My First Movie Review

This is my first written movie review. Just saw Super 8 and I left with such a good feeling that I felt it needed a review. So here goes:

Super 8 - 1. I loved this movie! 2. I hate movies with a "message" ( and by message I mean a moral) 3. Why do they only put these in kids movies? When I saw Bridesmaids the only thing I got out of it was to never eat bad Mexican before trying on your wedding dress.

That said, Super 8 was still a great movie. The adults acting was ok but the acting by the kids in the film was just amazing. The story is kind of a combination of Goonies,  E.T. and Signs. Like Goonies & E.T. you have a group of oddball kids - with the obligatory 1 cool girl - go on an adventure - in this case they are making a zombie movie, find a monster, understand the monster ( unlike in E.T though they don't make friends with it) and save the town ( well not really in this case). Themes like first love and the importance of family also come up.

It is similar to Signs because they are both monster/alien movies, and in both you are on the edge of your seat with your hands over your eyes until they make the mistake of SHOWING you the monster. Trust me , the monsters in your head are always more scary than what they come up with and better.

The first half ( maybe 2/3) of the movie gets an A. But then it hits a small glitch  - at least in my book . As I mentioned, they make the mistake of showing you the monster but then they go and get preachy - it's a small piece of the movie and I think they could have left it out. Spoiler Alert - I am going to give you the "monster" background here -  "he only wanted to get home, all we had to do was help him, but no, they experimented on him, taught him to hate us, now all he wants to do is destroy us" ( and by he they mean the alien). See! Did we really need to hear this? I don't need to know where the monster came from or why it's there. I am here to be entertained for pete's sake. It was a great, exciting, on the edge of your seat family/monster movie and they had to ruin it with a MORAL!! This seems to be a predominant theme is most kids shows these days - especially if you are a big Disney fan - and while I feel they are important lessons for kids to learn, they are not ones that need to show up in every kids show out there. Isn't that what we have Sesame Street for?  Ok I'll get off my soapbox now.

Much like E.T and Goonies, it's a film I would watch over again. I am a sucker for coming of age, adventure/dramas The special effects were pretty cool and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the kids were nominated for their acting. Joel Courtney and Elle Fanning were the lead kids and were especially good. Watch for Ryan Lee as Cary, the kid who likes to blow stuff up and David Gallagher ( of 7th Heaven fame) as a stoned film developer, as great comedic relief. The movie will be a big hit for those who grew up in the 70's also. And I don't care what anyone says My Sharona and Don't Bring Me Down are freaking classics!

 Oh yeah..one last important thing..if you go stay through the credits!!