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BaftaBaby 
"Always entranced by cinema."
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 Posted - 04/10/2009 : 10:01:12
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Monsters vs Aliens
I'll get to the actual film in a moment.
I saw the 3D version a few days after I'd heard Jeffrey Katzenberg's decree that in ten years all films would be 3D. Little Jeff's obviously been rifling through the cine-archives for a weapon. The first time 3D hit local screens, it was the format that was supposed to kill television dead, to reclaim the once-faithful film fans who were mesmerized by their smaller screens at home. Even though the picture was full of snow and could only be truly appreciated if the dog had the aerial wrapped around its tail as it dangled over the window sill held only by one paw. But I digress.
Ever since The Pirates have landed, Hollywood has been donning its lab coats and polishing its microscopes to devise a killer formula to claw back their stolen revenue. So Little Jeff's thinking is that if every film is completely inaccessible except on a 3D screen, that's death to pirates, so buckle them swashes, me hearties!
And so, we're getting a plethora of flicks which do not substantially benefit from their encounters of the 3D kind. This is one of them.
The Pixar people were too busy concentrating on a cute storyline and cute characters and cute dialog. Mostly they failed. They're all derivative and way below par next to the galaxy of Pixar masterpieces. Everything in the film is just too gol-darned nice and neatsy and other 1950s starched-petticoat stiff expletives. And it's all wrapped up in a 1950s moral that the true value of a person is who they are not what they look like.
Unless they're an alien egghead called Gallaxhar and then you just have to set your dial to Destroy! Somehow, 3D didn't even help there. Sigh!
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MisterBadIdea 
"PLZ GET MILK, KTHXBYE"
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Posted - 04/10/2009 : 10:28:57
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| There are quite a few laughs, but for the most part the Dreamworks style is so shallow, so half-assed, so UGLY. I always feel like I'm being mocked for wanting an organic, meaningful storyline and characters I can give a shit about, and that goes for their allegedly good movies like Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda too. |
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silly 
"That rabbit's DYNAMITE."
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Posted - 04/10/2009 : 12:48:51
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| I don't see why it was 3D. It was a fun popcorn flick, I really didn't expect too much. Not as manipulative as Bolt, certainly. |
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ChocolateLady 
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 04/11/2009 : 09:48:54
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quote:
Originally posted by BaftaBabe
I saw the 3D version a few days after I'd heard Jeffrey Katzenberg's decree that in ten years all films would be 3D. Little Jeff's obviously been rifling through the cine-archives for a weapon. The first time 3D hit local screens, it was the format that was supposed to kill television dead, to reclaim the once-faithful film fans who were mesmerized by their smaller screens at home. Even though the picture was full of snow and could only be truly appreciated if the dog had the aerial wrapped around its tail as it dangled over the window sill held only by one paw. But I digress.
Ever since The Pirates have landed, Hollywood has been donning its lab coats and polishing its microscopes to devise a killer formula to claw back their stolen revenue. So Little Jeff's thinking is that if every film is completely inaccessible except on a 3D screen, that's death to pirates, so buckle them swashes, me hearties!
And so, we're getting a plethora of flicks which do not substantially benefit from their encounters of the 3D kind. This is one of them.
Well, I'm always up for a Pixar film, but someone really should tell these "clairvoyant" film producers that the very large dyslexic population (such as myself) in the world will NOT be able to view their movies in 3D, and therefore, their news of the demise of the 2D film is greatly exaggerated.
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 04/11/2009 : 23:52:28
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I can't watch these films in 3-D, either. I can watch a 3-D screening, but having to wear the glasses and only getting one lens-worth of light means that the picture is darker than it should be.
The film is O.K. but indeed not great, for the reasons given. There's very little plot other than the basic premise and the characters don't properly gel together as a group. And the missing link would not be a 'fish man' nor only 20,000 years old.  |
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silly
"That rabbit's DYNAMITE."
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Posted - 04/12/2009 : 01:10:32
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| I'd have to check, but I'm pretty sure "Link" is based on a character from the video game Rampage. |
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 04/12/2009 : 01:14:10
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quote:
Originally posted by silly
I'd have to check, but I'm pretty sure "Link" is based on a character from the video game Rampage.
Never heard of it, but that doesn't sound like a good start... |
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ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 04/12/2009 : 15:01:46
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As a total aside, it is great to be on a forum where the people talking about this film know the difference between a Pixar (now owned by Disney) film and a Dreamworks film. I can't tell you how many reviews I've read of this film that call this a Disney film - which it isn't, and neither was Bolt.
(I hear Pixar are thinking of making a 3D movie, aside from making a 3D version of Chicken Little. This still won't help me view it, but I'm sure it will be less lame than anything Dreamworks can think up.) |
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silly
"That rabbit's DYNAMITE."
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Posted - 04/13/2009 : 00:12:07
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But Bolt is from Disney, or am I misunderstanding? (wouldn't be the first time)
And I think I was mistaken on the Rampage video game character, no doubt the character style reminds me of something from Rampage, Total Destruction (they have a few dozen characters), but there isn't one named Link.
Now, there was a Link in the original Mod Squad, but that's different 
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ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 04/13/2009 : 08:55:34
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quote:
Originally posted by silly
But Bolt is from Disney, or am I misunderstanding? (wouldn't be the first time)
Yes, you are right. But it is completely a Disney film, not a Pixar/Disney film.
(How confusing!)
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silly
"That rabbit's DYNAMITE."
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Posted - 04/13/2009 : 12:52:52
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Aha! I get it what you are saying. 
True dat. |
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Wheelz
"FWFR%u2019ing like it%u2019s 1999"
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Posted - 04/27/2009 : 15:54:31
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Just saw this over the weekend. I liked it.
Historically, Dreamworks animated films are not as rich, visually or thematically, as Pixar offerings, so - fair or not - I didn't set my expectations too high. My middling expectations were exceeded.
First, the not-so-good:
The whole thing was entirely precictable, both in terms of the overall story arc and within individual scenes. Not many surprises from start to finish.
The secondary characters were fairly weak. As Salopian pointed out, there's not much sense of the relationships between the characters. For instance, Link says that Insectosaurus is his best friend, but I didn't really see or feel it on the screen.
Now the good:
I very much liked the Susan character. Sure, her development was as predictable as the rest of the film, but it felt very believable within the film's reality. And, thanks both to Reese Witherspoon and to the animators' dexterity when it comes to facial expressions, I actually found her journey quite touching.
Rainn Wilson is a hoot. The best voice characterization in the film. Steven Colbert was pretty fun too.
The 3D, while perhaps not necessary, was pretty cool, I thought. Aside from a couple gimmicky shots, it wasn't that distracting. What it did was just make the film that much more interesting to look at, which doesn't hurt with such a thin plot. 3D technology has come a long way since it crawled out of the Black Lagoon.
A couple of you may know that I'm not the hardest filmgoer to please. I plunk down a few bucks and expect to be entertained for a couple hours in return. Monsters vs. Aliens held up its end of that bargain, IMO.
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randall
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 10/17/2009 : 21:24:52
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I watched the 2D DVD. [That sentence would have been pretty much unreadable ten short years ago!]
I saw the most obvious 3D turns [a la 'Dr. Tongue's 3D House of Stewardesses' on SCTV], but I guess I just like stories that tell kids it's OK if you don't look like everybody else. Hans Christian Andersen can no longer be counted upon in this day and age. Yes, it was all done much better in MONSTERS INC., but its heart was in the right place, and there were a few good gags. The girl being so empowered that she could actually see clearly by the end, that was really something. I like women being empowered. Now please make them stop doing our jobs better than we can! |
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Monsters vs Aliens
