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<blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 371469" data-attributes="member: 23"><p style="text-align: center"><strong><span style="font-size: 22px">Super 8</span></strong> (2011)</p> <p style="text-align: center"></p> <p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi1.netflixmovies.com%2Fdibsl9ebc%2Fimage%2Fupload%2Fw_600%2Ch_891%2Cc_lfill%2Cg_north%2Fdxm8kdybbgmvp8q2xeun.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=4643f57cb8416dbacf323ed06d4e2869b8719f0443b516c7d9695e0f59f8eab9&ipo=images" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p> <p style="text-align: center"></p><p>Before watching this, I thought I knew four things about it:</p><ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">It's a found footage film</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">about an alien invasion</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">with a young cast</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">directed by Steven Spielberg</li> </ol> <p style="text-align: center">As it turns out, only one of these (#3) is wholly true, though there is a grain of truth to the others. While I was disavowed of the found footage and alien invasion aspects while watching, I came out of the film still believing it to have been directed by Spielberg. It's an easy mistake to make, since the film is aesthetically and tonally very much like Spielberg's work of the late Seventies or early Eighties. His favourite themes are there (the focus on kids from broken homes; the friendly alien who appears not so at first; disbelieving adults; gaslighting from the corrupt military/Government, et cetera).</p> <p style="text-align: center"></p> <p style="text-align: center">On this level it kind of satisfies. I don't feel the period setting is completely convincing - I missed the "1979" super at the beginning and spent 15 minutes trying to work out when it was set until someone told me - but considering the young cast it's better than many, with 21st Century speech patterns only creeping in occasionally, and there's a degree of nostalgia that comes from watching. It's well-cast and the performances are decent. There are occasional noisy outbursts with accompanying CGI visuals, but when the "less is more" approach is applied it works well. Fortunately, this is most of the time, with the alien itself mostly staying out of sight and even the film's genre taking its time to become apparent.</p> <p style="text-align: center"></p> <p style="text-align: center">While J.J. Abrams directed, Spielberg did produce this film, so it's essentially a Spielberg produced homage to his earlier works. Abrams is no stranger to this. I believe he's a fan (the Abrams film I'm most familiar with -<em>Joy Ride</em> AKA <em>Road Kill </em>- is essentially a retread of Spielberg's <em>Duel</em>). Anyone who's seen <em>Close Encounters </em>or<em> E.T. </em>will find themselves in very familiar territory here, while a couple of the scarier set pieces evoke<em> Jurassic Park</em>. </p> <p style="text-align: center"></p> <p style="text-align: center">The inevitable ending feels heavily influenced by a couple of those earlier Spielberg films already named, though lacks the emotional punch of either. </p> <p style="text-align: center"></p> <p style="text-align: center">Overall, this surprised me nicely by not being quite what I'd envisaged from the fragments of information I've gleaned over the years, while still having plenty of familiarity.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mel O'Drama, post: 371469, member: 23"] [CENTER][B][SIZE=6]Super 8[/SIZE][/B] (2011) [img]https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi1.netflixmovies.com%2Fdibsl9ebc%2Fimage%2Fupload%2Fw_600%2Ch_891%2Cc_lfill%2Cg_north%2Fdxm8kdybbgmvp8q2xeun.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=4643f57cb8416dbacf323ed06d4e2869b8719f0443b516c7d9695e0f59f8eab9&ipo=images[/img] [/CENTER] Before watching this, I thought I knew four things about it: [LIST=1] [*]It's a found footage film [*]about an alien invasion [*]with a young cast [*]directed by Steven Spielberg [/LIST] [CENTER]As it turns out, only one of these (#3) is wholly true, though there is a grain of truth to the others. While I was disavowed of the found footage and alien invasion aspects while watching, I came out of the film still believing it to have been directed by Spielberg. It's an easy mistake to make, since the film is aesthetically and tonally very much like Spielberg's work of the late Seventies or early Eighties. His favourite themes are there (the focus on kids from broken homes; the friendly alien who appears not so at first; disbelieving adults; gaslighting from the corrupt military/Government, et cetera). On this level it kind of satisfies. I don't feel the period setting is completely convincing - I missed the "1979" super at the beginning and spent 15 minutes trying to work out when it was set until someone told me - but considering the young cast it's better than many, with 21st Century speech patterns only creeping in occasionally, and there's a degree of nostalgia that comes from watching. It's well-cast and the performances are decent. There are occasional noisy outbursts with accompanying CGI visuals, but when the "less is more" approach is applied it works well. Fortunately, this is most of the time, with the alien itself mostly staying out of sight and even the film's genre taking its time to become apparent. While J.J. Abrams directed, Spielberg did produce this film, so it's essentially a Spielberg produced homage to his earlier works. Abrams is no stranger to this. I believe he's a fan (the Abrams film I'm most familiar with -[I]Joy Ride[/I] AKA [I]Road Kill [/I]- is essentially a retread of Spielberg's [I]Duel[/I]). Anyone who's seen [I]Close Encounters [/I]or[I] E.T. [/I]will find themselves in very familiar territory here, while a couple of the scarier set pieces evoke[I] Jurassic Park[/I]. The inevitable ending feels heavily influenced by a couple of those earlier Spielberg films already named, though lacks the emotional punch of either. Overall, this surprised me nicely by not being quite what I'd envisaged from the fragments of information I've gleaned over the years, while still having plenty of familiarity.[/CENTER] [/QUOTE]
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