Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-19 14:41:00

Horrible

This movie was a horrible display of everything. and I KNOW that the special effects and the plot were supposed to be campy but THE MOVIE SUCKED!!!! it was a pathetic excuse for a movie. I subjected myself to this torture not once, but twice and i still didn't find it funny!

ivony 2012-05-19 10:50:23

Could have been so much more...

When I first saw Mars Attacks! I admit I absolutely HATED it and thought itwas the dumbest movie I had ever seen. Amazingly, I initially found EdWood's "Plan Nine From Outer Space" more entertaining. I'm not entirelysure what prompted me to do so, but I gave it a second viewing. Don't getme wrong, I still thought it was dumb, but I had a better appreciation forthe movie in general.With an incredible star (and talent) packed group of actors and actresses,the movie was still missing something...an incredibly big something. Although I enjoyed the nod to sci-fi's of the '50s and the B-movie typestylings, it still was not able to deliver. Maybe it was the push of the"big named actors" to make this seem like it was going to be some phenomenalhit, or the fact that those same actors never quite played up to THEIRpotential. But what I really think caused the problem was the incrediblybad timing. No, not in its release, but in the movie itself. So many jokesfell flat simply because they were delivered far too late, and the use ofcomedic repition was, well, *too* repititious. I think many viewers who are die-hard fans of b-movie or 50's sci-fi willprobably appreciate Mars Attacks much better than I. And although it hassome entertaining moments, it just didn't quite become what it could have. I give it a 5 out of 10 stars...it truly was just mediocre.

mercuryix 2012-05-10 15:47:54

Big, Loud, Expensive...and boring.

I saw this movie when it first came out on the big screen. The openingscene is incredible, of thousands of 50's-style saucers suddenly emergingfrom caverns inside the supposedly dead planet heading on their way toEarth, setting up an interesting premise: What the hell would we do? If the movie had seriously followed the thread of Earth being threatened bydeadly but schlocky aliens and alien technology from the 50's, it would behysterical. But the script is dumb, the aliens behavior is dumb, and thehuman characters are dumb. When I saw the reviews talking about the"incredible script" I had to check again to make sure I had the right movie. After the aliens proceed to earth, the movie grinds to a long, slow halt,as we are introduced to a casino-owner, an overage boxer on theskids, and other characters in apparently irrelevant scenes that we don'tcare about, with the purpose of developing plot, which doesn't; it simplystops the movie, and we don't care about these characters at all. Thealiens are presented so annoyingly (with harsh barking sounds instead oflanguage, a choice probably made to simplify the animation), and theirbehavior so juvenile, that they are not credible in any sense. Since wealready know they are animations, this was not necessarily a good idea.Glen Close was absolutely wasted in this movie, as was Danny Devito, and allof the other stars. This movie was painful toward the end, the one-notetheme of the one-dimensional aliens trying to trick the one-dimensionalcharacters they are butchering played to death. When the aliens start todie, we are relieved, not because we care about the characters at all butbecause the end of the movie is in sight. Tim Burton fell into the same trap that all directors fall into with bigbudget sfx; focusing on the fx, not the script and characters. A waste of afun premise. Four out of ten stars.

johnw 2012-05-09 19:56:37

Don't care what people say I like this movie.

Not Tim Burton's best but i still think of it as enjoyable and funny. It is not a Tim Burton usaul film and wasn't as clever as his others but is still worth seeing and is nicely made.

2012-05-03 10:02:03

"Ack ack aCk ACK ACK!"

