Super 8

Let's get the bad news out of the way. Super 8 is not perfect. I, personally, have never been a fan of seeing monsters in monster movies. I think that takes away from the thrill and mystery of it. Rather than see the monster outright, I prefer to see little glimpses and peeks. To me, monsters in monster movies just make the whole thing seem hokey. It's more terrifying if you don't know what you're scared of. I had the same problem with Cloverfield (although Super 8 is a far better movie than Cloverfield). I also wasn't super jumping out of my seat over the ending. I like the way that it ended, but I think director and writer J.J. Abrams could have done a little bit more with it.

Having said that, I thought Super 8 was a fantastic movie. Not only was it a damn near perfect summer blockbuster movie, but also it was just a great movie. It was a thrilling, whimsical ride that had everything: laughs, heart, romance, scares, and just great filmmaking and storytelling.

Super 8 follows a group of middle high students who use their summer vacation to make a zombie movie to submit to a Cincinnati film festival (the end product, shown during the credits, is hilariously wonderful). One night, they sneak out of their houses at midnight and meet up at the train station to film a poignoint scene. While filming, they witness an epic derailment of a government train (and I mean epic!). Soon, their small, sleepy Ohio town is being overrun by shady government officials and strange things start happening. All the town dogs disappear and are found days later miles and miles away, in the next county. The sheriff disappears and so do microwaves and stoves and engines to cars. The deputy (Kyle Chandler, a.k.a. Coach Taylor from my beloved show Friday Night Lights) is left in charge of a town that is flailing from all the unusual behavior and trying to deal with a military official (Noah Emmerich) who won't give him answers.

Super 8 takes place in 1979 and the movie has this old fashioned feel, like it's a movie of a different time and place. A simpler time, before video games and cell phones. A time when kids rode their bikes everywhere and the most trouble they got into was setting off a bunch of firecrackers. It's that childhood innocence that comes out so well in Abrams' film and the best parts of the film are those with the kids. And these kids are amazing! Riley Griffiths stars as the director extraordinaire Charles, Gabriel Basso is scardy cat Martin, and Ryan Lee is pyromaniac Cary. Then there is Elle Fanning as Alice, the beautiful strong willed girl who is the star of the zombie movie. Elle Fanning is the most likely 13 year old girl to become the next Meryl Streep, I think. She's even more talented than her sister. But it should be no surprise to anyone who has ever seen her act. What does come as a surprise is Joel Courtney, the 14 year old nobody who stars in the film as Joe, the son of the deputy who struggles with losing his mom and falling in love for the first time. This kid has never made a movie before. Courtney is a revelation. This is his first film, it's a huge summer blockbuster, and he completely carries the film. He is currently sitting atop my best actor list.

Overall, the only bad thing I can say about Super 8 is that I disliked how much of the monster we saw. The ending was a tad disappointing for me, as well. Other than that, Super 8 is a beautifully done, wonderful film that celebrates the joy and innocence of childhood as well as a pure unabashed love for filmmaking. It is a sweet natured, thrilling, smart movie. The acting, directing and writing are all superb and it is, by far, the best movie of 2011, so far.

Grade: B+