Super Gr8t

In the name of transparency I'll tell you I'm an unabashed Spielbergophile, but not even St. Steven himself has directed a movie as Spielberian as Super 8 since Jurassic Park, and that was 18 years ago!!!



There are so many elements of Spielberg it's hard to know where to begin.

Number 1: A group of kids looking for a little adventure find a big adventure. Spielberg never spoke down to children which is was made him so great as both a director and producer. E.T., Hook, Close Encounters, Jurassic Park, Catch Me If You Can as Director, The Goonies, Back to the Future, Who Framed Rodger Rabbit, as Producer, even the wonderful opening to Last Crusade, all of these treat young people with respect while allowing them to make the human mistakes that everyone makes growing up.

Number 2: The strong but unconventional family unit. A simple allusion to something in the past mixed with strong acting and believable family dialogue can do wonders for the depth of a character and it seems that Abrams subscribes to the same school of character development.

Number 3: You've got the government train that crashes in a small town which, if I'm not mistaken, is the excuse that the government uses to close down the Alien landing sight in Close Encounters.

While the initial teasers and trailers focus on the mystery, all of these classic techniques are on display in the newest trailer, even the cinematography has a quintessentially Spielberg feel. The beauty of this trailer is that it gives you a much greater sense of the film to come without spoiling it. Abrams has a wonderful cast on hand including the always great Noah Emmerich, Kyle Chandler, whose been nothing short of brilliant on Friday Night Lights, and a cast of kids that look so right together Abrams might have just plucked them off the street on the way to the shoot. I could go on.

Whatever you want to say about the trailer say this, it got you excited for Super 8 to come this summer... and after all, isn't that the point of a trailer.

Back In Action with Lt. Oliver

So I'm a Dillahunt fan to begin with but the Oliver Sherman trailer has a dark beauty that recalls the Coen Bros. and a Winter's Bone type character isolation. Based on a short story by Rachel Ingalls and Directed by first timer Ryan Redford (Interview Here).

Oliver Sherman Official Trailer from Oliver Sherman on Vimeo.

The movie seems like it's missing that one something and so does the trailer. They try and introduce the element of danger but spend to much time on the monologues and drama. The music suffers the same problem. It tries at the end to introduce this ticking clock with on-time smash cuts but the effect is just that an effect. I didn't feel the pressure rising. I didn't get a real feeling for the stakes that amped up my excitement without giving to much away...

Now I know thats the devils dance, and I complain just as much as the next person about trailers that give you to much, but how well you can toe that line is how well you've devised your trailer. There were things that worked in the beginning (topic and cinematography) and things that worked at the end (the ticking clock) but the over all effect fell just short of Must-See-In-Theaters and right into On-Demandable.