Super 8

 

Super 8

Year: 2011

Director: J. J. Abrams

Cast: Joel Chandler, Elle Fanning


In My Own Words

One of the things I really loved about Super 8, was that the children with their movie really reminded me of myself when I was around their age. My love of movies has gone back as long as I can remember and in primary school, I decided I wanted to make a movie. Needless to say, the boys in this film got a lot further in the film production stage than what I did. Being only 10, I wasn’t quite sure what to do after the pre-production stage of discussing the movies with my friends as much as I possibly could. Yet, I was completely serious about this film. I spent every lunchtime trying to get all my friends involved and telling them what was the difference between a producer and a director. My movie was to be called “The Taso” and was about a little furry monster who used to live in one of the girls house. He was a sneaky little thing and managed to play games with everyone without actually getting caught. “The Taso” became one of those classic films that was shelved and will never see the light of day.

Back to young people who have actually cracked it into the film industry, Super 8 seems to be the film which has absolutely catapulted Elle Fanning into super stardom. Elle Fanning is, of course, the younger sister of Dakota Fanning, as you may be able to tell not just from the last name but also from their striking resemblance. She has also played the younger version of her sister in I Am Sam and the TV mini-series, Taken.  Yet, Fanning has not ever seemed to be in the shadow of her sister. Before Super 8, she is most remembered for the role of young Daisy in The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button and as Cleo in Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere. Super 8 proves what she is capable of and she really is a little firecracker. It may be a big call as the older Fanning is an outstanding actress herself, but the younger Fanning could actually in time to come be a bigger star in her own right than her sister. I know, big call.

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review

The combination in Super 8 of writer and director, J. J. Abrams and producer, Steven Spielberg is an absolute dream. This combination excites not only sci-fi fans, but anybody from any walk of life who just loves great film.  So popular opinion should suggest that we have a great film on our hands, right? Well, maybe.

Super 8 does have exactly what is needed for a great action/ sci-fi film. There is suspense, intrigue and amazing special effects, but there are things which stop this film from making it over the threshold of a good and great film. The film is fairly predictable with an ending which is edging on anti-climatic and as a whole, the film really doesn’t strike you as being completely original. Yes it is intriguing and keeps you on the edge of your seat for the large majority of the film, but it cannot be claimed as being something which we haven’t seen before. However, there really isn’t anything new under the sun so we can’t be too critical.

Set in 1979 in the Ohio town of Lillian, Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney), the son of the town’s deputy, is focused only on helping Charles (Riley Griffiths) and his group of friends finish make their zombie film. While filming one night, they are witness to the horrific derailment of a cargo train running through town. After this accident, strange things start happening in Lillian and people start disappearing. The town is in panic and Joe and his friends may be the only ones outside the forces who know exactly what is going on.

At first sight, Super 8 seems resemble ET: The Extra-Terrestrial. Joe jumps on his bicycle and one can only have déjà vu to Elliot on his bicycle from Spielberg’s 1982 super hit. Yet then once he teams up with his friends and witnesses the train crash, it is déjà vu to Stand By Me. So what we are looking at is a mash up of ET and Stand By Me, with perhaps a splash of War Of The Worlds. However unoriginal this may make the film seem, there is still a huge sense of intrigue.

Super 8 is very well written and the script flows perfectly. There are also some very emotional scenes which pull at your heart strings. The script and accompanying cinematography methods make the film very suspenseful. In particular, the train crash segment is very intense. The special effects and sound effects employed for this film are brilliant. This is actually one film that proves that you do not need 3D in the cinema to make an action film extremely confronting to those in the audience. The fact that Super 8 wasn’t released in 3D is actually very reassuring and refreshing when 3D seems to be the be all and end all for action films.

Another great thing about this film is the way in which it doesn’t show you much until the right time. In the trailer for the film, nothing is given away as to what is actually in the train so you enter the film with complete intrigue to begin with. The questions are not answered at the beginning of the film, and nothing of the thing in question is really visually shown until later in the film. This is a great technique as it keeps the suspense, intrigue and audience’s attention.

The ending to this film is not as fulfilling as what some may expect it to be. Yet in saying that, it is not easy to think of another way which this film could have finished and it be the type of film which Abrams and Spielberg intended it to be. However, it may be exactly the type of ending that some people were after. It is a fitting ending, but it lacks real intensity in the closing scenes. There is some emotional intensity, but not for the prime focus of the situation.

One thing that also should be touched on is the unrealistic element of the film, in which there is quite a few throughout the film. For example, there is no way anybody could survive a head on collision with a cargo train going at full speed and survive. So kids, don’t try to stop a train at all, car or not. It’s all the magic of movies!

Joel Courtney plays the lead role of Joe Lamb, and in his very first acting performance on screen he does very well. He is very sweet and is the quiet hero. At several times throughout the film, you just want to give him a hug. However, it is Elle Fanning who steals the show in this film. She is brilliant from her very first line in the film and she is the one the audience wants to see more of. She is completely natural in every one of her scenes and like Courtney, you just want to give her a hug and tell her everything is okay. Kyle Chandler is fine as Joe’s father, but he doesn’t really show the traits of a grieving father or a deputy who is under a tremendous amount of stress. The relationship between him and his son doesn’t seem as strained as what it is made out to be.

