Reel Thoughts: They Came from Outer Space

You’ve got to love a movie featuring a giant Reese Witherspoon, a girl-crazy sea creature, a giant roach-man who sounds like Hugh Laurie and a big, blue, one-eyed Jell-O monster ... especially in 3-D.

Monsters vs. Aliens is a fun-filled DreamWorks cartoon meant to evoke Pixar quality. It doesn’t succeed, but its animation and 3-D effects are amazing nonetheless. What keeps Monsters vs. Aliens down is that its storyline is predictable and not that creative.

When happy bride-to-be Susan (voiced by Witherspoon) is hit by a meteorite on her wedding day, she suddenly starts growing to 49 feet, terrifying her family and fiancé (Paul Rudd), a smarmy news anchor. The government swoops in, hog-ties the bewildered non-bride and carts her off to Area 51, where all monsters are kept and studied. It was determined years ago that humans couldn’t accept the horror of actual monsters, so they’ve been imprisoned ... that is, until an alien invasion prompts the government to use the monsters to save the world. Dr. Cockroach (Laurie), B.O.B. (Seth Rogan), the Missing Link (Will Arnett) and Insectasaurus join Susan, now named Ginormica, to fight a nasty Marvin the Martian type named Gallaxhar (Rainn Wilson).

There is a lot of fun action and witty dialogue on the way to an ending I am sure you can guess. The usual morals about accepting yourself and not judging others pile up without being too preachy, but I have to agree with a colleague who noted that Susan’s romantic troubles might be too grown-up for kids and too simple for adults. Still, Monsters vs. Aliens uses its 3-D effects very well, and the animation is terrific.

It may not rival Bette vs. Joan, but there is still a lot of bang for your buck in Monsters vs. Aliens.

UPDATE: Monsters vs. Aliens is now available on DVD and Blu-rayfrom Amazon.com.

Review by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.

Out in Film: Charlie David

Idol worship: Charlie David, actor/writer/producer.

- Following his early success on the Saskatchewan stage as part of the musical group Sask Express, he was a founding member of the Canadian boy band 4Now, which opened for such acts as the Black Eyed Peas, Destiny's Child and Pink.

- He has hosted several TV shows, including F.Y.E!, Spy TV, Crash Test Mommy and the gay travel series Bump!

- Also on television, he appeared as a dancer in Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical and co-starred in the mini-series Terminal City, as well as guest spots on The L Word and Ugly Betty.

- His best known role is as Toby on here! TV's gothic soap opera/guilty pleasure Dante's Cove.

- On film, he can be seen in the gay faves A Four Letter Word and Kiss the Bride. His most recent movie, Mulligans (coming to DVDApril 21), also marks his feature film debut as a screenwriter and producer.

See more pictures of Charlie David in The Back Room (NSFW).

Poster Post: Remember, Remember, Remember ...

As you can see in the brand new teaser trailer, this year's Fame will pay homage to the original with new versions of its Academy Award winning title song and the Oscar nominated "Out Here on My Own".

Fame '09 hits theaters September 25.

Women We Love: Estelle Getty

This is the fourth in a four-part Women We Love salute to The Golden Girls, now airing daily on the Hallmark Channel:

Object of our affection: Estelle Getty, actress.

- She got her start as an actress on the stages of the Yiddish theater and honed her crack comic timing as a comedienne in the Catskills borscht belt resorts.

- Her performance as "Ma" (mother to Harvey Fierstein's Arnold Beckoff) in Torch Song Trilogy on Broadway and off earned her critical acclaim and a Drama Desk Award nomination.

- But it is her classic portrayal of the feisty but loveable Sophia Petrillo on The Golden Girls that earned her greatest fame, as well as an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe. In fact, she was nominated for the Emmy every year the show was on the air, and was the only Girl to win a Globe. (She was also a year younger than Beatrice Arthur, who played her daughter Dorothy on the beloved sitcom.)

- Sophia was so popular, she would reprise the character in the Girls spin-offs The Golden Palace and Empty Nest, as well as in guest spots on Blossom and Nurses.

- Her film appearances included Tootsie, Mask, Mannequin, Stuart Little and (as Sylvester Stallone's mother) the infamous Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot.