Saw this today with the boyfriend at a discounted rate ($5 for movies seen before 5pm. And there was much rejoicing...). Due to the well constructed trailer for it, you aren't too sure what this movie is about other than there is a mystery surrounding a train crash. When I saw JJ Abrams & Steven Speilberg's names attached to it, and the beloved Amblin logo (with ET in the bike basket flying in front of the moon and churning up a bunch of childhood memories) I knew this was definitely worth seeing.
Let me get this out of the way, this movie had by far the best previews I've ever seen. Transformers 3, Captain America, Harry Potter 7 Part 2, Rise of Planet of the Apes and Breaking Dawn Part 1. 2011-a great year for movies. The only trailer I'm looking just as forward to seeing as these is Sherlock Holmes 2, I am having serious RDJ withdrawals...and Iron Man 3/the Avengers won't be out till next year.
This movie immediately sucks you in, it is beautifully acted. You follow a group of junior high kids through this crazy adventure and I will be the first to admit, I hate child actors. But for these kids I definitely see a future, the main character Joe Lamb is not just a typical preteen, in the time you see him on screen he develops and grows from a kid on summer vacation to a full blown action/adventure star. He is lovable, adorable and easy to relate to. I think they did a great job of casting all the characters.
I think this is the perfect movie for this time, when so many people are dealing with the stresses of financial woes, unemployment and every day you wake up and there is a new electronic device out. This movie takes us all back to a simpler time, granted it was only the early or mid 1980's (it never says specifically), but nevertheless, kids still rode bikes, played outside and their thumbs were not constantly glued to a keyboard attached to a phone that they call a "piece of crap" if it does not load what they want in 5 seconds. This movie has charm being that it is set in a small suburban town most people can relate to, at a time people can look back and remember fondly, but it has all the special effects and amazing production value of the new millennium. There wasn't too much action, the suspense was not predictable and the story was real, as real as a sci fi summer blockbuster can.
I also saw recently 'How to lose friends and alienate people', decent movie, I love Simon Pegg and Kirsten Dunst as well as Jeff Bridges. However it confirmed my hatred of the nauseating Megan Fox, yeah she has the whole male population drooling, however to us normal women, she doesn't threaten us or make us envy her, she has us rolling our eyes saying, enough is enough. You did your "sexy girl" thing in the first Transformers movie, it established you as an icon, but now we're over it. You get cast in bad roles that make you look like a complete idiot, and yes you may have lucked out by landing a huge movie as your first major gig (in which you had about 12 lines) but since then you have done, Jonah Hex, Jennifer's Body, a movie that is simply entitled "Whore" (I swear, if you don't believe me, imdb.com) and the aforementioned one. All teeny tiny movies that as far as the average person is aware, barely exist. I don't like you and I really try to avoid your work as often as I can. Please go away or do something worth while with your new found fame. Farewell for now & happy viewing!
