From the Twin Cities Daily Planet:

4. Super 8, directed by J.J. Abrams (USA) 

The most commercial film on this list, J.J. Abrams’s Super 8 is a reminder of why we go to the movies in the first place: to be entertained. Abrams kept his plot secret for months before its release: Super 8 involves a group of adolescent kids working on a horror film, until their lives take a supernatural turn as a military science experiment derails from a train and sends their small town into a media frenzy. Abrams’s cast of young child actors are “mint”; the film showcased a breakthrough performance from Joel Courtney as a young adventurer caught in the middle of his first love. Super 8proved to be even better than all the hype that surrounded the film last summer promised.

The Gator Star reviewed Super 8:

The casting of characters was perfect and everyone acted very well.  Joel Courtney (Joe Lamb) just stole my heart.  He did a great job conveying such a wide range of emotions throughout the movie.  I knew Dakota Fanning’s younger sister was acting now, but this was my first time seeing Elle Fanning.  She can definitely hold her own, very impressive.  She had me crying with her when she was watching old home videos in Joe’s room.

The Daily Beast rated Joel and Elle with the "9th Best Kiss of 2011", even though their lips never touched. Read why. 

Elle Fanning has been acting in front of a camera for the majority of her young life, so it was no surprise when, in director J. J. Abrams’s Super 8, she wowed both her fictional castmates and real-life audiences with a captivating performance in the amateur “film” that the young characters make with a Super 8 camera. What nobody quite saw coming, however, was the chemistry between Fanning and Joel Courtney, who had never acted professionally before Super 8. In one pivotal scene, Courtney, whose character has a long-standing crush on Fanning’s, explains how to act like a zombie for their film. Fanning does a spot-on impression, deadening her eyes and approaching him with threatening, outstretched arms. But the closer her face gets to his, the more it occurs to both Courtney and audiences that their lips might touch. She pulls away before contact is made, but the atmosphere left behind is as emotion-packed as after any kissing scene. When asked by MTV News why he didn’t have the kids play out a full kiss, Abrams said, “These were kids who, their affection for each other didn’t necessarily need to be played out with a kiss. But hopefully you get the sense that their feelings for each other are profound.”

James A. Molnar of the Toledo Free Press rated Super 8 as one of the Top 3 Movies of 2011 because it "hit home."

The hand of death has touched my life. And the reminders are haunting.

There is a scene in “Super 8” where Joel’s Courtney’s character Joe Lamb is watching old movies featuring him and his mom together.

“It’s so weird watching her like this, like she’s still here,” he says about his mom to Alice Dainard, played by Elle Fanning. “She used to look at me this way, like really look. And I just knew I was there. That I existed.”

The Buffalo News rated Super 8 as the #1 Movie of 2011! 

From the Buffalo News NeXt correspondant, Danielle Grimm:

Another year has come and gone, and with it came movies of great depth, humor and sometimes both. 2011 was truly “the year of the franchise,” seeing as both the “Harry Potter” and the “Twilight” series came to a close (well, “Twilight” came to half a close). Still, franchise films aside, audiences around the world saw works of cinematic magic in 2011. Here, I have assembled the 10 films I found to be the most well-written, powerfully acted and visually appealing of the year (No. 1 being the best film of the year).

1.“ Super 8” (PG-13) If you didn’t realize the full extent of Steven Spielberg’s genius after “E. T.,” you will by the end of “Super 8.” Although the trailers made the film out to be something akin to “Cloverfield,” there is barely a comparison. While filming an amateur movie for a local filmmaking contest, a group of middle school boys (Joel Courtney, Riley Griffiths, etc.) and their female star Alice (Elle Fanning) witness a morbid train crash, caused by some sort of beast. The remainder of the film is spent following these new age “Goonies,” as they search for answers to what exactly they saw the night the train crashed. The level of talent and maturity in these young actors/actresses is mind-boggling. Each character was incredibly unique and refined; each member of the group complemented the rest, making it appear as though the kids had known each other their entire lives. The fact that “Super 8” was centered on a bunch of 11-year-olds, rather than a group of teenagers, gave the film a sense of innocence rarely found in today’s media. When all is said and done, “Super 8” was by far the most distinct story, visually appealing and powerfully acted film of 2011.

The Republic listed Super 8 as "One of the Best Films of 2011". 

“Super 8”: Writer/director J.J. Abrams has culled the best paranoia-creating moments from the ‘50s sci-fi movies and mixed them with a strong family story that swirls around Joe (Joel Courtney), a teen trying to deal with the loss of his mother. All of the sci-fi elements create a metaphor for the emotional beast that dominates the young man’s life. It’s the best blend of sci-fi and family drama since “E.T.” called home.