On Saturday, 28 March 2009, Janice and I went to the Sugarloaf Crafts Festival in Hartford, Connecticut. As we were browsing through the art and food booths, we ran into Janice's folks! After hearing about the craft show from Janice, they had decided to go. It was nice to see them (especially since we might have missed them altogether with our new cell phones turned off).
On Sunday, Janice and I drove up to Thomas K.Y.'s place in Lexington, Massachusetts. From there, we went to lunch at Mifune, an Asian restaurant in Arlington, Mass., followed by a midafternoon matinee of Monsters vs. Aliens.
The computer-animated comedy has many allusions to the science fiction/horror movies of the 1950s, such as The Thing, Godzilla, and Attack of the 50-Foot Woman. Like Meet the Robinsons or The Incredibles, it has a retro sensibility for adults and gentle humor for young audiences. While not as manic as Doctor Strangelove or Mars Attacks, fans of Cold War social commentary will be pleased to hear comedian Stephen Colbert as the dimwitted president.
The rest of the voice cast is good, with Reese Witherspoon as new mutant Gigantica, Kiefer Sutherland as monster handler Gen. W.R. Monger, Seth Rogen as the blobby B.O.B., and Hugh Laurie as The Fly-inspired Dr. Cockroach. Overall, I'd give Monsters vs. Aliens, which is rated PG for crude humor and cartoon violence, a B+.
Of the previews we saw, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs looked mildly amusing, and of course, I plan to screen the cinematic Star Trek reboot. An impressive fan-made trailer for The Hunt for Gollum (related to Peter Jackson and Guillermo Del Toro's upcoming Hobbit films) can be found online. What movies are you looking forward to?
Gene's Worlds 
