Super 8-movie review

So this movie had huge hype over the summer.  I was afraid to watch it because of that.  But I dutifully tuned in so that I may inform the Scifi Media viewing community. 

Plot-  Think district 9 but with only one really cool alien.  It is also set in the 80’s and the feel of the movie is totally Goonies.  This is good, great in fact.  Goonies might be one of the greatest movies with a predominantly adolescent cast.  The fact that this movie hit that note is excellent.  Not only did it remind me of Goonies, but it also reminded me of growing up and the way kids were. 

Characters-  Abrams made these kids shine.  In between lens flares you see these kids being kids.  It doesn’t seem like acting.  Elle Fanning showed her chops early by doing the play within a play at the beginning and totally selling it.  While the plot has been somewhat done before the acting in this movie teamed with scripting and directing makes you connect to these kids.  It made me think of growing up and my friends from that time. 

SFX-  Awesome, no draw back here.  They are well integrated and do not stick out like a sore thumb, well except for the constant lens flares. 

Family fun-  It is violent and a little scary at times, but I watched it with my oldest and she enjoyed it quite a bit.  There was a lot of language in it, but there is some language in Goonies as well, though not nearly as much.

Overall-It was a great movie, maybe the best of the summer.  I would say that 12 and up are good ages for this movie or around the ages of the kids in the movie.  Highly recommended. 

Saturday SF Matinee: Super 8

This weekend, the Beloved and I ended up with a surprisingly unscheduled Saturday so after an early trip to Coronado Dog Beach, we decided to do something we don’t do too often in these busy days: go to the movies.

After a perusal of the last of the pre-Potter theater listings, we opted to go see JJ Abrams’ science fiction film Super 8. I’d been interested in this movie ever since I saw the trailer many months ago. I’m an Abrams fan and Spielberg’s movies shaped a lot of my adolescence –Jaws,Close Encounters, Raiders, and E.T. – man, that’s a lot of influence right there.

The bromance between Abrams and Spielberg has been pretty well publicized and in many ways this film was an homage to Spielberg by Abrams – an attempt to capture the feeling of the Spielbergian alien classics – Close Encounters and E.T.

The film follows a group of filmmaking teen nerds as they attempt to make their zombie movie for a local film festival as they become entangled in a horrific train crash in their small Ohio town – a crash that unleashes something into their midst and begins wreaking havoc on the town.

The teen cast is exceptional and covers the entire gamut of nerds: bossy filmmaking guy, big talking scaredy-cat, firebug, winsome lass, and troubled dreamer. I bought every one of them. Having been 14 years old in 1979 (when the film is set) I felt a strong connection to the kids and could have been one of them, you know if you substituted Dungeons & Dragons for filmmaking.

The film centers on the mysterious happenings after the crash and includes a slew of Spielberg staples: resourceful kids, menacing military men and normal folks dealing with the extraordinary -- I’m pretty sure that a list of the winks and nods to moments from Spielberg's movies could fill some film student's dissertation.

Coupled with this is the personal story of Joe Lamb – the central teen character – as he deals with the accidental death of his mother and discovers love for the first time. Throughout, the personal and SF elements are balanced effectively. The special effects – in particular the train crash – are well done and the anxiety in the film builds effectively without resorting to gore.

Overall, the movie had a chance to be "great" instead of "good", but they sort of family-movied their way to the ending which is okay, because I guess it's supposed to be a family movie. I'm sure I'll watch this one several more times, just because it was fun.