Super 8 is one of those films which you have to see at the cinema to get the full scope of what it is. It is extremely entertaining and also very sweet in parts. This is one of those rare films which is for everyone.

7.5/10

Somewhere

Somewhere
Year: 2010
Director: Sofia Coppola
Cast: Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning, Chris Pontius

In My Own Words
I have been looking forward to seeing "Somewhere" ever since I first heard about it. I am a Sofia Coppola fan, but she wasn't the main draw for me to this film. Nor was it Stephen Dorff. It was the Chateau Marmont. The Chateau Marmont is a beautiful hotel in West Hollywood which overlooks Sunset Boulevard. It was built in 1929 and since then has been the playground to the rich and famous. Such celebrities as Montgomery Clift, Jim Morrison and Leonardo DiCaprio hve stayed there are comedian John Belushi died here in 1982 after a lethal cocktail of heroin and cocaine. I visited the Chateau Marmont in January of last year and was in complete awe of it's beauty and the place completely fascinates me. I'm a big fan of old Hollywood hotels, especially the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard.; The Roosevelt played host to the first Oscars in 1929 and, like the Chateau Marmont, has been played host to many celebrities over the years and their antics. Although the Roosevelt has been featured in many movies over the year, I am still waiting for a film to be about the Roosevelt. As Sofia Coppola quoted regarding the Chateau Marmont, "It was an essential element, the third (main) character of the film" (courtesy of Universal Studios, 2010). Next time I am in Hollywood I am going to take advantage of the Chateau Marmont's hospitality and stay a night or two there....if I can tear myself away from the charms of the Roosevelt Hotel.

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review
Sofia Coppola's "Somewhere" may seem like just a film about a Hollywood actor's life on the surface, but it is so much more than that. It is a film about the emotions which run through father and daughter relationships. The big thing to take into account before you see "Somewhere" is that you will take as much as you want to take out of the film. Take it for purely the words said on the screen and you take the images at face value, you won't see "Somewhere" for what it really is. If you see the words in each facial expression and see the symbolism in the script and visuals, you will see "Somewhere" as a masterpiece. Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff) is a Hollywood actor enjoying the high life and living in the Chateau Marmont. He is drifting through his life with not much bother until his 11 year old daughter, Cleo's (Elle Fanning) visit becomes longer than intended and he realises that even though he has always been in Cleo's life, he hasn't been in her life as her father.

"Somewhere" shows modern day Hollywood in the most visually beautiful way in the past 10 years on the big screen. The cinematography and images are absolutely stunning. Scenes such as Johnny and Cleo's tea party under the water at the pool at the Chateau Marmont are just a treat to watch. Unlike Coppola's last film, "Marie Antoinette", it isn't beautiful in the way that it is overstocked with images of amazing ball gowns and cupcakes, but it is all in the way in which objects and people are filmed. Coppola manages to make even a scene where Johnny is getting a facial mask made beautiful. However, the scenes are very strung out and there is no suspense in the film at all. It feels as if not much really happens throughout the film, and this will really irritate some members of the audience.

The script is quite simple. Unlike other films of the subject matter, there are no long speeches in which feelings are described and how father and daughter want to become closer. The dialogue is all very simple and the images and actors facial expressions do all the talking. In hind sight, so much more could have been done with the screenplay and the script. The film has many directions in which it could have gone so it isn't surprising that if feels like it has been limited. Yet, if it had taken one of these directions, whose to say that it wouldn't have ended up being a cliche film and much like every other film out there where a dead beat father finally connects with his son or daughter. The film also gives great insight into the life of a single Hollywood actor these days. It isn't all glitz and glamour and it is all a game of filling in free time while waiting for their next call to duty, and that may well be with sex and drugs.

The acting in this film is extremely natural. For the most part, it doesn't seem as though Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning are acting at all. Dorff is perfect as Johnny Marco, truly becoming his character. It is completely evident how Johny chnages throughout the film, and again not by the words spoken, but by Dorff's acting. Coppola requested Dorff herself for the role and the result is the best role he has played in well over 10 years. Fanning is a pure joy to watch on screen. She can seem a little too mature for an 11 year old at times (even though she is just shy of 13 years in real life) and at other times she presents the perfect amount of naivety and innocence for her role. Her best moment is when Johnny's overnight guest joins them for breakfast in the morning and the look she gives her father says a thousand words and would make anyone stop and question themselves. Coppola directs these two so well that it feels like you are just watching a home video for the majority of the film.

Some people will find "Somewhere" utterly frustrating due to the lack of tension, suspense and dialogue, while others will find it a complete work of art. Simply, those who see film as for purely entertainment, won't be overly impressed. Those who see film as a form of art as well as entertainment, will love and praise it. As a modern day work of art, "Somewhere" is truly a wonderful and beautiful construction.
8/10