KABOOM! A KITSCHY INVASION FROM MARS

By Michael Hartney

From The Buffalo News, 01.07.1997, City Edition

Tim Burton is a lunatic, and he uses his looniness to make movies. Great movies. Strange movies.

Every project Burton touches has an element of eccentricity about it. From the madcap (Pee-wee's Big Adventure) to the macabre (Batman), each of his films bears an unmistakable Burton seal. Mars Attacks! (PG-13) is no exception.

Mars Attacks! may very well be the most expensive B-movie ever made. Based on the 1960s series of Topps trading cards of the same name, it's a dark, wicked satire of cheesy '50s sci-fi invasion flicks and such modern films as Independence Day.

It has a huge ensemble cast, outrageous special effects, and yes, perhaps the most tender romance between two decapitated heads ever captured on celluloid.

The plot goes something like this: The world is abuzz after Martian space vessels are discovered heading toward Earth. Their landing draws a crowd of thousands. The alien visitors, with their oversize brains and buggy eyes, emerge from their sleek metal saucers and declare peace. Then they proceed to incinerate everyone in sight. The rest of Mars Attacks! is pure carnage. The entire U.S. Congress is annihilated, canine heads are grafted onto human bodies, the Eiffel Tower burns to the ground before the world is eventually saved by Slim Whitfield.

I savored every second. The film's format is irresistible. The Martian attack is seen through the eyes of people from every walk of American life, including the president (Jack Nicholson), a kooky New Age ditz (Annette Bening), an ex-boxing champ (Jim Brown), a small-town doughnut enthusiast (Lukas Haas) and, of course, singer Tom Jones.

Burton goes over the top in every way. Every frame is bursting with camp and kitsch. It's a beautiful film, from the cinematography to the cartoony special effects. The violence, while graphic and plentiful, is played for laughs.

Nicholson, Bening and Haas are hilarious, as is Martin Short in disguise. Though I'm not a big Sarah Jessica Parker fan, she also gives a hysterical performance as a ditzy talk show host.

Only Tim Burton could make a film about death, destruction and chaos and leave you laughing in your seat.

Mars Attacks! is odd. So odd, in fact, that at times it's a bit scary. But Burton wouldn't have it any other way.

Michael Hartney is a junior at Kenmore West High School.