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 & 68 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 | group of friends | train crash | ohio | 

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Taglines:

It arrives.

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Genres:

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [France] Official site [South Korea]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 June 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Darlings

Filming Locations:

Agua Dulce, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$35,451,168, 12 June 2011, Wide Release

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

During post-production, Judd Apatow was shown some completed footage, which he praised as "awesome". J.J. Abrams subsequently placed Apatow in the "special thanks" section of the credits.

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Goofs

When the bus overturns, the window is obviously breakaway candied glass, which breaks into large pieces and easily falls out of the frame (at around 1h 23 mins). Real vehicles use tempered safety glass, which shatters into tiny pea sized pieces but retains its general form. Although tempered glass was patented in 1900, it did not become federal mandate until 1977. Vehicles manufactured before that time may have in fact not had the same safety features known today. In addition, the relative cost of tempered glass instead of candied glass is prohibitive when shooting multiple takes of a movie. Even with its $50M budget, one has to assume that some lifelike replicas had to be made, rather than destroying actual vehicles and houses.

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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 The Iron Giant (1999)

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Soundtracks

Silly Love Songs
Written by Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney
Performed by Wings
Courtesy of MPL Communications Inc.

User Reviews

A very entertaining film

It has been pretty much commented that Super 8 is a tribute to the classic films directed or produced by Steven Spielberg, in which the ordinary life in the suburbs was contrasted with an extraordinary phenomenon which had to be usually faced by the kids or teenagers, while the adults ignored the situations until it was too late. In that aspect, director and screenwriter J.J. Abrams achieved exactly what he proposed to himself, even though he had to sacrifice any trace of originality or surprise in the film. However, Super 8 kept me very entertained because of its solid direction, excellent performances and well written screenplay. In summary, this film is an exciting juvenile adventure seasoned with wide doses of "Spielbergian" nostalgia.

If we analyze Super 8 scene by scene, we can find an alarming number of parallels to films like The Goonies, Poltergeist, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and specially, E.T. The subject from Super 8 is superficially different, but the characters, atmosphere and tone perfectly emulate the "Spielberg style" from the '70s and the '80s, when his films (either as a director or producer) literally changed the face of popular cinema. Even the young actors from Super 8 possess that chemistry with each other which makes us to accept their long friendship and related personalities...even though that, as in any group of friends, they occasionally have juvenile disputes with each other.

And besides of the perfect chemistry they have with each other, the young actors also make a brilliant individual work, highlighting Joel Courtney, Ryan Lee and specially Elle Fanning. After the works she brought in Somewhere and Super 8, Fanning reveals herself as a great actress who is even superior to her famous sister Dakota. The moment in which her performance in Super 8 most impressed me was during a scene of "performance into performance" which is so good that it equals the one interpreted by Naomi Watts in Mulholland Dr. (I am not exaggerating). As for the adult cast, the only one who stands out is Kyle Chandler, who makes a solid work as a simultaneously benevolent and strict father.

On the negative side, the screenplay from Super 8 falters a little bit in some important points. Abrams dominates the drama and the growing suspense very well, but he occasionally violates the internal logic from the story or forces too convenient situations. Nevertheless, Super 8 is a very good film which definitely deserves a recommendation because of the genuine talent it has in front of and behind the camera.