Super 8 Review
I'm going to give this film 4.5/5 on the rating scale. Overall the movie was phenomenal and easily the best movie of the summer, but some moments are really predictable and clearly a homage to Spielberg's classics. Other than that, every moment made me think I want to be a kid forever, which is a good thing. (SPOILERS AHEAD) My favorite parts where when they are in the tunnel and Joe tells the monster that "even if bad things happen, you can still live". Now that, to me, is one of the bests movie lines ever. It was so touching, and it really spoke to my heart.
I find it strange that most critics hated the ending, I loved it. Even though it was a lot like the E.T. ending, it still was amazing. Especially when the ship flies off into space an…
'Cooper' V. 'Clover'
Alright, here's the bottom line: who would win if 'Cooper' and 'Clover' got in a fight (if they were the same size)? Well, here's what I think: Cooper; cause he's more robust and powerful, and with 8 legs, he's pretty agile. But his real advantage is intelligence: he could read Clover's mind, know her plan, and counteract. And if he wanted to, Cooper could just escape with his speed. And Clover's only defense is swatting its tail. But Clover could also puff out his weird big ears and startle Cooper, then make a fatal bite in a vital place. Clover is also really skinny, so it's probably not strong. Anyway, Cooper wins. Comment and tell me who you think wins.
Super 8 tops box office charts
With names as big as J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg behind it, few people doubted that Super 8 would do well in box office. On Friday it earned $12.2 million, and Hollywood Reporter estimates that over the whole weekend it would gross $35 million in the United States.
The numbers might not be that impressive given the huge names attached to it, but not if one considers that the movie was purposefully made with a low budget ($50 million), in order to make it all the more old school. Paramount actually predicted the first weekend gross to be around $25 million.
As it turns out, most of the audience was made up of male (56%) viewers over the age of 25 (71%), which isn't very surprising, as Abrams intended the movie to be a homage to Spielberg's…
Brilliant
What a refreshing film. Super 8 delivers on what Abrams promised - an homage to early Spielberg films of the '70s and '80s. While itself an original story, there are definitely shades of E.T., Gremlins, and Close Encounters throughout the experience - and it is just that, an experience. Viewing in IMAX is highly recommended, especially since they didn't ruin it by going the 3D route. At the end of the film viewers are left wanting more, and I feel like this is due to the richness of the characters in this story - you want to see what happens with them next. But isn't that the first rule in showbiz?
"Always keep 'em wanting more." -P.T. Barnum
I do feel like the viral campaign and overall hype adds to the entire experience, but I also feel con…
The Handy Cheat Sheet
Confused about what Super 8 is exactly about? Consider yourself in the same boat as many of the rest of us. Luckily MTV has compiled a Cliff Notes introduction to the film. Super 8 101 if you will. Prepare to get your education on about Super 8. It's been a long and tedious journey that began with a trailer that ran prior to "Star Trek." It was rumored to be everything from a Cloverfield sequel to a Godzilla re-vamp, but neither of these turned out to be true.
Let's begin by looking at the Explosion. In the teaser trailer, we see a fiery explosion and what appears to be a flock of children producing a home-made movie. There also appears to be a mysterious creature.
It was after this trailer that Abrams began filming and hiring Elle Fanning and…
Are You Seeing Super 8 This Weekend
Super 8 opens nationwide tomorrow and is expected to battle the mutants of X-Men: First Class.
Despite solid reviews and an 86% certified fresh at Rotten Tomatoes, Paramount has expressed moderate expectations of a mid-$20 million gross for Super 8, putting it right on track for a collision with X-Men.
Of course that's not to detract from X-Men's stellar $120 million worldwide debut.
Warner Bros.' comedy juggernaut The Hangover Part II should drink in around $15 million, Kung Fu Panda 2 looks to kick it's way to a low teens gross, but is nearing $300 million worldwide.
And let's not forget Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides who's bounty should be around $10 million in North American for a domestic total of a clinking $200 million.
So …
Drew Struzan poster released
A new poster for Super 8 was released today, created by the legendary artist Drew Struzan. You're familiar with Struzan's work for movie posters over the past several decades, and especially if you're a child of the 80s. Struzan is responsible for iconic movie posters created to promote the likes of Back to the Future, the Muppet movies, John Carpenter's The Thing and many a Stephen Spielberg romp.
The Super 8 poster is in the classic vein of the type of movie poster we don't see too often in marketing these days. Struzan works with oils on canvas, a far cry from the digital imagery used so prominently for advertising today. The layout works as a collage of characters and scenes from the film and invokes the same nostalgic sort of feel that the t…
Tweet Movie Sneak Preview of Super 8
We have some breaking news on the Spielberg and JJ Abrams upcoming release of Super 8.
