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They're coming!!! Run!!! Run!!! To the theaters and catch the campiest sci-fi flick to hit the screen in years. The film, Mars Attacks!, is one of those annoying films that has punctuation in the title. Still, I thought I'd give it a chance, I mean hey, it was an ADVANCED SCREENING, so I might as well ignore the affront to serious titles everywhere and give it a go. They story is... oh come on folks, it's called Mars Attacks!, what the heck do you think it's about, cute little dogs? It's about people. From Mars. They attack. There ya go. This film is helmed by whacked out wizard Tim Burton, of Batman, Beetlejuice, and Nightmare Before Christmas fame. It is most definitely a Tim Burton film. A couple of years ago, Tim made Ed Wood, a movie about the worst director of all time. Now he has taken the essence of Ed Wood Films and turned it into a delightful romp through the B-Movie Sci-Fi genre. Now don't get me wrong, this is an A-list, top of the line, big budget movie. But it's been created with a B-Movie mentality, complete with a wonderful Danny Elfman Soundtrack that belongs in the next Forbidden Planet remake. This was a lot of fun. The rockiest point is the beginning, with a startling opening scene that seems out of place, followed by the credits that forget to announce the title until the end, so you think you've missed something. You didn't, just sit there through "casting by...", "edited by..." "dirt removed by..." (can any loyal follower tell me what review that's from?) until it shows it's face. So the movie. It stars Jack Nickelson, Glenn Close, Sarah Jessica Parker, Pierse Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Michael J. Fox, Natalie Portman, Jim Brown, Tom Jones, Martin Short, Annette Benning, Rod Steiger, and Jack Nickelson. And some other people who I can't think of right now. I may not have spelled everybody's name right. Sorry. This movie is down right funny. Basically, it's ID4 with a sense of humor. The planet is destroyed by superior forces until man kind finds a way to save themselves. Sort of. But these martians rock! Let's talk about the Martians. They were created... well, I don't know, I didn't see the Discovery Channel special, but they remind me of the way the characters walked in Nightmare Before Christmas. They certainly aren't actors. But they are a blast. The stunts they pull while annihilating the human race are hysterical, including a fantastic bit with the Washington Monument. So yeah, this is a good movie. To make it even better, rent Independence Day right before you see it. I don't know why, but for some reason, you'll totally get a kick out of it. At least I did. The movie gave me a warm fuzzy feeling, and I'm not talking about the kind I get when I watch 1991 Playboy Playmate of the Year Lisa Matthews, but the kind you get when you see a good movie, without having to buy any really bad popcorn. I give Mars Attacks! 4 Babylons, straight up. But be prepared. When you go to see it, realize that the mind behind this movie is highly unstable. It has its own sensibility, and it follows its own rules. If you don't like it, then Ha-ha, made you spend 8 bucks! Not that you won't like it, I mean I did. But then, I am: The Self-Made Critic
Editor's Note: c-flat
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