Monsters vs. Aliens

Video Game Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Even part-time game players have a movie tie-in horror story to share. Show me one blockbuster that produced a quality video game companion and I’ll show you ten that failed to do so. So no one’s more surprised than this writer at how enjoyable Activision’s “Monsters vs. Aliens” is from start and nearly to finish.

Rating: 2.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Hasn’t Pixar proven that animation can be more than just concept and celebrity voice work? The problem with “Monsters vs. Aliens” is that the team behind it clearly prioritized nearly every element of the film over actual storytelling.

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An invading alien robot pursues Susan Murphy (Reese Witherspoon)--a.k.a. Ginormica, having been clobbered with a meteor full of outer space gunk and growing to 49-feet-11-inches tall.

CHICAGO – This 26-image slideshow contains the press images for Dreamworks’ “Monsters vs. Aliens,” starring Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Seth Rogen, Rainn Wilson, Stephen Colbert, Kiefer Sutherland and Paul Rudd. Directed by Rob Letterman & Conrad Vernon, the film opens on Friday, March 27th, 2009.

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Kiefer Sutherland attends the Monsters v. Aliens UK premiere at the Vue West End on March 11, 2009 in London, England.

CHICAGO – This 18-image slideshow contains the red carpet images from the arrival at the UK premiere of Dreamworks’ “Monsters vs. Aliens”. Reese Witherspoon, Kiefer Sutherland, directors Conrad Vernon & Rob Letterman, producer Lisa Stewart & DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg were in attendance. The film, which also features voice work by Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, and Stephen Colbert opens on March 27th, 2009.

CHICAGO – While Al Michaels and John Madden may have been talking about the incredible play of Santonio Holmes and Larry Fitzgerald in the 2009 Super Bowl, audiences around the world were bombarded with previews for big movies for the summer of 2009 by studios hoping that their films would be the real subject of post-game conversation.

CHICAGO – Believe it or not, there are movies worth marking your calendar for between Oscar season and the big summer blockbusters of 2009.

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Charity (Essence Atkins, left) and her Baby Daddy (Shawn Wayans, right) have all the right moves on the dance floor in the comic spoof Dance Flick. Photo Credit: Glen Wilson

CHICAGO – Paramount Pictures has released official images, cast rosters, and synopsis information for the first half of their impressive 2009 slate of feature releases.

CHICAGO – Jeffrey Katzenberg stopped off in Chicago on the morning of Monday, December 8th, to preview DreamWorks Animation’s “Monsters vs. Aliens” and show off the brand-spanking-new 3D technology that will be used for all upcoming animated films produced by the studio.

The man means business. On July 12, 2007, I published an interview with IMAX Filmed President Greg Foster in Time Out Chicago where he promised “the vast majority will be in 3D” down the road.