What a truly arrogant critic Stephanie is... OK I like monster movies and you want to put a 9/11 guilt trip on me..just pass the popcorn.....

Let's get some perspective on this.

On one hand, you have people (New Yorkers) who have lost friends, family and loved ones in a terrorist attack.

On the other hand, you have people who are outraged because the first group of people have expressed distaste over a movie that they feel exploits the tragedy that they have lived through.

Now who is trying to pull the high moral ground in this debate?

Well, of course the people who just want to enjoy their monster movie.

But assume for a second when you're writing your replies that your reader is someone who was DIRECTLY impacted by the terrorist attack - someone who lost their wife, their parent, their child, their best friend. Maybe some of you would be a little less glib if you thought your post was being read by someone whose entire life had been turned upside down by the attack. Of course some of you wouldn't. A lot of people who post on these sites are just unrepentant assholes.

Apparently a lot of people are really bothered that New Yorkers haven't fully "let go" of 9/11, that some are upset or annoyed that it has become grist for the pop cultural mill.

Fair enough. But from now on I will no longer feel any sympathy for any other group that finds offense in a movie. Fuck 'em.

And I'm not going to snivel any more over the people who are dying in Iraq. I mean, could you anti-war people stop being so sanctimonious? Get over it!

Hey, you know they just made a comedy about Guantanamo Bay? I saw the trailer. It's called "Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay." Can't wait to see it.

Hey, it's all good!

Some people actually believe that the towers fell as the result of a controlled demolition, which only serves to highlight the lack of basic science education.

Quite sad, really.

I don't understand why monsters always pick Manhattan. I mean, what is it about that city? Seen from space, does the island look like a giant, tasty Twinkie or something?

For that matter, why do monsters always pick North America? There are some big, juicy cities full of delicious humans in Hong Kong, Dubai, Moscow, Rio de Janeiro, Cape Town, Rome, Sydney, Tokyo, Santiago, Calcutta....

And how about Mexico City? If you were a famished alien, wouldn't you rather dine on 20 million people as opposed to a measly 8 mil? That's barely an appetizer!

But as long as you prefer your humanoid snacks to be English-speaking and obese, why dine on urban Manhattanites, who walk everywhere and tend to be relatively thin? Why not go for the overweight Midwesterners? Start with Chicago.

Okay, so Chicago doesn't have a Statue of Liberty to decapitate. So what. It has the Sears Tower, which is like the Empire State Building times two. There's a river, a lake, all kinds of fun places to bathe. There are elevated trains to surf around on. What up, aliens?

For that matter, why don't aliens ever attack the really boring cities, like Phoenix? What, too hot for you, flamey mouth? Need gigantic flip-flops to keep from blistering your claw-feet? Awwww, poor slimy man-eating gargantua. Wuss.

None of my film professors ever said that 1950's horror movies were about Communism, and I would have deserved an F if I'd said so in a paper of my own. Horror films of the '50's were about venereal disease, isolation, fear of technology, fear of the rise of post-war corporate culture, unease about the slow pace of demilitarization of American culture, fear that America would NEVER demilitarize following the war, and so on. and sure, Commies, too, if you insist.

Cloverfield, and by extension, contemporary horror movies, are about much more than just fear of Terrorism. We have a long list of nightmares these sorts of films adress - just as long as that of our grandparents.

Chicago was eaten by giant grasshoppers in the 1957 film "Beginning of the End." Some of the best effects shots ever, in any movie. Grasshoppers crawl on top of a picture of the Chicago skyline, so it sounds funny. But I wouldn't want to be chewed up by a grasshopper, would you? Icck, no.

I'm sorry the huge huge monster was sooooo rockin'. Please, guys, before you take time out of you day to correct me on my insensitivity (yes I noticed it looked like scenes from 9/11) take the time to consider that some of us are true monster movie fans. This creature would have obliterated any town it came across, it just so happened that the director thought it would be an especially powerful setting to make it in NYC. Why? Because everyone and their mother knows the entire layout of midtown Manhatton by now. If you can't figure out why I just don't know what to say. But the rest of us do, whether tribal, warrior-like New Yorkers with all their fuck-ya's and cool hairdos and ultra-slim jeans want to realize this or not, we did notice 9/11, and some of us actually cried along with New Yorkers. Understand that the town is a metaphor for the entire western civilization. It represents something for us. When an amazingly large and destructive force descends upon it, it might have more of an impact on viewers than if the creature was kicking up dust in a Texas cotton field. Besides, where I'm from, if this particular creature decided to tear some shit up it would have plenty of space. No one would notice and the damn monster would be tired before actually making it to a big city. Texas is just plain too damn big. But go see this movie guys, because the monster is awesome. I even kind of felt the same pity and sadness when they shot at it that I felt as a kid when I saw poor King Kong find his way to the Big Apple. It's well understood in monster circles that New York is the last stop for huge mutant creatures. But growing up watching guys in latex suits step on cardboard miniatures and little toy "people", I was sure thrilled to see a genuine zipper-free monster make his way to the big screen. Now can someone tell me what the hell all those little crabthingies were, why they were there at all, and why did the bit girl explode in blood? Too many digressions in the story. Damn.