Super 8

J.J. Abrams, as a creator, has been something of an amalgam. He more or less started out making a splash with the TV show FELICITY which was, to me, a rather antiseptic drama. Then came his next big show ALIAS, which was his first foray into genre-bending TV; a high-octane spy thriller mixed with enough drama to make the characters interesting and enough twists to make the more jaded fans tune in weekly. However, he hit his stride with LOST, a show that was universally beloved as it was confusing, but the plot became somewhat secondary to the characters. That show was populated by so many unforgettable characters that, despite fans' misguided anger over the series finale, the show will be forever ingrained in the viewer's brain. And it was during LOST that Abrams started making his foray into feature films; his first being MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 3. M:I-3 is a better film than I remember it being, while at the same time, fusing perhaps a little too much reality into a rather absurd concept which I think ultimately hurt the film but I certainly can't fault Abrams for trying a different approach to a somewhat stale concept. The next film he did was one of the best pure "Summer" films I've seen in recent years, and that was his reboot of the STAR TREK franchise. It created a genuine love and a strong sense of nostalgia of the original series with a lot of winks and nods, but helped to fashion an entirely new direction for such well-known characters with its one major LOST-like plot twist. It was evident that with series like LOST and FRINGE and films he helped make like the nod-to-Godzilla CLOVERFIELD and then STAR TREK that Abrams, while confident he could create new worlds, he grew up in the era of the Summer Blockbuster, and most of the major filmmakers who grew up during that era usually end up making a film that pays homage to that era. SUPER 8 is Abrams love-letter not only to the era, but also to the master of the Summer Blockbuster (and also my personal favorite filmmaker), Steven Spielberg. Abrams crafts a wondrous, heart-felt, and very well-made tale about a group of youngsters who have banded together in a small Ohio suburb in the late 70's to make a zombie film to submit to a festival, and wind up smack in the middle of a government conspiracy surrounding the escape of an imprisoned alien life-form that puts their entire town at risk. At the center of this tale is the young VFX makeup artist, Joe (a very talented Joel Courtney), a pre-teen who lost his mother recently in an industrial accident. His town-sheriff father, played by the terrific Kyle Chandler, has withdrawn into himself and there is an almost complete disconnect with his son. The other kids making the film are similar to the group of kids we've seen in E.T. or THE GOONIES or any number of Spielberg-ian kid groups, but the young actors and the characters themselves are fleshed out enough to be more than just stock characters. Once the slightly-older Alice (wonderfully played by Elle Fanning) becomes involved in the project, it goes beyond just being a boy's club and the elements of romance and betrayal introduce themselves, particularly from Joe's father since Alice's father (the wonderfully wounded Ron Eldard) may have drunkenly caused the accident that killed Joe's mother. While just the drama of the group and the characters would be enough for one film, that's when Abrams gives us the train crash the kids catch on their Super 8 camera that is the key to the danger and mystery that enshrouds the whole town, and naturally, the danger comes not only from the alien creature, but also from the government, which is embodied by a terrific and menacing performance from Noah Emmerich. As I stated earlier, the film has enough drama and momentum to make an entire film out or either subject (family drama or alien danger), but Abrams, like Spielberg before him, entices us, delights us and ultimately astonishes us with combining these elements into one big smile of a film. I use the phrase 'smile of a film' not because the film is a hilarious blast to watch, because there are a few moments of heart-wrenching emotion and seat-gluing terror. I use it because when we look back on some of the great Summer Films we've seen in our lives, such as STAR WARS, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, E.T., CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, BACK TO THE FUTURE and JAWS, inevitably we smile because these films represent the very best of this kind of filmmaking and something that has been very noticably absent from many films post-1985 (since the biggest film of 1986 was TOP GUN), and suddenly the Big Summer Blockbuster became a monster. The likes of Spielberg and Lucas and Zemeckis and Donner changed the rules of the game for better or worse, and all of them started with the best of intent, but along the way, character and story took a massive back seat to spectacle and effects and action and money. This is not to necessarily criticize all of the Summer Blockbusters we have gotten since, but on most of them, the luster is lost after the season is done. Whether that's due to the quality of the film or the over-saturation of the Summer Blockbusters (It's all about Opening Weekend grosses now, and it's becoming increasingly rare that a film is #1 for more than one weekend), that subject is up for debate. But there was a time when we could easily look back at the films of a particular summer and say, "That was a great film and it will always be a great film". SUPER 8 is a very passionate love-letter to those times, but it also finds itself with the distinction of being one of those films that wasn't just a great Summer film for 2011, but will be a great Summer film for all time.

