Super 8

[MikeyRix]

Originally Posted by robyn161

I was invited to an advance screening in Dublin, and my sincerest apologies for the mispelling

I see; don't worry, I do it all the time. Just second nature for me Hello anyway.

[jaykays hat]

I totally agree with Grinch, this film took me back to the 80's and so many similarity's to films like ET and The Goonies. You had the arguing kids at meal time and the view of the soldiers flashlights before you actually see the soldiers, the sentimental bits and the likeable kids. The sound effects on this movie were brilliant, especially the train crash. I purposely haven't read any reviews as I didn't want any spoliers to what was on the train and I'm glad I didn't. This film has Speilberg written all over it and I am so pleased it did.

[jaykays hat]

Just got back from my second showing of this film, loved it even more the second time around. I saw a couple of things that I didn't see from the first showing. It just brings the kid out in me and reminds me why I love the magic of cinema. Took my 10 year old son with me this time and he said it was one of his favorite films of the year. I think the main lead is so much like Elliot in ET, you just warm to him straight away.

[Papertwins]

For me, Super8 failed to deliver what was promised by its vast marketing campaign; Or atleast what I percieved from the trailers.

I was fully prepared for the 80's throwback. I had called shotgun on the Dolorean and I was waiting eager to tell a certain redfaced headteacher to "Eat my shorts".

But, having not been a child of the 80's, perhaps, even being the likes of Stand By Me and The Goonies being childhood favourites of mine, passed down from my older brothers, I can't help but feel disheartened by the overall movie.

It was all of the above, but did anybody feel the suggestion of an "Epic" from the trailers/promos?

It was more a Adventure/Creature feature, the latter of which I felt wasn't made clear in the trailers. Which left me waiting in the cinema.

It carried itself well, and it was as endearing as it was sincere, but for me, it won't be a movie that I would share with the grandchildren as I would a certain Wizards journey.

[jaykays hat]

Shame you didn't like it Papertwins, but I think it may be an age thing. As I walked out of the film yesterday I got talking to a couple in their early 20's and they thought the film was ok but just ok. I was in my early teens when Close Encounters came so not only do I remember the massive impact Spielberg had on the cinema going public but I also grew up with tape recorders, Super 8 projectors and stuff like that. I'll never forget the sight of that mothership as it slowly arrives over Devils Mountain. I remember waiting for a bus outside a cinema when the doors opened and the audience that had been watching ET came flooding out and I could see grown men and women crying their eyes out. So this film means a whole lot more to me than just being a adventure/creature feature.

I wasn't expecting an epic just a good old fashioned story with good acting and a bit of heart warming nostalgia thrown in and that's what I got. I'd even go and see it a 3rd time.

[Papertwins]

Originally Posted by jaykays hat

I wasn't expecting an epic just a good old fashioned story with good acting and a bit of heart warming nostalgia thrown in and that's what I got. I'd even go and see it a 3rd time.

I think so. I wish I had expected the same, I must have misread the trailers. I suppose it resonates with an era on a level that can only be comprehensable with living in that era.

I can totally understand that. I experience a similar nostalgia when watching Harry Potter or Sandlot Kids (It's not a 90's film, but it was a childhood favourite!).

[Zippykins1]

I really enjoyed, may have been nearly in tears more than once Elle Fanning is quite fantastic.

[jaykays hat]

Originally Posted by Zippykins1

I really enjoyed, may have been nearly in tears more than once Elle Fanning is quite fantastic.

So glad you liked it Zippy, I can see why you were nearly in tears..got choked up myself once or twice and yes Elle Fanning is fantastic, I really liked the main lead too, thought he was brilliant seeing as its his first film.

My 16 year old nephew saw it yesterday but didn't think much of it but then his favorite film is Sweeney Todd, say no more.

[MrSilly]

Man, I don't tend to like many things these days. This is another notch on that stump of a bedpost.

I find the film was quite cynical, it's forcing nostalgia down throats and it didn't get a response from. I'm not an 80's kid, I have no affinity for that era, just an appreciation of some good films that were made at the time. So I consider myself immune to its seductions. Why is it set in that era? I couldn't find a discernable reason for it, there's no real reflection on childhood or a commentary on life at the time, just a rubix cube here, My Sharona there. This is why I found it cynical, like it was preying on people's nostalgia without doing anything with the premise. It's completely not aimed at me, I understand that, but surely those it is aimed at can see how ungodly shallow it is?

Tell you what, some bloody fly-ass explosions in there though.

[markhoward]

Originally Posted by robyn161

Hello!

I'm just after reading the review on Super 8 in TF 183 and I've got to say I'm shocked! 5 stars? Really?! I went to see the film knowing that it was meant to pay homage to the early work of Spielberg (E.T., Close Encounters, The Goonies) and various coming-of-age classics like Stand By Me but I was really just expecting a nod here or there in way of homage.

What I was met with was a melange of the above mentioned movies with not a whiff of originality to be found- yes Super 8 does have its merits; the acting is great, the special effects are good, characters are relatable etc. It's technically good, but what is there I haven't seen before? Nothing!

TF 183 literally describes it as "A mash-up of '50s sci-fi, '80s event movie and autobiography" which I would view as a negative, yet TF still gives it five stars; a merit films rarely attain in the magazine.

Personally, I went in expecting so much more because of all the hype surrounding the film and was really let down by the predictability of it all. Mexican Dentists Dental Tourism
Dental Work in Mexico I even found myself bored at times and felt like I'd seen it all a thousand times before in terms of story, characters and themes.

In conclusion, this film would be fantastic if I had lived in a hole all my life and never seen any of the many and far better films this film is so obviously based on. Good effort but J.J., next time think something new up.

'Hands down film of the summer' I think not!

I liked the movie, but it was by no means a 5 star film.