Welcome to Harry Potter Forum! Below you will find many interesting threads and discussions. Enjoy.
JUST SAW SUPER 8!
Just found out my theater is holding 7:00 PM showings of Super 8 this Thursday night and I will be attending. AHHH! I can't wait! Perfect way to start off my summer!
Post edited by aaron on
Comments
G.G.
G.G.
Oh my god. I can't breathe. FOUR HOURS.
Mysterious thing time.
I'm leaving for the theater right now.
In 2 hours I will be a changed man.
Hope you like it!
Pottermore user name: SilverQuest212
Thats one of the best jokes Ive heard!
I NEED TO SEE THAT AGAIN
In 2011's Super 8, directed by J.J. Abrams (who helmed Star Trek and produced the hit phenomenon LOST) and produced by Steven Spielberg, almost every single shred of hype and anticipation which has been building for the past year is lived up to. The entire film is perfectly paced, blending together impressively two stories: one about a boy and his surroundings, which include a blossoming romance with Alice (played by the brilliant Elle Fanning), a monster movie with friends, and the mourning of a mother and distance of a depressed father. The other story is the sci-fi mystery plagued upon a small town. J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg really capture the emotional resonance of the story and manage to tie it into the alien-attack plot on which the film dwells. This is where I was very impressed.
The film first hour is like voyaging into a deep sea of golden, early-Spielberg nostalgia. The fictional town of Lillian, Ohio, seems like it would be plucked out of Spielberg's spitballs itself. The diner, the narrow-slatted roofs, the police station, the mill, kids riding bikes and old cars...it all reeks of the 70s. Super 8's opening hour is like something of a dream: I was impressed at how beautifully paced the film was. We are introduced to the charming young boy Joe (played with ultra star power by Joel Courtney--this boy's got a future) and his friends--who include Charles, an aspiring director, and Cary, the braced-faced pyro who is always that kid who is blowing stuff up. These Goonie-like mob of friends are out to make their own monster movie for a film festival and of course, they do it in secret. Whether they're riding bikes or stealing cars, it's one hell of a ride. Their adventures lead them to an abandoned railroad station. During action, a train passes by and is derailed spectacularly by an old pickup truck.
The train crash scene is truly iconic and will go down as one of the best action sequences I've ever seen. It's stunning, the visuals are explosive and wonderful, thoroughly awesome. While it goes on for a little too long (the explosions never stop), the train crash is a visual treat and the start of Super 8's explosive, pyromania feel. After the train crash, however, things start to slow down when they should be speeding up. It is here that we get a look into Joe's father, Deputy Lamb (played with an electrifying performance by Kyle Chandler, from Friday Night Lights) and his duties as police chief. Dogs start disappearing, cars are broken into, electrical appliances missing, and military trucks appear in town trying to cover stuff up. The real baddie of the film is the military general played by Noah Emmerich. You get to see him do some very bad things indeed. The film keeps going on and on about the mystery, while the kids begin to get enveloped right into it.
Here is where it really pays off to be a kid. Part of you wants to analyze what is going on, and the other part of you is telling you to sit back down and enjoy the thrills. Because there are a lot of them. Abrams cleverly keeps the monster's reveal until the very last possible time to keep you hanging, but we do get some meaty looks at it throughout the second portion of the film. There's a funny encounter at the gas station and also one with the military on a bus. Part of me began to root for the monster.
At the finale of the film, I had an aching desire for all the small subplots of the film to be tied up nice and wonderfully, but in the end, they felt like a rather loose, hanging knot. The finale boasts awe-inspiring effects. Picture houses blowing up, tanks plowing through streets and playgrounds, trucks and cars whipped into the air--electrical appliances thrown into a magnetic field of telekenisis around a water tower. I was really blown away. Visually and emotionally, the film is jawdropping. It ties you to the core and keeps you rooting for both the monster reveal and the emotional justice.
The final twist is rather half-hearted and didn't really come as a surprise. This is also wrapped up in a spectacularly corny ending, in which the film goes from astonishing to 'meh.' However, I wouldn't judge the last 10 minutes in relation to the first half of the film. Overall, the film has a dozen stories packed into one film, the major of which are tied up, but some left hanging. I had a few unanswered questions, but for the most part, it delivers.
The technical aspects of the film are dazzling; the production design and value and detail that have gone into this are incredible. Surely the film should be nominated for a few Oscars here and there (I wouldn't mind a Best Picture, but I don't know about the Academy.) The score by Michael Giacchino really only has one theme worth remembering but is akin to John Williams and the beautiful strings of early-Spielberg films. It really enhances the film. Visual effects are, as usual for summer blockbusters, perfect. Cinematography is, again, perfect, and the film feels so Spielbergian you will be happy you saw it just for that fact. Just for the nostalgia. The acting is phenomenal--particular standouts are the main boy, Joe (Joel Courtney,) Alice, played by Elle Fanning, and Charles, (Riley Griffiths) the director of the zombie film. You will fall in love with the cast; most likely the best cast I've seen in a film all year. The love triangle which develops here is funny and at times downright hilarious.
Overall, Super 8 is an exhilarating summer ride, which boasts dazzling effects, a beautiful score and awesome cinematography. It is a throwback and homage to the 90's golden era of film and the 70's Spielberg films. It is a film of nostalgia and while the first hour is perfect, the second hour focuses more on the action. The monster is incredible, stunning, slimy, and his appearance is jaw-dropping. Plots should be tied up better. Overall, the best film of the summer I've seen so far, and undoubtedly one of the best films of the year. This masterpiece will go down as a classic in my collection.
Also, when you do watch the film, stay for the credits. One of the most original credits I've ever seen. They show the zombie movie they have been making. It's cute and hilarious.
Don't get me wrong, it was fun reliving 80s cinema however the whole Monster aspect of the film was unfortunately the weakest part. From interviews I've heard and read that this movie was actually two screenplays put together (a coming of age youth story and a monster movie) and it was extremely obvious. As far as I'm concerned, I was MUCH more interested in the characters and the movie making they were involved with. The relationship between the kids was reminiscent of Goonies or E.T.. The monster was mysterious at first but then they started showing too much like they always do (today Hollywood has all but forgotten that "less is more" and it seems they hardly ever leave anything to the imagination).
The Ending was actually a bit let down (and some BAD CGI to boot). For a movie of this potential it just needed more.
Still, over all Super 8 is a GREAT fun summer movie and its pros outweigh its cons. And that's a good thing coming from me because I've been skeptical of this film from the get go.
Hope you like it!
I would give it an A to an A-. I think yesterday I was so overwhelmed by the awesomeness of it. If I saw it again I would probably notice some more flaws, which I sort of brushed over in the review.
Ill be working tho :-|