Super 8

[Einherjar]

Alf?

Hmm, it's been a long time since I've seen Alf. He definitely needs to come back.

[eriku]

I'd be the first in line if it was Alf.

[Zor Primus]

Looks like another Cloverfield type mystery...we'll get breadcrumbs from here till release. Personally I'm a little done with the whole escaped alien from Area 51 that will bring doom to Earth unless he is stopped and the only one to do it is a reject bartender who fell in love with his best friend's sister and doesn't have the cojones to tell her until after an epic alien attack.

JJ has been very creative, so my hope is that this new movie won't fall into that category.

[Ghost Train]

Now that LOST is over (for now), here is my attempt at the ultimate Abramsverse story that will never happen for legal reasons

In the 15th century, Italian renaissance mane Rimbaldi discovers "The Island" in the Mediterranean and through complex mathematics determines the location of the "heart," which is a natural repository of a powerful element with the ability to disrupt space time. In solving Rimbaldi's mystery, in the 21st century, rogue agent Sloan uses this element to achieve immortality but not before being buried alive.

In 2004, Oceanic Flight 815 crashes on The Island. After a lot of drama and BS, a few managed to finally escape in 2007. Because Jack Shepard was exposed to the element, he becomes the new Smoke Monster. This new Smoke Monster took a more active rather than defensive approach in defending the island. In 2008, Tagaruto Corp. approached the island, the smoke monster attacked, and continued on to NYC. The military codenamed this threat "Large Scale Aggressor" and was finally subdued but not before the city lay in ruins.

Fast forward to the late 24th century. The Hobus star is about to go supernova and Ambasador Spock desperately tries to find a way to save the Romulan Empire. He stumbles upon the ancient Earth texts of Rimbaldi and discovers the mysterious element at the heart of the island - he calls it Red Matter, and artificially synthesizes it. Unfortunately he gets pulled into the 23rd century along with Nero's Narada. With Nero defeated he returns to his scientific studies and helping rebuild Vulcan civilization. He is intrigued by the possibilities of Red Matter and travels back in time (note, this is easy for Spock ). His travels take him to the 1960's and he takes on the pseudonym William Bell.

... yes, I am mentally ill

Edited May 25, 2010 by Ghost Train

[hutch]

Super Bowl trailer left me with a completely different impression than the teaser...seemed less...malevolent somehow.

[renegadeleader1]

I was looking up speilberg's E.T. for the heck of it and it mentioned a project that was called "watch the skies" or "night skies" pretty much about a bunch of small aliens terrorizing a midwestern family. eventually one befriends the son and saves them. This is the film project that the idea for E.T. came from. It was apparently far along in pre production before speilberg scrapped it. This might be the project resurrected.

[hutch]

That actually sounds an awful lot like what the trailer LOOKED like (admittedly it was a quick trailer and only offered glimpses)

I was looking up speilberg's E.T. for the heck of it and it mentioned a project that was called "watch the skies" or "night skies" pretty much about a bunch of small aliens terrorizing a midwestern family. eventually one befriends the son and saves them. This is the film project that the idea for E.T. came from. It was apparently far along in pre production before speilberg scrapped it. This might be the project resurrected.

[ae_productions]

Defiantly a nod to Spielberg's early sci-fi.

[Kanedas Bike]

There was a longer teaser trailer shown in front of Battle: LA. I don't see any clips on Yahoo! Movies or at the iTunes Movie Trailers site but I'm sure it will be online soon.

The trailer showed a bit more but still not enough to really call if this will end up being ET part 2 or have a darker tone.

-b.

[protostar8]

Anyone else laugh when they saw the teaser image of the "monster" that hit the web recently? Looks like a freakin wannabe vampire. I honestly hope that was just some garbage the team threw together and isn't the actual monster. If it is, then that's a huge letdown.

[anime52k8]

There was a longer teaser trailer shown in front of Battle: LA. I don't see any clips on Yahoo! Movies or at the iTunes Movie Trailers site but I'm sure it will be online soon.

The trailer showed a bit more but still not enough to really call if this will end up being ET part 2 or have a darker tone.

-b.

Youtube man, youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiJ0Ksg5FDE

BTW this is totally another remake/re-imagining of 1953's Invaders from Mars.

Anyone else laugh when they saw the teaser image of the "monster" that hit the web recently? Looks like a freakin wannabe vampire. I honestly hope that was just some garbage the team threw together and isn't the actual monster. If it is, then that's a huge letdown.

any image that's on the web right now is 99.9% likely to be a fan drawing/hoax/misdirection on Abrams part. Knowing who's involved in the film, there's no way they'd spoil the draw of the film by putting out an image that's in any way representative of the final movie monster.

Edited March 13, 2011 by anime52k8

[Kanedas Bike]

Youtube man, youtube.

indeed

-b.

[Chewie]

That trailer made it look a lot more interesting than the "It's JJ, what can go wrong?" I had in my mind.

