Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-25 04:18:31

Disgrateful writing!

Monsters vs. Aliens gives Science-Fiction a BAD NAME!Animation was doing just fine, until Dreamworks took over!Down with Dreamworks, with their sick sense of humor they put in their GARBAGE!

ajs-10 2012-05-24 21:45:47

Not bad... But not great...

I usually really enjoy animated films and I remember when this one cameout last year it had one or two good reviews. So I had some fairly highhopes when I popped the DVD into the player.Outside the church on her wedding day, bride-to-be Susan Murphy getsstruck by a meteorite. She looks dazed, but still makes it to thealter. While the ceremony is taking place she begins to grow… and grow…and grow until she is so big she takes the roof off the church. All ofa sudden the military are there in numbers and they drug Susan and takeher away to a secret government facility run by General W.R. Monger.Here she meets other monsters, B.O.B., who is a kind of blob, Dr.Cockroach Ph.D., a human/cockroach experiment that went wrong, TheMissing Link, who was found in a glacier and the skyscraper-sizedmutant larva Insectosaurus. She also gets told her monster name will beGinormica. The monsters are soon called into action when an alien robotsent by Gallaxhar, a deranged alien overlord, lands on Earth. Theydefeat the robot only for Gallaxhar himself to come for the resourcethe robot failed to collect, a resource held by Susan. I think that'senough spoilers for one day.Quite a well made film with some neat animation, but we would expectnothing less from DreamWorks. The plot was okay with some nice jokesthrown in for the adult viewers. Decent performances from all the maincast, so honourable mentions go to the voice talents of; ReeseWitherspoon as Susan Murphy / Ginormica, Seth Rogen as B.O.B., HughLaurie as Dr. Cockroach Ph.D., Will Arnett as The Missing Link, KieferSutherland as General W.R. Monger and Rainn Wilson as Gallaxhar.I guess I was slightly disappointed with this film, the script was OKbut I just didn't really care for any of the characters that much.There seems to be something lacking. Don't get me wrong, the kids willlove it, but I guess it's just one of those films that just didn'tconnect with me. Over all, for the younger viewer, recommended. For theadults, well maybe watch it once (under junior supervision).My score: 5.8/10

EvelPlatypus 2012-05-24 03:43:27

A 2-D Review

So, I saw Monsters Vs. Aliens not too long ago, and I can sat that Iwould've loved this movie more if I saw it in 3-D. It's not as if 3-Dmakes the movie, it just makes it better. However, since I saw itwithout 3-D, I was able to realize any cheesy and obvious pop-outeffects, and there were only two effects like that. Seeing it in 2-Dwas fine though. This movie involves aliens invading Earth, and thegovernment calls on a group of monsters to take care of them...I guess.Well, the plot doesn't really matter. I throughly enjoyed this movie,but little things annoyed me. First of all, there were a bit too manyobvious references being jammed down your throat. Also, some jokes arebland and just...fail. However, some jokes are really cleaver andfunny, and I think that kids will enjoy the...pretty colors and theadults will appreciate the humor. However, If you ARE an adult withoutchildren wanting to see this movie, do yourself a favor and wait untilit's on DVD, unless it's in 3-D in your theater. One final thought, this movie is comparable to Kung-Fu Panda, but in myopinion, Kung-Fu Panda is much better.

michael11391 2012-05-23 12:44:55

Monsters Vs. Aliens is one of Dreamworks Animation best work, it's very fun and entertaining.

I just saw MvA and it was fun, entertaining & sometimes very funny. Itwas better than Kung Fu Panda & Madagascar 2, it was one of DreamworksAnimation best. Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett & RainnWilson as the main villain Gallaxhar were great and fun to watch. ButSeth Rogen as B.O.B & Stephen Colbert as the President stole the showwith memorable characters, they were funny as hell!! I liked the goodvisuals, the nice 50's look at alien invasions and mainly theaction-packed sequences (surprised how great the action was in this).It wasn't as funny as I expected it to be but I still laughed hard outloud a couple times as well a few more laughs at other scenes as well.The action sequences though, is surprisingly well-made and loved it.Monsters Vs. Aliens is like The Incredibles of Dreamworks Animation,The Incredibles is the best & most action-packed feature from Pixar andthis Monsters Vs. Aliens from Dreamworks Animation (more action thanKung Fu Panda, in my opinion). Monsters Vs. Aliens is a very fun,entertaining, very funny & action-packed and one of DreamworksAnimation best features yet!!

