NOT LIKE E.T.!! I never review, but had to clear this up!

Rating: 9/10 (10 June 2011)

This movie was a breath of fresh air. I saw all the comparisons to E.T. before viewing this film and being 25, E.T. was one of my favorite movies as a kid, but I was honestly desperately hoping they could do an alien film with kids without trying to pull needless tears out of me. I just didn't want that type of emotional ride.
That being said, let me say this movie is NOTHING like E.T. We all know E.T. is about children who *befriend* an alien and he parts at the end and we're all just devastated. That is not the case here at all. The only remote similarity to E.T. this movie holds is the "style" in which it is shot, but if we are judging by "style," we can also say at some points this movie is comparable to The Goonies. The hairstyles, clothing, cars, etc have a very 80s feel to them, but the year is very ambiguous. It could be taking place in present day, it could be in 1982, it could be anytime.
If you are a sci-fi fan, you will absolutely love this movie. If you are nostalgic for "the way movies used to be made," you will LOVE this movie. As soon as the credits begin to roll, I was already ready to watch the movie again because I just couldn't get enough. Although, they could have carried the story a little further, it really wasn't necessary. So, if you choose not to read any further, just know this movie is definitely the best film that has came out this year and totally worth all the hype. Thank you for reading.
***STOP HERE, MAY SPOIL***
My only difficulty during the movie was Elle Fanning's character and the one boy's creepy crush on her that goes undiscussed for quite a while. Her character is sort of clueless and really seems to have no place other than to be the one girl and to take part in the film the kids are making. I found myself, at times, kind of wishing she was not there. Her dad is depicted as a a-hole and we are not supposed to like him, but I found myself agreeing with him *just* because the boy had not really stated his purpose and was kinda "hanging around" just waiting on her to profess her undying love for him. However! I must say there's eventually a conversation and it was not really addressed how I thought it would be, but they were able to relate to one another in a way we were not aware of until the scene takes place. This redeems their relationship a little and makes it much easier to understand and to watch. Whew!
***DEFINITE SPOILERS*** Towards the end, I was pleasantly surprised to find the boy was willing to confront the alien face-to-face when I was *just* thinking, "Man, he should totally take on the alien himself instead of all of them running like idiots" and as soon as I thought it should happen, it did. The lesson was completely gratifying. The boy confronts his fear and verbalizes to the malevolent alien that "Bad things happen, but that doesn't mean you can't LIVE," which we know wasn't *just* about the alien situation currently taking place. We learn about "letting go" and acceptance. I was shocked they even thought to do this. It could have easily taken the direction of a war movie with the kids having some kind of insight into the situation, but this, oh, it was so much better. The movie knew what it wanted to be and completely stayed true to it the entire time.