J.J. Abrams' Super 8 - Part 2

[The Squirrel]

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.

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

Oh, well, excuse me. Shame on me for not enjoying lens flares as much as you guys.

I don't mind them that much. I still enjoyed the movie a lot.

 

[Kane52630]

I saw it again today, I actually loved it more the 2nd time around. I got more out of it than seeing it the first time. It's still a 9/10 though.

 

[DACrowe]

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.

Oh I loved The Case also. In some ways it was y favorite part of the movie in some ways. It was brilliantly awful, yet impressive as 12-year-olds made it.

Also, as you noticed all the posters like Halloween on the walls, I noticed the original Dawn of the Dead poster. This was great because in their short film, the zombie accident happened at Romero Chemicals or something like that.

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.

I think the first half of the movie felt more ET and the last act felt more Close Encounters. So it's strange I favor the first half, as I've always preferred Close Encounters to ET. I think it's because the child actors were so wonderful to watch and that felt like the subject that not only the audience, but Abrams was more invested in. The alien finale felt more like a plot necessity than organic. But the stoner asleep and missing the alien taking off at the end was a nice nudge, nudge.

Also, was I the only one who caught Joe's father giving a Chief Brody laugh at one point? It was subtle, but I'm sure it was there.

 

[terry78]

Charles was basically a more proactive Chunk, which I did like. Their reactions to the stuff happening was very realistic, and it did garner some laughs.

 

[nocomics]

I sw it again today,and I was looking for the 'lens flares' that everyones been talking about. I didn't think they were that bad as I noticed them then I kindof forgot about them,so didn't really phase me.
Still enjoyed the movie and I still thinks its one of the better movies I've seen this year;which I guess isn't saying alot as I havent seen much...

 

[S.A.A.D.]

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.

Hey, at least you got to see the movie minus the credits. Me and the others didn't even make it past the one hour mark, if I am right the power went out like 30 minutes into the movie. Maybe even around 20 minutes since the time in the summer is more drawn out than usual.

 

[Rock Sexton]

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.

I thought that third act was so weak it took my initial "9" to a "7" ....

 

[Doctor Jones]

Oh I loved The Case also. In some ways it was y favorite part of the movie in some ways. It was brilliantly awful, yet impressive as 12-year-olds made it.

Also, as you noticed all the posters like Halloween on the walls, I noticed the original Dawn of the Dead poster. This was great because in their short film, the zombie accident happened at Romero Chemicals or something like that.



I think the first half of the movie felt more ET and the last act felt more Close Encounters. So it's strange I favor the first half, as I've always preferred Close Encounters to ET. I think it's because the child actors were so wonderful to watch and that felt like the subject that not only the audience, but Abrams was more invested in. The alien finale felt more like a plot necessity than organic. But the stoner asleep and missing the alien taking off at the end was a nice nudge, nudge.

Also, was I the only one who caught Joe's father giving a Chief Brody laugh at one point? It was subtle, but I'm sure it was there.

There were some Star Wars posters as well.

Yeah, I loved that stuff. "They know!" And I loved how the explosives obsessed kid was the same zombie three times.

And where was the Chief Brody laugh?

 

[danoyse]

I remember that Electronic Football game...

The chaos at the best friend's house reminded me of the house from Close Encounters. I kept waiting for someone to start reading off the movie times for Pinocchio.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Yeah, that was definitely Spielberg-ian.

 

[kickass]

I don't like the fact that the real reason everyone is loving this flick is because "this part reminded me of ET!" and "that part was soooo Close Encounters!".

I enjoyed the film more so for the characters and actors than the story. It was entertaining. But shouldn't have to rely on previous films to warrant its quality. That seems a bit sad, actually.

 

[Octoberist]

I'm beginning to dislike Neville Page.

 

[Secret Fawful]

It didn't remind me of E.T., which is good because I can't sit through E.T. I don't hate it, but I can't sit through it because I can't bring myself to care. In this I could. Also, the only Spielberg film it really reminded me of at parts was Jurassic Park. I do love Close Encounters, but I only noticed small fleeting similarities near the end. I felt it did stand on its own, and it annoys me that people keep comparing it to things it's nothing like outside of cinematography and lighting.

