Rosear
Joined Dec 2003
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Reviews2
Rosear's rating
Two things should be clear about Mars Attacks. First of all, the fact that it's a Tim Burton movie, and secondly, the fact that most Tim Burton fans have something against it.
The reasons are fairly simple. First of all, it's a pretty average sci-fi comedy, with cheesy dialogue and little to no plot. Most of the characters exist solely to be in varying amounts of pain. The special effects look terrible, the casting is seemingly completely random, and to top it all off there's random deus ex machina moments involving Tom Jones, of all people.
Secondly-- people expect Tim Burton to write dark, Gothic fairy tales about misunderstood outcasts and pale moon light and blah blah blah melancholy death of insert-subhuman-Mary-Sue-here. If you look at any of Tim's movies though, you'll quickly realize that there's always, always, a definite level of cheesy humor in there. Tim likes humor. "Vincent" had humor, "Frankenweenie" was full of it, and it wasn't until Edward Scissorhands that there's even the slightest hint of serious drama in any of Tim's worlds... and even poor Edward was a good fifty percent slapstick and sitcom-y laughs. So Mars Attacks isn't in any way shape or form an exception-- the only difference is this time it actually LOOKS bad.
On purpose, of course, say the Burtonites. And you know, it kind of is. The random neon-green skeletons, the catatonically brilliant gum-chewing Lisa Marie, the whole Poppy fusion thing, every bit of it is just Tim and his crew going wild with bad sci-fi clichés. The effect of growing up on Ed Wood's movies, or the happy whee joy of being back together again with Danny Elfman, or whichever the reason... everyone is just having random fun, and it shows. It's dead funny. And remarkably more coherent than would seem.
Mars Attacks isn't a bad movie, at all. It's a random fun Tim Burton movie that happens to look hideously stupid. never mind the fact that it's based on some freak combination of a trading card game and, well, Great Glass Elevator... never mind that fact that Danny Elfman, after seventeen+ years of Oingo Boingo and two sad sad years without his favorite director, finally gleefully gets to use a whole positive butt load of theremins. Everyone working on this thing is happy, and everyone I've seen this movie together with agrees it's incredible amounts of fun.
All that said, I can recommend Mars Attacks to anyone looking for a slightly off-beat space comedy. The cast list should have at least half a dozen stars able to draw you in, and you can trust Tim and Danny to join forces for... well, something not quite as good as the 1994 Boingo album, but close, very very close. Oh, and your kids will love it too. Go see!
The reasons are fairly simple. First of all, it's a pretty average sci-fi comedy, with cheesy dialogue and little to no plot. Most of the characters exist solely to be in varying amounts of pain. The special effects look terrible, the casting is seemingly completely random, and to top it all off there's random deus ex machina moments involving Tom Jones, of all people.
Secondly-- people expect Tim Burton to write dark, Gothic fairy tales about misunderstood outcasts and pale moon light and blah blah blah melancholy death of insert-subhuman-Mary-Sue-here. If you look at any of Tim's movies though, you'll quickly realize that there's always, always, a definite level of cheesy humor in there. Tim likes humor. "Vincent" had humor, "Frankenweenie" was full of it, and it wasn't until Edward Scissorhands that there's even the slightest hint of serious drama in any of Tim's worlds... and even poor Edward was a good fifty percent slapstick and sitcom-y laughs. So Mars Attacks isn't in any way shape or form an exception-- the only difference is this time it actually LOOKS bad.
On purpose, of course, say the Burtonites. And you know, it kind of is. The random neon-green skeletons, the catatonically brilliant gum-chewing Lisa Marie, the whole Poppy fusion thing, every bit of it is just Tim and his crew going wild with bad sci-fi clichés. The effect of growing up on Ed Wood's movies, or the happy whee joy of being back together again with Danny Elfman, or whichever the reason... everyone is just having random fun, and it shows. It's dead funny. And remarkably more coherent than would seem.
Mars Attacks isn't a bad movie, at all. It's a random fun Tim Burton movie that happens to look hideously stupid. never mind the fact that it's based on some freak combination of a trading card game and, well, Great Glass Elevator... never mind that fact that Danny Elfman, after seventeen+ years of Oingo Boingo and two sad sad years without his favorite director, finally gleefully gets to use a whole positive butt load of theremins. Everyone working on this thing is happy, and everyone I've seen this movie together with agrees it's incredible amounts of fun.
