Super 8: Recapturing Child-Like Joy by Erika D. Peterman

Super 8
Rating: PG-13
Director: J.J. Abrams
Starring: Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler
Grade: A

Between outrageous ticket prices and patrons who can’t stop texting/Tweeting/yapping for even two lousy seconds after the lights go down, I’ve often wondered whether it’s still possible to experience child-like joy at the movies. Then along came the wonderful J.J. Abrams-directed thriller "Super 8," which is now on DVD. Seeing on the big screen last summer was like time travel. Just seconds into this film, I could feel myself turning back into that 12-year-old girl who was watching "E.T." for the first time.

Executive produced by Steven Spielberg, "Super 8" is an obvious homage to his late ’70s and ’80s classic films. Though it’s been widely praised, some critics have called it an emotionally manipulative Spielberg knockoff. Well, duh. Expert emotional manipulation is one of Spielberg’s superpowers, and I wouldn’t have him any other way. Abrams proves to be an A+ student of Spielberg’s style, but "Super 8" stands firmly on its own. It’s a sentimental, affecting, and frequently frightening story with a geeky soul.

It’s 1979, and middle-schooler Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) has just buried his mother, who died on the job at the town steel plant. He’s got a distant relationship with his dad, Jackson (Kyle Chandler), a stoic deputy who isn’t thrilled about his son’s hobby. Joe’s been shooting a zombie movie with a pack of misfits, led by his hilariously loudmouthed friend, Charles (Riley Griffiths). He’s also got an ulterior motive, which is getting close to Alice, the guarded girl next door (Elle Fanning).