2012-05-23 08:11:44

Good For Renting

Continuing the kids-friendly video borrowing, I recently saw Monsters vs Aliens.This is a terrific movie. It was a great counter to the failure that was Where the Wild Things Are.There is a secret government group comprised of monsters. These monsters are released to combat an alien bent on the earth's enslavement.While this was released in 3D, I was unable to see it in that format.The voices are provided by: Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Kiefer Sutherland, Stephen Colbert and many others.Casting Colbert as the President was genius. He steals the show. Every single line is laugh out loud. My particular favorite has to do with "Code Brown" because he has to change his pants.Dreamworks has been trying to steal some of the thunder from Pixar for years. This film is great for the entire family to watch and not have to worry about subtle, inappropriate humor.Rent this tonight!

Bharath Karthikeyan 2012-05-23 01:07:08

its not de aliens or de monsters,but the 3D which won the battle!

Dreamworks tries its hand in animation after having offered hugesuccesses in the likes of the shrek franchise,kung fu panda andmadagascar with this new 2D+3D flick, Monster Vs Aliens.As far as the story plot goes,it is a bit of a disappointment it losestrack many a times,and has only a few really good humor throughout.But what makes this movie a "Check it out" flick,is the fact that ithas a 3D version which is the saving soul and dreamworks has done agood job in delivering and engrossing the audience with 3D effects andground breaking visuals.The younger audience will definitely love this movie,cause there wherelike a dozens of tiny tots jumping up in their seats through the movierun time while i was watching!Hence i would strongly recommend foranyone having young kids,that they would have a great time.This movie is for anyone who likes animation movies and please watch itin 3D,or u r missing a lot!cheers!!!

2012-05-21 20:47:56

DELIGHTFUL ENTERTAINMENT

I was impressed with Steve Colbert as president. His TV persona showed through in this left of center satire on monster and alien movies. It is a movie that parents will find entertaining also. There is a reference to Susan's boobies and a scene where the military man scans his butt to enter a room. That is pretty much the extent of objectionable material. The movie starts out with Susan getting married in a Unitarian (?) church (no Christian symbols) when she is struck by a meteorite which turns her into the 50 foot woman. The military subdues her like Lilliputians and imprisons her with other monsters (interment camp). When an alien robot attacks the earth, the monsters are let loose to save the planet and win their freedom in return. If your kids liked Mars Attacks, they will enjoy this movie.

wakemeup36 2012-05-21 04:11:04

Could've been better

Well, let's see what we have here. Another one of them 3-d movies thatare becoming very common nowadays. It's pretty predictable, and on themost part is family friendly and quite light hearted. That being said,the humorous parts of the movie reign supreme. Some of it is justrandom humour typically found in these type of movies. Some of itcontains references to sci-fi films and such.The lead character, Susan, is not really interesting. However, the sidecharacters, particularly B.O.B and the president, are hilarious.Unfortunately most of the screen time is obviously given to Susan whichis a downside. Even though the overall plot is pretty predictable andmaybe even a bit generic, things are generally kept interesting. Theanimation and effects are good, but not great by 2009's standards.The problem with this is that I found the high points of the movie it'sfunny parts, but they weren't enough to make this a great movie.Susan's love/drama life was given too much attention. Plus, the plotfelt a bit rushed.If you're an animation fan like me, go ahead and watch it. Itdefinitely has it's moments. However, it could've achieved anunforgettable status with just a bit more work. I think it deserves a6.5 but since IMDb doesn't have that option, I'll give it a generous 7.

Mr. Neutron 2012-05-20 16:57:04

The tagline of this movie should be "Eh..."

