Aiming for a small-scale Spielbergian epic as seen through the eyes of an every-boy and incorporating the staple 1980s small town/suburbia and an outwardly scary alien, Super 8 repeatedly smacks me between the eyes with a nostalgia stick. It smoothly mixes the subtle innocence of E.T. with the enthusiasm of The Goonies, accompanied by the occasional JJ Abrams-trademarked lens flare and the in-joke of amateur film-making on 8mm stock, and frames the whole thing beautifully with a timeless story about loss and acceptance.