Alien Trespass

Spanks - 4

Director - R.W. Goodwin

Writers - James Swift & Steven P. Fisher

Starring - Eric McCormack, Jenni Baird, Robert Patrick, Jody Thompson & Dan Lauria

Release Date - 3 April 09 (limited release)

MPAA Rating - PG

Alien Trespass is a science fiction movie from 1957 that was never released by Goldstone International Pictures because of a contract dispute between the films star M. Eric McCormack and the head of the studio Louis Q. Goldstone. Weeks before its original release date Goldstone ordered all the prints to be destroyed. 50 years later at a construction site on the location of the Goldstone back lot buried deep underground was a metal box containing the trailer, promotional material, and the finished film in perfect condition.

In reality, the film was made last year. Its director R.W. Goodwin's hommage to the movies he loved as a kid. It was made to look like it was made back in the 1950's. It uses all the effects methods of the day, although modern CGI was used for the scenes where the flying saucer was flying. They also follow the Hays Code that Hollywood had to follow until 1968. The main instrument used, like in many old films, on the soundtrack is a theremin. The film does parody the genre, but not nearly to the degree as The Lost Skeleton of Cadavraa.

The film is well written and is funny. The crash site set is very cheesy looking, but that was the point. The dialog is full of 50's slang and it has the stereotypical greaser kid who is looking for trouble whose best friend is the goody two shoes. It has the B movie cliches like rubber monsters, screaming women, the cop who is days from retirement, and many many more, but it is all done very well.

Alien Trespass is takes place over two days in a small California mountain town. A flying saucer crashes and a Ghota escapes in the crash. The alien Urp borrows the human body of Ted Lewis to find and capture the Ghota before it destroys all life on Earth. To make it harder for Urp, the Ghota is capable of chromodynamic distortion (invisibility).

Monsters vs. Aliens

Spanks - 4

Director - Rob Letterman & Conrad Vernon

Writers - Maya Forbes, Wallace Wolodarsky, Rob Letterman, Jonathan Aibel & Glenn Berger

Voices - Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Kiefer Sutherland, Rainn Wilson, Stephen Colbert & Paul Rudd

Release Date - 27 March 09

MPAA Rating - PG

Monsters Vs. Aliens is the first Dreamworks Animation Studios film to be produced for 3D. All future films will also be made this way as theaters with the digital projection systems are all over the place now and the number continues to grow. Up until this one they were produced in traditional 2D and digitally converted to 3D.

The film is a homage to the monster movies made in the early 1950's. The hero's are a 50 foot tall woman (Ginormica), a giant moth (Insectosaurus), a mad scientist that changed himself into a cockroach (Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D.), a brainless jello goo thing (B.O.B.), and an amphibian mutant (The Missing Link). They are sent to fight off the squidlike alien (Gallaxhar) who comes looking to find the quantonium that fell to Earth from a meteor and since he is here he decides to take over the world.

Monsters Vs. Aliens is funny, it has a few jokes thrown in for the adults like the presidents first contact attempt with the aliens. It is the most action packed animated film since Titan A.E and has the hottest cartoon character since Jessica Rabbit. It is a fast paced fun film for the whole family to have a night out together.

If you plan on seeing this in 3D, try and go to IMAX 3D because its less than a dollar more and the screen is way bigger and the sound system is far superior. It is well worth it.