J.J. Abrams' Super 8 - Part 2

[Doctor Jones]

I noticed that too. I liked the fact they held off showing the alien until the third act. That way, I could focus more on the humans. The creature is used more to pull everyone together in the end.

 

[nocomics]

How many of these movies are focused on the aliens besides E.T though? You don't see them in close encounters until the end. I prefer focusing on the humans, because in the end it's the emotional content that stays with me. I prefer the jaws style of not showing the creature until later. Bumps the tension of its scenes up.

I noticed that too. I liked the fact they held off showing the alien until the third act. That way, I could focus more on the humans. The creature is used more to pull everyone together in the end.

I agree with both these statements to the fact the monster was just to help maintain the overal story. Budget of only 50mil? They did a pretty good job with it,and I assume most was spent on what CGI they did use
Anywho, I'm off to see it again this afternoon,and I want to check out the 'Lens Flares' that JJ uses,as to be honest I didn't notice it as I was focusing on the story,and everything else I guess,lol...

 

[S.A.A.D.]

I tried to watch Super 8 yesterday but missed most of it because the ****ing power went out. I do gotta say that most of the humor fell flat in the first act and that the action in the first act was overdone. Anyways, I'm going to watch the movie in it's entirety tomorrow night.

 

[Secret_Riddle]

I know Abrams is on record stating the otherwise, but does anyone else get the feeling that the alien seemed to be of the same vein as the one in

Spoiler

Cloverfield

?

Anyway, I loved this movie. 4/4

My review:

http://cinematicriddles.com/2011/06/11/review-super-8/

loved Super 8, lens flares and all (which work well as a directorial trademark for Abrams). It marks a stylistic return to the kind of films absent from cinemas since before I was born. More importantly it represents a fantastic next step in Abrams continuing filmmaking career. If Super 8 is anything, it’s proof that not only is Abrams a huge fan of Spielberg, he may in fact be the most capable candidate to take his throne. Super 8 is a wonderful movie that is sure to entertain all ages. I can imagine the film having the same effect on kids today that E.T had back in 1982. After all, the Amblin Entertainment logo is no coincidence. However, for the wider audience, I consider Super 8 to be a more effective film overall than many of the exceptional movies it pays homage to. It’s by far the best summer blockbuster to hit theaters so far this year and I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if it stands tall as one of the best films of 2011.

 

[Doctor Jones]

I loved all the scenes with the kids. Just all great with very distinct personalities. I loved the part when they were all waiting for Alice and they were singing "My Sharona."

 

[KenK]

I know Abrams is on record stating the otherwise, but does anyone else get the feeling that the alien seemed to be of the same vein as the one in

Spoiler

Cloverfield

?

Walking out of the theater today, that's exactly what I thought. t:

If they wanted to, they could easily say [BLACKOUT]that this is essentially a prequel![/BLACKOUT]

But as for the film as a whole, I thought it was good. Not great, but definitely solid, good performances, some great action with the train crash, etc.

I was actually surprised to not see any of Abrams regular actors in the film. No Greg Grunberg, even!

 

[The Squirrel]

I know Abrams is on record stating the otherwise, but does anyone else get the feeling that the alien seemed to be of the same vein as the one in

Spoiler

Cloverfield

?

I mentioned that to my dad. We think they probably used the same guy to create both monsters. So it's just the artist's style.

 

[CelticPredator]

It looks nothing like Clovie. Aside from the way it walks.

I have a toy model of Clovie..he only has 4 limbs, with two little tentical things on his belly, one tongue, one mouth, and black eyes.

 

[DoomsdayApex]

I gave it a 8.8 out of 10.

The film was far better than I expected -- more impressive than First Class.

The best film of the summer, so far.

 

[DACrowe]

I posted this in the review thread, as well:

Super 8

What a special movie. It is well known Spielberg gave Abrams and Reeves their starts when he commissioned them to clean his old super-8s. It's nice to see things come full circle now as Spielberg has 'commissioned" Abrams to make a passion project dedicated to homaging his early films. And like Reeves's Let Me In, Abrams has done a wonderful job of recreating that Amblin feel long forgotten in big budget Hollywood cinema.

This is a movie that is truly sincere in its sentimentality and honest in its attempt to evoke that sense of childhood wonder several generations have grown up with from films like ET, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jaws, as well as Amblin produced films such as The Goonies, Gremlins, and Stand By Me.