"I want the people to know that they still have two of three branches of the government working for them"Check your mind at the door on this one folks. It's a fun B-Grade Sci-Fi movie reminiscent of the B-Grade Sci-Fi from the '50's and '60's but the plot is thinner than rice paper. What do you expect from a movie that is based on the subject matter from a series of Topps trading cards made in the late '50's early '60's with a brief comeback and reprints in the late '80's. What? You want a review? OK, then why didn't you say so.The basic plot, which is almost all of the plot, is the Martians attempt to conquer Earth, but ultimately fail of course. Jack Nicholson has dual roles as a Vegas Hotel/Casino Owner and the President of the United States in an attempt to make the movie more than just an old worn out B-Movie. That brings up a thought... If movie studios had the multi-million dollar budgets in the 1950's & '60's that they now have today, there wouldn't have been as many B-Grade Sci-fi movies produced, but I digress.Despite the fact that this is a "low budget" movie with a big budget and stars like Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Michael J. Fox, Sarah Jessica Parker and Pierce Bronson, and a super thin plot, it is very enjoyable. It has some rather humorous moments, I won't spoil them, but if you decide to watch this DVD see how the Martians destroy Easter Island.I enjoyed this film more than I expected and I knew that I would at least kinda like it, so my expectations were surpassed. As I said at the beginning this is a film where if you turn off your mind you enjoy it ten times more than if you think through it. A prime example of this is the way Earth is saved from the Martians. If your thinking through the movie, you'll wonder how did a kid in the Arizona dessert get the word about his Ultimate weapon spread across the world so quickly, with out telling anybody about it? Did everybody in the entire world come up with the very same idea at the same idea? I think not, that is one of the reasons I turned my mind off on this one.Technically, from a consumer's point of view, I didn't like the way the menu is controlled, I'm not exactly sure why but I just didn't. I thought the saucer theme was cute but kind of boring, I think they could have spent some more time on the menu and had the Martians do things; for example, when you choose something to view a Martian would shoot that particular flying saucer, making it explode and then the screen would fade into what you wanted. I also hate the cardboard/plastic "Clamshell" box, I've never been a fan of those.Now onto the Technical Gobble-de-gunk of this review.The extra stuff is:Interactive MenusProduction notesScene AccessEnglish, French and Spanish Languages and SubtitlesTwo TrailersAnamorphic transfer on one side, pan and scan on the otherAlternate Music Only audioI would recommend this movie to Sci-Fi fans, People who had "Mars Attacks!" cards as kids, and folks who enjoy mindless entertainment and don't need to analyze every little detail of what they are watching. I guess that means Trekkies wouldn't like this movie much.The Picture was very good, very little disappointment there, and the sound was OK nothing unusual, although on my system it sounded weird at points, but that is just my particular set up. So... I Give Mars Attacks a 4 for Picture and a 3 for Sound.

2012-05-02 21:53:07

Funny, weird, great cast

Mars Attacks! is a strange yet funny movie. It did well making fun of 1950's alien movies. Too many big stars can sometimes ruin a film, but Mars Attacks! pulled it off.

2012-05-01 12:14:22

gets funnier and stranger every time I see it

is one one strange funny movieit has humorand some very odd plot to itthe aliens are freaky lookingthe whole mowie is amazingthe ending is very interestingbut I like the movie and cast of charactersI'll be laughing every time I watch this on my playerTim Burton is just as amazing here as he was when he made Batman with Michael Keaton and Kim Basinger and Jack Nicholson among many of the great people who played in the movie

2012-04-30 23:28:27

Either love or hate it. I hate it.

What can I say about this movie? I guess it just didn't do it for me. I found it dull and unentertaining. I went in expecting to laugh at satire of alien invader films; instead I got what seemed more of a tribute to cheesy alien movies. There were attempts at humor throughout the film, but with me they missed their mark.I will admit that in general I am not a huge fan of Tim Burton movies. I just don't GET his weird dark gothic worlds. I didn't think he ruined Batman, but I wouldn't necessarily have envisioned him that way. This movie, in my opinion is the worst of the Tim Burton movies I've seen. I almost swore completely off his movies after this, but that would have been a mistake since he does manage to find stories that fit his weird style, like Sleepy Hollow, occasionally.

Devon Stout 2012-04-29 00:49:11

Unfunny and gruesome from beginning to end...

There have been many comments on this movie so I will be brief. There areno redeeming qualities to this film. Most of the best actors are wasted inthrow-away parts, with death scenes that are not at all funny. There isnothing particularly intelligent about this film, contrary to somecomments;perhaps they mistake gleeful sadism for intelligence. There are few moviesI truly hate, and this is one of them.

rawling951 2012-04-28 17:20:06

mars attacks comm 100

I thought Mars Attacks! was an awesome movie that didn't do well at thebox office. I thought the movie was very funny and although it didn'thave an amazing story-line I thought it was a fun movie to watch. Ithought it was a pretty original movie and it wasn't just about alienscoming from Mars and taking over. Tim Burton the director uses thismovie to in a satirical way to make of the United States government,army, and culture. This is a great movie if you can understand the truemeaning to it or if you just like watching aliens explode when theyhear old country music. I would definitely recommend this movie tosomeone if they want to watch a movie.Michael Steinberg

2012-04-25 13:23:04

Timeless fun

This review is from: Mars Attacks! (DVD) My VHS version of this film has finally died and I'm buying a DVD version. It will reside in a place of honor next to my Bubba Ho-tep DVD and other classics. Every few years I can get a good laugh all over again. Good stuff -

Anonymous 2012-04-25 03:22:44

Another definition of the word "Pathetic"...

This movie isn't worth seeing. Not by a LONG shot.How much more stupid can a movie like this get. It's basically a 20th century version of a 1930's horror movie. Like a massive triantula spider terrorizing humanity with no particular reason at all. Same thing here...only with aliens that are stupid, ugly, and just out to kill for the sake of killing. And there is nothing to explain it.Let me explain this movie.....aliens(martians)come to Earth....martians land on earth....martians sit down with humans and begin to talk....martians pull out all evil ray guns and terrorize humanity. AND THE PEOPLE WHO MADE THIS MOVIE ACTUALLY EXPECT YOU TO SIT THERE AND WATCH THIS FOR OVER AN HOUR!!!!Overall...this is yet another movie that nobody is missing if you don't end up seeing it. Seriously....you will have any of the following: seizure, stroke, or hemorage after watching this film because it is so incredibly pathetic in every way.This movie isn't worth seeing. Not by a LONG shot.

2012-04-22 04:50:42

The only good thing about this movie is special effects.

It was dissapointing to watch this movie. It makes you keep on waiting and waiting to see what is going to happen and you say "oh well, I have nothing else to do" and finally when you think someting is happening in the movie you sadly find out that it is all what you predicted. END

2012-04-21 20:32:52

Not a good movie

I am writing this review long after actually watching this movie but the long lasting impression is undying. This movie is horrible, throughout the movie I did not know whether to laugh or cry. Laugh at the fact that this movie was actually made or cry because I had wasted... on renting it. At no point during this two and half hours did I find the humor (a term I use loosely) the least bit interesting. The humor was just not funny and although it was a spoof the plot was still ridiculous. It is sad to see such a wonderful ensemble cast just be thrown away on such an unfunny script. I do not recommend this to anyone not even someone with an extremely dry sense of humor.

Suki Woo 2012-04-19 08:47:59

Juvenile

Harmless wallpaper. Not particularly funny to the average adult, I wouldguess. Could have been a parody of 50s Sci Fi but is more like Mel Brooksmeets Gremlins on an off day.

pwoodring 2012-04-18 17:32:43

Too many for too little

The opening credits made my jaw drop. What a cast!! Established greatsalongside rising stars -- an amazing roster of talent. However, Burtonsimply started killing them off early in the flick in variousunpleasant ways, mostly by incineration. Poor Michael J. Fox didn'teven get in one good line before he was offed. I think my biggestobjection to this movie is it's very poor organization and timing.There are two main devastation scenes, one of which occurs too earlyand takes away too much of the cast, and the other, longer scene, whichis technically quite impressive but is devoid of either passion orhumor. Satire or spoof, the plot is missing fundamental cinematicvalues such as pacing, tension and payoff (not the technical terms, I'msure!). Jim Brown's unexplained and really rather unnecessary return atthe end also seemed to be a major miscalculation. And I have to addthat the aliens' exploding heads simply became dull after a dozen orso. In my opinion, Burton's low point.

