I really feel sorry for people that didn't see Cloverfield in theaters. It's one of those things like The Matrix, Star Wars IV or Children of Men, if you saw that shit in theaters when it first came out, you are one lucky bastard. It's the sort of thing where the movie's quality is exploded to unbelievable proportions simply because of the theater setting.
It was like a roller coaster ride. Unless you can set up a 50 speaker soundproof stadium room and watch Cloverfield, you've experienced about 1/100th of what people who saw it in theaters did. Then again, my brother hated the movie, so I guess it's not for everyone.
I didn't think Cloverfield was art, but it was through-and-through a theater experience, like Grindhouse.