Super!

Rating: Null/10 (11 July 2011)

Super 8, 8, 8, I love you Super 8, give it to me Super 8. OK, I sound like a silly Celi Bee there (only hardcore 70's Disco fans got that opening). But it is true! Summer Popcorn Cinematic Entertainment a la 70's style is alive and well in J.J. Abrams "Super 8". The movie's executive producer is Steven Spielberg, and why not because "Super 8" has Super Spielberg written all over it. Before its release, the film's plot points were supposed to be kept super secret, and even in the trailers all one would see is a railroad trailer of a grandiose train crash. So I don't want you to super-hate me, so I will not reveal too much of Super 8's plot during my review. I will inform you that if you are an aficionado of "E.T.", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "Poltergeist", "The Goonies", and "Jurassic Park", you will also become a super fan of "Super 8". The film is based during the late 70's in an Ohio town. A few Middle School kids are filming an 8 millimeter short film to help their peep Charles, who is directing it, so it can be entered in a youth film contest. But during its roll, the kids witness a colossal train wreck. After that, havoc runs amok and bizarre occurrences start occurring in the town. The town's deputy sheriff Jackson Lamb is now in the center of the madness trying to investigate what is going on. The train wreck and the town's strange happenings do have a connection, but I will not wreck it for you by providing information on that either. The movie's primary focus is on the kids though; the film is primarily presented through their subjective responses to all the madness that is going on, especially those of the tween protagonists Joe Lamb (yep, the Deputy Sheriff's son), and the young girl he crushes on Alice Dainard. All the other kids do play an integral though. So what is the mystery of the train wreck and how it affected Jackson Lamb and his son Joe Lamb? Not gonna tell you! It will be my Silence of the Lambs. I will say that J.J. Abrams' direction & screenplay of this super flick will have you on the edge of your seat, you will not be derailed with flat boredom or insignificant subplots; every aspect of the film bears semblance and swiftly aids in the progress of the narrative. Turn out the Friday Night Lights because Kyle Chandler has now entered into the movies playing field quite nicely with his game performance as Jackson Lamb. Nice to see Ron Eldard back in the thespian game with an impressive effort as Alice's dad Louis. But it is the kids that dominate "Super 8"! I am not kidding! Whopper performances all around- Joel Courtney as Joe Lamb, Elle Fanning as Alice Dainard, Riley Griffiths as Charles; Ryan Lee, Gabriel Basso, and Zach Mills were the other kiddos who round out the young thespian super crew of "Super 8". So get behind the 8 ball or at least your vehicle, and drive to the nearest multiplex to witness the "Super 8" phenomenon! ***** Excellent