Spielberg and Abrams a great combo

Rating: 7/10 (20 June 2011)

Some young teens in 1979 America are making a Super 8 film for a contest. They decide to utilize a passing train as background for their picture. The train is purposely derailed. One of the teens finds a strange cube like object amid the wreckage and strange things start happening.
There is a subplot of one of the character's mother dying in an industrial accident, and the resulting conflict between the boy and his father and the man the father blames. The subplot slows the film down slightly, but not enough to distract from the main story.
The film has many facets. A nostalgic look at the late 1970s, an adventure story, a mystery, all perfectly blended together. The film has some elements of Spielberg's past films, such as, outside authorities invading small town America, the raucous camaraderie of young teenagers, and a persecuted alien who wants to go home. So, leave any cynicism at the door, sit back and enjoy a good film.