3/11/2011

Trailer Time: Super 8, directed by JJ Abrams

The bulk of what we really know about JJ Abrams' Super 8 has been extremely limited, the director keeping the film shrouded in a cloak of mystery. We knew it had something to do with aliens, and that Steven Spielberg was on board to produce. The partnership between the director behind some of the great sci-fi flicks of the 80s and 90s with the upstart auteur was bound to produce fantastic results. Viral websites and videos did little to clarify the film's intent.  We got a glimpse of some actual footage of the film during the Super Bowl, which merely served to whet our appetites. Now we've got the first full trailer for the film and an official plot synopsis.  Get ready folks...





Are we completely sure Abrams directed this thing? The first thing I thought of was how much it looked like Spielberg's E.T. just in setting, tone, and the clearly established relationships between friends and family. The trailer gives the impression we're being transported back to some of those awesome, kid adventure films we all grew up with. I just finished having this discussion with a colleague about how we don't get movies where kids are free to have their own amazing experiences in far off places meeting incredible(some alien) people.

And yet there's a very clear danger lurking in the background. One of the things Abrams is doing so well is not giving away too much. Something larger, possibly sinister is clearly afoot, but we might have to actually see the film to figure out what that is. What a novel concept! 

Starring Elle Fanning, Ron Eldard, Noah Emmerich, Kyle Chandler, Amanda Michalka, and Gabriel Basson. Super 8 hits theaters on June 10th, 2011! Check out the official plot synopsis below.

In the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness a catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie and soon suspect that it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin to take place in town, and the local Deputy tries to uncover the truth – something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined.