War of the Worlds: Goliath

  Set after the events of the War of the Worlds novel, Goliath tells the story of Eric Wells, an orphan whose parents were killed in the original Martian invasion. After germs wiped out the invaders, humanity scavenged Martian technology to build their own tripods and heat rays. Now an adult, Eric has joined up with A.R.E.S., or Allied Resistance Earth Squadron, an international army created to fight the Martians if they ever invade again. Just as the first World War is about to break out, the Martians return, forcing Eric to overcome his own insecurities and prove himself a hero.
  Like most sci-fi and nerdy stuff, I am a fan of War of the Worlds. I read the novel when I was a teenager, and while it didn't knock my socks off, I enjoyed the darkness of it, specifically the idea that in a war against technologically advanced aliens, humanity was screwed.
  This movie was originally planned as an animated series, which probably explains why I enjoyed it. I'm a long time fan of animation, and it's not hard to think of Goliath as a kind of steam punk Exosquad, exactly the type of thing you'd find in a Saturday morning line up during the nineties. Visually I found Goliath to be a treat, the characters are very angular, with all of the male characters being square jawed he-men. The design of the A.R.E.S. tripods is neat, they look like bulky, walking tanks whereas the Martian tripods are much thinner and more sleek. The whole thing looks like a comic book come to life, which made me happy.  
  Goliath features the involvement of Kevin Eastman, who served as executive producer. Eastman is famous for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I don't know the full extent of his involvement with the production of this movie, but it certainly lends some geek street cred to the final proceedings, which is probably why you can find his name mentioned on the cover of the DVD.
  The voice cast includes actors from notable geeky shows like Firefly (Adam Baldwin), Highlander (Adrian Paul) and Andromeda (Jim Byrnes). I enjoyed Adrian Paul in this, as his womanizing, loud mouthed Irishman brought some much needed levity to the film. Adam Baldwin's appearance is more of a cameo, as his lunatic character doesn't get much time to shine.
  War of the Worlds: Goliath, also features a fictionalized version of American President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, who serves as a leader in A.R.E.S. who, considering his rank and status, is someone who does a surprising amount of fighting on the front lines. There's even a fun scene where Teddy incites a bar brawl. And really, folks, if you don't want to watch an hour and a half long cartoon where the 26th President of the United States shoots at aliens, then what's wrong with you? If you're a geek or fan of the source material then check this out.

Wizards

 A Ralph Bakshi production from the year 1977, Wizards is an animated film that mixes Lord of the Rings type fantasy with World War 2 ephemera into one strange, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup of cartoon weird-ness. I imagine a lot of the adult viewers of this film were eating peanut butter cups during the movie, as they probably were suffering from marijuana induced hunger pains.
  Wizards is set in a post apocalyptic Earth that, free of technology, has developed back into a fantasy land. Elves, fairies and magic have reappeared onto the scene, along with a race of mutants who were spawned by nuclear fallout. The titular wizards are Avatar and Blackwolf, brothers who are polar opposites on the good and evil spectrum. The evil brother, Blackwolf, is attempting to conquer the world armed with technology, like guns, tanks, and a projector that he uses to screen old Nazi propaganda films.  
  The other protagonists consist of a sexily drawn fairy queen, a fierce warrior elf, and a robot assassin initially named Nekron 99, and then later renamed Peace by the heroes, who he is forced to lead to Blackwolf's lair.
  The animation style is quite cartoonish and far from reality, and more resembles something you'd see in a comic strip, which is why the addition of the stock footage makes things all the more surreal. It really is a contrast of visual styles that is rarely seen, and makes Wizards an experience that you won't soon forget.
  As a movie I would have a hard time recommending this to anyone who isn't a big fan of unusual/mature animated movies i.e. Heavy Metal, Fantastic Planet, or Fire and Ice. While Wizards is more family friendly then those pictures, it's still a little stranger then your standard Disney movie. If you've yearned to watch psychedelic images of fantasy creatures mixed in with actual stock footage of Adolph Hitler then this is the movie you've been waiting for. I have a feeling that it is children who would best appreciate this, especially ones who like to draw or read comic books. While 32 year old me wasn't blown away by Wizards, I can easily say that 13 year old me would've had much more of an appreciation for a movie that contains scenes of elves getting mowed down with machine guns.