Super 8 - An Amblin Entertainment Production, a J.J. Abrams Film (1 Viewer)

Originally Posted by Adam Lenhardt

I love the aesthetic of the film, it reminds me of the Steven Speilberg and Joe Dante childrens' pictures of the late seventies and early eighties, like E.T., Gremlins, The Goonies and Explorers, only with a slightly more sinister edge to it.

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Originally Posted by Rhett_Y

Yup another one I can't wait to see!!! Love the feel of this one too. Can't wait!

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A terrifying, spider-like alien interrupts an amateur film crew's attempts to shoot a shoestring zombie movie in "Super 8," investing a sweet, family-friendly drama with big-budget thrills. Rare is the writer-director capable of creating such compelling horror-movie characters, yet one suspects J.J. Abrams' spirited teen ensemble would have sustained our interest even without the CG E.T. Sadly, the helmer seems too smitten working with Steven Spielberg to recognize that his idol-turned-champion created the very paradigm that limits his passion project, forcing this modest nostalgia trip to function as a blockbuster. What could have been a sleeper hit seems ill equipped to attract the broad summer audience its tentpole trappings demand.

Had "Super 8" opened in 1979, the year in which it's set, one might have easily mistaken the film for the work of Spielberg, who had channeled his alien-invasion and suburban-family anxieties into "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" two years earlier. But even though Abrams leans heavily on many of his mentor's stylistic signatures -- lingering on the faces of awestruck kids, withholding the monster for as long as possible and transforming an all-American neighborhood through Klieg lights and crane shots, to name but a few -- "Super 8" owes at least as much to another picture hitting theaters that summer: Ridley Scott's "Alien."

"Super 8" refrains from giving auds a good look at the giant, otherworldly arachnid until so late in the game that it forces our attention on the junior ensemble, who were selected carefully enough to hold their own onscreen. By virtue of his standing, Abrams is able to assemble a top-shelf team of collaborators, including vfx legend Dennis Muren ("E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial"), longtime composer Michael Giacchino and d.p. Larry Fong ("Sucker Punch"), though none has contributed his best work: The monster is a disappointment, Giacchino's score is forgettable and Fong gets distracting lens flares while trying to imitate Allen Daviau's style. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117945388?refcatid=31

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cafink said:

Three and a half stars from Ebert: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110608/REVIEWS/110609989



The things he liked about it are perfectly in line with what everyone seems to be expecting. I'm really looking forward to this movie.

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Originally Posted by mattCR

I admit, I thought it was terrible. The script couldn't seem to figure out what it wa. The end was crazy disappointing. And what is with using 'mint' as some sort of slang incessantly? C-

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