Monsters vs. Aliens

[megladon8]

This animated film from Dreamworks Animation stars the voices of Seth Rogen, Will Arnett, Reese Witherspoon, Kiefer Sutherland, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Colbert and Paul Rudd.

From IMDb...


When a meteorite from outer space hits a young California girl named Susan Murphy and turns her into a giant monster, she is taken to a secret government compound where she meets a ragtag group of monsters also rounded up over the years. As a last resort, under the guidance of General W.R. Monger, on a desperate order from The President, the motley crew of Monsters is called into action to combat the aliens and save the world from imminent destruction!

Some images from the movie...

http://img355.imageshack.us/img355/4374/monsters1zs1.th.jpg (http://img355.imageshack.us/my.php?image=monsters1zs1.jpg)

http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/7168/monstersvsalienshq2.th.jpg (http://img129.imageshack.us/my.php?image=monstersvsaliensh q2.jpg)


This is one of my most looked-forward-to movies on 2009.

The concept alone is amazing.

[Winston*]

Going to go ahead and predict this will be awful. Calling it here first.

[Ezee E]

isn't this going to be in 3D?

[Sycophant]

Yeah, it's actually being produced for 3D.

Yay for a female protagonist. Boo for bland character design and predictable vocal casting, even if I like all the actors involved.

Meh to the project altogether. Naturally, I'll be seeing it, though.

[D_Davis]

Meh to the project altogether. Naturally, I'll be seeing it, though.

:frustrated:

[megladon8]

Bland character design? Really?

It's not like Monsters, Inc. had overly original character design. A big blue furry guy, and a little green guy with one eye.

[Sycophant]

Bland character design? Really?

It's not like Monsters, Inc. had overly original character design. A big blue furry guy, and a little green guy with one eye.

It goes beyond that, to an overall character design and philosophy. If you had told me "DreamWorks monsters," I would have pictured these. There's such a bland sameness to the way DreamWorks Animation designs things, it makes me fear a giant crossover project not too far in the distance.


:frustrated:

Hi, Davis!

[megladon8]

It goes beyond that, to an overall character design and philosophy. If you had told me "DreamWorks monsters," I would have pictured these. There's such a bland sameness to the way DreamWorks Animation designs things, it makes me fear a giant crossover project not too far in the distance.


I really don't see what you mean.

Plus, these images only show a few monsters. I'm sure there are many, many more.

[number8]

I was excited when I first heard about it because the cast seems incredibly dead-on casting. But the Comic Con trailer left me cold.

[MadMan]

The animation looks cool, and the voice cast is pretty solid. However I want to see a trailer/teaser or footage first before I make any other judgements.

[Henry Gale]

Bootleg of the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxO0A0MoWnU

Pretty disappointing as I too loved the cast and the premise.

[Watashi]

This will be all sorts of awful.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Yeah, going by that trailer, what a waste of a good premise and cast. Bummer.

[Rowland]

Directed by the guys behind Shrek 2 and Shark Tale. Nope, not interested.

[KK2.0]

It goes beyond that, to an overall character design and philosophy. If you had told me "DreamWorks monsters," I would have pictured these. There's such a bland sameness to the way DreamWorks Animation designs things, it makes me fear a giant crossover project not too far in the distance.

I tought Kung Fu Panda's character design and look was pretty great, but i dislike the art direction of the Shrek movies and Shark tale.

that said the trailer was weak, but so are for most animated pictures, i'll wait for reviews and impressions.

the blue monster reminded me of a Johnny Quest episode.

[megladon8]

Trailer. (http://youtube.com/watch?v=eDmLk55bxVI)

[chrisnu]

Kids aren't going to get any of the Strangelove ripoffs. The "it's just business" line was amusing.

[Watashi]

This is getting good reviews. All I can say is....why? I just can't muster any reason to see this outside of the WTWTA trailer and the 3D effects.


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.


I liked it more than anything Pixar has made the last five years.

