Mars Attacks! (1996)

Jack Nicholson plays two different men in Tim Burton’s Martian invasion movie, and neither of them is the main character, because there isn’t one. Burton crams in a president, a first lady, a Vegas developer, a TV host, a scientist, a donut-shop kid, a retired boxer and Tom Jones, then lets the Martians knock them over like bowling pins. The Martians themselves are perfect: big-brained, bug-eyed little troublemakers who squawk ’ack ack’ and are terrible at pretending to be friendly. Martin Short is hilarious as the jittery press secretary, and Glenn Close plays the first lady like she’s mostly worried about the drapes. But at 106 minutes the gags start repeating, and the humans are so thin it’s hard to care who gets zapped next. It made $101.4 million worldwide on a reported $80 to $100 million. A 5.9 because the Martians are iconic and this movie is a pile of sketches. $203.73 says you catch yourself saying ’ack ack’ to your pet this week and get a deeply concerned look back.

What works: The Martians are a brilliant design, cheeky and menacing at once, and the stacked cast clearly enjoys the silliness.

What doesn’t: With no main character and a pile of thin subplots, the movie turns into a string of sketches that repeat the same joke.

Who it’s for: Fans of old drive-in sci-fi and anyone who thinks a bug-eyed alien saying ack ack is automatically funny.