Just when it seemed that no one could challenge the computer animated might of Pixar (Ratatouille, WALL-E), directors Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon deliver an out-of-this-world adventure which proves heroes come in all shapes and sizes.
Fast-pac
ed and peppered with cute visual gags, Monsters Vs Aliens is a blast from eye-popping start to uproarious finish, especially in cinemas projecting in jaw-dropping 3D.
Admittedly, Letterman and Vernon's picture borrows heavily from Pixar's 2004 smash hit The Incredibles, with nods to Godzilla and countless B-movies, but there are sufficient flashes of invention and a smattering of heartfelt emotion to bring a tear to the eye.
The opening section delivers one wow moment after the next as the camera drifts through space towards Earth, descending on a research facility where a scientist plays with an elasticated bat and ball (which appears to bounce out of the screen in 3D), just as an unidentified flying object hurtles towards California.
The object - a green, glowing meteorite - lands on fun-loving Susan Murphy (voiced by Reese Wither-spoon) on her wedding day, shortly before she is due to tie the knot to TV weatherman Derek Dietl (Paul Rudd).
Before he has a chance to say "I do", Susan grows in size until she stands an impressive 49 feet and 11 inches tall.
Wedding guests flee and Susan is held hostage by the military in a secret govern-ment compound where she learns that other so-called monsters have suffered a similar fate.
Fellow captives include brilliant inventor Dr Cockroach PhD (Hugh Laurie), half-ape half-fish The Missing Link (Will Arnett), indestructible gelatinous mass BOB (Seth Rogen) and a 350-feet long grub called Insectosaurus.
"One other thing," barks General WR Monger (Kiefer Sutherland), the military man in charge of the facility, "the government has changed your name to Ginormica."
In a freakish twist, megalomaniac alien Gallax-har (Rainn Wilson) dispatches a giant alien probe to Earth to retrieve the fallen meteorite.
The metallic monster easily repels every missile and bomb in the military's arsenal, so President Hathaway (Stephen Colbert) reluctantly issues an executive order to free the monsters and set them upon the invader from another planet.
Monsters Vs Aliens shoots for the moon and soars, melding colourful visuals and a script laden with laughs that should appeal to young and old alike.
If Witherspoon's heroine is the emotional heart of the story, Laurie, Arnett and Rogen share the giggles, the latter in fine form as the brainless gloop, who thinks he has found a soul mate in a lime green jelly full of pineapple chunks.
Sutherland is amusing too as the gruff man of combat, who briefly shows his softer side: "I'm so happy, I could cry - if I hadn't lost my tear ducts in the war!"
Action sequences unfold at breakneck speed, reducing San Francisco to twisted metal and rubble.
A sideswipe at the French baits the hook nicely for possible sequels.
RELIGULOUS (15, Filmhouse)Renowned comedian and satirist Bill Maher takes an irreverent look at organised religion in this tongue-in-cheek documentary, which sees the funny man journey around the world, asking probing questions about faith.
He meets an actor who portrays Jesus at the Holy Land Experience theme park in Orlando, a man who claims to have cured his homo-sexuality through a love of the Lord, and a Miami televan-gelist who boldly claims to be Christ reborn. As part of his quest for answers, Maher crosses the Atlantic to behold the gargantuan, naked chalk figure at Cerne Abbas, Dorset.
DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION (PG, WED/THU)
Goofy and awkward teen-ager Goku (Justin Chatwin) lives with his grandfather Gohan (Randall Duk Kim) and is viewed as a joke by his peers. Thus, a girl like the beautiful and popular Chi Chi (Jamie Chung) is out of his league and he must be content to admire her from afar.
Little does Goku realise that he is destined to fulfil an ancient prophecy by defeating the dastardly Lord Piccolo (James Marsters) and his snivelling sidekick Mai (Eriko Tamura), who seek seven mystical and powerful dragonballs. Goku is accompanied on his quest by sensei Master Roshi (Chow Yun-Fat) and the magical Bulma (Emmy Rossum) and fighter Yum Cha (Joon Park), whose combined cunning and strength will help the teenager to realise his potential.
The Boat That Rocked (15) ***DAMON SMITHEver since Hugh Grant and his floppy fringe bumbled through Four Weddings And A Funeral, screenwriter Richard Curtis hasn't just been taking the nation's romantic pulse - he has been encouraging it to race out of control.
Wet Wet Wet laid siege to the top of the UK charts thanks to Curtis' popular blend of sentimentality and earthy humour, followed up five years later by the fairytale amour of Notting Hill, starring Julia Roberts.
In Christmas 2003, we swooned to the multi-faceted Love Actually, which Curtis also directed, his third collaboration with lucky talisman Grant.
Now, the writer-director takes the helm for this nostalgic tale of friendship between the members of a pirate radio station, broad-casting from the North Sea in the mid-1960s.
His favourite leading man is nowhere to be seen, nor for that matter, are the big laughs and gooey outpourings of longing.
The year is 1966, a golden era for rock 'n' roll in this country, but BBC radio plays a mere 45 minutes of pop music a day.
Thus, around 25 million listeners tune into pirate radio stations, which devote every waking (and sleeping) minute to music.
One such station is Radio Rock, under the captainship of Quentin (Bill Nighy).
The DJs are a motley crew of misfits with one thing in common: a passion for vinyl.
They include star deejay Gavin (Rhys Ifans), American rival The Count (Philip Seymour Hoffman), sarcastic and cruel Dave (Nick Frost), love sick Simon (Chris O'Dowd), sex god Midnight Mark (Tom Wisdom), goofy Angus 'The Nut' Nutsford (Rhys Darby), newsreader On-The-Hour John (Will Adamsdale) and the aptly named Thick Kevin (Tom Brooke).
Quentin's godson Carl (Tom Sturridge), who has recently been expelled from school, joins Radio Rock for the summer, in the hope that he might mend his ways.
Instead, the youngster embarks on a quest to track down his biological father, who could be one of the crew members.
Meanwhile, back in London, government minister Dormandy (Kenneth Branagh) explores every legal loophole to shut down the pirate radio stations, with the help of his protege (Jack Davenport).
The Boat That Rocked certainly rocks and rolls to a thumping soundtrack which includes The Beach Boys, Jeff Beck, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones and The Who. However, the script springs a leak early on as Curtis attempts to juggle too many thinly sketched characters and gradually loses ballast under the weight of its own unfulfilled ambition.
As usual, Nighy pilfers most of the chuckles as a dapper man of loose morals who views Carl's expulsion for smoking cigarettes and drugs as "spectacular!"
The running joke about the name of Dormandy's underling grows weary very quickly, made worse by Branagh's theatrics as the pantomime villain.
Subtlety tumbles overboard as the battle between government and Radio Rock intensifies, culminating in a bizarre action-oriented finale reminiscent of Titanic, albeit on a budget.
