Super 8

Super 8

In the midst of filming an amateur movie, Joe (Joel Courtney) and his teenage friends witness a catastrophic train crash in the small Ohio town where they live. Soon after the crash, the town is plagued with bizarre occurrences, including the disappearance of townspeople, and the kids set out to solve the mystery. Though the buildup to revealing the secret of the wreck is more satisfying than the aftermath, the film's young cast shines throughout the length of the film. The Blu-ray DVD includes a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the crash scene.

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Spy Kids: All the Time in the World

Retired spy and family woman Marissa Cortez (Jessica Alba) is forced back into action when evil villain Timekeeper (Jeremy Piven) threatens to take over the world. Her mission provides her with the unexpected opportunity to bond with her two stepchildren, who join her in her attempt to defeat Timekeeper. Though the film is full of interesting gadgets, the story is dull and much of the humor falls flat. The DVD features deleted scenes and an interview with director Robert Rodriguez.

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Cars 2 may not have received the same critical acclaim as its Pixar predecessors, but it still earned box office success. The kids' movie scored the top spot and took in $68 million for its debut weekend. Right behind it was Bad Teacher, which opened with $31 million. Green Lantern dipped to third with $18.5 million, while Super 8 took fourth with $12.1 million. Mr. Popper's Penguins completed the top five with $10.3 million.

Photo courtesy of Pixar

Ryan Reynolds's superhero movie Green Lantern took the crown at the box office this weekend, but the film's earnings of $52.8 million fell short of heroic, taking in less than the debut weekends of other films in its genre like Thor and X-Men: First Class. In second place was Super 8 with $21.2 million, followed by Mr. Popper's Penguins, which took in $18.2 million in its opening weekend.

The Hangover Part II slipped to fourth with $9.6 million, followed by Kung Fu Panda 2, which clung on to to the top five with $8.7 million. Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris continued to make waves as it rolled out into more theaters and earned $5.2 million this weekend.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Apparently all the hype paid off: J.J. Abrams's mystery-laden Super 8 came in first at the box office this weekend, opening with a decent $37 million. It was followed by last week's winner, the Marvel prequel X-Men: First Class, which earned $25 million.

The Hangover Part II hung in there, coming in third with $18.5 million, and the animated Kung Fu Panda 2 was right behind it with $16.6 million. Closing up the top five was Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, with a haul of $10.8 million.

I dare you to say that you're not curious about Super 8, J.J. Abrams's 1979-set film about a group of kids who witness a spectacular train crash. The film has generated a lot of hype for what it doesn't show in trailers and promos, and it's the mystery that's the big draw. The previews do reveal that something escapes the crash and then stalks and terrorizes a small Midwestern town, which Abrams uses as a premise for a sentimental, nostalgia-filled portrait of a group of boys making a movie.

Joel Courtney leads the charge as Joe, a sensitive boy who has just lost his mother in an accident. He and his newly widowed father (Kyle Chandler) are figuring out how to get along with each other without the woman of the house while dealing with their grief. Joe's group of buds help distract him from his home life, as they fill their Summer vacation by making a movie for an amateur film festival. When they're filming a climactic scene near the train tracks, they watch — and film — an intense accident that has some pretty distressing repercussions. With Steven Spielberg on hand as producer, Super 8 often feels like one of his classic sci-fi standbys, but it's just not quite as memorable. However, it's still a fun, heart-pumping ride (the train crash is one of the best action sequences I've seen in a long time). To find out what else I thought, just read more