First, this is a very well made movie and I enjoyed it. The special effects are first rate. When the train from the trailer comes off the tracks the movie really gets going. Fans of the TV series Lost and of Spielberg's older films should really enjoy this. The pacing is relatively quick, and the young actors are up to the task - especially newcomer Joel Courtney and his love interest Elle Fanning, who is stepping out from her big sister's shadow with this performance. And yes, the creature was worth waiting to see. But when all is said and done Super 8 is at its core the tale of two families dealing with past tragedy, while a monster just so happens to be running amuck in their hometown. A town that in one shot reminded me of the village in The Goonies.
Scott, and anyone else who wants to see this movie without knowing specifics, please stop reading now. Spoilers!!! You have been warned.
The main story works extremely well, but there are finer points that worked better in Spielberg directed versions of this film. So much of this movie had such visible brushstrokes from Steven's older films as to be a distraction at times.
The run time was just under two hours, and the film did seem rushed on occasion. JJ could have kept some of what I am sure wound up on the cutting room floor, and the film might very well have been a little better than it already is. It just seemed like something was missing.
The creature is not seen until the last twenty or thirty minutes of the film and we are left with questions, big questions. (I understand not showing it till later, worked for Jaws, but, like I said in my previous post, we don't know much of anything about the creature, though we do get it's motivation.) The main question I had was: Why transport the monster along with the cubes? Or in that case, why would you move him at all? Maybe they explained it in the movie, but it didn't make sense to me.
In one regard this movie is like the last movie I reviewed, Source Code; they both have similarities to films that came before them - same but different. To put things in perspective, Super 8 is an amalgamate of E.T, Goonies, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the TV series Lost, plus a number of other films. But it works. I just have two wishes, of which only one has the chance of coming true: first, I wish I had never seen those other films; second, please release the DVD with extra footage about our rowdy, spider-like visitor from outer space.
In conclusion, this is a blockbuster children's movie that those of us who saw E.T. as a child are likely to get a nostalgic thrill out of. Will the creature come back and visit us again? We'll see.
-aap
Showing posts with label Super 8. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Super 8. Show all posts
Friday, June 10, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Super 8
I had been planning to see my next movie on a Wednesday night, but I just couldn't pull the trigger with the selections from Memorial Day Weekend - they didn't hold a real interest for me. Even the new X-men movie barely made a blip on my radar. Although, I have heard both X-Men: First Class and Kung Fu Panda 2 are actually pretty good films. If I had tons of money, I might have been more willing to take a chance on one or both of those films, but since I, like so many people these days, am not a gazillionaire, I try and choose wisely what I spend thirty dollars to go see in a theater. This is the week I have been waiting for all year - a movie worth my shelling out the equivalent of half a tank of gas for is finally upon us.
Super 8 will open this Thursday Night/ Friday Morning and you can bet that I will be there in line, even if the NBA finals are still going on. But hopefully they will finish before I make the short trip to my local theater to check out this summer blockbuster.
The buzz around this movie is weird. Anyone who knows me has heard me talk about the awesome potential of this film for months, but I get a mixed reaction from others. Most people see it as I do: A throwback to Spielberg of the 70s and 80s. Which, in my book of hit and miss assessments, is a great thing. But there are others who don't see it that way, and I can understand their concerns. An over-18 crowd might not be interested because of the age of the lead actors. They may assume it is only a children's movie. And child actors can be hit or miss as far as performances, too. Spielberg has a knack for getting great performances out of his young actors, but he is not directing this. This is JJ's first real crack at directing a film that relies so heavily on youngsters. The fact that people have been held in suspense about the creature, much like Cloverfield, could also get under their collective craw. A frustration with the trailers and not knowing what they are going to see, much like the town folk who repeatedly ran when the boy cried wolf, might dissuade a percentage of people from the theaters.
I think the producers are right not to show the creature until they have to. Industrial Light and Magic is doing the effects after all, so naysayers can rest assured that the creature won't suck. Many trailers for films these days show so much of the film that you know what happens before even going to the theater. That is not entirely the case with this movie. We know there is a train wreck as kids are filming a super 8 movie, and that chaos breaks out afterwards as the creature escapes. But we don't know what the creature looks like, its motivations or history. It worked for Spielberg with Jaws. And it has me counting down the hours till 12:01 Friday morning to see this movie.
-aap
Super 8 will open this Thursday Night/ Friday Morning and you can bet that I will be there in line, even if the NBA finals are still going on. But hopefully they will finish before I make the short trip to my local theater to check out this summer blockbuster.
