J.J. Abrams writes and directs a love letter to Steven Spielberg. It's Goonies meets E.T. and he succeeds at doing what he set out to do: make a fun summer movie. Teen filmmakers, Joe and Charles, sneak away at night to film a scene from the Zombie movie they're making. They have their new actress, Alice, who is their transportation too, and their dreams of Hollywood glory. But during the shoot they witness an incident that leads them on a mystery and an adventure beyond their imaginations. Lots of heart and laughs combine for a good time and I was jazzed. Is it more than a nostalgic nod to movies of the '80s, meaning does it hold up on its own as a film? I think it does but I would be interested to talk with someone who never watched the very movies that inspired J.J. Abrams. I suspect most people will be as entertained as I was though and I recommend this highly. Grade: A-
Spoiler: Okay, but before I move on to the next blog on my list I should add my frustration with some of the silliness of this movie. Joe and company run through a neighborhood with bombs and guns blazing like it's WWII? Who are the soldiers fighting? There's no monster out there and even if it was out there how is blowing up a bunch of houses going to kill it. If it weren't for a plot point about how the monster somehow can put people into trances and confuse them I would say this could have ruined it for me. I didn't but come on, all that bedazzling destruction for a monster that lives underground? At the same time this film isn't about logic, it's about childhood wonder and logic is shoved aside. I'll swallow that pill I guess.
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