Monster MASH

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/03/2009 (6315 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Monsters Vs. Aliens is one of those movies that kids and adults can watch, and have two wholly different experiences.

The kids will be impressed and amused by the cast of weird creatures. At the same time, their older escorts will be able to mentally inventory the old B-movies that inspired each character, starting with Susan (voiced by Reese Witherspoon), a woman apparently settling for less as she prepares to wed the vain weatherman Derek Dietl (Paul Rudd).

Less becomes more when Susan has an encounter with a mysterious meteor that causes her to glow (and not in that newlywed way) and grow to a whopping 49 feet, 11 inches.

Yep, Susan is suffering the same fate as Allison Hayes in the 1958 thriller Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.

The army quickly shows up and spirits Susan to a secret government facility, where she meets other imprisoned creatures that have been sequestered, explains General W.R. Monger (Kiefer Sutherland), from the panicky public. They include:

"ö The gelatinous B.O.B. (Seth Rogen) a chatty, but brainless variant of the silent squishy extraterrestrial The Blob (1958).

"ö The Missing Link (Will Arnett), a half-man, half-fish shout-out to The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954).

"ö Dr. Cockroach (Hugh Laurie) is a mad scientist who merged his genes with that of an insect in homage to the The Fly (1958).

"ö Dwarfing even Susan is Insectosaurus, a 100-metre grub who was inspired by the Japanese giants Godzilla (1954) or Mothra (1961).

Before Susan can even adjust to her life of incarceration, a huge robot crashes to Earth. ("Once again, a UFO has landed in America, the only country UFOs ever seem to land in," intones a TV news reporter.)

On a fact-finding mission from the evil alien Gallaxhar (Rainn Wilson), the robot spurns the musical overtures of friendship by the U.S. president (Stephen Colbert) and commences trashing the California countryside. General Monger suggests… well… see the title.

Co-directed by Rob Letterman (Shark Tale) and Conrad Vernon (Shrek 2), Monsters Vs. Aliens is on view in 3-D in three of the six cinemas where it’s showing in Winnipeg, and it’s decidedly worth the couple of extra bucks to see it in that format in the specially-equipped cinemas at Grant Park, Polo Park and St. Vital. Free of the double-vision blur and headache-inducing eyestrain of past 3-D formats, the first half of the movie is enough to induce a giddy euphoria at the wonder of it.

If the buzz doesn’t last, it’s the fault of a script (four writers on the credits) that never quite lives up to the sublime quality of the animation and the voice work.

Ultimately, the only thing cheap about this movie is its humour.

General W.R. Monger? Really?

randall.king@freepress.mb.ca

 

Movie review

Monsters Vs. Aliens

n Starring the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen and Kiefer Sutherland

n Garden City, Grant Park, Kildonan Place, Polo Park, St. Vital, Towne.

n G

3 1/2 out of 5 stars

 

Other Voices

Selected excerpts from reviews of Monsters vs. Aliens.

 

 

The grandeur of the effects — the honest-to-God spectacle of the thing — elevates Monsters vs. Aliens to something approaching art. It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s most certainly a milestone.

 

— Robert Wilonsky, Village Voice

There are… moments that rank among the most fighting-for-breath funny stuff I’ve seen at the movies in ages.

 

— Alonso Duralde, MSNBC

 

 

The action scenes are downright thrilling, the storytelling is brisk and witty, the homages to alien and monster movies funny and affectionate.

 

— Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

 

 

 

A film of chuckles, smiles and light amusement rather than big laughs, galvanizing excitement and original invention.

 

— Todd McCarthy, Variety

 

As with any good cartoon, the animators mix visual stunts with rimshot-worthy one-liners and verbal gags.

 

— Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter

 

— Compiled by Canwest News Service

 

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