Mars Attacks! (1996)

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Directed by Tim Burton.

Starring Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Glenn Close, Danny DeVito, Jim Brown, Jack Nicholson.

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This quirky science fiction comedy is a characteristic feature by iconoclastic director Tim Burton, known to moviegoers for Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. The storyline affectionately harkens back to the deadpan sincerity of such '50s and '60s science-fiction films as The Day the Earth Stood Still and War of the Worlds. Flying saucers have been reliably seen over the capitals of the world, and the whole world awaits with bated breath to see what will transpire. Among those waiting is the President of the United States (Jack Nicholson), who is assured by his science advisor (Pierce Brosnan) that the coming aliens are utterly peaceful. This advice is hotly contested by the military (led by Rod Steiger), who advices the President to annihilate them. When the aliens land, they are seen to be green, garish, and very cheerful. But appearances prove deceiving when the "friendly" aliens abruptly disintegrate the entire U.S. Congress. Hollywood notables appear in vast quantities in roles (and sub-plots) of all sizes in this zany feature. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

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Reviews and discussions

Big Budget B-Movie Trend Contin ...
by SpoutBlog in SpoutBlog on spout.com

hasn't rated it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"Eventually Hollywood will learn it doesn’t make sense to spend millions of dollars on a B-movie. It may just take awhile. But if the road towards re-education didn’t begin with Grindhouse, it will possibly start with Roland Emmerich’s 10,000 B.C., the trailer to which is now available courtesy of CHUD.com. The $75,000,000 movie follows a tradition of cheesy Saturday afternoon flicks like 1940’s One Million B.C. and its 1966 remake One Million Years B.C. Of course, back then the B.C. stood for “before computer (effects)” and featured the spectacular — and silly, maybe — visual effects of Roy Seawright and Ray Harryhausen, respectively. Sure, in terms of effects and spectacle, 10,000 B.C. looks cool, just as Emmerich’s The Day After Tomorrow looked cool, but it also has the potential of being unintentionally funny, in the same way the primitive people in Battlefield Earth came off as ridiculous. Emmerich may as well have put in dinosaurs, despite the historical inaccuracy, because th ... " [More]

Nice planet. We'll take it!
by Go-Ape in Go-Ape Blog

loved it.

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"A film made back when Tim Burton was still brilliant. He's lately gone very much downhill as I have expressed before. But this was when he was on top form and I am inclined to say that this film is better than brilliant. It is just so fantastically a B movie that there is nothing I can fault it on. Wait. Actually yes, I can fault it on one thing - it has Tom Jones it. That's not too cool, but aside from that this film is great. I love the design of the flying saucers. I really don't know how to describe or explain this film so I'll just leave it at that This film is great fun with not one, but two great performances from jack Nicholson. Watch this film. " [More]

Re: Italian Horror....
by Dr_Gor in HORROR MOVIES 101

loved it.

"Thank you, Froggy! But, I have to ask you, it sounds like you have seen this movie only once? If that is the case then you need to watch it again! This is one of those movies that actually gets BETTER every time you watch it! Much like... JAWS The Exorcist The Wild Bunch The Magnificent 7 The Beyond Dracula Frankenstein Rocky III Mars Attacks ... I will quit here before I wander TOO far off track! Ooh! wait! ... a couple more! ... Cannibal Holocaust Make Them Die Slowly " [More]

Re: Independence Day Faces Impe ...
by chileexpress in Worst Movie Ever

hasn't rated it.

"I vote Independence Day ID:4 GUILTY of being the worst movie ever.I am generally not a fan of UFO movies. I did like the Alien series and Mars Attacks. Both are fair examples of what I enjoy in a drama or comedy UFO movie.I even enjoyed Predator as a drama / comedy and Spaced Invaders was funny.Independence Day had many scenes that I found very distracting as so made the film less enjoyable with each one. Some of the major problems are: The synchronized multi televisions in the broadcast headquarters that carried the Presidents speech when the building had been emptied in panic, who or how would this be done?The apparent complete lack of security at the base, very strange how this ultra top secrete base (not event the President knew of its existence) has everybody from the RV refugee camp running around.The second worst has to be use of the computer “virus” to infect the alien ship computers. This is very unimaginative. I thought the Yodeling in Mars Attacks was very creative, ... " [More]

Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

lost interest.

Tim Burton's Mars Attacks!, like Barry Levinson's Toys, is a misguided but extremely personal vision. From the opening images of a herd of cows on fire running through a spacious Western landscape (much to the disbelief of stoic local residents), there is never a doubt that the viewer is in the world of Burton's playful imagination. While the film has many good visual jokes, the characters are nothing but caricatures that fail to get any laughs. Pierce Brosnan plays the stiff scientist, forever smoking a pipe. The pipe is as far as the satire has been thought out. The film is based on a series of collectible cards issued by the Topps Company in the 1950s, and the film feels about as thin as one of those cards. Despite some funny gags, the film does not have enough visual wonder to make the viewer ignore the underdeveloped elements that aimed to spoof sci-fi disaster films. Mars Attacks!'s lack of success is due to a personal vision that the director has failed to develop. Since most flawed movies (especially comedies) are terrible precisely because they have been homogenized to reach the lowest common denominator, Mars Attacks!'s individuality makes it an honest failure worth seeing once. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

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