J.J. Abrams = Spielberg Jr.? "Super 8" Review

Who's in it: Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Ryan Lee, Zach Mills, Riley Griffiths, Gabriel Basso, Kyle Chandler, Ron Eldard

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence and some drug use

What it's about: Its the summer of '79 and a group of tweenaged kids in a small Ohioan town are shooting a zombie horror movie. Their rebellious midnight shoot is interrupted by an "accidental" train derailment.

The kids flee the scene in terror, and the next day, the town is filled with military vehicles and personnel galore as inanimate as well as very animate objects begin to disappear mysteriously.

And I can't tell you any more than that. Seriously. If I tell you more, then you will have already learned to much. The less I tell you, the greater the movie watching experience for you. I'm just looking out for your best interests; if you want more information, be it little, watch the trailer.

What I think about it: All I've heard about this movie, other than how good it is, is that its practically a copy of all of Spielberg's work. And while he produced it and it does show many similarities, there is a strange kind of originality to this movie. It's something quite unlike anything I've seen in a long time.

Maybe its the young actor chemistry in the film, maybe it's how well all the costumes, hair-dos, and sets looked in respect to the era the movie was set in. The actors did a fantastic job acting how little children would act in that situation, and the Ohioan city looked just the same as I remember it when I was 13 years old.

Best Part: The aforementioned child actors. They were hilarious and real. It almost seemed as if there was no script for there group situations, that good old J.J. Abrams hired a group of six best friends and told them to act how they always do, and then said "Action!"

It's Funny How: Movies that aren't placed in the comedy genre can be much funnier than those that are. This is one perfect example.

A few movies on the opposite side of that sentence are, for example, Couples Retreat and You Don't Mess With The Zohan.  Love you, Adam Sandler, but come on. 

Does All This Teasing Pay Off?: Yes. Another thing I've read from critics and fans is that the "thing" that is unseen in the trailers, remains for the most part unseen. Very untrue, I believe the perfect amount of "thing" was given to portray what this movie is about; because it's not a monster movie.

It's more about the characters, something J.J. Abrams knows a lot about. Which segues perfectly into my next section.

My Next Section aka J.J. Is My Favorite: Written and directed by the man who brought you the television series Alias, a show which in its own name tells you there's going to be a lot of character development involved.

Also Lost, possibly the greatest and most in-depth "all about the characters, not the mystery" show of all time.  

And then you have the newest Star Trek prequel, which introduced the characters that piloted the Starship Enterprise for years.

Oh and then there's Cloverfield...umm, well he's almost always about the characters.

Overall Grade: A-