Because that's exactly what you get. Monsters vs. Aliens isn't aTERRIBLE movie, but it's not very good either. The plot is predictable.That's something that you should expect from movies of this type. But acertain other animation studio (I think you know the one) makes thejourney itself so enjoyable, and the scope of adventure so vast that itdoesn't matter. Monsters vs. Aliens feels at times like a bunch ofaction scenes strung together by completely unfunny jokes. There's alsoa message of female independence here, one that gives the film achick-flick flair. If that sounds bad, stick around. It gets worse.This movie is just not funny. It spouts pop culture references (a dirtyhabit of Dreamworks animation), one of which is embarrassing to watcheven by oneself. The action scenes are... well, they'reIncredibles-ish. At least they try to be. They attempt to be franticand energetic, but it doesn't really turn out that way. The moviereaches its absolute lowpoint when we're supposed to mourn a characterwho's come off like one big joke the whole film. This eye-rollingmoments leaves us wondering why we should care.But it's not all bad. In one particular scene, the main character Susangets imprisoned. What happens next is surprising and exciting. You justdon't expect that to happen. The celebrity presence in a Dreamworksfilm is always a certainty. They always put flash-in-the-pan idiots inlead roles. But in their defense, at least Hugh Laurie is subdued. Youdon't know that it's him, and that's something these big personalitiesshould learn to make a convincing role. Still, Monsters vs. Aliens isquite mediocre. We know where it's going within ten minutes of the filmand the rest is fleshed out by action scenes and dumbed-down comedy.

simon-prometheus 2012-05-20 07:03:35

A bit stunted but undeniably fun

If there is one movie this year that you would expect bar none to be the most fun this year, then that movie would have to be Monsters Vs. Aliens. Why? An irresistible premise, a massive ensemble comedic cast and boasting three whole dimensions, the latest dreamworks animation kid flick has everything going for it, and yet ultimately the whole endeavor feels strangely stunted; the story seems stunted, the action sequences seem stunted and many of the character arcs seem stunted.Not that much of the above will matter to kids, nor to the adults who go with them, nor did it matter much to me but there are simply so many better films out there (*cough Pixar*) that the bar has been permanently raised to such heights that even mammoth monsters or alien technology cannot reach. Ultimatelty the success of the film lies with the voice cast which includes Reese Witherspoon as Susan (later forcefully renamed Ginormica) Seth Rogen as the blathering B.O.B., House's Hugh laurie as Dr. Coachroach, Will Arnett as The Missing Link, Kiefer Sutherland as the steely General W.R. Monger, Rainn Wilson as the evil alien Gallaxhar and finally Stephen Colbert as the dimwitted President of the U.S.While cute and likable Witherspoon doesn't have quite enough pizazz to pull off voice work and the show is mostly stolen by Rogen, Arnett and Laurie. There is scattered genius throughout Monsters vs Aliens, in the satire of monster movies and alien invasion scenarios and simply with some of the hilarious writing and impeccable delivery. Alas it ultimately feels like the little brother of The Incredibles; lacking the full punch, consistently snappy screenplay and pulse-pounding action that will literally thrill young and old; here young an old will only be amused. The plot is simple and the story progresses at a nice pace, beginning with Susan being struck by a meteorite (that coincidently is sought by Gallaxhar for devious purposes) that causes her to grow to enormous size. Quarantined by the government she is imprisoned with the other aforementioned misfits until general Monger comes up with a proposal; prevent the alien invasion and earn their freedom.Unlike most animated films where a sequel almost always feels forced and is always more disappointing then the first, I actually believe the contrary here. Now that the set-up is complete and the lovable monster team is assembled they can one-up themselves with a full-throttle monster/alien brawl. The series has potential, that much is certain, and the right balance of kid friendly and adult amusing antics are present. All Dreamworks need to do is give the source material that spark that made their other efforts like Shrek and Kung Fu Panda irresistible and ultimately rewarding.

kirk-246 2012-05-18 09:50:22

Not perfect,but its really funny

I was really excited to see this movie,but I only made through half ofthe movie twice for reasons that don't involve me wanting to leave thetheater because I thought it was bad,even though it wasn't.But on thethird time,I managed to watch the entire movie.Although this movieisn't excellent,it does have some great belly laughs that even adultswill enjoy.My favorite part of the movie was when the president wastrying to communicate with the alien spaceship with a keyboard,whichthey took from a movie called 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind',andthen switched to Axel F.I could barely breathe when I saw thatpart.Overall,you should go see it.7/10

2012-05-17 20:02:17

hillarious

i didn't think i'd like this movie. i rented it wathed it loved it. as soon as i saw it for sale at the video store i bought it. this movie i energetic and fun. this movie is for everyone. my favorite character is bob. Whats yours?

