Here's a review from Pictainment:

If you’re looking for a summer film that captures the magic of filmmaking at its essence, then check out Super 8. Produced by Steven Spielberg and directed J.J. Abrams, Super 8 makes you feel genuinely feel like it’s 1979 all over again, and it feels pretty cool.

Some might say that Super 8 is Stand By Me meets District 9. Others might say it’s E.T. meets Cloverfield. There are other times when you might think you’re watching Goonies, Flight of the Navigator, or some other film from that time period. But regardless, Super 8 is a welcome entry to genre of 1970s or 80s movie where a group of young boys are involved in a major life-altering event and have a much clearer picture of what’s going on than the adults around them.

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Starring in his first ever movie, Courtney brings an innocence and humility to his character that makes him immensely likable. While he’s still very young, this debut performance marks an auspicious beginning to his career.

From "I Am Rogue".

The young actor joins the fan-favorite director to discuss his latest mystery film extravaganza.  

From the Associated Press:

"Super 8" is the rarest of things this time of year: a summer blockbuster that's completely earnest and irony-free, not filled with cheeky pop-culture references or cheesy product placement. The effects, while spectacular, also happen to be germane to the plot, and they have an intimate, tactile quality, rather than seeming too glossy or removed from reality. (And they're NOT in 3-D. Yes, it is indeed possible.)

So all you're left with is ... story. And strong performances. And well-developed characters. And a believable emotional arc. And genuine thrills.

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The kids at the centre of this sci-fi thriller, many of whom had never appeared in a feature film before, are total naturals and bounce off each other with effortless, goofy humour. And lookie here: The boy who's the film's freshly scrubbed and hugely likable star, Joel Courtney, bears more than a slight resemblance to an "E.T."-era Henry Thomas.

From the Detroit Metromix:

“Super 8” delivers everything moviegoers deserve in a high quality Hollywood blockbuster—exciting action, compelling characters, heart-tugging emotions and immersive escapism. It represents a significant step up from summer’s other major movie offerings, and something one imagines Spielberg himself would be happy to snag a “directed by” credit on. Keeping the plot under wraps only adds to its unique allure—there’s a good chance viewers may actually be surprised by the gradual reveals in the joyfully mysterious, and sometimes quite frightening, adventure. Those big movie pleasures are further enriched and elevated by the emotional range of an excellent young cast, spanning well established talents (Fanning adds another highlight to her increasingly extraordinary resume) and total newcomers (Courtney deftly handles leading man duty in his film debut). For all the genuinely eye-popping set pieces in “Super 8,” it’s in the characters’ quietest moments that Abrams most effectively connects his work to Spielberg’s most enduring efforts. So much supersized filmmaking focuses on taking the audience for a ride, but, no matter the genre or the budget, it’s the human touch that ultimately makes the difference.

From Time magazine:

Fanning, playing 14 when she was 12, is a showbiz pro, having co-starred in Sofia Coppola's Somewhere. But Courtney, 14 playing 12, was just an Idaho kid taking acting lessons when Abrams cast him. The stark tenderness of their scenes is surely due in part to the director's communicating with them peer to peer, as if, once again, he were a kid putting his friends through their movie paces. "He was 14 directing 13-year-olds," Spielberg says, "and the honesty that shows in every performance was the natural result."

From MovieLine:

If J.J. Abrams’ nostalgic summer sci-fi adventure Super 8 is intentionally evocative of producer (and Abrams mentor) Steven Spielberg’s E.T. (1982), then 15-year-old newcomer Joel Courtney is its Elliott, the young, sensitive boy hero caught in the middle of an otherworldly mystery. It’s a big role to hang on the shoulders of a newcomer — one who won the part after visiting L.A. in hopes of landing a modest commercial gig — but, as it turns out, the Idaho native now has bigger career goals in his sights.

“I want to be like Tom Hanks,” Courtney told Movieline in Los Angeles, where he’s spending the summer before returning home to Moscow, Idaho for school. The lanky young actor has given considerable thought to his options, post-Super 8. “I wouldn’t mind trying [Nickelodeon and Disney], but I wouldn’t want to get sucked into it so that I wouldn’t be able to get out.”

Catch the entire interview over at MovieLine.