Like it for its nostalgia, cuteness, or possible aliens

Rating: 7/10 (25 June 2011)

Building a film out of nostalgia is exactly what "Super 8" is. Nostalgia for the Steven Spielberg films from the '80s, jokes about the '70s, and the pure joy that Spielberg and Abrams would have had for filmmaking as young boys. A movie about movie making. It might also be about aliens.
We start by getting to know our six young protagonists and the love they have for making a movie. As Charles always says, "Production value is key." In the real world, I can't imagine production value is a concern anymore for Abrams. The budget for this movie is $50 million and it shows with trains crashing, over and over again, and cars flying through the air, over and over again. From there we go to the main Hollywood story which involves a teenage love story, strange occurrences in the town with dogs missing, and a mysterious Government cover-up. Hint: It might involve aliens.
I liked "Super 8" because I like nostalgia. The jokes about the '70s were quite funny (I could be wrong, it might not be aliens, but the Russians!). Kids making a low-budget zombie movie is funny, especially when all six of them can actually act. If you ignore the whole Government conspiracy angle, then everything was quite cute, even the possible aliens.