In fact, I can compare this movie to the Sandlot just as much as I can compare it to the Goonies or E.T. In fact, I can compare it to any movie where kids have to work together and have chemistry with one another. I could compare it to Ernest Goes to Camp as much as I could compare it to these films, but it doesn't mean they're anything alike outside of that. Seriously, the only movie of that type that I can seriously compare it to is Stand By Me.

 

[chintai80]

the movie didn't remind so much of ET or close encounters (i watched those so long ago i don't remember). but the scenes with the friends or at the family's house with all the other kids reminded me of my own childhood.

it's just really busy and chaotic with so many children running around, i remember when i use to go visit friend's houses it would be like that.

it just felt very real - but with a mysterious killer alien thrown in the mix. i enjoyed this movie immensely!

 

[bullets]

I didn't walk away loving it as I would have hoped but it was good. The child actors carried it well and some of those action sequences were really intense. The [BLACKOUT]alien hitting the bus[/BLACKOUT] nearly got me to jump out of my chair , some people yelled, lol. It was a good time , they did great with the nostalgia but the story felt hokey at times.

7/10

 

[8wid]

Questions I have...

Spoiler

Why did the alien put people into sacs after it attacked them after it was invisible against the Air Force?

What happened to everyone buried in the creature's den?

What was the Air Force shooting at the whole time, if the alien was underground?

 

[TheVileOne]

Spoiler

So did all the humans the alien capture die including the Sheriff and that poor woman?

 

[8wid]

Also does anyone else think these creatures look alot like the one in this movie?

 

[CelticPredator]

Spoiler

So did all the humans the alien capture die including the Sheriff and that poor woman?

Yes.

Spoiler

Joe said the creature was confused(??) and hungry...or tired and hungry...point was, he was hungry. And what better to eat then what you assume as an evil, heartless race of beings, who only want to dissect you.

 

[terry78]

Questions I have...

Spoiler

Why did the alien put people into sacs after it attacked them after it was invisible against the Air Force?

What happened to everyone buried in the creature's den?

What was the Air Force shooting at the whole time, if the alien was underground?

Regarding your last question,

Spoiler

they said that all their weaponry was going haywire due to whatever the creature's machinery was doing at that point.

 

[Doctor Jones]

As much as I like the creature designs, you can pretty much tell the alien was designed by the same guy who did the Cloverfield monster. He should challenge himself a bit more. I know it may sound weird, but the ice creature from ST, the Cloverfield monster, and this all felt similar. Not like that, but it was easy to tell the same designer came up with them.

I liked the design of the alien, but Page should challenge himself more. Or it's Abrams and Reeves. The latter makes more sense actually.

 

[KenK]

As much as I like the creature designs, you can pretty much tell the alien was designed by the same guy who did the Cloverfield monster. He should challenge himself a bit more. I know it may sound weird, but the ice creature from ST, the Cloverfield monster, and this all felt similar. Not like that, but it was easy to tell the same designer came up with them.

I liked the design of the alien, but Page should challenge himself more. Or it's Abrams and Reeves. The latter makes more sense actually.

I'm telling you, Super 8 is a freakin' Cloverfield prequel!!! t:

 

[Doctor Jones]

Well, all three monsters run on spider like legs and don't seem to have proper balance out of their element.

 

[Rowsdower!]

Yeah, I agree with you guys on that... after seeing Cloverfield and Star Trek, seeing what the alien looked like was kind of underwhelming. But regardless, I still thought it was a good movie. But I found myself more interested in the human elements that the alien stuff. The animosity between the two father characters, the kids trying to make their movie and Joe's crush on Alice were all the stronger points of the story. the alien stuff was fairly predictable. That didn't make it bad, I guess I was just hoping for something a little more mind blowing than

Spoiler

Cloverfield Magneto is angry because the government spent years shoving tubes up his ass

.

 

[danoyse]

I don't like the fact that the real reason everyone is loving this flick is because "this part reminded me of ET!" and "that part was soooo Close Encounters!".

I enjoyed the film more so for the characters and actors than the story. It was entertaining. But shouldn't have to rely on previous films to warrant its quality. That seems a bit sad, actually.

But those were great movies. I grew up with those movies, and they don't really make them now, so I thought it was a great homage to that time. It wasn't meant as disrespect to Super 8, which I thought was terrific in it's own right.