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As JJ
Abrams has become
more and more well
known over the
years,
Super
8
is a film that’s
been on his to do
list. That’s because
like a lot of
filmmakers in his
generation, he
developed his love
of movies and his
love of film on a
super 8 camera. Like
the kids making
movies in
Super
8,
JJ went everywhere
with a camera and
made movies. Because
of his early years
with the format, he
developed a love of
it over the years
and wanted to make
this movie. A movie
that gave some nods
to some of his
experiences with the
format and one that
tells a unique story
at the same time.
Super
8
follows a group of
six friends making a
movie. The main one
is Joe Lamb. He’s a
young kid who’s been
through a lot
recently with the
death of his mother.
He’s the kid we
follow and empathize
with for the entire
story while the
other ones we just
get to feel for at
key moments. Anyway,
after the kids snuck
out of the house
late at night to
work on their movie
at the local train
station, they
witness a colossal
train wreck and the
beginning of a
mystery surrounding
the small town in
Ohio where they
live. After the
train wreck some
bizarre things begin
to happen around the
town with the
animals that live
there and with
different things
going missing. The
kids become a part
of the solution with
Joe’s dad who
happens to be a
deputy of the town.
From there the
mystery evolves and
builds and we
finally get to see
what’s going on with
the train wreck and
the small town.
The
coolest thing about
Super
8
is
all of the mystery
surrounding it. The
marketing and
everything done
alongside of the
film is nothing
short of brilliant
and doesn’t give
away anything about
what’s going on. You
can watch all of the
trailers for the
movie and not know
what’s going on with
the movie. You know
it’s about kids who
make movies
uncovering a
mystery… that’s
about the extent of
it.
The
other thing that’s
great about
Super
8
is the cast of kids
that were selected
to make the movie.
Joel Courtney, Riley
Griffiths, Ryan Lee,
Gabriel Basso, Zach
Mills, and Elle
Fanning are all
great young actors
and it’s so cool to
watch them on screen
interacting with
each other. Even
Elle Fanning, the
younger sister of
Dakota Fanning,
she’s great as you’d
probably expect, but
she also acts like
she’s excited to be
on the screen the
whole time and has
the same exuberant
energy as the other
kids.
The
mystery of the story
and the acting are
both genius
qualities. But since
it’s a JJ Abrams
movie it’s also
worth noting how
great the visuals
are. Abrams
directed this movie
brilliantly and the
big special effects
train wreck Is
nothing short of
amazing to watch.
The story’s cool,
the writing is
fantastic with this
movie, and
directorial work and
all of the special
effects are
incredible.
Super
8
is a tremendous
movie and one that’s
incredibly fun to
watch.
As
far as blu-rays go
Super
8
is a worthwhile one.
The visuals and the
sound are both
terrific and the
release has a
sizable amount of
supplemental bonus
features that talk
about the young
actors, Abrams
experiences with
Super
8
early on, and his
relationship with
Steven Spielberg and
a few other
highlights. There’s
roughly two hours of
bonus features to go
through here and
most of it cool to
watch after you
watch the movie- DO
NOT watch any bonus
features before you
watch the movie.
Super
8
is a fantastic movie
that throws an ode
to an old format. It
also is a very cool
mystery suspense
movie that’s a
wonderful watch for
families with older
kids. It’s a great
experience to go
through not knowing
a lot about but even
after you’ve seen it
once it’s a
wonderfully made
movie that you’ll
want to watch over
and over again.
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