2012-05-16 16:01:09

Great movie!

This review is from: Monsters vs. Aliens (DVD) Cute movie that even I found funny! Received it very quickly and it was in perfect condition.

2012-05-15 23:54:48

Good Clean FUN (Safe for kids and grown ups)

I cannot believe some of the negative reviews people have tossed out on this film.I especially loved the one written by the idiot claiming the connection with the HOMO Agenda??? ( YOU are a particularly sick and twisted freak!)This is good old American fun with plenty of laughs.Watch it and enjoy.This is no more subversive that an episode of Jimmy Neutron.Get over yourselves, this movie rocks.JD

paul-castley 2012-05-15 19:19:23

FIrst 3D film I've seen,,awesome

Firstly the film: Brilliant film, not too much to think about. Theanimation was spot on and flawless as per usual from dream works.. Somevery funny parts also, My kids loved it! so did I.The 3D: I've never watched a film in 3D at the cinema before, and I wasreally really impressed. This film had them odd parts where things cameout of the sceen at you, but it did hae a allot of perspective too, youforgot that you where watching a film on a flat screen..... For now onim going to watch every film I can in 3D... I hope the 3D catches onmore with non animated films, terminator rev for e.g would bhe great in3D.Go see this film this easter! well worth the extra charges for 3D.

beflin 2012-05-15 06:00:57

SOOOOO cute!

Characters: 10 Story: 10 Story originality: 10 Sight gags: 10 Sightgags originality: 10 Jokes: 10 Jokes originality: 10 Speed: 9 (a littletoo fast in places to be able to catch everything) Come to think of it,compared to most CGI movies I've seen, I should take that back, andgive "Monsters vs Aliens" a perfect 10 for pacing during their visualgags. Guess I felt I had to be critical and find SOME fault with thismovie in order to remain "objective". Nope - I really cannot find faultwith this movie.Watched it on DVD, with the English subtitles, to make sure I don'tmiss anything.Best gag (as it makes a point about when it is necessary vs unnecessaryto a story's plot or a character's motivation): Gallaxhar in thecloning device

meeza 2012-05-09 15:20:42

Monster Mash movie hit!

(In the style of Boris Pickett's 60's hit song "Monster Mash")I was hanging in the theater late one night When my eyes beheld aneerie sight For that female's height began to rise And suddenly to mysurpriseI did the mash I did the "Monsters vs. Aliens" mash The "Monsters vs.Aliens" mash It was a box office smash It did the winning cash So dothe "Monsters vs. Aliens" mash From the computer cinematography that is quite a visual feat To thespot-on voice-overs when the actors speak The crowd all came from theirhumble abodes To get a jolt from those monster rolesThey did the mash They did the "Monsters vs. Aliens" mash The "Monstersvs. Aliens" mash It was a comedic smash They did the mash It caught ina flash They did the mash They did the "Monsters vs. Aliens" mashThe critics were even having fun And the film had only just begun Theguests included Meezaman His wife Karly and their son Rock Lobster too The film was rocking with all those monster sounds Reese Witherspoonwas off the chain backed by her monster hounds The alien-bangers wereabout to arrive With their clone alien group "The Crypt-Alien Alive"They played the mash They played the "Monsters vs. Aliens" mash It didnot crash It was a crowd-pleaser mash They played the mash It broughtin quite a box office stash…OK, enough! That sounded more like a jingle review of "Punsters vs.Aliens" than "Monsters vs. Aliens". Anyway, you gotta pretty good ideathat the new Dreamworks' computer animated offering "Monsters vs.Aliens" was delightfully entertaining and how could I "alienately" putit….Far Out!!!!! Reese Witherspoon wonderfully does the voice of "theabout to be wed" Susan Murphy, who is hit by a meteorite which causesher to convert into the gigantic Ginormica. There are copyrightinfringements here because I have had a few turds in my life which Ihave named Ginormica also. OK, I will stop talking s*it. Anyway, therookie monster Ginormica is taken into a monster jail and befriendsother monster colleagues: B.O.B., Dr. Cockroach Ph. D, and The MissingLink. A vicious alien form named Gallaxhar clones his kind to strikePlanet Earth into oblivion, so therefore the Monsters are delegated bythe U.S. Government to…. (Well, you get it, just look again at thefilm's title.) Besides Witherspoon, excellent voice-over work was doneby: Seth Rogen as B.O.B., Hugh Laurie as Dr. Cockroach, Will Arnett asThe Missing Link, Rainn Wilson as Gallaxhar, and Stephen Colbert as ThePresident. I will not reveal more of the plot of "Monsters vs. Aliens",so I could provide you a missing link to not spoil it for you. So havea blast with the "Monsters vs. Aliens" smash! ***** Excellent

