actually had *fun* getting surprised in this movie. And spooky sound effects and buildings toppling over has also been done, but in “Cloverfield” it all comes with a fresh rush of excitement. It was exhilirating, in the same way a roller coaster is fun not just in spite of being scary, but because it’s scary. I think this quality is the essential and defining ingredient in a great monster movie, and if that’s true than the genre has been dead (with a few exceptions, probably mostly from Japan) for much longer than I thought. It’s good to have one back.

The plot should be discussed very little, but the set-up is engaging. Through a series of home video recordings, we are exposed to the lives of some young adults living in New York: Marlena, Lily, Hud, Rob and Jason are really the key players. During a going away party for Rob, some kind of attack begins happening to New York, and these characters are forced into a brutal struggle for survival that is recorded by Hud, who justifies that what he’s recording is “important.” Although the relationships here are nothing overwhelmingly unique, the actors go at it with gusto and the unusual camera style forces the film to be clever in how it tells us their stories. Also, like most good horror movies, the film spends as much time as it can being slyly funny before doomsday arrives. This is a good move for three reasons: first, a little emotional variety makes any story more compelling. Secondly, the audience is already nervous because they’ve seen the trailers and know that doomsday is coming, so playing on that is wise. Thirdly, humor is a good bridge to your audience; it shows us the humanity of the characters and helps us sympathize with them.

When hell hits, it hits hard. We quickly become aware that something living is attacking New York, but the movie is extremely wise in refusing to let us see it clearly until the very end (I might have even opted not to see it then, either, but no complaints). Even when you do see the thing, it’s extremely difficult to tell what it is, and I just couldn’t have been more thrilled with the decision to use that approach. After all, the imagination is more powerful than the best CG, so if you give me enough to believe in your monster, I’ll create it for you. Anybody remember the barrells in “Jaws”? The same exact tactic is used here to wonderful effect…except the “barrells” are now collapsing buildings and the decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty.

I think this movie features some of the best sound work I have ever experienced. There isn’t a note of score to be found (it is a home video camera, after all), so the movie sticks to ambience to create a full audio experience. Boy, does it ever work. The rumbling of the monster getting closer from a far distance, in particular, is so stunningly effective that even after seeing the trailers it completely had me. Also, scribe Drew Goddard does a wonderful job of creating scenarios that are terrifying and infinitely interesting at the same time, while director Matt Reeves really brings these moments to life by carefully choosing the shots that pretends are being filmed at random. There is a real sense of creative control going on here, and I think the minds behind this movie succeeded at everything they tried. Here’s hoping they’ll be giving us more stuff of this quality soon.

When it’s all said and done, though, my favorite thing about this movie is the perspective. I’m a little chagrinned, since this is a technique I myself would like to further in my own filmmaking career, but I really admire how the movie chooses a single view of the action and sticks literally to it. Video games have been doing this for years, almost out of necessity, but movies have not yet realized how powerful this tool can be. “Cloverfield” does realize it, and it works it hard. We really get our hands dirty with the protagonists in this film, going through what they go through in *exactly* the manner they’d experience it. I think this is the future of movies, and I’m excited to see that at least one movie is already ahead of its time.