Super 8

      As much as I don’t like to say it, Super 8 (2011) was a disappointment to me.  Maybe I just had really high expectations. I followed it for a long time and bought into all of the hype and secrecy about it. I am a huge fan of Steven Spielberg (Hook, Jurassic Park, E.T., Saving Private Ryan). I have also grown to like J.J. Abrams (Lost, Fringe, Alias). He is doing some interesting stuff and I kind of like his style.  All of that being said I had very high expectations.  That may be why I was so let down.
      Super 8 takes place during the summer of 1979, Abrams, and Spielberg wanted to recapture the thriller movies of the 70’s and 80’s.  They succeed in that.  It has a very old feel and even though it has new CGI and such it is still very much a 70’s or 80’s thriller.
       Joel Courtney plays Joe Lamb, the main character.  This was his first role.  He did a good job. He has a few other projects coming out in the next two years.  Elle Fanning (Déjà Vu, Phoebe in Wonderland, The Door in the floor) on the other hand has been acting since 1988. She did a wonderful job and I enjoy watching her almost as much as I enjoy watching her sister. Yes, that is right, she is Dakota Fanning’s (The Runaways, Push, The Secret Life of Bees, Coraline) little sister.
       I am sure there are people who will enjoy this movie and I wouldn’t be surprised if it ended up having a cult like following.  It just didn’t grab me.