'Super 8' Review

With all of today's technological advancements, it's hard to believe that a film can truly bring you back in time. But J.J. Abrams sure as hell came close. It's been 26 years since The Goonies came out and 29 since E.T., but if anything could resurrect them from the back of every decent film watcher's memory, it would be this movie.

Both The Goonies and E.T. told stories of action and adventure, but what you remember are the characters. Drew Barrymore primping E.T. and Chunk offering his Baby Ruth to Sloth in the basement — THAT'S what I left those movies thinking about, not the government conspiracies or the community losing their homes unless they got money fast.

And what made Super 8 so fantastic was not the special effects, the "monster" or the score, it was the five awkward, young boys and one pretty little girl that really brought it all together. Sure, some scenes were extremely far fetched and there were a few small details that were never fully explained, but I found myself (a typically highly judgmental person) not caring. The mark of a solid cast and a good story is the ability for an audience to look past some of the minor details and really just root for a group of people. These kids were funny, nerdy, lovable and brave. What more could any film about the late '70s ask for?

Fifteen-year-old Joel Courtney, who played the main character Joe, has never acted before. Go watch the movie, then read that statement one more time. In fact, neither has Riley Griffiths, who plays Joe's heavier, funnier friend Charles. Together the two of them share a close, incredibly believable friendship that seasoned child actors can only attempt to replicate. While some of the other kids in the film have played various small roles in other films, it's only Elle Fanning (younger sister to Dakota) who would be considered a somewhat well-known actress. Elle played Alice, who is Joe's love interest, and showed the same maturity and acting strength as her sister (if not more so).

I don't want to give any more of the plot away, so I'll just leave it here. Go see it. Relive your childhood, or at least the childhood you always envied while watching movies from the early '80s.