Super 8 (2011)

During the summer of 1979, a group of friends witness a train crash and investigate subsequent unexplained events in their small town.

Director:

J.J. Abrams

Writer:

J.J. Abrams

Stars:

Elle Fanning, AJ Michalka, Kyle Chandler

11 wins & 70 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joel Courtney	...	Joe Lamb
Jessica Tuck	...	Mrs. Kaznyk
Joel McKinnon Miller	...	Mr. Kaznyk
Ryan Lee	...	Cary
Zach Mills	...	Preston
Riley Griffiths	...	Charles Kaznyk
Gabriel Basso	...	Martin
Kyle Chandler	...	Deputy Jackson Lamb
Ron Eldard	...	Louis Dainard
AJ Michalka	...	Jen Kaznyk
Andrew Miller	...	Kaznyk Twin
Jakob Miller	...	Kaznyk Twin
Jade Griffiths	...	Benji Kaznyk
Britt Flatmo	...	Peg Kaznyk
Elle Fanning	...	Alice Dainard

Storyline

SPOILER: 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.

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Plot Keywords:

small town | retro | train crash | ohio | shooting movie | 

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Taglines:

It arrives.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, language and some drug use

Did You Know?

Trivia

J.J. Abrams mentions in the DVD commentary that every time you see the water tower in the movie, it is computer generated.

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Goofs

The patch seen on the Ohio Deputy Sheriffs did not come into use until 1996 or 1997. The patch before that was a triangular patch that said 'Deputy Sheriff' with a five-pointed star under it and the seal of Ohio inside that star.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mrs. Kaznyk: I'm so worried for that boy.
Mr. Kaznyk: Joe's gonna be okay.
Mrs. Kaznyk: She was everything to him.
Mr. Kaznyk: Jack's gonna step up. He's a good man.
Mrs. Kaznyk: But he's never had to be a father before. I don't think he understands Joe.

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Crazy Credits

Charles's completed zombie movie is shown during the closing credits.

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Alternate Versions

In the original theatrical version some shot of Jen Kaznyk walk to Donny in the evacuation center are cut from the DVD version

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Connections

References Cloverfield (2008)

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Soundtracks

Heart of Glass
Written by Debbie Harry and Chris Stein
Performed by Blondie
Courtesy of Capitol Records
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

User Reviews

Enjoyable but in the end nothing special

A friend won two tickets to an advanced screening of this movie last night - so this review is done from the perspective of having watched it for free. :)

There are a lot of great things about this movie: The special effects are excellent without being gratuitous. In other words, the special effects enhance the story as opposed to BEING the story. The child actors do a great job of having their own personalities and really portraying the fun that kids have at that age. It does a good job of not making the adults out to be idiots (as so many movies do with child actors) but at the same time the adults have their own weaknesses. I felt connected to all the characters internal struggles. There is a good amount of tension throughout the first half of the movie, including several scenes that make you "jump". There are also several scenes that made me laugh so despite the tension, it never felt heavy.

The bad: The ending was disappointingly predictable. There were a couple moments of, "There is no way a middle school kid would do that."

In the end, I was glad to watch the movie but I don't think I'll be seeing it again. If you're looking for a good popcorn movie with a decent story, this is it. If you're hoping to see a movie that will leave you thinking about it for days, I would look elsewhere.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [France] Official site [South Korea]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 June 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Super 8

Filming Locations:

Agua Dulce, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$35,451,168, 12 June 2011

Gross USA:

$127,004,179

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$260,095,986

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, Bad Robot

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital Dolby Surround 7.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1