DREAMWORKS - MOVIE REVIEWS MONSTERS VS. ALIENS

MOVIE REVIEWS MONSTERS VS. ALIENS

Box office prognosticators, who have taken a beating on their predictions almost from the beginning of the year, appear to be hedging their bets a bit on their forecasts for the DreamWorks Animation 3D feature, Monsters vs. Aliens . Many are figuring that the film will earn about $55 million in its debut weekend, but they point out that a firm figure on the number of theaters that will be showing it in 3D has yet to be released -- and 3D theaters will be selling tickets for around $3.00 more than the 2D ones. (They may also have been unprepared for the whopping $17.00 per ticket being charged at IMAX theaters.) Reviews appearing today have been mixed. And many focus on the quality of the 3D. Lou Lumenick comments in the New York Post "Heavily touted as an industry breakthrough for 3D, DreamWorks Animation's clunky and wildly unimaginative Monsters vs. Aliens really doesn't have a clue what to do with the technique." Likewise, Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times begins his review by remarking that the 3D "is a distraction and an annoyance. Younger moviegoers may think they like it because they've been told to, and picture quality is usually far from their minds. But for anyone who would just like to be left alone to see the darned thing, like me, it's a constant nudge in the ribs saying never mind the story, just see how neat I look." On the other hand, most other critics comment that the movie does indeed look neat. With only about a third of the theaters showing it in 3D, Lisa Kennedy in the Denver Post recommends "See it in this format." At the screening she attended, she writes, she heard "honest-to-goodness 'Whoas'" from the audience. They were deserved, she adds." Saying that filmmakers have created some "strenuous, noisy, 3D fun," A.O. Scott in the New York Times , remarks that it "is no better than most family-friendly animated entertainment, but there does seem to be more of it. Everything looks bigger and rounder. The environment is deeper and thicker. The blob of blue goo with one eye and Seth Rogen's voice is more palpably, quiveringly slimy." And Peter Howell in the Toronto Star writes, "This is the movie DreamWorks Animation hopes will secure it a 3D beachhead in popcorn palaces, and the onscreen results bode well. The extra dimension is the best yet in the current 3D craze."

27/03/2009