Super 8

Super 8 is a 2011 American science fiction monster thriller mystery film written, co-produced, and directed by J. J. Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg.

Plot
In 1979, several youngsters (Elle Fanning, Joel Courtney, Gabriel Basso) in a small Ohio town are making a zombie movie with a Super-8 camera. In the midst of filming, the friends witness a horrifying train derailment and are lucky to escape with their lives. They soon discover that the catastrophe was no accident, as a series of unexplained events and disappearances soon follows. Deputy Jackson Lamb (Kyle Chandler), the father of one of the kids, searches for the terrifying truth behind the crash.

Why It's Super G8 (Great)

 * 1) Some of the most amazing acting you’ll see in a sci-fi movie, especially from Joel Courtney and Elle Fanning.
 * 2) It captures and has a very strong science-fiction vibe throughout the movie.
 * 3) The idea of a group of pre-teens discovering strange happenings in their town while making a homemade zombie apocalypse movie is very original.
 * 4) The film contains very strong The Goonies and Stand by Me-type of vibes which goes along quite well with the film’s tone.
 * 5) Similar to The Loser’s Club from Stephen King’s IT, the main characters share some great chemistry with each other as they go on adventure to discover an inter dimensional creature.
 * 6) Likable, relatable, interesting and well-written characters, such as Joe, his father Jack, Alice, Cary etc..
 * 7) The cinematography and camera angles are amazing.
 * 8) A good mixture of awesome, suspense-building and a couple of funny scenes that are all well-executed.
 * 9) J.J. Abrams is amazing as a director and Steven Spielberg has shown to be an amazing producer for the movie as well.
 * 10) Like The Incredibles, Michael Giacchino has shown to be a great composer with his great and well-fitting soundtrack for the movie’s tone.
 * 11) The backstory for the mothers of both Joe and Alice are very heartbreaking and tragic.
 * 12) The ending to the movie is pure awesome, well-escalated and heartwarming all at the same time.

The Only Bad Quality

 * 1) The monster can be seen as unintentionally unsympathetic as it kills many innocent people and is allowed to get away with it. Even if you justify it as the military mistreating it, the fact that its stated that the monster forms a mind link with those it touches means that it knew full well the people it was killing were innocent, making it a Karma Houdini.

Reception
Super 8 received positive reviews, with praising the film for its nostalgic elements, visual effects, musical score, and for the performances of the cast, in particular, both Fanning and newcomer Courtney's acting was cited, while also being compared to such thematically similar films as E.T., Stand by Me, and The Goonies, featuring a darker interpretation of those iconic premises. On the film-critics aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a score of 81%, based on 288 reviews, and a rating average of 7.33/10, with the consensus that: "It may evoke memories of classic summer blockbusters a little too eagerly for some, but Super 8 has thrills, visual dazzle, and emotional depth to spare.". Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score from 1–100 to reviews from critics, assigned the film a Metascore of 72 based on 41 critics, signifying "generally favorable reviews".