L'Île des insectes mutants

OK so far as crap movies go, I've seen worse and more worse. This one was bad but it had some decent parts, like the guy fighting the giant praying mantis with a bulldozer...awesome. And the part where the giant Queen ant dances along to Carmen Electra's song...wow.

Carmen Electra...sigh...isn't it sad that the only reason I rented this movie was for her? Yes. I know it is. Lucky for the movie makers there's thousands of men out there like me. We love you Carmen...keep making crappy movies like this.

Oh and Nick Carter...ya. His 'cameo' consisted of maybe 5 minutes (if I stretch it) of running out from a helicopter and asking if everyone was OK? Again...wow.

Also I would like to ask the two MTV VJ's who starred in this 'What the dilly yo?"

Released to TV in 2004, "Monster Island" is a fun, campy adventure with intentionally bad non-special effects that combines elements of movies like 1961's "Mysterious Island," "King Kong," "The Land that Time Forgot" and "Scooby-Doo" (but without the dog); it pokes fun at the stop-motion effects from decades ago and even has a character named after stop-motion guru Ray Harryhausen, played by Adam West.

I'm surprised at the bad reviews, which shows these people didn't "get it," because "Monster Island" delivers the goods in practically every department. For one, the adventure story works even though it's obviously not to be taken too serious; it's just serious enough. Secondly, the cast is great, which includes an excellent assortment of women -- cutie Chelan Simmons, blond dancer Jana Berengel, Carmen Electra, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, etc. And, thirdly, a notable score and soundtrack (including the main song "Jungle Fever" sung by Carmen). Really, everything just clicks for a entertaining, fun adventure movie.

Around the mid-point I realized that I had stumbled on to something special with the introduction of Dr. Harryhausen's ugly-but-cute pet Rudy and the subsequent nigh-moving scene between Dr. Harryhausen and Maddy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). The way Maddy starts to morph into the queen (or goddess) of the Matambas due to the tribal necklace is another highlight.

I'm grading this flick according to what it is and what it aspires to achieve: "Monster Island" is a campy TV-movie with intentionally bad F/X and a fun adventure story, which is taken just serious enough. With this in mind, it's superlative on practically every level and, in my opinion, is more entertaining than "Goonies," the two "Scooby-Doo" movies, "At the Earth's Core" (which isn't saying much, lol) and even "Star Wars" (yes, there are some Star Wars elements). In other words, I'd happily watch "Monster Island" before any of these five movies.

The film was shot in British Columbia and the studio and runs 92 minutes.

GRADE: B+/A-

Monster Island is geared for the under 30 crowd and over 9 crowd. Since I don't fall into the ages between 9 and 30, this was not that great a movie for me. I might as well be watching Beavis and Butthead. The movie is silly and is good for a laugh or two for either a group of friends watching or watching the movie by yourself. I would think that this movie needs friends with you. Teens having crazy fun and out for a crazy adventure are not my ideas of a good movie. The movie does/can make one smile and forget about one's troubles. So, the movie does what it is supposed to do -- provide entertainment, important message, optional. Pizza and beer all around for those 21 and older and soda instead of beer for those younger. Enjoy

Think about it for a second, everybody. Did you really expect THAT much quality out of an MTV-original-made-for-TV movie? I went into this will fairly low expectations, however it was a fun movie to watch (with a group of people). That being said, its not really good per se. Most of the acting isn't very good, and the characters are pretty unlikable. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is the only real exception, she can actually act and her character seems to be the only level- headed character for the majority of the movie. Adam West is also pretty good in the movie. In typical Adam West fashion, his overacting is great. The movie has too many stupid moments to list, however the one that stands out is the scene where the two grasshoppers look like their going to start fighting and instead start mating. In conclusion, this movie can be a fun throwback if you're with some friends who like monster flicks, but if you're alone, or you're just looking to see some Carmen Electra vanity project, you might want to avoid it. 4/10

Watching this, it almost seems like it was filmed to be a comedy. But it's really hard to tell. If it's filmed as a horror movie, it's absolutely awful, and filmed as a comedy it's also terrible. The cover makes this look like a Carmen Electra versus the giant bugs movie, but it isn't. The plot is several teens win a contest and get to party with Carmen Electra on a deserted island. Problem comes when a giant flying ant swoops her up, and the select few kids that want to help, go on a journey to the big mountain to save her. The bugs were clay animated, and when the bug swoops her up, they have Carmen and her bodyguard clay animated also. It's a really ridiculous and tired premise, which moves from comedy, then to "horror" then back to comedy. The last 30 minutes of the movie are so painfully stupid it's hard to watch. And for anyone watching this because they enjoy Carmen's impressive resume'e, don't. She only has a total of maybe 15 minutes of screen time or less. Though I'm sure many people are amused by this, it's not a good movie and it's awfully stupid.

*Just to add, Adam West plays a role in the film as an island inhabitant, and has the stupidest line in the film, "You kids shouldn't be horsing around here." My rating: * out of ****. 91 mins. PG for language and violence.