Rating: 
Summary: Monsters!
Review: A lot of People didnt like this movie at all...But I dont care..I had fun watching it
Rating:
Summary: Penny for Your Thoughts
Review: Before I start my review I'd like to say that Timothy Bottoms sure looks like George W. Bush(ironically, his character in the film is named George). I don't know if this film is trying to be a homage or a parody of 1950's sci-fi films. Either way, it does not succeed. To the films detriment, the make-up and special effects aren't really that good considering that they were designed by Oscar winners John Dykstra and Stan Winston. The film doesn't move that well;it just kind of lumbers along. The adult actors are adequate but not outstanding. Louise Fletcher seems to be channeling Nurse Ratched in her role as the mean biology teacher. Bud Cort(of "Harold and Maude" fame) has a strange little role as a scientist. What keeps this film grounded is the performance of young Hunter Carson(real-life son of co-star Karen Black) as David Gardner, the kid who sees all the strange goings on but is having a hard time convincing the adults. He makes the film watchable. If not for him I would rate this film two stars instead of three.
Rating: 
Summary: This Remake would be a Perfect for Today's Audiences.
Review: David Gardner (Hunter Carson), his world turns up side down, when a large Alien Spaceship lands under the Sands of his Backyard. The Aliens has taken control of his Parents (Timothy Bottoms & Laraine Newman), His Teacher (Oscar-Winner:Louise Fletcher) and part of the small California town. David must find a way stop them with the help of a School Nurse (Carson's real life Mother-Karen Black).Directed by Tobe Hooper (The Funhouse, Lifeforce, Poltergeist) made a entertaining sci-fi/thriller. This is a Remake of the 1953 film of the same name. This Remake has terrific Production Design by Leslie Dilley (Star Wars), Excellent Visual Effects supervise by John Dykstra (Spiderman), Great Invader Creatures Designed and Created by Stan Winston (Jurassic Park), an fine Music Score by Christopher Young (Hellraiser) and slick Cinematography work by Daniel Pearl (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) makes this Remake seems First-Rate but ended up being a Box Office Flop. Still the Remake is a Hoot. DVD's has an fine anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer and an strong-Dolby Stereo 2.0 Surround Sound. DVD's Special Features are Original Publicity Featurette (nearly 8 minutes), Sci-Fi promo featurette (15 minutes) and the Original Theatrical Trailer (2 Minutes). The film might have been a Flop but it's Perfect for Today's Viewers, it's worth seeing. Based on a Screenplay by Richard Blake. Screenplay by Dan O'Bannon (The Return of the Living Dead) and Don Jakoby (John Carpenter's Vampires). Joe Dunton Camera Widescreen (J-D-C Scope). Grade:A-.
Rating: 
Summary: Tobe Hooper really wasted his chance
Review: Famed horror director Tobe Hooper should consider himself lucky that he had the chance to direct big budgeted sci-fi/horror movies, three of them as a matter of fact (Which is entirely unfair since George Romero never had the chance to work on the big budget he deserved). To refresh your memory, the first was Poltergeist which was critically acclaimed, though I have to say Hooper basically copied Spielberg's directing style in that film. The second was Lifeforce, a decent and entertaining sci-fi thriller about space vampires trying to take over the Earth. That film was a flop due to the fact it didn't bring back even half its budget. The film itself cost 28 million dollars which is equivalent to well over 70 million these days. To give you an even bigger sense of how expensive it was, Aliens (which came out the year before Lifeforce), cost 19 million dollars to make. The third film was Invaders From Mars, a film that is absolutely terrible. In what had a promising premise, the film ruins it with the overuse of special effects that are also extremely cheesy-looking. Add along with that some bad acting and equally terrible dialogue and you have a film that has the quality of Mystery Science Theater 3000. If you want to watch an entertaining sci-fi horror film from Tobe Hooper, go with Lifeforce. Otherwise, leave well enough alone.
Rating: 
Summary: Theres no place on earth to hide!
Review: From this terrible dvd that is! IF you don't mind the terrible acting and story, this could be a fairly enjoyable film. The only positive thing to say about this film is the special effects are pretty good for its time. Other than that, it is very bad. Unless you really like B-movies, steer clear, it is that bad.
Rating:
Summary: Not the best sci fi movie but quite entertaining
Review: I never seen the 1953 original so I don't have it to compare with. But the 1986 Tobe Hooper's remake is ok. The special effects done by Stan Winston can't be all that bad anyway. The picture quality of the DVD is fine and the stereo surround soundtrack is below average but nothing much to complain about. But compared to my LD copy, this DVD is significantly better and it is already out of print. Give it a try, it is not as bad as people say it is.
