20.05.12

SUPER 8 (2011, Paramount, PG-13, $30) — The initial collaboration between producer Steven Spielberg and writer/director J.J. Abrams (TV's "Lost") boasts a first act worthy of "Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind" and "Gremlins." Set in 1979, the flick follows six teenagers (Elle Fanning, Gabriel Basso, Ryan Lee, Joel Courtney, Riley Griffiths, Zach Mills) who, while out shooting a Super 8 movie, witness a train wreck and the subsequent escape of a mysterious creature. Chaos reigns as sinister military personnel show up and try to keep the identity of the beastie a big secret. The plot bogs down during the movie's second act but the final showdown would put a smile on E.T.'s face. Extras: eight featurettes, 14 deleted scenes and Abrams commentary.

SARAH'S KEY (2011, Anchor Bay, PG-13, $30) — In 1942, police from Nazi-occupied France rounded up 76,000 Jews in Paris for deportation to concentration camps. From this real-life incident, writer/director Gilles Paquet-Brenner has crafted an engrossing film which follows a present-day journalist's (Kristin Scott Thomas) attempts to track down Sarah (Melusine Mayance), a young Jewish girl haunted by a terrible decision she made on the day she and her family were arrested. The film doesn't waste a second as it unravels the central mystery while also contemplating history, fate and the ways in which guilt can destroy lives. Superb. Extras: featurette.

Source: NorthJersey.com