Super 8 (2011)

By J.J. Abrams
The movie opens with Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) on a swing-set holding his mother’s necklace, because his mother had died in an explosion at the mill and the necklace is one of Joe’s only links to his mother. Over the course of the movie, as a mystery unfolds, he grows and comes to grips with his mother’s death and by the end is able to let her (represented by the necklace) go and continue to live his life. His development as a person works as a plot-mover and successful feel-good ending because the mystery by itself doesn’t move the plot well enough (it’s simple and similar to other movies). Joe’s life and growth, as well as involvement with Alice Dainard (Elle Fanning), also helps move it along. The mystery character of the movie gradually becomes known and at the end, Joe is able to help him continue life, which helps Joe himself continue to live. There is a train crash that lasts for a long time and a few other violence issues, as well as a lot of blood because the kids in the movie are making a zombie movie. So Joe does makeup on Alice that makes her look like a zombie and she pretends to bite him, but that’s really the only things that are bad violence-wise. Language-wise, it’s not that clean. Every five to ten minutes there is a bad word, usually from one of the kids. I really really enjoyed this movie and recommend it to anyone who doesn’t mind violence or language.
Review By Beckyelsie