Hmmm....

[Sycophant]

The trailer for this that seems to be playing in front of everything I see these days is wretched shit.

[number8]

It was awful.

[Fezzik]

I liked it more than anything Pixar has made the last five years.

That is from Phil Villareal, noted Pixar hater. He gave negative reviews to both Ratatouille and Wall*E. So, I'll take his comment with a gallon of salt.

[Winston*]

Going to go ahead and predict this will be awful. Calling it here first.


It was awful.

:cool:

[Sycophant]

You enjoy those cool-ass shades there, Winston*.

[lovejuice]

to be honest, i think of this movie as a technology showcase more than a movie. if the story and stuff are good, that's a plus, but as long as the 3D is as awesome as many people claim, i'm happy.

[Spinal]

Predicting that a Dreamworks Animation film will suck is not exactly going out on a limb.

[NickGlass]

I find this conversation of Monsters vs. Aliens very funny, and very interesting:

http://thelmagazine.com/lmag_blog/blog/post__03260903.cfm

[number8]

I find this conversation of Monsters vs. Aliens very funny, and very interesting:

http://thelmagazine.com/lmag_blog/blog/post__03260903.cfm

The Renne Zellweger scene they mentioned was so curiously weird. I could feel the nervous laughter of the parents when she so openly and blatantly tries to rape her boyfriend. I was surprised that they didn't even bother trying to hide it in a funny metaphor. Nope, just a girl wanting to get it on and a boyfriend who might be closeted gay, laid out on the text.

[Sxottlan]

He doesn't want sex, therefore he was gay? Huh? And where are people getting that he's a gymnast? Unless he said something I missed, I didn't see anything on his jacket. Then again, the scene lasted less than a minute and I may not have caught it.

I thought this was cute, nothing more. However, up until the meteor struck, it was comedy death. Nothing remotely funny. It took weird shenanigans to make it funny. I thought Bob was hilarious. Was able to avoid the pop culture crap that sinks most of the Dreamworks animation, although the arcade dance finale was completely out of left field.

What happened in the pre-title card scene? I missed it.

I was actually thinking of seeing it again, this time in 3D. See what the big deal is supposed to be. More as an experiment to see if it really adds anything at all to the experience.

[number8]

And where are people getting that he's a gymnast? Unless he said something I missed, I didn't see anything on his jacket.

He did. He said he has gymnastics practice.

[Sxottlan]

He did. He said he has gymnastics practice.

Ah. Gotcha. :lol:

[lovejuice]

i like it. though i found most of bob's jokes flat on their faces. it's actually susan that endeared me to the movie.

the 3 D is...nice, perhaps ironically too nice. after the first 15 minutes, it lost its wow factors, and when it came to the climatic battle -- when we needed that wow most -- i was so immersed that the 3 D became less noticeable. it's not yet the technology of the future.

[number8]

the 3 D is...nice, perhaps ironically too nice. after the first 15 minutes, it lost its wow factors, and when it came to the climatic battle -- when we needed that wow most -- i was so immersed that the 3 D became less noticeable. it's not yet the technology of the future.

Wait, I find this to be the point. For it to become the next revolution, it needs to stop being a "wow" gimmick. What this movie does that's beyond previous 3D movies is that the effect doesn't call attention at all. It's just part of the visual fabric. This is a good thing, and it's why it's being hailed as the future.

[lovejuice]

Wait, I find this to be the point. For it to become the next revolution, it needs to stop being a "wow" gimmick. What this movie does that's beyond previous 3D movies is that the effect doesn't call attention at all. It's just part of the visual fabric. This is a good thing, and it's why it's being hailed as the future.
i agree and disagree with you. it's good that the 3D stops being a gimmick. but the experience of watching the movie in 3D should be markedly different from in 2D. even without watching the 2D format of MVA, i can't imagine this to be the case.

[Dukefrukem]

It was awful.

Yup.

Dreamworks fails again.