Best film of the summer by far.

Rating: 9/10 (17 June 2011)

"I've seen it... nobody believes me..." "I believe you." If E.T., Cloverfield, and The Goonies had a baby, this would be it. Plot: In 1979, A group of young friends filming a zombie movie for the local film festival witness a horrific train crash near their small town. Afterwards strange things begin happening. People go missing, dogs run away only to be found in the next county, and electronic appliances are stolen. Things get more strange when the military shows up. The friends along with one of the friend's father, a sheriff's deputy begin to realize that that was no ordinary train crash. Director J.J Abrams once again shows that he is one of the best directors in Hollywood. Keep in mind that this the guy who actually got me to like Star Trek. This isn't just a monster movie but a coming-of-age movie as well. It has elements of a drama as well as elements of a classic sci-fi/ monster movie. The main character, Joe Lamb, lost his mother in an industrial accident four months before the events of the film and still hasn't let go. His father, a sheriff's deputy hasn't really let go either. Unlike most movie nowadays, I actually cared about the characters. Each is well developed. Heck, even the monster has more character depth than most of the characters in some of the movies released this year. As for the acting, I thought it was pretty good except for Ron Eldard, who while not bad, just isn't as good as the rest of the actors. I have got to say I was impressed with Elle Fanning. I loved her performance in Sofia Coppola's Somewhere and she does just as good if not better in this. I really do think she has the potential to outshine her older sister. While there are many references to Steven Spielberg's(who produced this movie) earlier films such as E.T. and Jaws, Super 8 is a movie that stands on it's own. I'll be very surprised if this doesn't get nominated for any Oscars. This is without a doubt the best film of the summer and I'll be first in line to by it on Blu-Ray the day it comes out. Until then I'd gladly pay another 10 bucks to go see it again which I have no doubt that I will. Total Score: 9.2/10