New JJ Abrams movie: Super 8

[Laner]

Seeing all of the late 70s trappings did my heart good; though the anachronisms in these sort of movies always drive me up the wall  The movie ostensibly takes place in 1979, but they reference both Rubik's Cube and the Walkman - neither of which were introduced here until mid/late 1980.  

Incorrect! The walkman came out in July of '79, though you are right that it hit maximum mainstream penetration by the mid-80s. And the Rubik's Cube was released internationally by 1979, but I think it was not released in the States until 1980. But yeah, they both were unlikely to be part of popular culture in 1979.

Actually it was only known as the Walkman in Japan in 1979. True it was released in NA in 79, but it was originally called the Sony Soundabout - wasn't branded the Walkman until 80. But we're talkin a year here -maybe less- so we're really splitting hairs.

Indeed I still notice those things anyway - they're like big red flags.  The Wedding Singer drove me crazy in that regard.

[Roman]

I can forget what i posted above %100000000000000. 

Saw the 645 show last night with my wife and 10yr as planned. I have ZERO idea what movie the reviewer who I quoted above saw. Apart from some truly jump out of your seat moments and moments of tension there is NOTHING objectionable with this movie.

Very happy to have spent the money to see it.

[kratz]

Seeing all of the late 70s trappings did my heart good; though the anachronisms in these sort of movies always drive me up the wall  The movie ostensibly takes place in 1979, but they reference both Rubik's Cube and the Walkman - neither of which were introduced here until mid/late 1980.  

Incorrect! The walkman came out in July of '79, though you are right that it hit maximum mainstream penetration by the mid-80s. And the Rubik's Cube was released internationally by 1979, but I think it was not released in the States until 1980. But yeah, they both were unlikely to be part of popular culture in 1979.

Actually it was only known as the Walkman in Japan in 1979. True it was released in NA in 79, but it was originally called the Sony Soundabout - wasn't branded the Walkman until 80. But we're talkin a year here -maybe less- so we're really splitting hairs.

Plus if you said 'soundabout' nobody would know what they were talking about... gotta give them some license for everyone knowing what a walkman is...

[CeeKay]

they're estimating a take of $37 million for the weekend, probably not as great as they were expecting.  still got the number one spot though.

[kronovan]

they're estimating a take of $37 million for the weekend, probably not as great as they were expecting.  still got the number one spot though.

I don't think they need to worry, this film will have some legs for its theatrical run. It's already got many favorable reviews, but once the reviews start coming in from even more mainstream media sources I predict it'll get a boost.

[Blackadar]

I took my 14 yr old son to see this last night and we both thought it was an excellent movie. A few have already refuted Romans earlier post, and I'll add that I don't think this movie is inappropriate for a young teen. If anything the movie makes subtle criticism of marijuana and alchohol use - actually strong against the latter. As well, the brutal moments for any of the violence is off screen. I agree with others that the male lead, Joel Courtney, and Ellie Fanning were excellent. Quite honestly I think Coutneys performance is the best acting by a young teen since Natalie Portman in Leon the Professional - I say that despite liking many of the performances by the Harry Potter cast. Fanning isn't far behind - top rate performance. For those wanting to wait until it comes to BRD/DVD, its isn't a movie that requires the big screen treatment. That said, because the audience gets so drawn into this film, I'm glad I watched it in a theater to hear and share the experience. The movie isn't perfect and there's some noticeable plot holes, but it's the type of movie where you don't care because the ride is so much fun. 2 thumbs up high from me.

I'll pretty much +1 this with a couple of minor differences.

I took my 11 year old to see this and had no problem with the content.  Yes, there's a few swearwords, but nothing he hasn't heard before.  The pot/alcohol use was presented in such a way that they weren't glamorized or enticing.  Heck, my kid probably thought the guy was smoking a cigarette.

Ellie Fanning's performance was the best acting I'd seen from a kid since Joel Haley Osment in The 6th Sense.  She really stole every scene she was in, but Joel Courtney was also very strong and didn't pale by comparison.  In fact, there wasn't a weak performance in the entire cast.  The period sets are great and this really plays out like an old-fashioned Steven Spielberg movie in pace, look and feel.  To me, the tone was very much like that of a Close Encounters movie, with plot points from The Goonies, Stand by Me, ET and Cloverfield (which one of these are not like the others?) thrown in. 

