Fat Dude Digs Flicks

4. SUPER 8 (written and directed by J.J. Abrams)

During the summer of 1979, a group of friends witness a train crash and investigate subsequent unexplained events in their small town.

The sense of nostalgia that caused many critics to pan the film is the same reason I absolutely loved it. Super 8 plays like a film from a different era. That Steven Spielberg is a producer on it is not the least bit suprising as it pays homage to films like ET and Close Encounters. Like two other films soon to show up on this list, it is also a love letter to film. This shows how the magic of movies and filmmaking can capture the imagination of children. No film this year caused me to react the way that this one did. I was reduced to a ball of tears, thinking back to the days of The Goonies and how I thought anything was possible. Some would say that the fact that the film makes you reminisce so much about other films is detrimental to the quality of this film. I say that’s nonsense. The film is strong enough to be mentioned in the same breath as those. This film is often mentioned alongside UK offering, Attack the Block. There is a huge tonal difference between the two. The throw back to another time of this one makes it standout amongst the best and most entertaining of the year. Attack the Block is certainly entertaining, but lacks a certain something to appear near the top of my list.