Super 8

Super 8 - J.J. Abrams (2011)

Steven Spielberg. It's hard to come up with another filmmaker who had such a tremendous impact on pop culture. Just in the 1980's alone, he directed E.T., and all three Indiana Jones movies not to mention worked as producer on The Goonies, Back to the Future, Gremlins, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He did a lot to shape my own childhood as well as the formative years of JJ Abrams. In fact, as teenagers Abrams and Matt Reeves (who directed Cloverfield and Let Me In) were hired to restore some of Spielberg's home movies that were shot on 8mm. It's no surprise that Abrams first collaboration with Spielberg would be evocative of the man's most beloved films. Super 8 not only pays homage to some of those aforementioned pictures as well as Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It acts as a tribute to a time when all you needed to make a movie was passion and ingenuity, rather than $200 million and the rights to a hip comic book.

Super 8 is set in the fictional town of Lillian, Ohio during the summer of 1979. Though set in the 70's, this sleepy little burg seems more like a time-lost town existing perpetually in the 50's, untouched by the modern world far past their city limits. This is a time before the instant gratification of the digital era, back when you had to wait three days to develop your film. Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) has suffered the tragic loss of his mother due to an accident at the steel mill. His father, Jackson (Kyle Chandler), a sheriff's deputy, is equally distraught and doesn't know how to deal with his grief or his son. Jackson wants to send the boy off to baseball camp, but Joe has promised to help his best friend, Charles (Riley Griffiths), with his zombie movie. Charles thinks of himself as a junior George Romero though his zombies look more Raimi than Romero. Charles has a ragtag group of pre-teens to work as his cast and crew. There's lead actor Martin (Gabriel Basso), a nerd with thick glasses; Preston (Zach Mills), a nerd with big ears who is their utility player; and Carey (Ryan Lee) who has a penchant for fireworks and setting things on fire. Naturally, he is their special effects guy.

For his latest feature, Charles has snagged Alice Dainard (Elle Fanning), a pretty girl who Joe has a crush on, to be their starring actress. While shooting a night scene at the train stop, the kids witness a massive wreck as a pick-up truck collides head on with an oncoming train. Soon, the Air Force, led by Col. Nelec (Noah Emmerich), arrives en masse in Lillian and offers the barest of information to Jackson and the other local officers. Electronics are stolen, dogs run away, and people begin disappearing. Something escaped from the train and it's up to the pint-sized protagonists to investigate these strange happenings.

Super 8 is a compelling blend of old-fashioned storytelling with modern filmmaking techniques. The film could probably be described as Stand By Me meets Cloverfield and set to a John Williams-esque score by Michael Giacchino. The children possess a sense of wonder and curiosity that makes them aware of the dangers around them while the adults remain ignorant or disbelieving. Super 8 also delves into issues of father-son relationships, which have been at the center of many Spielberg productions.

The child actors Abrams has cast are phenomenal, despite Super 8 being the debuts of many. They not only give brilliant performances, but they even look like they could have been in an 80's movie. Joel Courtney, who makes his film debut here, resembles Henry Thomas in E.T. while the huskier Riley Griffiths looks a bit like Jerry O'Connell in Stand By Me. Both are great, but the scene-stealer is Ryan Lee as the mischievous Carey. Lee possesses the holy triumvirate of cute kiddie attributes: braces, a lisp, and an overbite. Then, there's Elle Fanning, the younger sister of Dakota who comes off a fantastic and naturalistic turn in Sofia Coppola's Somewhere. Fanning manages to give two great performances in the movie as well as in Charles' movie-within-a-movie. There's a magnificent moment when Alice displays her acting abilities for the first time and completely bowls over her male peers.

The dynamics between the kids and the creation of Charles' amateur movie form the spine of Super 8. It is a slight disappointment when the story devolves into a standard creature feature. One of the criticisms levied at Abrams and the way he apes Jaws in the slow build up to the reveal of the monster. The shark was logically hidden by his underwater habitat while Abrams finds artificial methods to keep the thing from viewers. I didn't have a problem with any of that so much as I had a problem with the repetitiveness that gradually came about. Abrams dips into the well once too often by using multiple scenes in which oblivious characters investigate a strange noise only to be snatched away screaming. The climax is far too chaotic and builds to a resolution that ultimately feels rushed. The idea of the creature as a metaphor for Joe's pain comes off as ham-fisted and never fully effective.

And if you loved the lens flares in Star Trek, you'll love the lens flares in Super 8, a trademark Abrams borrows liberally from Close Encounters. If you didn't, you may find them distracting, particularly when a lens flare pops up while the kids are spelunking down a dark subterranean tunnel. Still, Abrams direction is strong and the train wreck stands as one of the best action sequences of the year. The children run for their lives amidst a mass of explosions as train cars careen in every direction. My eardrums nearly burst during the IMAX screening I attended.

