ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH

Rainmaker Entertainment

Rated PG

Running time: 89 minutes




Click below to watch the Escape From Planet Earth trailer.

 

In The Weinstein Company's animated film Escape From Planet Earth, egotistical astronaut Brendan Fraser is sent to investigate an SOS from the Dark Planet - Earth.

The Dark Planet is the place where representatives of famous alien races have disappeared, including the Roswell aliens. National hero astronaut Fraser, with his media attention and his marketing, reminds me of an egotistical version of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, while his nerdy Mission Control brother Rob Corddry at BASA wants nothing to do with any kind of adventure. Actually the running joke in the movie was how nerdy Corddry got hot Sarah Jessica Parker to be his wife. When BASA's no-nonsense chief Jessica Alba sends Fraser into deep space to the Dark Planet, Fraser winds up at a 7-Eleven in the middle of nowhere and gets captured by William Shatner - and gets sent to Area 51. Now Corddry must leave his home planet of Baab to go rescue his brother on this strange dark planet called Earth.

This is a nice family film. The film has an impressive celebrity cast for an animated film, although I could barely tell their distinctive voices as I was too caught up in the characters themselves. I was expecting Ricky Gervais, as the computer, to have a larger computer role in the movie and was disappointed in that. 7-Eleven actually had a larger role in the movie than I would have thought. I was expecting just a simple product placement with 7-Eleven, but it actually had several scenes in the movie, with one of those fan-blown balloons becoming one of my favorite characters in the movie. It was rather sad to learn how and why Shatner became a bad guy who wants to wipe out all the aliens. The aliens at Area 51,  Craig Robinson, Jane Lynch, and George Lopez were great as Corddry's friends.

Rated PG for violence. Running time: 89 Minutes.

Pancho 
All people smile in the same language.
 

PAUL

Universal

Rated R

Running time: 104 minutes
















Click below to watch the Paul trailer.



Universal Pictures Paul has two English science fiction geeks, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, on an American road trip to Area 51 - when they come across an extra-terrestrial alien from space, Paul -  voiced by comedian Seth Rogen - who escaped and is on the run from the government.

As a fanboy, I appreciated all the science fiction movie references. A cross between Men in Black meets E.T.: The Extra-Terrerestrial and Due Date, I was expecting more biting humor from the movie after all the fanboy reviews I heard - especially with the geeks going to the San Diego Comic-Con. With science fiction writer Jeffrey Tambor as a sarcastic writer, I almost expected him to be a major part of the movie like a bad guy or an unlucky road companion. Fortunately his sarcasm was kept to a minimum and kept the movie from being mean, and the film really was rather cute with Kristen Wiig as the religious girl road companion who wants to kiss someone for the first time. Although Wiig and her religious father could turn off those with religious views because of their attitude, it was interesting to see their development as the film went on. With the science fiction references, it makes me wonder how the fanboys at the real San Diego Comic-Con reacted to the movie Paul.

The film is rated R and does not seem to deserve it. To me an R film is supposed to be very graphic. It is mostly because of the language that the film is rated R and even then it seems mostly like a PG-13 film to me, even a PG film. This is a shame as I think the film would have had more of an audience as a PG-13 family type film. Paul very easily could have related to children.

The computer generated motion capture animation for Paul is very good and realistic, especially the animation of the eyes. This is better than the animation of the similar grey Roswell aliens of Stargate SG-1. It makes you wish you could care more for Paul just as people cared for E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. Paul is just a little too funny and rude for that kind of audience identification, even if he does want to go home - however it was cute to see how he was the fictional inspiration for E.T. along with a cameo voice-over by Steven Spielberg.

Jason Bateman and Sigourney Weaver are good as the intimidating government Men in Black who are after Paul, including the rookie Men in Black assigned to assist with their search - who realize the U.S. Air Force's investigation of UFO's in Project BLUE BOOK was real. Unfortunately, or fortunately for Paul, the rookies do not know how to shoot. Jane Lynch as a truck stop woman and Blythe Danner as the adult version of the kid who found Paul - who came to Earth and crash-landed on her dog 60 years ago - were also good.

Rated R for language, violence, and casual drug use. Running time: 104 minutes.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.