Today's Woman reviews Super 8: 

Joel Courtney leads the cast as Joe, a 13 year old boy who has just lost his mother in a factory accident. He and his newly widowed father Jackson (Kyle Chandler), a sheriff’s deputy are figuring out how to get along with each other and deal with their grief... I was taken by the characters and the young actors playing them. Each of them brought depth to the characters they were playing. Elle Fanning and Joel Courtney both steal the movie. I hope to see both these young stars in more movies as they were naturals.

According to Neon Tommy, Super 8 is the #1 Holiday Gift Idea for Entertainment Fans! 

Elle Fanning steals the show in J.J. Abrams’ (“Alias”) “Super 8.” Produced by Steven Spielberg, “Super 8” combines many of our childhood favorites together (it has been said to have aspects of “E.T.” and “The Goonies”) in order to send the viewer on adventure that he or she will never forget. Child-actor Joel Courtney stars in his first ever film as the loveable Joe Lamb and since then has started on two feature films and one television series. This might not be the traditional holiday classic, but its definitely worth a watch and is sure to bring the family closer together over the holidays.

From the Cornell Daily Sun: 

Super 8 is the kind of once-in-a-blue-moon film that reminds us why we love going to the movies. Directed by Lost mastermind J.J. Abrams, the sci-fi adventure overflows with action, humor, nostalgia and love. It follows a group of youngsters in the ’70s who set out to make a zombie thriller, but instead come upon something much bigger and scarier that changes their innocent lives and those of everyone else in their tiny Ohio town. The soul of the film is Joe Lamb, whose wide-eyed curiosity and heroic courage is upheld by adorable and talented newcomer Joel Courtney. His performance, as well as those of his preteen costars, is so natural that we almost feel like we’re watching the kids’ hilarious banter as part of a homemade feature from Abrams’ own childhood. The best performance of the bunch, though, is from Elle Fanning, who deserves all the fame and recognition that she will undoubtedly receive in her future. Take note of the scene-within-a-scene she performs early on in the film; her monologue breaks the boys’ hearts, and it will break yours, too.

From ISPLC:

It’s not so much the arrival of a mysterious extraterrestrial that puts “Super 8″ on this list; it’s the kids hovering around the central mystery. Joel Courtney, Riley Griffiths and Ryan Lee are fantastic in their big-screen breakout roles, and let’s not overlook the moving performance delivered by future Oscar winner Elle Fanning. Combined with a powerful nostalgia kick of pure Spielbergia, J.J. Abrams’ sci-fi throwback flick remains one of 2011′s best pop culture efforts.

From The Urban Wire: 

The boy, Joe Lamb (played by Joel Courtney, in his debut performance), who is obsessed with Carpenterhorror and model sets, finds himself having to come to terms with his life after tragedy strikes. Lamb is caught between his personal demons and his obligation and enthusiasm to help his best friend Charles (Riley Griffiths) finish his zombie movie, and the film is centered about his growth rather than the rampaging monster from outer space, a mere subplot in the face of adolescence.

The amateur crew is backed by Lamb and Charles’ boyhood gang, pyromaniac Cary (Ryan Lee), Preston (Zach Mills) and their actors, Martin (Gabriel Basso) and Alice Dainard (Elle Fanning). Their innocence and youthful energy are captured through brilliant, honest performances from the child actors, particularly from Joel Courtney, which is pretty impressive seeing as many of them (including Courtney) are total newbies.

Abrams also handles the emotional scenes with enough depth and warmth, and balances them with his signature fast paced action to ensure his audience is at once sympathetic and entertained.

"All I Have To Say About That" Reviews Super 8

With a group of young talents, some of which making their cinematic debut,Super 8 introduces the world to faces like Joel Courtney and Riley Griffiths, and really puts an actress like Elle Fanning (Dakota’s younger sister) in the spotlight. The young stars shined. Fanning and Courtney were especially wonderful, with chemistry rare for actors so young.

From Inside Pulse's Blu-ray Review of "Super 8"

Super 8 successfully walks this fine line of being both a character drama and a mystery for the first two thirds of the movie. I found myself heavily invested in the lives of the characters, particularly the lead character Joe and how he and his father were dealing with the loss of his mother. The tension between he and his father was perfectly handled – both trying to figure out how to handle each other but coming up short. And that served as a great backdrop for a tense search for the mysterious creature terrorizing this little Ohio town. It made for invigorating and addictive watching…and it bubbles up and up, too. As the attacks increase, so does the tension between Joe and his father.