The Savages and Cloverfield

Directed by Tamara Jenkins, The Savages follows the story of the unfortunately named Savage siblings, Wendy (Laura Linney) and Jon (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who are faced with the tough decision of sending their elderly father into care.

Wendy and Jon struggle with the decision as well as their own demons – Jon is fighting to to keep his relationship together, while Wendy is suffering from depression and is having an affair with a married man. Hoffman and Linney give excellent performances as the irredeemably unlikable siblings and there are bouts of humour, but the characters are too distant to make the audience care.

Possibly one of the best monster movies in recent times, Cloverfield offers a nail-biting 85 minutes of panic, gore and plenty of screaming on the streets of Manhattan. The film centres on a group of twenty-somethings throwing a going away party for one of their friends who is moving to Japan. As the group gets down to some serious partying the Statue of Liberty's head sails down the street and lands in front of their building. Shot on a camcorder with shaky cam effect a la Blair Witch Project, the film has a Youtube feel, adding a certain realism, while exploiting 9/11 and it's ensuing events.