I wasn’t always sure what was happening in 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016), but I was entertained by it.

One thing is clear:  Even a cruel lunatic like John Goodman‘s Howard can be right about something—in this case, the occurrence of apocalyptic events.  But he’s still a cruel lunatic.  Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is brought to his bunker, distrusting him, then trusting him, then distrusting him again.  He’s smart but neurotic—far worse than neurotic.

The star of the movie, Winstead, even prettier than she was as a post-adolescent, is an agreeable heroine, while Goodman is expertly scary.  10 Cloverfield is sci fi horror, and for all its credulity-straining, it is every bit as good as the imperfect Alien.  If director Dan Trachtenberg and his screenwriters push hard enough, they might come up with flicks which positively compete with our finer TV entertainments.