Mickey M 2012-04-17 00:13:47

A cute, fairly silly movie

Recently, the Hubble telescope took pictures of a fleet of spacecraft heading to Earth under a flag of peace. The lead spacecraft, with the Martian Ambassador, lands in a Nevada desert in what can only be called a media circus, but the unexpected happens -- the martians pull out their weapons and start shooting.The first thing you will notice is the incredible cast. One performance that stands out is Jack Nichelson, who plays two roles. He is near perfect as the President of the United States, and the other, more minor role, is very funny. Another performance that makes this movie special, even if it's not that big of a role until near the end of the film, is of the late Sylvia Sidney as "Grandma Norris," and only because this is her final role before her death three years after "Mars Attacks! release.Another thing that really stands out is the design of the aliens. That are made with interesting colors, and flawless motion. The only problem I had with the aliens was the annoying voices they were given. However, they are fairly good comic relief at times and are pretty enjoyable. Another special effect that works is the spaceships, which are obviously a nod to the 1950's movies of the same genre.One problem with this film is there is some problems with character development. This is because that the cast is just a little too large to help expand their characters. There are also some pretty lame performances, but I do believe that they are intentionally poor. Some of the roles may have worked a little better if they were cameos -- especially Danny DeVito, whom I thought wasn't that great in a role that is pretty much like any other role he's done on the silver screen. Also, in my opinion, many of the performers in this film were pretty much wrong for their parts. One of those was Glen Close as the First Lady, which was obviously a comedic role, but her performance fell flat. Another thing I notices is that many performers were over-the-top, but they looked more like they were trying a little too hard to make their performances believable.The movie is filled with some very silly moments, with lots of really good chuckles. Like I said earlier, the aliens are pretty funny, and some of the performances are equally chuckle worthy. Nichelson, in his smaller role as a high stakes gambler, is simply hilarious. Many of the comedic moments are thanks to the over-the-top performances that are pretty bad by design.One thing that is pretty stupid in my opinion is the ridiculous surprise ending that is meant for a laugh. For me the surprise ending, discovered by two characters that you'd least expect, the surprise ending produced a good groan and a really good eye-roll.I am not a Tim Burton fan, but he did a good, not great, job at direction. He was able to direct a couple of real good battle scenes with lots of action and special effects. He also directed, as a whole, a good tribute to 1950's alien invasion movies with over-the-top performances, some of which didn't work in my opinion.To sum things up, "Mars Attacks!" would be a good, solid second choice the next time you go to to your local rental place. It also might be a pretty good addition to your collection if you are into a cheesy comedies.

2012-04-16 20:20:37

a great non-serious sci-fi/action/comedy

i just watched my regular dvd on a blu ray system. it is much better that way. there are a few movies that excel on a blu ray system. and these movies should be released on blu ray. i'm sure jurasic park, and spawn will be great on blu ray and constantine is better on blu ray. [i'm, also, hoping to see: LOTR- extended, eight legged freaks, evolution, and killer klowns from outer space on blu ray] this is a comedy which is made to parody fifties sci-fi movies. there are many big named movie people in this film; but i think it would have been as good with no name actors. great amounts of action and special effects have been added. 'an unsuspecting world has just realized that many space ships have just arrived from mars. the real brainy people (specifically: pierce brosnan ) say: "oh, they're intellectually advanced so they must be peaceful and highly enlightened." which strokes our ego because we [ that is: regular people] know that exploration is not for altruistic reasons but for some kind of personal gain. and this is extremely exacerbated by our understanding that the brainy people continue to blunder rather than admit they were wrong. the brainy people find an excuse to blame us [we the regular 'stupid' humans] as the fault for an extremely violent action staged by the martians. these nasty little Martians also enjoy torturing and devising elaborate plans to destroy creatures which live on earth. when it appears that there will be no stopping them a ridiculously wild martian eradicating process is discovered. this is a rather wild comedy which seems to have been inspired by sci-fi gum cards and the movies: 'independence day' and 'war of the worlds'. *** the important thing to remember is that it's intended to be a wild comedy [ a little less then 'airplane' and 'ace ventura'. maybe on the level of 'rat race'] the special effects and animation [not cartoon animation] are very good. ***

2012-04-09 10:23:47

Waste of time!

When I first saw this movie in the theater I enjoyed it. I was pretty anxious to get it on video and I did but it turned out to be a crummy movie! Yes, it does have good acting, good music by Danny Elfman, and a great all-star cast. But what else can I say this movie is pretty much dumb and it does make fun of Independence Day and Close Encounters of the Third Kind but that's not the reason why I don't like it. The reason why I don't like it is because it's cheesy, boring, and dumb. I am going to throw away my Mars Attacks video because it's stupid. I have no reason to put it in my movie collection. So whatever you do if you hadn't seen this movie yet, please do not rent it. You might be a little disappointed. It may be enjoyable for little kids but not adults. Adults might find it boring. Thanks for reading! - Ryan

Ansgar Esztermann 2012-04-09 00:24:37

Above-average parody of 60's SF.

This is certainly not one of the best movies ever made, but it is above theaverage.However, it must not be compared to "serious" science fiction (as Alien),nor should it be understood as a parody of these (like Spaceballs). Instead,watch some of the really bad science fiction movies from the 1960s - thedays when colours still had a rather artificial look, toasters and otherkitchen equipment was being used for spaceship cockpits, and aliens visitingthe earth to wipe out mankind used to be called a plot.Mars Attacks manages to poke fun at these while still holding them inreverence (sort of), and that's why it has earned a place among the topthird.