I’m going to rave about yet another movie. Monster House!

Monster House is about two boys, DJ and Chowder who live opposite cranky old man Nebbercracker, who chases people off his lawn. One day, the old man is yelling at DJ when he gets a heart attack and dies. His house then awakens to scare them and eat children all in time for Halloween. Yeah, some scenes may seem incredulous and yet hilarious, if you can spot the parody. Horror? More like action.

Steven Spielberg is co-producing, hence the legal rights to use parodies of War Of The Worlds. Do watch out for the Eddie Murphy cop parody! They had some pretty clever sequences and turn of events. Since the kids were experiencing puberty, the writers had the freedom to insert subtle sexual jokes and things of a more adult nature.

Jenny: [waves flashlight at chandelier] Look! That must be its uvula! *
Chowder: Oh. So it’s a GIRL house.

* The uvula is that thing that hangs at the back of your throat, often confused with the tonsils. (Later, they teach kids how to induce vomiting! How wrong is that?) Check out more quotes from IMDB!

Graphics-wise, it was the most fluid 3D CGI movie I’d ever seen. No, it wasn’t cartoony-physics Incredibles, it was human in expression and movement. Only their hair was a solid plasticine wig, but it was good that they didn’t bother with animating the hair, as the rest of the animation made up for it.

It also had camera angles which were very unlike a regular 3D movie; quick movements, as if it was a human cameraman. I also loved the small depth of field to bits. It had soft focus in most scenes to give a dreamy, innocent childhood effect, but was all sharp in the monster. I’d have noticed the small depth of field in any other 3D movie, so I’d say this was the first I’d seen. I wonder how they’d do the out-of-focus bits in IMAX though.

My only gripe with this would be the name – Monster House sounded like a B-grade horror movie. (I don’t read the sypnosis first because it’s more fun that way.) Perhaps they could’ve picked a name like The Monster House Of Nebbercracker. Okay, maybe Nebbercracker’s name would have to change, too.

Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and its offbeat humor. Will Ferrell is again an over-exuberant brute, but that’s why we loved him in Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy.