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Reviews
Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)
Finally someone understands the use of 3D goggles.
The latest effort from Dreamworks Animation is among their best efforts to date and, for the first time, I see them stepping ahead of Pixar.
What a better set-up for an animated film than Earth when it is about to be invaded by a squid-like alien with his fair amount of bad eyes and his army of clones? You get to meet a group of monsters in their containment area somewhere deep within Area fifty***. The Creature From the Black Lagoon (Missing Link), the Blob (BOB), The Fly (Dr. Cockroach), Mothra one of Godzilla's enemies (Insectosaurus) and the 50 foot Woman (Ginormica/Susan) who is only 49ft by the way are all covered here. One may wonder where is the Giant Killer Tomato or the Invisible Man but this handful of monsters are enough to nullify the Alien menace.
The movie itself is pure enjoyment: Colbert as the President is hilarious, Laurie is an excellent mad scientist and I could not point a single flaw in the cast but, it is definitely Seth Rogen who shines voicing BOB, the inform mass of gelatinous goo. He adds layers of volume to the character and brings his own goofiness with him.
The action is well paced, you don't perceive any lengths or unnecessary moments, even better, you don't feel there is missing any either. As an added bonus, the movie does not feature horrible cover versions of musical gems like in some other Dreamworks Animation movies.
Monsters VS Aliens raises the bar for animated movies when it comes to technical achievement. It is the first film I see that makes an adequate use of 3D. The computer rendered 3D world is seemingly the only suitable setup for stereoscopic vision as it failed to impress beyond 'Oh Well!' when used with flesh and bones actors and filmed decors.
If you are heading to see this movie, make sure it's in 3D, the movie itself is worth seeing no matter the viewing experience but what really makes it special is the rendering of everything in stereoscopy.
Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Misleading title but still a good horror movie.
When I came across this title I said to myself OK, Romero's Dawn Of The Dead is one of the best horror movies ever, why did someone felt the need to film a remake of it? Then I saw the preview and understood one thing, it was a different movie. The only things the two have in common is that people are hiding in a mall and there are flesh eating undead creatures.
Notice I don't, and can't, use the word zombie because it's a known fact that zombies are slow creatures. Zombies who can run DON'T EXIST.
This being clarified, and the initial deception being left aside. DOTD2K4 is a good horror movie, in the sense that there is no comforting mood. At no point, past the helicopter scene, one can think of of an happy ending. And that's just perfect.
The good surprises come from the Director's cut DVD extras, On the news bulletin, we get to see a cleaning team in Monroeville PA, for those who didn't know, the original Dawn of the dead was shot in the Monroeville mall. There is also Ken Foree and Scott Reiniger from the original movie playing small roles. Ken as a televangelist repeats the same tag-line he gave us in the first movie : "When there's no more room in hell..." I give this movie a 4 not because it's that bad, but zombies don't run and I won't allow a director to play god with Satan's creatures.
Arsène Lupin (2004)
Disappointed
Romain Duris, the little schoolboy from l'Auberge Espagnole, in the skin of the "Gentleman Cambrioleur" is a little more than I could take. I could not recognize the man from "L'Aiguille Creuse", "Le Mystérieux Voyageur", "Le Collier De La Reine" and "La Comtesse De Cagliostro" which are the stories mixed in together in the movie. Some characters are reinvented or mixed in with different concepts which are too much to swallow. Why not sticking to the story if you're not going to make t better?
There is however good playing, Kristin Scott Thomas is awesome as the countess. And even though Arsene lacks the class and style one is entitled to expect, Romain Duris have some very good moments.