Movie review, presented in American Sign Language (ASL), of "Super 8" by ZacharyB.
http://www.zacharyb.blog.com - Watching Hollywood blog
http://www.captionfish.com - to find open-captioned films in your area.
Released June 10, 2011
Directed by J. J. Abrams
Produced by Steven Spielberg, J. J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk
Written by J. J. Abrams
Starring: Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler, Ron Eldard, and Noah Emmerich.
2 out of 5 stars.
It's 1979 and all 13-year-old Joe Lamb (Courtney) and his friends want to do is make their zombie movie on their Super 8 camera. However, during a night shoot by some train tracks, a man drives onto the tracks and purposefully derails an oncoming train. The young filmmakers luckily caught it all on camera, including what was being transported by the U.S. Air Force - something secret, something big, something they weren't supposed to see.
I'm going to describe a film to you: It's your basic monster movie where a horrid creature roams around killing and destroying everything in its path while only giving you glimpses of its physical form until the third act when all is revealed. There is a military/law enforcement presence that is trying to keep everything under wraps; and there's a few "everymen" who are caught in the middle from whom we get our perspective on the two hour flick. Which movie have I described?
A - Cloverfield (another J.J. Abrams film)
B - Jaws (another Spielberg film)
C - Super 8
D - All of the above
The answer is D, and that's the problem with this film - I've seen it all before. Sure, this is the first modern monster flick that takes place in rural Ohio in 1979, but the plot points and characters have all been seen before. There are trite narrative devices that are so obvious that even the characters use them for their own short film their making!
The film, however, is not completely void of laudable aspects. With such filmmakers behind the camera and substantial resources at their disposal the film has wonderful special effects and performances. The 112 minute film is full of many supernatural and extraordinary elements, yet I never once thought an effect to be cheap, plastic, or flat looking. Whether it be a creature, action, or background effect - all were flawless and high quality.
In terms of performances, I frankly expected great work from such great actors. Kyle Chandler and Ron Eldard are two of my favorites and always deliver. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the two young leads: Joel Courtney and Elle Fanning. Both gave wonderfully emotional and strong lead performances. There's a moment near the beginning where Fanning is acting in the kids' zombie film and brings it so well that not only are the kids stunned by her performance, but we the audience are stunned as well.
I wish the special effects and performances were enough to make me like this movie, but they aren't. The film is a piece of recycled cinema from the monster movies of the past. Oh! Well, I guess that's one more positive part - the filmmakers were "green" during the production.
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Visualizing the Narrative- Part 2 of 3by lorieneck108 views
GOOD LOOK OUT!!!
PharrisGSL 8 months ago