It arrives.
In late 1970s Ohio, a group of friends filming a homemade zombie movie witness a devastating train derailment. Soon after, their quiet town is gripped by unexplained disappearances, strange phenomena, and a growing sense of fear, as they uncover that something terrifying has been set loose.
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Character
Nostalgic, grave, resolved and unpretentious.
- contemporarynostalgic
- gravecomic
- resolvedopen-ended
- unpretentiousprestige
- classical in formformally daring
Who loves it, who doesn't
21 profiled raters. Loved most by The Formalists; disliked most by The Provocateurs.
Where do you stand?
Answer first; then see how everyone, and your circle, split.
“Is the nostalgia doing the heavy lifting?”
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“Is this J.J. Abrams's best work?”
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“Is Joel Courtney the best thing in Super 8?”
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A yes-or-no question, answered from what people wrote here, on TMDB and on Wikipedia. Never made up.
Reviews
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- Peter McGinnon TMDB · Apr 202010/10
Sometimes I feel like my interests and taste really follow the road less traveled. This is to say that Super 8 surprised me by becoming one of my Favorite.Movies.Ever. There I said it. It seems to merge genres slightly: science fiction, of course, a bit of coming of age, a slice of movie-within-a-movie - is that all? I think I have watched this movie three times, and probably will again. It reminds me of Monsters, another low key sci-fi/monster movie I really like. The train scene about twenty minutes into Super 8 is a blockbuster scene, so much so that I believe most movies wouldn't be able to keep the rest of the film from being anti-climactic. Usually a tremendous scene like that is saved for the end of a movie, but the plot required to be right where it was. But although the action and suspense ramps down a bit following it, the movie goes to work on building up the rest of the plot and growing the characters. The young actors starring in this movie are terrific, in my opinion, which may place me in an unfortunate minority. But judge for yourself, and try not to set the bar of excellence higher than we do for adult actors. They are smart and witty at times, but are clearly kids
Read the whole review on TMDB - John Chardon TMDB · Aug 20199/10
And I just knew then that I was there, that I existed. Super 8 is written and directed by J. J. Abrams. It stars Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler, Ron Eldard and Riley Griffiths. Music is scored by Michael Giacchino and cinematography by Larry Fong. The film tells the story of a group of young teenagers in Lillian, Ohio, 1979, who are filming their own Super 8 zombie movie when a train derails and crashes, releasing an unknown being into their midst. As the town is threatened and mysteries start to mount up, the youngsters must come to terms with not only that, but also growing up mentally and physically. It's feels nigh on impossible to come across a review for Super 8 that doesn't contain the name Spielberg. With the film overtly Spiebergian in themes and production, and the bearded maestro of the film geek masses on producer duties here, his name hangs over Abrams' movie like a watchful father figure. If that bothers Abrams, or indeed if it detracts from the quality of his movie? Then that's up for debate by those not enamoured with Spielberg's movies of the late 70s and early 80s. But to my mind it's a blessing, a triumph of sorts to be mentioned in the same breath as
Read the whole review on TMDB - tmdb45226627on TMDB · Dec 20227/10
Film of the events of a group of boys who enjoy filming with super 8. Their aim is to make a film since they love the magic of cinema. At first the train wreck is more scenic than realistic. Both the plot at certain points and the setting are very reminiscent of the Stranger Things series. I think the creators of the TV series were also inspired by this film. This is a film that is also suitable for children to watch. The end didn’t convince me much. It’s a pleasant film but in some points it could have been developed better. Film that I recommend to lovers of the late 70s and lovers of stories about a group of friends. A typically American movie.
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Cast
- Joel CourtneyJoe Lamb
- Elle FanningAlice Dainard
- Riley GriffithsCharles Kaznyk
- Kyle ChandlerJackson Lamb
- Noah EmmerichNelec
- AJ MichalkaJen Kaznyk
- Ryan LeeCary McCarthy
- Ron EldardLouis Dainard
- Gabriel BassoMartin Read
- Bruce GreenwoodCooper
Crew
- J.J. AbramsDirector
- J.J. AbramsWriter
- Larry FongDirector of Photography
- Michael GiacchinoOriginal Music Composer
- Maryann BrandonEditor
- Mary Jo MarkeyEditor
- J.J. AbramsProducer
- Bryan BurkProducer
- Steven SpielbergProducer
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Closest on the same fourteen dimensions, from everything scored on Tastebuds Other media included when they land close.
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Often watched with
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