A Citysearch Special Report: Places We'd Like To See Squashed by the "Cloverfield" Monster
Posted at 08:17:11 AM in Film, Movies, New roundupsby Justine Goodman
Lady Liberty is just one of the New York City landmarks that takes a beating in the highly anticipated new monster movie, "Cloverfield," which hits theaters today. From what I can surmise, the premise goes something like this: Young, fun-loving crowd of New Yorkers are at one of those cheesy parties where the hosts videotape their guests talking about how totally awesome the party is, when all hell breaks loose. Suddenly New York is under attack by a savage, futuristic-Godzilla-style monster. Chaos and massive destruction ensue as said monster proceeds to obliterate everything (and everyone) in its path, all but leveling the city. But every movie has a hero (although judging from the "Cloverfield" cast, that hero needn't be a celebrity), and ours turns out to be one of the dudes who was at that party before all the madness began. Ultimately, that guy, whoever he is, leads a mission to defeat the monster, thereby restoring order and saving the city.
With any luck, "Cloverfield" will deliver at least one good old-fashioned impaling--perhaps one that involves the Empire State Building needle, for example--but suffice it to say that there will be blood. So, at the risk of offending a broad spectrum of our audience, we're paying tribute to this epic movie with a little hit list of our own: Places We'd Like to See Squashed by the "Cloverfield" Monster.
Duane Reade (any and all locations)
Sorry, "Cloverfield," but we've already got a monster that's hell-bent on destroying this town!
Manhattan Mall
This unfortunate attempt at an urban strip mall has only one redeeming characteristic: Keeping property values down in Herald Square--and to be fair, some of the credit for that also goes to Penn Station, Madison Square Garden and Macy's.
Southern Hospitality
JT, JT, JT... Like we said a few weeks ago when your restaurant snagged the No. 1 spot on our list of the 10 Worst Restaurants of 2007: Just because you can do everything, doesn't mean you should.
Dave and Buster's
A D&B is just fine in a suburban mall--or a suburban anything--but if this is the "new" Times Square, we'll take the seedy strip joints, panhandlers, and meth-heads of yesteryear.
MacDougal Street (Between West 3rd and Bleecker)
Ever wondered what it would look like if a drunken fraternity convention plopped itself down in the West Village and refused to leave? Well, this is what that would look like.
Mars 2112
I'd sooner volunteer to be mangled by a rabid pit bull than spend five minutes at this space-themed travesty of a restaurant.
Staten Island
Relax,
we don't literally want to see S.I. crushed by a monster, it's more of
a figurative thing. Like, if the five boroughs were stranded on a desert
island, and they had to eat one of the boroughs to ensure the survival
of the other four ...
Agree? Disagree? Send us your beef via email, or leave a comment here and tell everyone what places you'd like the see squashed by the "Cloverfield" monster.

I wish the monster would destroy all of those awful new condos that look like they belong in Dubai, not in New York City.
Posted by: Mickey | January 21, 2008 at 12:20 PM
I wish Cloverfield would eat the bouncers in front of Son Cubano and then proceed to demolish every square inch of that ugly place with bad food and rude waitstaff...haha.
Posted by: Robot | January 22, 2008 at 03:16 PM
Never forget 9/11...at least for 5 years or so.
Posted by: Steverino | January 22, 2008 at 04:09 PM
I would like to see all the Hipsters destroyed!
Posted by: Ted Terry | January 24, 2008 at 12:23 PM
Ok, is anyone out there thinking the same thing I am? Why is this movie popular? It is totally giving me flashbacks. Why would I want to go to the movies to see New York City destroyed? I will NOT pay to sit in a theater and watch something like that.
Posted by: Arlene the Jellybean | January 25, 2008 at 08:31 PM
I agree. I saw it and it was flashback-ridden. it seemed irreverant to me. and in bad taste. and it made me motion sick. there was no redeeming quality to it. except the spider things. those were cool, but you didn't need to level new york city to have those on the loose.
Posted by: cbel | January 26, 2008 at 12:27 PM
Come on guys, no redeeming quality? That's harsh ... it's not the next coming of The Third Man or Sunset Blvd, but jeez, it's entertaining and the big thing is it's not real! So what if you're getting flashbacks? Ever been in a car accident? Does that mean you never get in a car again or even better, not watch movies with cars in them? I've lived in this city all my life ... I'm tired of the 9-11 criticism ...
Oh, and my choice ... Easily ... that hideous blue condo / office building or whatever it is on Delancey. DESTROY IT!!!!!
Posted by: Johnny | January 27, 2008 at 12:17 PM