Super 8 isn't empty spectacle. It's a blockbuster with genuine emotion and an aura of magic hearkening back to the heyday of Spielberg's classics. It's not a film only about special effects, but about summer friendships, first love, and pure imagination.

Rating: *** (*****)

Bridesmaids

Bridesmaids - Dir. Paul Feig (2011)

Bridesmaids is a rare species, an R-rated, female-driven comedy. More importantly, it's one that scored big with audiences and critics alike. Bridesmaids is a product of the Judd Apatow comedy machine and directed by Paul Feig, who worked as director and producer on Apatow's short-lived (but much loved) TV series Freaks & Geeks. The script was written by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, who first met as members of famed improvisational group, the Groundlings. This is the first starring role for Wiig, who remains one of the few bright spots on the otherwise stale Saturday Night Live.

Life has been rough on Annie (Wiig), a single woman living in Milwaukee. Her bakery went out of business and she's stuck living with an oddball brother and sister (Matt Lucas and Rebel Wilson). Her only relationship consists of self-destructive booty calls to a douchebag playboy (an uncredited Jon Hamm), who kicks her out the morning after. Annie enters a new level of hell when she becomes the maid of honor for the wedding of BFF, Lillian (Maya Rudolph). This role is far more involving than best man. As maid of honor, Annie is in charge of planning luncheons, fittings, the bachelorette party, and the bridal shower.

Poor Annie hardly has her own shit together so mounting Lillian’s pre-wedding escapades is a daunting task akin to the Twelve Labours of Hercules. Her job is made all the more difficult when she meets the eclectic bridal party consisting of Lillian’s cousin Rita (Wendi McLendon-Covey), an embittered housewife; Becca (Ellie Kemper), a naïve, whitebread newlywed, and Lillian’s soon-to-be sister-in-law Megan (Melissa McCarthy). But, the one Annie has to watch out for is Helen (Rose Byrne), the trophy wife of the groom’s boss. Helen is everything Annie isn’t. She’s rich, glamorous, well-connected, and appears to be gunning for Annie’s spot as best friend.

Bridesmaids acts as a counterpoint to Apatow’s male-dominated comedies, which some (Katherine Heigl, I’m looking at you) have described as “sexist.” However, the film is more than just the same Apatow formula with the genders switched. Neither is it simply a female version of The Hangover. It's a poignant story about the turbulent relationships between women and the disillusionment of middle age. The protagonists are well-rounded characters antithetical of the general stereotypes like the idealized object of lust or the domineering shrew. Take for example, Megan, who is played with gusto by Melissa McCarthy (Gilmore Girls, Mike & Molly). At first, she appears to be a crude and oversexed caricature of the overweight person. It doesn't help that she's wearing a golf cap like Homer Simpson in that episode where he purposely gains weight (at least, she skips the flower-print muumuu). But, she has one of the more touching scenes during a third act confessional that forces Annie to re-examine the decisions in her life. By the way, McCarthy deserves major kudos for fearlessly putting herself out there to portray this character. She gets some of the biggest laughs during the movie.

Wiig has previously shined in supporting roles in movies such as Knocked Up, Ghost Town, and Adventureland as well as a meatier role earlier this year in Paul. Here, Wiig displays a wide range of talents beyond mere comedienne. She excels at low-key humor, over-the-top zaniness, and physical humor, all of which are on display here from exasperated facial expressions to a wild meltdown after Helen steals her thunder one too many times. Wiig has also shown she is capable of more dramatic roles as evidenced by her turn as the den mother to a team of rambunctious roller derby girls in Drew Barrymore's Whip It. As Annie, Wiig imbues a sense of pathos not commonly found in a raunchy comedy.

This being an Apatow production, Bridesmaids has its fair share of salty language and gags built around bodily functions. The most uproarious sequence takes place at a snooty dress shop after Annie and the gals unknowingly ate tainted meat at a strip mall Brazilian restaurant. There's plenty of vomit and poop, but none of it is more amusing than Wiig's quiet and sweaty desperation as she vainly pretends to not be sick. Wiig is even funnier during an airplane sequence when she suffers a bad reaction to a mixture of Valium and Scotch. She also has great chemistry with former SNL castmate Maya Rudolph and it makes you wish they do buddy comedy to establish themselves as a 21st century Lucy and Ethel.

Symptomatic of other Apatow pictures, Bridesmaids runs over two hours, which is about fifteen to twenty minutes too long for a comedy. Despite some much needed trimming, Bridesmaids is funny, insightful, and stands as one of the best comedies of the year.

Bridesmaids marks the final role for Jill Clayburgh, who appeared briefly as Annie's mother, before passing away in November of 2010 due to a long-time battle with leukemia.

Rating: *** (*****)