A group of preadolescent teens while making a Super 8 film witness a horrific and mighty Hollywood train crash underwritten by ominous science fiction. However, the mystery they stand on the edge of is not nearly as interesting to the audience or the writer/director as the precipice of those final years before growing up that these characters hang from. Despite attempting to suggest a "simpler time" before cell phones, social media or even MTV, these kids are still like all of us and go through what we went/are going through. Given Abrams and Reeves's careers started on making Super-8s in high school, the sense of joy that is created around the children characters' filmmaking is infectious.

The driving alien mystery or how it effects the two lead characters' fathers is not nearly as interesting as the films Super 8 is trying to reference. When the third act becomes "save the girl from the monster," it loses steam remarkably fast. But, as a whole it is still a very entertaining movie and has an ending that Producer Spielberg would have been proud to direct back in his early days. This movie is a throwback that is far better than almost anything else that represents modern youth-oriented blockbusters. It is simply a joy to watch.

9/10

My thoughts.

 

[DACrowe]

This movie had the budget of $50 million. I don't think you could have had much more time to develop the monster with that budget anyway. That's like saying an entire TF movie should be more focused on the robots. That would cost so much damn money.

Besides, I do think Abrams intentions were to focus on the characters. I do kind of wish there was another scene after the last shot though. I didn't even notice the lense flare on the last shot.

It would have been cool for the movie to end with all the kids going out to finish their film and Charlie saying, "Action!" and then cutting to black.

Yeah, all this talk about more money shots of the monster....I'm really meh to that. I agree the third act or the "save the girl act" was when the movie went downhill and keeps it from being truly amazing. So maybe the monster needed more screentime. However, I think it is more that we're far more invested in the characters than the monster. We spend too much time worried about the monster in the last act, in my opinion. You don't see the aliens in Close Encounters until the last five minutes and that doesn't hurt the movie. It in facts makes them more strange, awe-inducing and well....alien.

I think it's because it stopped being character focused and started being plot driven. Unlike King Kong, or even my favorite Spielberg movie, Jaws, this is not a film that is propelled by plot for the first 2/3. When it was over, I didn't want to see more of the alien, I was upset that there was no "a few weeks later" type epilogue where we see the gang together finishing their movie and we see Joe and Alice take that first step to adolescence (i.e. a kiss). The alien going home resolved the plot, but I was more invested in the characters and wanted to see more of them....though the finished Super 8 during the credits was brilliantly awful amateur camp.

Also, I'd like to add the child actors, especially Elle Fanning, were phenomenal in this movie. They literally made the movie work and helped Abrams's dream project have life, in my opinion.

 

[Punisher Rising]

Got back from this just now, enjoyed it very much. Would give it an 8/10 for now but I have to see it a few more times to determine my final rating. Thought it was a fun throwback to 1950s/60s/70s-style monster movies.

 

[WarBlade]

Also, was it ever explained as to why the alien was taking people?

Yes.

Spoiler

There was a shot with it about to chomp on a dismembered human leg. The kids make the observation in their dialogue as well.

 

[Thebumwhowalks]

I posted this in the review thread, as well:

Super 8

What a special movie. It is well known Spielberg gave Abrams and Reeves their starts when he commissioned them to clean his old super-8s. It's nice to see things come full circle now as Spielberg has 'commissioned" Abrams to make a passion project dedicated to homaging his early films. And like Reeves's Let Me In, Abrams has done a wonderful job of recreating that Amblin feel long forgotten in big budget Hollywood cinema.

This is a movie that is truly sincere in its sentimentality and honest in its attempt to evoke that sense of childhood wonder several generations have grown up with from films like ET, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jaws, as well as Amblin produced films such as The Goonies, Gremlins, and Stand By Me.

A group of preadolescent teens while making a Super 8 film witness a horrific and mighty Hollywood train crash underwritten by ominous science fiction. However, the mystery they stand on the edge of is not nearly as interesting to the audience or the writer/director as the precipice of those final years before growing up that these characters hang from. Despite attempting to suggest a "simpler time" before cell phones, social media or even MTV, these kids are still like all of us and go through what we went/are going through. Given Abrams and Reeves's careers started on making Super-8s in high school, the sense of joy that is created around the children characters' filmmaking is infectious.

