Mars Needs Moms

MARS NEEDS MOMS (2011) - Mar. 9, 2011
A surprisingly enjoyable film about a kid whose mom is kidnapped by aliens from Mars, and who must go rescue her.  Refreshingly old-school in execution, this feels like a film that could have been made in the '80s (aside from motion capture, the medium in which it is told) -- Simon Wells' solid direction eschews quick cuts and shaky-cam in favour of something a bit more old fashioned, and John Powell's rousing score feels like something John Williams or Alan Silvestri might have done a couple of decades ago (albiet not quite on their level).  The characters are all very likable, and overall it's just a really fun adventure -- though I'm still not crazy about the super-real mo-cap character designs, it probably worked better here than in any of Zemeckis' mo-cap films (or maybe I just didn't notice it as much because I was actually enjoying this film, unlike Zemeckis' abysmal mo-cap trilogy).  ***1/2