Turfseer 2012-05-09 01:45:59

Mildly entertaining but flat animated sci-fi comedy

Monsters vs Aliens had the potential to become a Sci-Fi comedy classicalong the lines of a 'Coneheads' or 'Galaxy Quest' but didn't quitemake it. There were a few scenes that really hit the mark however, dueto the satirical content. My favorite scene was President Hathaway(voiced by Stephen Colbert) trying to make personal contact with thealien robot. The President is depicted as sort of a twisted MadisonAvenue Ad exec type from the 60s surrounded by prototypical yes men.First he plays the theme from 'Close Encounters' on a DX7 Yamaha synthand then breaks into Axel F, the theme from the 1984 Beverly Hills Copmovie (the anachronisms just seemed to jell perfectly). When the robotmakes it clear that he's not interested in 'peaceful co-existence',President Hathaway just manages to escape with his life. Thepresident's transition from feckless appeaser to impulsive warmonger ina matter of a few minutes is priceless! The film's inciting incident draws you in at first. That's where Susanis infected by the meteorite and is transformed into a giant monster onher wedding day. We break into the 'second act' when Susan istransported to the secret government facility where she's imprisonedwith other monsters who have been captured over the last fifty years. Ijust couldn't understand how the secret government monster unit couldhave so easily muzzled all the guests at the wedding who were witnessesto Susan's amazing transformation. And that especially includes Derek,Susan's social-climbing TV anchor boyfriend, who would have been firstin line to promote the media scoop.I was further disappointed when we soon learn that the government has'collected' a total of only four monsters (not including the newlyminted Susan, now dubbed 'Ginormica') over the past five decades. Andit seemed crazy that such an enormous facility was needed to house sucha limited collection (I guess that was the joke—the government was soparanoid about the monsters escaping that they built such a giantfacility despite the fact that their prisoners were a completely sorryand ineffectual bunch). The bottom line is that it would have been muchmore fun if there were more monsters released to combat the invadingaliens. The film's scenarists could have worked the additional monstersin without taking away from the principals (the other monsters couldhave been designated as less intelligent and unable to speak—at thesame time, their ineptitude could have been highlighted through variousvisual scenes without the need for dialogue).The monsters of 'Monsters vs Aliens' seem to be created in order toemulate Dorothy's allies in 'The Wizard of Oz'. Susan (having beenseparated from her family and propelled into a new world) can belikened to Dorothy. Then there's Dr. Cockroach as the brainy Scarecrow,The Missing Link as the Tin Man without a heart and BOB equivalent tothe cowardly lion (since this is a comedy, BOB's 'cowardice' is due tostupidity rather than a lack of nerve). And Insectosaurus, the lovablemoth, functions as a sort of Toto character, beloved by the protagonistand her allies.I found the Monsters to be a rather unfunny lot. There wasn't muchdifference between the Dr. Cockroach character and the principalvillain, Gallaxhar (both had that maniacal laugh). And what about the'Missing Link'? I guess he was supposed to be some sort of Loch NessMonster but there was nothing distinctive about his comic persona. BOB,the gelatinous mass, who couldn't think straight, was perhaps the mostamusing of the motley trio. The bit about him falling in love with thejello mold was one of the funniest scenes in the entire movie.As the Monster vs Alien's plot develops, it becomes obvious that thevapid Susan, who defines herself in relation to the obnoxious Derek,finally gains confidence and is no longer dependent on men to goforward in life. That's her 'internal arc' and I had no problem withthe way the story was going in that regard. But the 'external arc' ofthe story was underdeveloped and derivative. Take for example whenSusan first stops the alien robot (but must destroy the Golden GateBridge in the process). Although the city of San Francisco had beenevacuated, I would have thought that the battle with the alien robotwould still have been covered by the news media. The film'sscreenwriters missed a big opportunity to depict Susan as the new heroand media darling after destroying the alien robot. And for awhile, itwould have been nice to see Susan distracted by fame and seduced by theculture of celebrity.Finally, Gallaxhar and his spaceship, seemed to be like a cheapimitation of the brilliant Coneheads. Contrast the sharp, satiricalportraits of various narcissistic characters in the Coneheads withGallaxhar —reminiscent of the mustachioed villain of 19th centurymelodrama.Monsters vs Aliens has quite a bit of very neat animation along with apositive message of self-empowerment. But by the film's end, it becomestoo much like the kind of films it seeks to satirize. Yes, another'mother ship' blows up after being set on 'auto-destruct', thanks tothe heroic efforts of a group of motley but lovable losers. 'Monsters'has its moments but it's not consistently funny enough to be ranked asone of the better comic animations.