SUPER 8 was many things: a father/son estrangement drama, a puppy-love romance, an ode to the cultish B-movies of the 70s, an ensemble coming-of-age piece, the lot of which flavored with sci-fi seasoning. Above all, I think, this is an homage to the disappearing Creature-Feature genre. J. J. Abrams' alien is beautifully and meticulously rendered in seamless CG. We are permitted the occasional glimpse -- a hand, a leg -- more and more of the unique form offering up pieces of itself as the story progresses. The small tastes continue to tease us until finally, during the last 20 minutes, we are rewarded with an animal quite unlike anything we've seen, or even dared to imagine, before. This is not M. Night's SIGNS, in which the final reveal of the antagonizing extra-terrestrials appears to be little more than a man in green spandex. In SUPER 8, everything from the arrangement of the beastie's limbs to its peculiar form of locomotion are, quite frankly, alien. Kudos to whoever designed it. Some people have complained about the pace of SUPER 8, but the "dragging" plot seems to me like a conscious decision on the part of the director. I believe Abrams intentionally employed that 70s style of movie-making, harkening back to a time before the advent of the MTV quick-cut, (a visual style created either for or by [a chicken/egg dilemma] ADHA sufferers with severely limited attention-spans). This movie is not for Generation Ritalin; I suspect that viewers over the age of 30 will have no problem sitting through the 1 hour 51 minutes. All of the kid actors are impressive, but Elle Fanning is particularly superb. She has a a characteristic, silent-movie manner, so that more than tears pour from her eyes: the entirety of what Fanning is feeling emanates from them as well. Some other reviewers have criticized the harsh language of our young protagonists, but they are meant to be middle school students and are therefore at that age during which they're desperately trying to broadcast their budding maturity; peppering their speech with expletives is one traditional method -- I remember doing this myself at age 12, cursing like a sailor because I was sure that was how "real" adults spoke. I'd say my only true criticism would concern my disbelief in the ability of a pick-up truck to completely derail a massive, speeding train while sustaining only passenger-side damage and leaving the driver alive. Other than that, SUPER 8 was super great. This movie is what would have happened if E.T. had been captured by government agents and subjected to a decade of torturous experimentation, so that by the time he broke out, the once lovable little extra-terrestrial would have become decidedly less cuddly -- munching on humans like celery sticks as he works away (I won't tell you what he's building, you'll have to watch and discover that for yourself). And even though this premise has been done many times before, it was nonetheless masterfully executed, resulting in a beautiful depiction of a familiar, yet fantastic tale. SUPER 8: an oldie, but a goody.

I love the cultural feel of this film... I also made Super 8mm movies as a kid. It's spot on.

Esta película ofrece un sonido espectacular Dolby TrueHd 7.1, no es Dolby Atmos, sin embargo, la escena de la estación del Ferrocarril te dejará impactado por los bajos profundos (tu subwoofer se pondrá a prueba), las explosiones y los efectos visuales. Todo se conjuga en una película muy entretenida (no para un oscar pero sí para una tarde palomera con las personas que desees)

A Five Star movie. Absolutely - however I will be the first to acknowledge that this has it's own unique niche audience, and won't be for everyone. This is a love letter to the movies of the late 70's and 80's, the movie of Zemeckis, Dante and yes, most of all Spielberg. For in this feature J.J. Abrams has created a love letter to Spielberg's era of moviemaking, a movie that both celebrates and emulates the styles and tools, the moviemaking grammar, and particularly the tone of movies from that era. It's all that, but still wrapped in a story, one that has a set of familiar elements, but wrapped up in a new enough arrangement. A bunch of kids in 1979 bond while making home movies with their Super 8 camera. They are filming one night when they witness a terrible train crash.. but when the dust settles, there is something from the cargo of the train that has been released, and it is about to have a major impact on the town. Scratch beneath that relatively simple skin though, and you'll find elements of the Goonies (bunch of kids coming of age through shared adventure), Close Encounters (paranoia, alien contact affecting ordinary small town folk), Gremlins (the black humour), and E.T. (adolescents coming of age in damaged families). And if this is an homage to Spielberg, then it's earlier Spielberg - the guns, deaths and occasional mild swear words aren't airbrushed out. It is very much a story first and foremost about real kids, living real lifes, and much less about the fantastic events happening around them. Yes there is spectacle towards the end, but only as a pay off to the emotional journey of the characters.. if it's just the action or effects you want, you will likely be disappointed. In fact, if there is any off note in the movie, it is the appearance of cgi - a very modern tool to tell an old fashioned story, and taking you out of the nostalgia trip somewhat. But it's not enough to derail the journey. It's not just the director; the look, the feel of the movie, down through sets, period detail and even the musical score, also celebrate that early 80's feel. And let's not forget those lead roles - kids who actually come across as real, likeable, believable - the scenes where they have to emote, particularly Elle Fanning, are amazingly genuine, and the relationship between the leads is handled in a delicate way which uses visuals and acting more than it does clunky exposition or awkward dialogue. So yes, it is my own personal 5 stars.. Maybe it's too nostalgic to appeal to today's kids, maybe its too much about kids to appeal to today's adults. But for me, I am just at that age that when I was young and impressionable it was Spielberg and Dante and the rest that stirred my own passion for movies, that made that first mark, that created those moments that would be my first love of cinema.. and it is precisely that feeling that has been captured and celebrated here. This is what happens when movies about kids are made by mature filmmakers. Watching it, I felt like that young wide eyed kid in the cinema again, and it was a glorious feeling.

Film nicht auf deutsch!!!

I had heard about this movie when it came out but forgot about it, which is unusual since I'm a big J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg fan; I recently saw it on pay tv (Netflix), and I couldn't believe what I had missed out on; the story is great, the "monster" is scary, the actors are first class and the director is highly respected for good reason; the movie really keeps you on the edge of your seat, non stop action, engaging characters, you don't see what's coming and the special effects are outstanding! Having it in Blu-Ray format (plus DVD version) is a big plus if you want great picture quality and tons of extras; this is the kind of movie you will want to see more than once!

A terrific sci fi thriller shot through the eyes of the kids who make movies with a super 8 camera. And the Kids were absolutely fantastic that they drive the movie forward with their charismatic performances & wits. Brilliant direction and behind the scenes were good too.