[Guest sh002]

haha they should make this e.t. part 2 or alf

[renegadeleader1]

Well guys I just got back from watching it, and I can't say I cared for it. Much of what I felt is summed up here

http://theauditorz.wordpress.com/2011/06/11/why-we-h8te-super-8/

Warning there are spoilers so don't look if you plan on seeing it. Then again I really wouldn't recommend seeing it.

[eriku]

I disagree. Super 8 is the most enjoyable sci-fi movie I've seen in the last few years. My mental filing cabinet has it right next to The Goonies & ET. I'd recommend it to pretty much everyone.

::EDIT::

That "review" posted above reads like it was written by an angst-nurturing twelve-year old who was too busy figuring out pop-culture comparisons to actually pay attention to what was going on in the movie. I would suggest NOBODY base whether or not they see it on that.

Edited June 12, 2011 by eriku

[wolfx]

Watched it yesterday. Was kinda disappointed. Acting was topnotch though especially for the child actors but plot was kinda thin. Feels like rehashed Spielberg 80's-era alien films.

Feels very dated.

[Max Jenius]

Sounds like a let-down, but I don't trust reviews written by people that don't understand why The Thing built it's vehicle.

[Negotiator]

I really enjoyed it. I miss fun adventure that we used to have. Not everything needs to be like dark knight. Like, eriku said, it's reminiscent of goonies and et. The kids were great and the banter between them was chaotically realistic. It felt good finally walking out of a theater and not feeling pissed off because of some over pretentious envisioning of a comic or 80s cartoon.

I honestly didn't even care much about the cargo. The dynamic between the kids was enjoyable to see. They could have been in search for the golden monkey for all I care. (and I came into the movie really curious about what was on that train since the first trailer.)

*Shrugs* maybe I liked it because it reminded me of those times as a kid... When kids used to go outside and have real friends to play with.

[PetarB]

The plot was quite thin, but I think it was still a quite enjoyable movie. However (highlight text to reveal spoiler):

Why do JJ Abram's aliens all look so similar?

[Penguin]

Gotta say I really enjoyed it. The action was fun and the kids managed to carry the weight of the film well. I read an article that said JJ had two ideas, one a plot but no characters, the other a set of characters but no story, and decided to bring the two together. I felt once in a while it seemed very much like the story and the characters were in two different films, but largely it worked. I'd say that the characters outside the kids were a little thin.

The military was reduced to barely even cardboard stereotypes. Even Joe's and Alice's fathers were only lightly sketched.

It might have worked better if he'd centered the film entirely from the kids' point of view, with no exposition outside what they experience (but I'm no filmmaker). As a Spielberg homage it successfully hit the major themes he liked to play with in the 80s.

(Parental issues, anyone?)

I agree that maybe JJ needs to change up the art department a little.

Cloverfield, Star Trek, now this. When he started out the alien designs were new and different, but now the rebel has become the establishment and it's time to shake it up again.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend this specifically to sci-fi fans (as I would, say, District 9), as I thought that aspect wasn't a major focus in the film. As Negotiator noted, any suitably mysterious and crisis-y MacGuffin could've provided the elements for the kids' story, speaking again to the somewhat separated plot and characters.

All in all, for the enjoyment I got out if it, I'd give it a solid 8 out of 10.

Edited June 12, 2011 by Penguin

[anime52k8]

just saw it, I liked it. It was about as late 70's/early 80's Spielberg as you can get; and you know what? that made it enjoyable.

my only real problem with it was that

the alien was strait up Cloverfield monster's little brother.

[renegadeleader1]

To be honest I really can't stand the films final message about "bad things happen and its nobody's fault." I haven't seen such a display of blind moronic optimisim since reading voltaire's candide in school.

Look if my mom or wife died because some alcholholic scum bag decided to stay home and get drunk, I would never forgive them accident or not. It also kinda bothers me how everyone looks on happy for the alien as it leaves knowing damn well it ate at least one innocent person and was planning on obviously eating more.

Thinking it over this comment from that review I posted fits my feelings best

We really wanted to like “Super 8,” but as we said, it’s a MIRAGE, an ILLUSION of the movies we all grew up with and love.

Abrams masterfully used IMPRINTING to give the illusion that you were watching a Spielberg movie.

There were imprints of E.T.. Goonies, and Close Encounters throughout the movie, so if you’ve seen those movies, it activates good memories buried in your brain.

It’s a good movie by ASSOCIATION, not by any actual merit.

[anime52k8]

blind moronic optimisim

So what your saying is you didn't like the movie because you're a bitter, cynical person who can't stand the idea that not everyone is as disgruntled with life as you are.

That's cool.

[Duke Togo]

It reminded me all of the films I saw growing up as a kid, but Super 8 is never quite able to join that pantheon. The "monster" plot is weak, and doesn't seem necessary at all to the story. But it kept me smiling for two hours because of the memories of those other films, as well as because those kids did a great job in their roles (which were strong). I'm glad I saw it and thoroughly enjoyed it.