Floated2 2012-05-07 03:10:51

Surprisingly an amusing film!

I was somewhat surprised tat I enjoyed this film as much as I did. Ididn't really have high expectations before watching this but I endedup enjoying quite much. It was actually very funny, and the specialeffects were nice (though I didn't see it in 3D). It was much moredifferent than other animated movies from recent. Unlike the others,this one has more action and better humour.The characters in general were pretty good and funny. Though I stronglydisliked the lead female Susan. He was very stereotypical and clichéand she was selfish. IMO she was more selfish than her boyfriend whoshe accused of being selfish. I hated the whole "woman can do thingswithout a man" thing was laid on pretty thick. Her act was soo clichédand typical. At first when she became a giant, she wanted to be backnormal sized, then once she finally got turned back normal, she wantedto go back to being a giant..how predictable. And for Derrick, he hadreasons for not wanting to be with her after she became a giant, yetshe couldn't understand that and she got mad real fast. Her attitudeand personality wasn't all that great. BOB (Seth Rogen) stole the show,he was the best part. His character was hilarious throughout. The othercharacters were pretty nice too (the cockroach prof., missing like, theevil Galaxar). The graphics were quite pretty, and that final fightscene was something to behold. Overall I really enjoyed this film, soid recommend it to others!

bensonmum2 2012-05-06 20:53:09

"Boys, set the terror level at code brown, 'cause I need to change my pants."

Last weekend, I took my 6 year-old son to see the 3-D version ofMonsters vs Aliens. For a user comment on the movie, I thought I woulddo something a little different and interview him to get his thoughts.Me: So, what did you think of Monsters vs Aliens? Son: Good (Let meexplain a little about his one word answer. My son is a veryarticulate, bright little boy. But for some reason, when it comes tousing positive adjectives, he seems to only know one – "Good". And heuses it alone – no subject or verb as in "It was good" – just "Good".The only problem is that to my son, "Good" is used to describe anythingfrom an ice cream cone to a trip to Disney World. What did you thinkabout that pizza? Answer - Good. How was school today? Answer - Good.What would you think if I gave you a million dollars? Answer – Good. Sotake his "Good" as you will.)Me (trying to drag something else out of him): What was your favoritepart? Son: When Ginormica was busting through the wall.Me: Was any of the movie funny? Son: Yes – It was funny when Bob gotstepped on.Me: What did you think of the 3-D effects? Son: Good. (See what Imean?)Me: Would you recommend it to your friends at school? Son: Yes, it wasreally good (What? Really good? Where did that come from?).There you have it – a succinct review from a reasonably typical 6year-old kindergärtner. As for me, the movie was only okay. The 3-D effects were oftenbreathtaking. And some of the comedy hit the mark. I especially enjoyedHugh Laurie as Dr. Cockroach. But the plot was overly simple and verypredictable. There were few if any surprises. And I really didn't likethe way the monsters were used. They were often little more than comicrelief and had no real purpose. So while my son may say "Good", I say"Average". A 5/10 from me.