Super 8

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Director: J.J. Abrams

Stars: Elle Fanning, Amanda Michalka, Kyle Chandler (more)

Release Date: June 10, 2011

Synopsis: In the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness a catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie and soon suspect that it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin to take place in town, and the local Deputy tries to uncover the truth - something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined.

Why We're Excited: Remember when you used to get super-excited about a movie from, say, Steven Spielberg because it looked cool, scared you and excited you a little bit, and you had absolutely no idea what might happen? This is that movie, especially in a sea of franchises and sequels.

Why We're Not: J.J. Abrams is the master of the brilliant set-up ("Alias", "Lost", Cloverfield, Star Trek)... with a not-always 100% successful follow-through rate. Even Star Trek had to explode its original mythology to make it to the finish line – let’s see what Abrams can do with a truly original story.

Trivia: At an estimated $45 million budget, this is practically indie-scale when compared to this year’s other summer flicks.