Nothing all too special, but there\'s worse ways to kill and hour & 1/2
Paul Le Mat stars in this somewhat kooky alien-invasion flick that pays
homage to the late great sci-fi classics of the \'50s. Directed by Michael Laughlin, it also stars De Palma favorite Nancy Allen(Carrie, Blow Out) and Nurse Ratched herself, Louise Fletcher. Charles Bigelow(Le Mat) is an entomology professor that\'s one day visited by his estranged wife, and asked to care for their daughter while she goes back to her hometown of Centerville to attend her mothers funeral. He agrees, but after several days pass of not hearing from her, he becomes very worried and decides to go there himself to look for her. What\'s peculiar about this town is that all the people, cars, buildings...everything, seems to be from the \'50s. Things quickly turn sour that night, as he encounters what appears to be a human figure, but has a big bug-eyed alien head and shoots a laser blast that nearly destroys his car. He manages to escape, and figures it\'s probably best to return home and look for help. He later teams up with tabloid journalist Betty Walker(Nancy Allen), who after not believing his story at first, soon changes her mind as she\'s nearly killed by one of these aliens who poses as an Avon lady. After much investigating, the two learn from UFO expert Mrs. Benjamin(Fletcher), that this town was invaded 25 years ago and that the government has an agreement with them. Also, Bigelow finds out from his wife that she IS one of the aliens and warns that they\'re about to depart back into space and want to take their daughter with them. The story concludes with everyone rushing back to this town to confront the invaders and save the little girl. My biggest problem with the film is it\'s strange pacing. Things evolve almost too quickly at times, and drag on some of the more unimportant parts. The acting isn\'t anything to jump up and down about, but given the script, I suppose they all did OK. On the plus side, there are a few cool special fx...especially when the aliens transform a few poor souls into these glowing crystal spheres. I\'ve seen better films of this type, but I\'ve also seen a lot worse too. Overall, I wouldn\'t say it would be a complete waste of your time. So what the heck, give it a try.. 
It's OK, But Don't Believe Siegel
A takeoff on the 1950s sci-fi films, this has its good moments and
moves along a good clip, particularly in the first half. The second half doesn't measure up to the first 45 minutes. There is a mixture of satire on those '50s films along with some genuine suspense and action. There is even some bad acting and some bad dialog, but I couldn't tell if it was done on purpose! It wasn't as innocent as the old films, however, especially when Nancy Allen started using the Lord's name in vain. Other than that, it's a fairly clean, language-wise. It's okay but nothing great, certainly not "stunning," as quoted by Joel Siegel on the video box. Joel is one of those national film critics who is so far out of touch with normal citizens it's laughable.. |
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