REVIEW: Super 8
Luckily for movie-goers, there are a lot of scifi and fantasy choices in theaters this summer. In fact, there have been quite a few good movies, but among this delightful summer fare Super 8 sets itself apart. For this review, I’m going to give it the highest recommendation: if you can only pick one movie to see in the next couple of months, Super 8 should be it. I’m not going to give you much more information or any spoilers, because a big part of what makes this movie wonderful is the journey into the unknown.
Super 8 was written and directed by J.J. Abrams (Alias, Lost, Fringe, Mission Impossible III, Star Trek). The story was discussed in a conference between Stephen Spielberg and Abrams, and is undoubtedly an homage to Spielberg’s moviemaking in style and substance. Interestingly enough, even with Spielberg’s involvement we don’t see Dreamworks but rather Amblin Entertainment – you know, the one with ET and the boy bicycling across the moon – as the production company. Visual effects are by Industrial Light and Magic; sound effects by Skywalker Sound. Starting to sound tempting, right?
Guaranteed you will laugh to the point your soda is in danger of spewing all over the person seated in front of you. You will jump out of your chair on at least several occasions; don’t worry, everybody else will, too. Spontaneous shrieking will occur. In between all the mayhem, your heart will break for a son and a father coming to grips with the tragedy of their lives, and it will soar with Joe as he rises above the horror unleashed by the train wreck to find love and hope.
Whatever you do, don’t leave when the credits start to run. It’s a guaranteed smile – plus the music of 1979 rocks!
This movie is a bona fide brownie sundae, with whip cream and the cherry on top.
Tricia Barr's novel, Wynde, won the 2014 Independent Publisher Book Award Gold Medal for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror Ebook. She was also part of Silence in the Library's successful all-female creator science fiction and fantasy anthology Athena's Daughters, which is available now. For excerpts and tales of her adventures in creating a fictional universe, hop over to TriciaBarr.com.
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This will surely become one of the surprise hit of summer, 20011. I have not had so much fun watching a movie since first seeing Close Encounters. Although, the movie’s title might be quiet deceptive, the film itself is a must-see. Totally fun, exciting, adventurous, and thrilling. The special effects are mind-blowing, the kid’s characters were believable, and the script was written to kept even the most calm natured, on the edge of their seats. The movie is in fact a story within a story, but it never seems to lose its sense of reality blended in a very science fictional plot. Its early seventies setting has a sort of magical effect on the senses, a walk down memory lane with some of the hit songs played in the background. Do not cheat yourself. This is a must movie for your family to see.
The name definitely threw me for a loop. It wasn’t what I expected but I think that was sort of the marketing strategy.