Super 8 (9/10)

So the summer of 2011 has it's best blockbuster so far and will likely stay that way. "Super 8" is fun, exciting, funny, heart-felt (VERY heart-felt even), dramatic and nostalgic. It takes the best parts of classic 70's-80's movies and brings it to the present. I felt I was watching a mix of "The Goonies", "E.T" and "Cloverfield" (minus the fact that was recent and produced by JJ Abrams too). "Super 8" is the reason to go sit in a dark movie theater when the sun is shining and not regret it.

So Joe Lamb (amazing first role by Joel Courtney) and his father (Kyle Chandler) are moving on after their mother/wife dies in a accident. Joe spends his time with his "Stand By Me" style friends and makes movies. They're planning on making a movie for a local teen contest, they show more motivation then I ever did. They recruit Alice (the lovable and future ruler of Hollywood Elle Fanning) as the wife in their zombie film and film late at a train station one night. A giant train accident (sort of hehe) happens and something is unleashed onto the town. I'll leave the plot details vague because it will be so much more wonderful for you to see them on your own, it's worth it.

Besides the nostalgic feel of the film, I also praise it for how smart it plays out. They mention early in the film that their home movie needs story to make it a good movie. I almost started laughing the theater because it's the truest thing I've heard in a while. The reason "Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon" is being slammed by many critics (not all however) is because it lacks a story. Mindless action in a movie with no connection is... awful. I joke that I would have paid money to see "Fast Five" twice if the entire movie was 30 minutes of The Rock and Vin Diesel fighting like how Peter and the chicken do in Family Guy. I can just watch UFC for the action and WWE for characters, the Rock/Vin movie would be pointless. Giant battles with amazing special effects and awful story is still bad in general. Back to "Super 8" now, this movie let's the characters and environment build, mood develop, and climax peek high to make a thrilling movie. The train exploding scene was a bit much though, just because the next few scenes will be lost because of how grand it was. They lose the story for effects there, not mixing the two as they should. Once the movie hooks you (it takes longer then I hoped) it won't let go. A truly addictive feeling. I love when monster/alien movies take the time to build suspense. "Monsters" and "Alien" did it magnificently and it shows compared too some movies like "Alien vs Predator" (I couldn't think of a stand alone movie of the top of my head).  The movie is easy to love and gives a kick to get your blood going. "Super 8" is the best blockbuster of the 2011 summer and is easily a contender for best summer blockbusters of the last ten years.

9/10
Recommendation: Nostalgic and monster/alien film fans enjoy. I highly recommend it to everyone though, a first rate movie.