The buzz around this movie is weird. Anyone who knows me has heard me talk about the awesome potential of this film for months, but I get a mixed reaction from others. Most people see it as I do: A throwback to Spielberg of the 70s and 80s. Which, in my book of hit and miss assessments, is a great thing. But there are others who don't see it that way, and I can understand their concerns. An over-18 crowd might not be interested because of the age of the lead actors. They may assume it is only a children's movie. And child actors can be hit or miss as far as performances, too. Spielberg has a knack for getting great performances out of his young actors, but he is not directing this. This is JJ's first real crack at directing a film that relies so heavily on youngsters. The fact that people have been held in suspense about the creature, much like Cloverfield, could also get under their collective craw. A frustration with the trailers and not knowing what they are going to see, much like the town folk who repeatedly ran when the boy cried wolf, might dissuade a percentage of people from the theaters.
I think the producers are right not to show the creature until they have to. Industrial Light and Magic is doing the effects after all, so naysayers can rest assured that the creature won't suck. Many trailers for films these days show so much of the film that you know what happens before even going to the theater. That is not entirely the case with this movie. We know there is a train wreck as kids are filming a super 8 movie, and that chaos breaks out afterwards as the creature escapes. But we don't know what the creature looks like, its motivations or history. It worked for Spielberg with Jaws. And it has me counting down the hours till 12:01 Friday morning to see this movie.
-aap
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Wednesday Opening finally here?
I might have surmised with the original Hangover opening on a Wednesday Night, and having such good fortune, that they would release The Hangover Part II in the same manner. And they are intending to do just that. Yet, there is also another film releasing tonight at 12:01: Kung Fu Panda 2.
Not a big fan of most sequels, reboots and remakes, I had hoped some other film(s) might have grabbed the mantle for first film(s) released on a Wednesday this year. First, I thought it might be Sucker Punch, which turned out to be a dud. Then there was Thor, which was apparently too soft to take the throne. Both fell short.
Kung Fu Panda 2 is the surprise here. Its original was a kid flick that adults also liked, while The Hangover was an adult film that kids had to sneak in to see. These two films will duke it out this weekend for top spot at the box office, likely raking in 100s of millions of dollars each.
I may even go see one of them tonight, probably The Hangover II; but neither of these films are what I am truly waiting to see. That would be Super 8. Abrams and Spielberg = GOLD. Think about it: Spielberg is starting to get up there in years, and who better to take his place as best American director than J.J.? I know some people will argue about me calling Spielberg the best American director, but who else comes to mind when you think of the overall face of American Cinema for the past forty years. Their career paths are very similar too. Both started out in Television and then moved on to Film with great success.
So, until Super8 finally gets here, I guess I'll have to settle for some gut-busting hilarity from Zach, Ed and Brad. While neither film is a bad choice for the first Wednesday Night release this year, I just wish it wasn't so painfully obvious that sequels and franchises are held in higher regard than original works. I mean... I've already seen these films - I've moved on, and these sequels are not likely to be better than the originals. Just saying.
-aap
Not a big fan of most sequels, reboots and remakes, I had hoped some other film(s) might have grabbed the mantle for first film(s) released on a Wednesday this year. First, I thought it might be Sucker Punch, which turned out to be a dud. Then there was Thor, which was apparently too soft to take the throne. Both fell short.
Kung Fu Panda 2 is the surprise here. Its original was a kid flick that adults also liked, while The Hangover was an adult film that kids had to sneak in to see. These two films will duke it out this weekend for top spot at the box office, likely raking in 100s of millions of dollars each.
I may even go see one of them tonight, probably The Hangover II; but neither of these films are what I am truly waiting to see. That would be Super 8. Abrams and Spielberg = GOLD. Think about it: Spielberg is starting to get up there in years, and who better to take his place as best American director than J.J.? I know some people will argue about me calling Spielberg the best American director, but who else comes to mind when you think of the overall face of American Cinema for the past forty years. Their career paths are very similar too. Both started out in Television and then moved on to Film with great success.
So, until Super8 finally gets here, I guess I'll have to settle for some gut-busting hilarity from Zach, Ed and Brad. While neither film is a bad choice for the first Wednesday Night release this year, I just wish it wasn't so painfully obvious that sequels and franchises are held in higher regard than original works. I mean... I've already seen these films - I've moved on, and these sequels are not likely to be better than the originals. Just saying.
-aap