Super 8

Named after the old film format used by home-movie hobbyists, this 1970s-set adventure follows a bunch of schoolkids who accidentally capture footage of a spectacular train crash while filming their own low-budget zombie flick. Best not to say more than that, even if most viewers will have some idea of what's lurking in the wreckage. The real surprise, though, is that the burgeoning relationship between shy pubescent protagonist Joe (Joel Courtney) and the classmate he desperately fancies (the strikingly talented Elle Fanning) should prove more dramatically compelling than the story's effects-driven sci-fi aspects. In an age of relentlessly spectacular, often emotionally vacant blockbusters, it's a real pleasure to see a big movie thrumming with genuine feeling for characters touchingly poised on the cusp of adulthood. Writer/director JJ Abrams has clearly soaked up the early work of fellow producer Steven Spielberg, and here he reproduces not only the visual style of Close Encounters and ET but also their affecting humanity. Eventually the digital trickery takes over, delivering the hi-tech mayhem modern audiences expect; yet, for those who grew up on the Spielberg classics, a truly nostalgic treat awaits.