Code Nimoy: "Monsters vs Aliens" is a Full-On Laugh Attack

We went for some Saturday afternoon cartoons today, taking in the new animated flick "Monsters vs Aliens" at the local bazillionplex, and hours later we're still chortling over some of its one-liners.

This newest offering from Dreamworks is the story of Susan, a young woman on her way to get married to her overbearing boyfriend when she gets hit by an asteroid and transformed by its mysterious energy into a 50-foot woman with super strength, super durability, white hair, and a wedding dress that, while made of normal fabrics, has the power to assuage the concerns of censors rating a family-friendly movie by vastly increasing in size to protect her modesty (which is kinda too bad). Dragged off by the military to a secret facility, she's renamed "Ginormica" and locked up with a group of other "monsters": Dr Cockroach, PhD - a man-roach hybrid produced when a lab experiment went awry; The Missing Link - half ape, half fish, thousands of years old, cocky as all hell and determined to make it to the beach in time for Spring Break; Insectosaurus - a friendly grub the size of Godzilla; and BOB - a one-eyed pile of blue goo. When an alien attempts to invade the Earth (and drain Susan of the energy that powers her), it's up to the monsters to stop him.

Lots of great laughs and action sequences in this film, and the SF references fly as fast as meteorites (the president's attempt to communicate with the alien's robot probe is a funny encounter you won't forget, and any film that references Mel Brooks' SF offering is automatically tops in my books). BOB, voiced by Seth Rogan, steals many of the scenes, especially with his opinion of dessert and his (sort of) famous last words (which are probably the second-best famous last words I've heard or read yet - right after Jetboy's final remarks in the first "Wildcards" book). And TV's Stephen Colbert has a nice supporting role of the President in his Strangelovian command center.

Monsters vs Aliens is definitely worth full price of admission - even the inflated rate for IMAX. Your kids will love it (we were in a theater full of them - and all of the little ones applauded and cheered when the final credits rolled) and, as you can tell from this spiel, there's enough in it to make it pretty entertaining for adults too. And getting back to IMAX, I'd highly recommend you see it in IMAX 3D. It's one of the best 3D experiences applied to a Hollywood movie I've seen (sorry, Count Floyd), and unlike others, this isn't a glasses come off again-on again flick - it's 3D the whole way through.

Now, if only some mad scientist (cockroach-crossed or otherwise) could figure out how to design some 3D glasses that don't leave monsterous marks on my nose for the rest of the day!