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:

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

Joe (Joel Courtney) claims to have learned most of what he knows from the Dick Smith Monster Makeup Handbook. This is another anachronism as Dick Smith's Do-it-yourself Monster Make-up (as it is officially titled) wasn't published until 1986.

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Goofs

When Joe and Alice are watching old home movies of Joe and his mom on Christmas morning, Willow Tree angel figurines can be seen on the window sill. Willow Tree didn't exist until 2000.

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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 Twilight Zone: Walking Distance (1959)

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Soundtracks

Undercover Angel
Written and Performed by Alan O'Day
Courtesy of Pacific Records/Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

User Reviews

first 80 minutes : great!!! last 30 minutes : horrible!!!

I have never seen a movie which could be divided to two parts of "absolutely amazing" and "boring and childish". The first 80 minutes is awesome, I was shocked by how good this movie was as I had seen some bad reviews on IMDb but then the cheesy part kicked in and ruined the whole thing.

First thing that comes in to everybody's mind when they see the first scenes is that this movie is so similar to et! The style is the same, the theme is the same, it even happens in the same era with the same kind of neighborhood which is kinda cool and nostalgic for my generation. Super 8 seems like a fan-made dedication to Spielberg but it just didn't work quite well.

From the actor's performance perspective; Elle Fanning's performance was breath-taking, and she saved some scenes. She's got potential to be a big star in the future. Kyle Chandler on the other hand was just plain and simple awful. He made the whole thing look kinda funny and stupid.

From special effects and sounding perspective, I'd say it was stunning. One of the best I have seen in the genre in years as you would expect when you see Spielberg's name on the screen. There's this big scene at the first half an hour into the movie where you just get nailed to your sit due to the load sound which should have been annoying but it was not. It was awesome. You don't see this in Germany often but after this specific scene, the audience gave Abram an standing ovation!!! It was awesome. Of course at the end, everyone was angry because he ruined the whole thing with a very cheesy "et-like" ending but all in all it was worth the money, better than most of the movies in the last 6 months, I would say.

I'm giving it 6/10 because first of all, I expected so much more from the creator of Lost and second of all, the last 30 minutes is really bad and the ending is just pure garbage. They used some cgi stuff which was very impressive but didn't quite go with the theme of the movie and was really inconsistent. All in all, it doesn't deserve the crap that it's getting in the reviews but it quite doesn't deserve the praises either. It's only OK

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