OK so I finally hit the theatre and I saw... "Super 8".
It was pretty good, not great. It was enjoyable all the way thru but the ending seemed a little underwhelming. I liked that it was set in 1979 and even had that look of a 1970's movie, as homage to great Speilberg movies of yore when having 'Speilberg' attached to a movie meant magic. In that context the ending seemed in line with 70's movies too, where modern films have gotten us used to these HUGE ending where the fate of the world hangs in the balance. This was a straight up creature-feature. I'm good with that.
Now that I know what to expect, I will probably enjoy it even more the 2nd time when I get the DVD.