science fiction

Mars Attacks! Movie Review

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Natalie Portman, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Michael J Fox, Danny DeVito
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Review Summary
Martians arrive on Earth, and their intentions are NOT friendly. The President and various scientists and advisers frantically search for a solution to save the world as the small but vicious aliens, like amoral children, kill people and blow up things for fun. Jonathan Gem's over-the-top screenplay presents a parody-tribute to cheesy 1950s sci-fi movies, inspired by a 1962 edition of Topps bubble gum trading cards that upset grownups with their vivid depiction of a violent martian invasion. For the movie, director Tim Burton lined up a huge all-star cast that includes Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Rod Steiger, Lukas Haas, Pam Grier, Paul Winfield, Christina Applegate, Joe Don Baker, and even Tom Jones and Slim Whitman. You can't possibly take a film seriously that casts Nicholson as President (he also plays Texas millionaire cowboy Art Land) and Pierce Brosnan as a professor, or includes Rupert Holmes's "The Pina Colada Song" on the soundtrack. Funny as the movie is, it's also a bit sadistic and un-subtle.
David Loftus, Resident Scholar

Tim Burton's campy parody of space movies. Martians (whose heads look like skulls with eyballs and huge brains) start to invade earth. Look out for who will survive and who gets killed off in this huge all-star cast.
Adam D. Bram, Resident Scholar


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Plot
**Fantasy or Science Fiction?** - science fiction story
Invasion from human defender POV? - overt invasion (very visible of monsters/aliens)
War and Invasion Yes
Parody movie? Yes

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - politician/elected ruler
Age: - 40's-50's
Eccentric: Yes - eccentric
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
Hair color? - brunette (Brown) - brunette (Black)
Hair type - (man) short/medium straight
Body type - average (man)
Events of movie makes character more... - sad
Ethnicity/Nationality - White (American)
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor? - Strong but gentle sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Secondary Main Character
Identity: - Male
Hair color - brunette (Brown)
Hair style - (man) short/standard wavy
Body type - average build (man)
How much in movie? - 40%
Ethnicity/Nationality - White (American)

Main Adversary
Identity: - an entire race
Age: - long-lived adults
Profession/status: - killer - infantry soldier
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - 80% - 90%-100%
Hair color - bald
Hair style - (man) bald

Setting
Earth setting: - 20th century (1970's to Present)
Spaceship setting: - alien spaceship
Takes place on Earth? Yes
Takes place in spaceship? Yes
Big cities? Yes
Misc settings - fort/castle - bar/restaurant
Kind of city - Dirty, crime-ridden (like NY) - Beautiful sparkling advanced city
Small town? Yes

Style
Accounts of torture and death? - very explicit references to deaths and torture
Tone of movie - fearful
Comedy or somewhat funny movie? Yes
Sex/nudity in movie? Yes
What kind of sex: - vauge references only
Any profanity? - Occasional swearing
Kinds of F/X - exploding spaceships - exotic aliens
Is this movie based on a - comics
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