I suppose there's plenty of CGI, but except for one or two scenes I didn't notice it at all.  Everything looked pretty darn real.  The weakest part of the film is the last 20 minutes, but by then you're so invested that you don't care that they're not as strong as the rest of the movie.

To summarize, the movie feels entirely complete and that's saying a lot.  While there are other good movies out there, this one stayed with me longer and I'm not left wondering about anything or trying to pick out plot holes. 

As for seeing it on the big screen, well, yeah, I would...just for one scene:

Spoiler for Hiden:

The train crash.  It makes the one from The Fugitive look like it was done with models.  It really was a pretty awesome visual spectacle - almost on par with seeing New York/Washington/LA destroyed in Independence Day or something like that.

[Dramatist]

My family and I went to see this Friday night.  We went with a friend family and all 7 of us loved the movie.  I thought the kids were all very good and the

Spoiler for Hiden:

train crash

was spectacular. 

I'm thinking this is the best movie I've seen in quite a while and would reccomend it to anyone.

[Blackjack]

Hey I finally saw this myself Sunday morning.

While I thoroughly enjoyed it  , the one thing I'd say about the ending is...

Spoiler for Hiden:

...I just found it difficult to get that Spielbergian "lump in the throat" feeling that the soaring music seems to be aspiring to, having watched the Alien squash into bloody chunks various humans and eat various other humans (maybe justified in terms of how the alien had been treated by the USAF, but it's not like most of its victims were trying to hurt him). It'd be like trying to get me to be sentimental about the T-Rex in Jurassic Park, or the shark in Jaws, ya know?  

Also I wasn't really clear on why the alien needs to do this Alien/Aliens-type cocooning of humans or why it needs them at all. Does it need their brain power (like the school teacher who's driving the truck?) or something? If it was explained, I missed it.  

I might've enjoyed some sort of brief coda at the end where they got to finish and release the Super 8 movie they were working on. Maybe on the DVD?

[MonkeyFinger]

Spoiler for your last sentence:

On the 'brief coda' did you not stay through the beginning of the credits? They showed the movie and a nice little 'Masterpiece Theatre' ending where he asks people to vote for him.

[Bullwinkle]

Hey I finally saw this myself Sunday morning.

While I thoroughly enjoyed it  , the one thing I'd say about the ending is...

Spoiler for Hiden:

...I just found it difficult to get that Spielbergian "lump in the throat" feeling that the soaring music seems to be aspiring to, having watched the Alien squash into bloody chunks various humans and eat various other humans (maybe justified in terms of how the alien had been treated by the USAF, but it's not like most of its victims were trying to hurt him). It'd be like trying to get me to be sentimental about the T-Rex in Jurassic Park, or the shark in Jaws, ya know?  

Also I wasn't really clear on why the alien needs to do this Alien/Aliens-type cocooning of humans or why it needs them at all. Does it need their brain power (like the school teacher who's driving the truck?) or something? If it was explained, I missed it.  

I might've enjoyed some sort of brief coda at the end where they got to finish and release the Super 8 movie they were working on. Maybe on the DVD?

Spoiler for Hiden:

We got that coda when the showed the film in its entirity during the credits.  You didn't need the award ceremony after the awesomeness that was the film.

I agree with you about the alien eating people.  Especially when it was proven that he was sentient and could connect with people.  I guess they were going for that monster movie ending where suddenly you sympathetic with the creature like in King Kong or some Godzillas.  In those movies, too, the creature was unfairly taken out of its element and was lashing out as a result.  However, they were dumb animals and weren't necessarily hurting people on purpose.  Certainly they didn't know better.  And more certainly, they weren't able to communicate.  And then eat people.

There really was only one shot we didn't need, so far as that goes, which is the creature having a snack.  There still would have been questions about why he was holding them, of course, and we might have guessed it was for food or just revenge, but without seeing it, that would be okay, I think.  Even the angry killing of the people in the cave would work, as we'd assume the thing was out of control.  However, it would be better if the people we saw killed were military.

