Super 8

[dadevvtsvre]

So I was watching TV yesterday and saw this commercial playing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vtn5dm9uYi8

First thoughts: holy shit i have to see this movie i must i must i mu :psy:

Seriously, what a fantastic trailer. It's being being written and directed by J.J. Abrams, which is an automatic plus for me. (big fan of Cloverfield and Star Trek, haven't seen MI3) It's also being produced by Spielburg, so basically this is almost guaranteed to be awesome.

It's set in a fictional town in Ohio in 1979. A group of kids are using a Super 8 video camera to make their own zombie film. One night when they're filming next to railroad tracks, they witness a truck collide with a freight train. And the cargo on that train happens to be from Area 51. Chaos ensues.

That's a really bare bones summary but you get the idea. Abrams has kept a surprising amount of information under wraps and we really don't know a lot more than that.

From the sounds of things it seems like a throwback to classic alien movies of the 70s and 80s, like ET and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Having the main characters be a group of children is also highly reminiscent of movies like The Goonies and Monster Squad. The tone of the trailer seems to be a lot darker than the aforementioned movies, though, and whatever 'creature' is causing all this ruckus sounds way more menacing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1CzuaFQ87M

That's basically it. Abrams is famous for his ARGs and easter eggs that he sets up before his movies come out so with any luck something similar will be started with this.

Release is slated for June 10. Super psyched for this - I just adore the overall feel and subtle menace this whole thing has. The uplifting soundtrack combined with some pretty intense visuals is chilling, to say the least. Anybody else excited for this?

 

[moog]

ugh you liked cloverfield

 

[dadevvtsvre]

I know it's not very well-liked by a lot of people but I thought it was a really good movie. Not like BEST MONSTER MOVIE EVER or anything like that, (there was a lot wrong with it, with a weak cast of characters just the tip of the iceburg) but the suspense and plot moved along at a great pace, the visuals were dynamic, and the unsettling mystery behind the whole premise kept me intrigued.

SORRY OKAY GEEZ

 

[Venetia]

i liked cloverfield too :V

the characters made a lot of GRAAAH BAD DECISIONS but it was a unique & interesting perspective.

Spoiler

plus that one bitch exploding in that "clean room" was a fucking trip

anyway, i really haven't been able to see a whole lot about Super 8! The whole schtick of "LIP'S SEALED" on Abrams's part is getting a little old now. Honestly I think it hurt Cloverfield's reception b/c people went into it not really even halfway sure what to expect, just b/c the fucker refused to say word 1 about wtf it is, and the trailers that EVENTUALLY aired were entirely non-descriptive.

I think a lot of people went into it expecting a full-blown giant monster/godzilla deal, when really there was very little of the monster itself. Plus I doubt they were anticipating the motion sickness-inducing ride of the personal camera the whole time.

I saw it on DVD instead of theatres and am p happy about that. Movies in theatres give me headaches, and that shit woulda killed. I remember walking out of Traffic with the migraine of a lifetime

 

[Toams]

yeah i noticed this too, this is very promising
i hope it doesn't turn out to be THAT spooky of a movie, but just really cool
more action/mystery orientated than horror

also they did a ton of viral marketing, i showed blink this too.
there was this website called http://www.scariestthingieversaw.com/ which revealed a bunch of stuff about the movie
but it's only for the die-hard fans out there,

here's an overview: http://super8.wikibruce.com/Scariestthingieversaw.com

 

[dadevvtsvre]

There was an interactive teaser released with Portal 2 for this movie. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ59yDzEYxY

oh my god soooo excited :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart:

 

[benos]

About to post that, looks awesome. If Spielberg is making, I'm sold.

 

[Venetia]

I just played it. Wasn't terribly interactive. i wonder how much they paid to have that in there.

 

[Gubid]

A pretty penny I am sure. I found it entertaining, but yeah, not super interactive.

 

[dadevvtsvre]

So I went and saw Super 8 today.

Short review: Loved it.

Long review: I can't really say much about it that hasn't been reiterated dozens of times by critics already. BUT I'LL SAY IT ANYWAY.

I walked into Super 8 with high expectations, and I wasn't disappointed. It's a fantastic coming-of-age story that's masterfully shot and gripping all the way through.

The actors are all superb. The child actors in this film are being lauded by critics, and it's easy to see why. Every one of them perform exceptionally, and what's truly remarkable is that for many of the actors, it's their first movie. Some have said that the scenes with adults were not as interesting as the ones with the kids, simply because the chemistry between the kids is perfect. I tend to agree with that - Abrams spent a lot of time making sure the child actors worked well together, and it's really clear in the film.

That isn't to say it's perfect. Super 8 isn't without it's flaws. One of the issues I had was that

Spoiler

It was really difficult to comprehend the moral alignment of the alien. The movie provides information and exposition that shifts your opinion of the alien back and forth from good to bad, and in the end, you're really unsure how to feel about it. One scene presents the alien viciously murdering several soldiers. Another depicts the alien simply wanting to get home. You're never really sure whether you're meant to sympathize with the alien or not.

