Super 8

Normally I don’t review movies, and I am not sure why. They are library material in the same way that books and graphic novels are. They circulate. They can be found in a book drop. Why not? Well, I am going to start smaller reviews of them.

Actually, I probably feel compelled because of Super 8. I am not sure why I put off seeing this movie for so long. It was incredible! Released in the summer of 2011, Super 8 was set to be a summer blockbuster and was just that. A science fiction-thriller set in 1970s Ohio, Joe is mourning the death of his mother and is navigating his fraught relationship with his father and his first crush that way that young teenagers do. Abrams more than made up for Cloverfield with this movie.

Abrams successfully balances a dramatic plot inside an action movie – never allowing for one solely takeover. Perfect symbiosis that doesn’t feel like an identity crisis. The watcher laughs when there are jokes, tears up when there’s reflection, and grips through seat through conflict. My only regret, like I mentioned earlier, is not having watched this sooner. I imagine that it would have been incredible to watch at the Harvest Moon Drive-In between Lock Haven and Williamsport on a warm summer’s night…

Peppered with dashes of humor, action, and friendship, I will re-watch Super 8 for years to come. Note: That how I judge whether or not I like a movie – if I could re-watch it or not. That being said…

Number of re-watches: Infinite