None of this ruined the movie or even the ending, of course, it just didn't bring on the Speilberg throat lump that you mentioned.

[Blackjack]

Spoiler for Hiden:

I feel bad then. I sat through about 20 seconds of credits and didn't notice any kind of movie or "bonus footage" being shown. Or maybe it was playing and I just blew it off as "window dressing" for the credits.

I considered sticking around to see if something might be shown after the credits (a la Marvel), but I didn't see any evidence of something playing and hadn't read about anything.

Isn't it great having conversations in spoilers within spoilers?  

My mom loves Kyle Chandler, so maybe I'll take her to see it next weekend again. Thanks for the... insights.

Me I thought it was cooler that someone from The Walking Dead had a supporting part. 

[Teggy]

Saw this this past weekend and enjoyed it, although it didn't pack a huge emotional punch. I couldn't help feeling that the movie was at a disadvantage from the get-go, what with so many people comparing it to ET. However, I didn't really feel the tone was like ET, and I wish I could have gone in with less information than I had (in fact, I think that needs another thread). It certainly didn't have tone of the Goonies, another film it's been compared to.

I really appreciated the way Abrams shot and cut the movie. It really did feel like a movie from 20 years ago instead of something off MTV.

Funny, my wife asked what "those lines going across the screen" were, and she initially thought it was a problem with the film. I said, "no, that's just JJ Abrams."

[lildrgn]

ARISE!

Just watched this tonight and I loved it! I thought all the kids were fantastic actors; none of that annoying, precocious stuff. The scene in Charles' house the next morning when they're watching the news? My family had that TV growing up. Awesome

I loved the soundtrack and just how natural the kids were with each other. Nothing seemed forced to me. The kid with the braces was hilarious, too.

Highly recommended!

[CeeKay]

never got to see it in the theaters, but heard enough good word of mouth that I have it coming from Amazon today.

[walTer]

No one does kids like Spielberg...

I too missed it but we are all watching it Wednesday nite ...woo cannot wait.

[leo8877]

Gonna rent this on demand tonight as well.

[Bullwinkle]

Gonna rent this on demand tonight as well.

Maybe then you'll take "New" out of the title.   

[leo8877]

Gonna rent this on demand tonight as well.

Maybe then you'll take "New" out of the title.   

[leo8877]

Great movie!  My wife and I both loved it!

[Doopri]

Great movie!  My wife and I both loved it!

seconded!  well, the first part - actually, both parts as i have no reason to NOT believe that leo and his wife loved it

this is one i wanted to see in theatres but didnt get around to it, so i was eagerly awaiting the release.  toward the end of my wait i was starting to get worried that it would be a bit "kiddie" (et and the goonies are wonderful, and yes i will watch them now - but it wasnt what i was looking for here) but the great performances really moved it out of the realm of just childs fare
the only one i found remotely annoying was the fireworks kid, but this was mitigated by the fact that we all had that friend growing up, so he felt much more real

the one question i had was

Spoiler for Hiden:

was does it capture people?

- however i cant think of where this could have been explained without feeling contrived - maybe somewhere in the

Spoiler for Hiden:

school scene where they are watching the teacher / drs military footage?

  anyway fun ride, glad i watched it!

[Doopri]

oh also the creature is clearly

Spoiler for Hiden:

cloverfield / cloverfield as baby / cloverfields son looking for cloverfield?

- are we going to continue to get snippets of the

Spoiler for Hiden:

cloverfield

storyline told from different perspectives and different times as the mystery is slowly revealed?  has abrams talked about this at all - or is the storyline just completely separate?

[leo8877]

Regarding your question:

Spoiler for Hiden:

The alien ate the people it captured. They show it eat one when they are underground. The main kid is racing save Alice before she is eaten too.  

[Doopri]

 

holy crap howd i miss that??? i saw it

Spoiler for Hiden:

take someone down

and thought it just kinda carried it offscreen - i totally missed that!

[ATB]

Saw this tonight on netflix. Loved it. 4/4.

Just great.