A common criticism I've heard is that the movie is solid up until the final 1/3rd, where it all goes to shit. I couldn't disagree more, really.

Spoiler

What ends up happening is that Alice, one of the main characters, ends up getting kidnapped by the alien, and Joe, the protagonist, sets out to save her. Some argue that is is the point where the movie feels clumsy and starts to derail, but I feel differently. The movie takes on a slightly different tone - I won't argue that - but it's not bad, by any means. If anything, I love seeing the kids running around town while everything is EXPLODING THE FUCK AROUND THEM HOLY SHIT

There's one scene in particular that stands out as memorable involving some of the kids being transported on an army bus, when the alien attacks them. To put it simply, it's probably one of the most tense scenes I've seen in any movie in a long time. Blows most horror movies out of the water.

Seriously. If you like 80s-era Spielberg, any of Abrams' films, or a nostalgic coming-of-age movie, you need to see this.

 

[benos]

I like the movie poster, you can see LOST in there, as a Easter egg obviously. It's really no surprise.

 

[glorious caesar]

It was really difficult to comprehend the moral alignment of the alien. The movie provides information and exposition that shifts your opinion of the alien back and forth from good to bad, and in the end, you're really unsure how to feel about it. One scene presents the alien viciously murdering several soldiers. Another depicts the alien simply wanting to get home. You're never really sure whether you're meant to sympathize with the alien or not.

That doesn't necessarily sound like a bad thing, dude. In fact this kind of portrayal seems like it really gives even more credibility to the monster was being something totally alien to us. We don't have to understand its behavior.

I haven't seen it yet but imo this sounds exactly like the kind of movie I'd love. I think that Cloverfield is one of the greatest movies of all time (that they resisted the temptation to make MONSTERMOVIE and kept it entirely about the central human characters an their emotions was so amazing) and i'm really excited to download see this on DVD!

 

[dadevvtsvre]

Man, the more I think about this movie, the more I want to see it again. I've been reading a lot of different people's interpretations on the movie's subtext and the symbolic representations of each of the characters/the alien. I haven't really thought about the movie on that level a whole lot but it's actually very deep if you want it to be.

I'm still surprised about hearing how many people are disappointed with Super 8. My expectations were sky-high and I was thoroughly impressed. There are a lot of plot-holes and the writing is messy in some spots, but there aren't any problems so large that it ruins your enjoyment of the film.

It was really difficult to comprehend the moral alignment of the alien. The movie provides information and exposition that shifts your opinion of the alien back and forth from good to bad, and in the end, you're really unsure how to feel about it. One scene presents the alien viciously murdering several soldiers. Another depicts the alien simply wanting to get home. You're never really sure whether you're meant to sympathize with the alien or not.

That doesn't necessarily sound like a bad thing, dude. In fact this kind of portrayal seems like it really gives even more credibility to the monster was being something totally alien to us. We don't have to understand its behavior.

I know it shouldn't be a bad thing but it still feels like an issue. There are plenty of scenes with the alien viciously murdering/eating several innocent townspeople, but at the end there's a moment between Joe and the alien where you're supposed to feel sorry for it. On one hand, you are sympathetic towards the alien for all the hell it's endured on Earth, but on the other hand I have conflicting emotions on whether I should forgive the alien or not. It's not a huge problem by any means, but I walked away from the theatre feeling unsure about it (and not in a good way)

 

[dadevvtsvre]

Another minor complaint about the ending:

Spoiler

Near the film's climax, Joe and a couple of his friends end up going back into Lillian to try and rescue Alice. We have Joe, Charles (overweight director guy), pyro-kid (who likes to light things on fire) and nervous-kid (who pukes a lot). Pyro-kid and nervous-kid aren't really developed in the film - I mean, we learn a bit about them but they're never fully explored. Which is okay.

It's revealed that Joe and Charles have been friends since they were little. I found Charles to be a very interesting character. He's intelligent and passionate about directing, but at the same time he can be stubborn and usually gets what he wants. I found him to be a much more important character than pyro-kid or nervous-kid.

Anyway, when the four boys are running through Lillian, nervous-kid gets hurt in an explosion. What ends up happening is that Charles stays back to keep him safe, while Joe and pyro-kid go on to rescue Alice. Pyro-kid actually becomes very instrumental in saving Alice - he explores the alien's underground lair with Joe and distracts the alien with his firecrackers.

Pyro-kid is an alright character but it really felt like it should have been Charles helping Joe in the climax. Charles never really gets a conclusion to his character arc, and it feels like we never get a satisfying answer to how he's changed after the film ends. Pyro-kid gets to witness the alien taking off at the end, along with Joe, Alice, their fathers and some military guys. Charles never gets to witness the takeoff, or help rescue Alice with his childhood friend. It really does feel like Charles gets the short end of the stick.

I dunno. Again, it's a minor complaint and didn't stop me from loving the movie, but I still wish it would have been Charles helping Joe fight the alien, instead of pyro-kid. It would have provided a nice end to his character arc, with Charles learning how to be patient and make sacrifices for others.