Super 8

3 Paws

Seen recently at Aksarben Cinema

I think I'm one of the few people in the 50 states who didn't see E.T. when it opened in theatres waaaay back in 1982. I was in college and was busy, ummmmm, doing college things.

I almost made the same mistake twice, because the trailer for this 2011 version was anything but super. Sure, the film was about an unearthly monster of sorts. But it was also about so much more - a town that made you want it to be yours, an eclectic group of engaging kids with - dare I say it - more heart than the Harry Potter crowd - and a simple message about the power of empathy that even those with the hardest of hearts would have a hard time dissing. Heck - even the hot town drunk (Ron Eldard, the blonde paramedic from ER who pined for Julianna Margulies in season two) got a second chance.

If you were a kid in the '70s, this film is a must see. Just download "My Sharona" from iTunes and listen to it on your way to the theater and back. Summer doesn't get any better than that.

Bonus Bones: 20

There was a dog with a name - Lucy, a lost and found board with dozens of dog pics and a gas station scene in which the sheriff got buzzed by a scruffy pack (obviously much smarter than their owners) headed out of town for safer pastures.