Tuesday Review

Tuesday Review:

I actually ventured out of the house for this one.

A side note before I review Super 8 2011 PG-13

We don’t go out to the movies much anymore. Reasons are multiple. We are busy, we are lazy, not much appeals to us enough to bother and…it’s freakin’ expensive. Especially since the advent of 3-D and I-MAX. But yesterday we had a free ticket. So we went to see Super 8 and we debated for about a nano-second about upgrading for the “D-BOX Motion” seats. Till we got the price. $ 8 upcharge. So our free movie day out would have cost the long-suffering wife and me $16.00.

Nope.

Thankless job: being the usher who has to check the tickets to make sure you paid for “D-Box Motion Seats”.

Here is a film with no “bankable” stars but two high power names, director J.J. Abrams and producer Steven Spielberg but one that is doing blockbuster at the box office.

The problem I have with the film is not that it’s not good. It is. Very well made, loads of heart, over the top special effects up the whazoo.

The issue: The film tries too hard to be too many things. Is it E.T.? Is it a Science Fiction send up of the movies I used to see at the Saturday matinees? Is it a message film about misunderstood aliens, who are just hungry and scared?

I dunno.

I will say this for J.J. Abrams. He is a great storyteller and has the craft down pat. The movie moves pretty well and the plots and sub-plots (Daddy really LOVES you, and dope is bad kids, mmkay?) are woven together without being overbearing.

LSW noted that the B.E.M. (I forget who taught me that term. Issac? Harlan? Is dat you?) Bug Eyed Monster, only makes one clear appearance. Myself I thought that was about right. He did nothing for the picture, sort of like Marlon Brando at the end of “Apocalypse Now!”. Kind of reminded me of Marlon, too.

The clear intent is to make you feel for the alien. Meh. It ate all the dogs and quite a few people and stole all the microwaves. I don’t care for it.

The young cast is really superb, especially dishy (whooooops..she’s only 13, right?) Elle Fanning, who has quite the camera magnet thing going for her. Joel Courtney plays Joel Lamb with just the right amount of wide-eyed innocence.

Too bad real kids in that age group aren’t as charming.

As a send-up of old time horror films it was entertaining. I am not sure that the references to George Romero and that sort of thing were meant for the average audience but I got them.

Stay for the credits. They should win an award for that.