Super 8 - 2 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

Perhaps its my fault but this is yet another film that isn't what it seems to me after viewing the trailer first.Simply put its "ET "meets" Stand by me,"in a new and darker version.The trailer made it seem more like a really bad and nasty alien invasion sort of like in "Cloverfield."Released in 2011 and running 112 minutes thats why I took a full 2 1/2 stars since its not what I expected and I only was mildly amused by the prior 2 films I claim its based on.The only thing I really liked was the performance of Elle Fanning of Alice Dainard .She reminded me of a young Drew Barrymore,rather than her older sister Dakota.That sadly isn't enough to really love the film.It seems Speilberg hired Abrams to really darken the ET story rather than add anything new in a Cloverfield theme.See that film was nasty BUT "Stand by me " is not.These characters bond and live NOT die like in Cloverfield as they were just getting to bond.So see if you wish but unlike ET its NOT for kids as there's a lot of cursing BY kids.Trailer URL follows pix and a IMDB summary is below.Nice music score.

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. Written by Official site 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqvZMhRB5cE