Nicholas Cage’s dismal Knowing has come out within the top two due to its opening last week but is expected to drop down the ranks once moviegoers realise they’ve seen this somewhere before (Armageddon meets Hurricane meets every other disaster movie).

Race to Witch Mountain is hanging by a thread, as is The Uninvited. We’ll see how Watchmen fares post-Easter.

Source: MPDAA

If you’re expecting Monsters vs. Aliens to be something like DreamWorks’ Kung Fu Panda, you won’t be disappointed – or maybe you will, if you weren’t a fan of Panda.

The title tells you what to expect from the movie, even if it only lives up to part of that hype. Monsters vs. Aliens is a jokey, action-packed film that demonstrates what 3D can do for animation – and its limitations.

The film kicks off with an asteroid flying across the cosmos to earth and landing on bride-to-be Susan Murphy (Reese Witherspoon), only minutes before the ceremony is about to begin. Rather than demolish the earth, Susan emerges as more or less herself, except is now a roaring 50 feet tall.

Instantaneously, the US armed forces led by General W.R. Monger (Kiefer Sutherland), whisk Susan away to a secret government repository for all monsters whose existence is denied. There she joins a rag tag gang of other “monsters” who have been housed since the 1950s. There’s insect headed Dr. Cockroach, Ph. D. (Hugh Lawrie), a half-fish/half-ape named the Missing Link (Will Arnett), gelatinous B.O.B (Seth Rogen) and a mute bug known as Insectosaurus.

The overall concept is fun, especially from a company that is well acquainted with satires of pop culture (Shrek, Kung Fu Panda). The filmmakers succeed in poking fun at 1950’s and 60’s B-grade movies such as The Blob and Godzilla, and though genre fans may dig it, the concept will most likely be lost on younger audiences. Unlike Shrek or Kung Fu Panda, the referenced movies barely survive in popular culture today, meaning the movie has to survive on its own merits rather than references to several generations of movie going.

As with any decent cartoon, the animators combine verbal gags and witty one-liners with visual stunts. During an epic battle between monsters and robots, Susan uses a pair of sports cars on her feet as roller skates to race around quickly. When the president demands a meeting with the country’s best and brightest scientists, the phone call goes to India.

Tender moments in the film are overpowered by the action, and it is obvious the cartoonists saw action at every turn to enhance the 3D forces. That said, Monsters is built for action unlike many other animated films in this genre. Could WALL-E benefit from 3D? Probably not. Regardless, Monsters vs. Aliens is a reasonable start.