The driving alien mystery or how it effects the two lead characters' fathers is not nearly as interesting as the films Super 8 is trying to reference. When the third act becomes "save the girl from the monster," it loses steam remarkably fast. But, as a whole it is still a very entertaining movie and has an ending that Producer Spielberg would have been proud to direct back in his early days. This movie is a throwback that is far better than almost anything else that represents modern youth-oriented blockbusters. It is simply a joy to watch.

9/10

My thoughts.

Ok, I might have to go see this twice now.

 

[Boom]

I loved this movie up until the last ten minutes.

The alien's face looked like a grasshopper from A Bug's Life. The second it flashed those baby eyes, I facepalmed. Yet another disappointing extraterrestrial.

 

[John McGuirk]

Lens flares are cheap and annoying. I don't like to see my actors faces covered in bars of irrelevant light.

Fun fact: The movies he's giving tribute to, "Close Encounters" and "E.T.," both have lens flares in them.

 

[Boom]

The lens flares annoyed the crap out of me. They were nothing but pointless eye sores.

 

[Thebumwhowalks]

The lens flares annoyed the crap out of me. They were nothing but pointless eye sores.

Eyesores, No....Pointless, Yes...

or is it the other way around?

 

[The Squirrel]

Yeah, J.J. sure likes his lens flares. That's really the only grip I have with him as a director. But it's not enough to keep me from watching his films.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Yeah, all this talk about more money shots of the monster....I'm really meh to that. I agree the third act or the "save the girl act" was when the movie went downhill and keeps it from being truly amazing. So maybe the monster needed more screentime. However, I think it is more that we're far more invested in the characters than the monster. We spend too much time worried about the monster in the last act, in my opinion. You don't see the aliens in Close Encounters until the last five minutes and that doesn't hurt the movie. It in facts makes them more strange, awe-inducing and well....alien.

I think it's because it stopped being character focused and started being plot driven. Unlike King Kong, or even my favorite Spielberg movie, Jaws, this is not a film that is propelled by plot for the first 2/3. When it was over, I didn't want to see more of the alien, I was upset that there was no "a few weeks later" type epilogue where we see the gang together finishing their movie and we see Joe and Alice take that first step to adolescence (i.e. a kiss). The alien going home resolved the plot, but I was more invested in the characters and wanted to see more of them....though the finished Super 8 during the credits was brilliantly awful amateur camp.

Also, I'd like to add the child actors, especially Elle Fanning, were phenomenal in this movie. They literally made the movie work and helped Abrams's dream project have life, in my opinion.

I do agree the third act "Save the girl" thing was the weaker aspect. But I loved it when the kids got out of the military station and into town. Very E.T. like. I also got strong vibes when they broke into the school.

I loved The Case at the end credits. Every minute of it.

"Production value!" t: Charles was great.

It was also very cool to see all those movie posters on the walls. I even saw a "Detective Comics" issue on Joe's wall with Batman and the Joker on it.

 

[Thebumwhowalks]

Yeah, J.J. sure likes his lens flares. That's really the only grip I have with him as a director. But it's not enough to keep me from watching his films.

I think people need to stop going on about lens flares in JJ's movies.
The fact is, JJ has a friend who still likes wearing his unfashionable trousers, JJ finds this funny for some reason, so in every movie we see a Hitchcockian cameo of some funky trousers walking past in shot, whether we like it or not, there is no use wah wahing about it.

 

[CelticPredator]

I hope he makes a movie about a lens flare. Just to piss everyone execpt me off.

 

[danoyse]

I tried to watch Super 8 yesterday but missed most of it because the ****ing power went out.

I can top that. We had to leave during the film at the end credits because the movie theater was on fire.

Loved the movie. I thought it was more Close Encounters than ET, but it definitely had a ton of ET elements as well. The kids were amazing, all of their scenes together were fantastic.

Loved seeing the Amblin logo again.

 

[DoomsdayApex]

I loved this movie up until the last ten minutes.

The alien's face looked like a grasshopper from A Bug's Life. The second it flashed those baby eyes, I facepalmed. Yet another disappointing extraterrestrial.

Meh... I wasn't disappointed. We (as an audience) were driven to think that this was a creature that was just seeking bloodshed and destruction. I think it was far better to have the alien seem more human than more monster.

 

[Spideyfan93]

The scene with the alien and Joe Lamb(those who've seen it know what I'm talking about) freaked me out.

It was humane but creepy lol.