Rating:
Summary: Fun Cheese
Review: I really liked this flick, despite the cruddy ending. It's a really good excuse to stop doing...stuff that I can't explain right now. The F/X are really cool, and the storyline is good to.
Rating:
Summary: Extremelyl awful
Review: I've never really liked Tobe Hooper. His Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Poltergeist struck me as quite overrated (especially the latter). As a matter of fact, my favorite film of his is Lifeforce (which is not a great film by any means), probably due mostly to the presence of Mathilda May. Anyway, Invaders from Mars came out after Lifeforce and it's nowhere as entertaining, tense, or fun as that sci-fi flick was. Instead, Invaders was just dull and stupid. The solutions for fighting the aliens is nothing creative, just straightforward shootings, and the cast is full of terrible actors. And I thought TCM and Poltergeist were pretty bad.
Rating:
Summary: It's no Hamlet -- but it's good for what it is!
Review: Look, the whole point of this is that it's a B-movie! And it is a good B-movie. Admitedly I'm biased because it was filmed, in part, at the elementary school I attended, but I liked it even before I found out about it. What it comes down to is that if you like somewhat corny science fiction but also appreciate at least a fairly serious attempt at a realistic presentation, you should like this film. If not, go watch something else. This movie doesn't try to be Star Wars, don't expect to be one! By the way, I happen to prefer a slightly different style of movie now, so I can't give it more than a 3. That doesn't mean it isn't worth watching! You just might want to rent. ^_~
Rating:
Summary: It's a B-movie, people...have fun with it!
Review: That's what I'm saying! Granted, I do concur with most of the preceding reviewers that Tobe Hooper has conjured more visceral cinematic thrills with the likes of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", "Poltergeist", & "The Funhouse." But I've always found "Invaders From Mars" to be enthrallingly fun popcorn flick fodder for my Friday nites. Sure, Dan ("Alien", "Total Recall") O'Bannon's script ain't Golden Globe material, and the acting's quite over-the-top at times...but it does boast an eerie score and sound design, as well as resplendent color & shadow schemes in its cinematography that still leave me in inexplicable wonderment. Even the ensemble F/X crew of Oscar winners Stan Winston, John Dykstra, & Les ("Raiders of the Lost Ark") Dilley did a commendable job on the creature and spacecraft design work when considering the budgetary constraints imposed on them from working under the Chapter 11-ridden Cannon Films banner. As for the story, it's a formulaic 50's sci-fi motif from start to finish...but damn fun! Young David Gardner (Hunter Carson) makes a harrowing discovery of witnessing a Martian U.F.O. land behind his backyard one evening. As time progresses, he notices something's ominously wrong with his family and the other townsfolk. They each have grotesque flesh wounds on the backs of their necks, have extreme appetites for raw meat, and behave like stoical drones. The Martians have landed and plan to enslave humanity via implanted subliminal biochips and deplete the Earth's copper supply in the process! Able to convince the school nurse (Karen Black) and ironically the local NASA base's Marine Corp general (James Karen), what ensues for David is a fight-to-the-finish against the extraterrestial baddies! But it was all just a bad nightmare for poor David...OR WAS IT!? I have seen both the 50's & this 80's version of the same chilling story a number of times. Hooper's interpretation, in my opinion, had appropriate equilibrium in keeping the story at times a taut, surrealistic sci-fi thriller, as well as a campy kiddie horror flick at others...though its 'PG' banner was really stretched to the limit. The fear "Invaders From Mars" tries to project comes naturally if one can elicit their inner-child and empathize with the common terrors of being alone with no place to hide and no one to believe you in a hostile environment...trite, but true. MGM has compiled a very decent DVD re-release of this film. The 2.35:1 widescreen transfer is the cleanest (albeit with some minor grain) version I've seen, and it really does a sublime job in accentuating the spacecraft interior scenes! The 2.0 surround track does a satisfactory job, but a 5.1 remix would have really satiated my audiophile sweet tooth. Two Behind-The-Scenes featurettes are even included (I never knew Hooper was such a chain cigar smoker before watching his interviews and set shooting footage), as well as the perequisite trailer. This is fun sci-fi/horror escapism on a bargain-packed DVD! Give it a chance...at least as a rental.
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