All that said, I can recommend Mars Attacks to anyone looking for a slightly off-beat space comedy. The cast list should have at least half a dozen stars able to draw you in, and you can trust Tim and Danny to join forces for... well, something not quite as good as the 1994 Boingo album, but close, very very close. Oh, and your kids will love it too. Go see!
It's very rare that I see a movie that is truly, in all aspects, perfect.
For example, while The Princess Bride ranks pretty high on my list of movies I'd want to spend the rest of my life watching, I fully realize that the camera angles and special effects of that movie are just plain bad. And while Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas gets a perfect 10 from me, it still completely lacks plot. And so on.
Arizona Dream, however, is different.
The last movie I saw that was truly, in all aspects, perfect was Dog Day Afternoon, a 1975 true story starring Al Pacino and Chris Sarandon. For the longest time, it's been my obsession, my movified bible, everything other movies should aspire to be. And as of today, Dog Day Afternoon finally has competition in my personal top ten: Emir Kusturica's masterpiece very near surpasses Lumet's vision of captivating dialogue, insane details, and dodgy man-groping.
Let's change the subject for a bit. Do you know the scene in Gilliam's Twelve Monkeys, where Bruce Willis is in his cage, and a hamster is running inside a wheel in the corner? Don't say yes, because you don't. It's inaudible. It's impossible to see. But it's there. Kusturica, much like Gilliam, is willing to make his world more detailed than your wildest dreams. His backgrounds are filled with symbolism and surrealism, his dark corners filled with soft puppies. And like Gilliam, he can make you cry with laughter, your only worry in the world being, 'how will I remember all these great quotes in the morning?'
But unlike Gilliam, Kusturica has the power to, barely a scene after the happy happy joy, make you sit there in stunned silence, your number one worry in the world being, 'how will I get my brain to understand the sheer tragedy that is unfolding here?'. Your will find yourself thinking, 'how do I get my mind to comprehend how perfectly this music fits the dialogue?'. Your eyes will follow the camera angles, the expressions of the insanely lovable characters, the many things happening in foreground and background-and you know, you just KNOW, that you will have to watch the movie again, and again, and again.
If you're a fan of movies such as Big Fish and Amélie, movies about people finding happiness and warmth in a world of surreal ambition, Arizona Dream will be your next obsession. But even if you think massive explosions and a grunting Bruce Willis are the only thing that can make a movie worth watching, you will still want to give this movie a chance- for the 'explosions' it causes will far, far surpass anything you've EVER experienced before.
10/10.
For example, while The Princess Bride ranks pretty high on my list of movies I'd want to spend the rest of my life watching, I fully realize that the camera angles and special effects of that movie are just plain bad. And while Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas gets a perfect 10 from me, it still completely lacks plot. And so on.
Arizona Dream, however, is different.
The last movie I saw that was truly, in all aspects, perfect was Dog Day Afternoon, a 1975 true story starring Al Pacino and Chris Sarandon. For the longest time, it's been my obsession, my movified bible, everything other movies should aspire to be. And as of today, Dog Day Afternoon finally has competition in my personal top ten: Emir Kusturica's masterpiece very near surpasses Lumet's vision of captivating dialogue, insane details, and dodgy man-groping.
Let's change the subject for a bit. Do you know the scene in Gilliam's Twelve Monkeys, where Bruce Willis is in his cage, and a hamster is running inside a wheel in the corner? Don't say yes, because you don't. It's inaudible. It's impossible to see. But it's there. Kusturica, much like Gilliam, is willing to make his world more detailed than your wildest dreams. His backgrounds are filled with symbolism and surrealism, his dark corners filled with soft puppies. And like Gilliam, he can make you cry with laughter, your only worry in the world being, 'how will I remember all these great quotes in the morning?'
But unlike Gilliam, Kusturica has the power to, barely a scene after the happy happy joy, make you sit there in stunned silence, your number one worry in the world being, 'how will I get my brain to understand the sheer tragedy that is unfolding here?'. Your will find yourself thinking, 'how do I get my mind to comprehend how perfectly this music fits the dialogue?'. Your eyes will follow the camera angles, the expressions of the insanely lovable characters, the many things happening in foreground and background-and you know, you just KNOW, that you will have to watch the movie again, and again, and again.
If you're a fan of movies such as Big Fish and Amélie, movies about people finding happiness and warmth in a world of surreal ambition, Arizona Dream will be your next obsession. But even if you think massive explosions and a grunting Bruce Willis are the only thing that can make a movie worth watching, you will still want to give this movie a chance- for the 'explosions' it causes will far, far surpass anything you've EVER experienced before.
10/10.