Chix Chat on Film review: A train crash in small town America unleashes the unexpected.

Rating: Null/10 (10 August 2011)

It has been months since I first saw the Super 8 trailer and had all sorts of wild speculation as to the plot and the meaning, I only recently realized it was the film format. Not an especially interesting subject to make someone consider learning more, but the fact that the film had J. J. Abrams name on it was enough for me to want to see it. I couldn't help but to wonder if there were some autobiographical elements at play relative to having a passion for film making even as a youngster.
At the start of the film I wasn't sure when the story was based and then came an amazingly pleasant surprise from the soundtrack, it was The Commodores song Easy. I was immediately transported to the Seventies, so many favorable memories what a fantastic era. As the movie progressed I thought OMG what if right in the middle of all my teenage fun, an extra terrestrial crashed the party. It is well into the film before we see the creature, but the effects used to convey size and girth were just as menacing as if it had actually been seen on screen. My imagination started to run wild, I fully expected a Cloverfield-like creature, but no we do get an original. In fact after having seen the recent trailers, I thought the creature was Dr. Woodward (Glynn Turman) who was pretty much a mess the entire film.
This story was so much more than a coming of age tale with young people filming a movie, it was chalked full of life lessons, a father and sons bonding experiences, military cover-ups, the collateral damage from excessive drinking, the power of forgiveness, I really could go on and on with the lessons but I just have to take some time to talk about the talented young actors. Joe (Joel Courtney) really carried this film which is truly amazing since this is pretty much the net of his film resume (IMDb). The young actor completely held his own against a real veteran Alice (Elle Fanning), and I kept thinking wow, she is acting at acting like she is acting now that's an actress! The future for these two as well as the other members of their crew looks very bright. The thing that I love most about J. J. Abrams work is his ability to make you think what if. This film gets a green light from the earth to the stratosphere, it was thoroughly enjoyable.
BTW, the showing of the short film The Case during the credits was a hilarious treat.