Paramount has joined forces with Twitter for what is being dubbed the first ever 'TWEET MOVIE SNEAK PREVIEW' of Super 8 on June 9th. The sneak preview showings of the movie will be 1-day only on Thursday, June 9th, in advance of the film's scheduled nationwide release on Friday, June 10th.
The twitter hashtag #Super8Secret will allow Twitter's global user base a direct link to buy tickets to the advanced previews. This is Twitter's first time hosting movie sneak previews and to top off the deal, participating theaters in the U.S. will be treated to a free popcorn (with a concession purchase).
To read more go to super8-movie.com
And don't forget to participat…
Super 8 Giveaway/official rules
Official Rules
1. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
2. Promotion Description. The Super 8 Giveaway (the “Promotion") is a sweepstakes promotion where individuals who create an account and leave a comment on the blog (note: you must be logged in to leave a comment) will be eligible to be randomly selected from all eligible entries. Accounts and blog entries completed from 12:01 on June 7, 2011 to 23:59 on June 20, 2011 (the “Promotion Period”) will be eligible to win one (1) prize. The prize will be limited to one (1) Super 8 movie poster signed by members of the cast.
3. How To Enter. One Entry will be automatically submitted into the Promotion for users who: 1) create an account on http://super8.wikia.com; and 2) leave a comment …
Super 8 sneak peek at MTV Movie Awards
In just 4 days, J.J. Abrams's new low-budget monster film Super 8 will hit the theaters. Yesterday, Abrams, along with producer Steven Spielberg and actors Elle Fanning and Joel Courtney, gave us a small sneak peek at the movie at the MTV Movie Award.
The video introduces us to six kids in 1979 shooting a movie at a train station who witness a sudden train crash. As it turns out, something inhuman has escaped the train... The movie also stars Kyle Chandler, Ron Eldard, Riley Griffiths, Gabriel Basso, Zach Mills and Ryan Lee and opens this friday in theaters worldwide.
Any speculation on what the mysterious monster will turn out to be? So far the creators of the movie have been quite tight-lipped. Watch the video below!
Source: Hollywood Reporter …
FREE SUPER 8 iPhone App!!
Bad Robot and QMx present: Super 8™. Try out this amazing new iPhone app on iTunes - FREE for a limited time!!
This super cool app also comes with some hidden Easter egg features! Once you record videos, the app embeds frames from clips from the "Super 8 Editing Room." When you see one, you can tap on it to "save" the footage. If you do this several times, you can put the footage together to see an exclusive clip from Super 8!
During the process of gathering the clips, they will be stored in "Found Footage." Sounds mysterious right? Trust the masters of viral marketing to incorporate interactive iPhone app to advertise for their movie!
Will you be trying it out for a look at Super 8 early? Tell us what you find when you play with the app!
…
JJ Abrams Reveals 20 Minutes of Super 8
Have you gotten sucked into the Super 8 hype? Well, prepare to if you haven't! Yesterday, J. J. Abrams released 20 minutes of rough footage from the film to the press and guess what... They Loved It!
Check out some of the reactions below. Don't worry, we didn't include any spoilers!
Cinematical: "The footage they did screen packed a strong punch, though, expertly blending heart, humor, thrills, chills and one holy-cow train-wreck sequence."
"The kids are instantly likable and make for a fun, familiar ensemble, and, yes, the expected lens flares are there too). Sure, there's plenty more that makes a feature-length movie, but if the other 70-or-so minutes play like that, we're sold big time."
FirstShowing: "From what I've seen of this movie so f…
Certified Astronaut?
Has anyone become a certified astronaut in the Rocket Poppeteers Astronaut Program?
Marketing, Spielberg and Mysteries
I'm somewhat surprised at how little the studio has revealed about this movie. Its release is only three months away, and we don't know the character names, and nary a still or production photo has been released. The strategy is not dissimilar to another J. J. Abrams-produced film, Cloverfield, and that turned out pretty well. So, probably not a bad thing.
On the other hand, the viral marketing has been impressive, reminding me of the grassroots-style scavenger hunt associated with Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence from ten years ago. Coincidence? I'm prone to think not. I spent many an office hour hunting down all the cloudmakers back in 2001. It's fun to think of all the Abrams fans looking to unlock the secrets of his latest …
Anticipation
Considering who is involved with this project, I think most can agree it has enormous potential. Should be interesting to see what these cinematic giants have in store for us - I'm especially curious to see what a J. J. Abrams Homage to Steven Spielberg would look like. Am I the only one who thinks it seems strange that Spielberg would be working on his own homage? Another point of interest with this project is that it will be Abrams first original work - having previously worked on projects that were either someone else's brain child, or were a new installment of an existing series of works.
Can't wait!