[MOVIE] District 9

[Emperor]

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809961221/video/14389848/standardformat/

 

Tell me this doesn't look good...

[Almearafan]

I got tingles...I think I may actually drag myself to a theater to see this one.

[Justen Diablos]

This doesn't look good.

 

 

...

 

 

 

I didn't follow the link, I just like to follow orders.

 

JD,

Foot Soldier of the 'Chan.

[Dunbar]

Man, I want this movie and I want it now

 

Demi out

[Krakalakachkn]

This movie looks so good I want to take it behind the middle school and get it pregnant

[Dunbar]

This movie looks so good I want to take it behind the middle school and get it pregnant

 

You took the words right out of my mouth

[Liathiana]

Can anyone give a synopsis? I can't look at trailers on this computer.

[Dunbar]

District 9 is based on Alive in Joburg, a short film directed by Neill Blomkamp, Sharlto Copley, Simon Hansen and Shanon Worley. Copley also portrayed one of the interviewed policemen. The short film is about aliens landing in South Africa and becoming confined to a specific area and forced to work.

 

In the movie, aliens made first contact with Earth twenty years ago while humanity waited for the hostile attack, or the giant advances in technology. Neither came. Instead, the aliens were refugees, the last survivors of their home world. The creatures were set up in a makeshift home in South Africa's District 9 as the world's nations argued over what to do with them. Now, patience over the alien situation has run out. Control over the aliens has been contracted out to Multi-National United (MNU), a private company uninterested in the aliens' welfare - they will receive tremendous profits if they can make the aliens' advanced weaponry work.

 

So far, they have failed; activation of the weaponry requires alien DNA. The tension between the aliens and the humans comes to a head when an MNU field operative, Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley), contracts a mysterious virus that begins changing his DNA. Wikus quickly becomes the most hunted man in the world, as well as the most valuable - he is the key to unlocking the secrets of alien technology. Ostracized and friendless, there is only one place left for him to hide: District 9.

[Emperor]

Going tomorrow... here is a review.  If you go see GI Joe over this movie I will mock you (zash).

 

 

While the Soweto setting powers the metaphor along with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, it also adds an exotic and unique flavor to one of the most engaging mainstream films of the summer. "District 9" delivers an adult sci-fi tale that provides blockbuster action thrills, occasionally witty social commentary, a solid raft of performances from almost all unknowns, impressive effects and the production values of a film around three times that of its mere $30 million budget.

 

Fusing familiar elements from various disparate genres, the story is original and smart enough for the art house crowd while still providing plenty of inventive gore, explosive action and familiar thrills to satisfy moviegoers with more visceral demands. Director Neill Blomkamp, making his feature film debut, displays deft visual control and an abundance of maverick energy that's refreshing, even on the few occasions when his overly ambitious reach exceeds a still remarkable grasp.

 

The film's three acts are quite distinct but appealing in their own separate ways. The initial half-hour delivers an effective pseudo-documentary take on the arrival of the alien refugees, their failure to integrate, the emergence of the D9 slum, and the attempt to relocate that growing population away from human civilization. This section smoothly cuts between interview sound bites, news footage, and fly-on-the-wall docudrama following the somewhat hapless bureaucrat Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) who has been saddled with the task of heading up efforts to remove the creatures from the titular slum.

 

While it takes the events it portrays with utter seriousness, it's here the satire shines strongest. Though apartheid is never mentioned or shown on screen, the alien immigrant parallel is driven home in ways both obvious and surprising. Some seem far too blunt, such as the use of the derogatory 'prawns' nickname and the Jo'burg setting which still today remains visibly scarred by the National Party's five-decade long segregationist policies. Others however are much more fascinating and thought-provoking, mainly in the way it deals with humanity's predictable reactions to such a problem from black market racketeers and inter-species prostitution to socially acceptable racism and sanctioned urban warfare.

 

The other two acts slip into more conventional models, Blomkamp gradually phasing out the doco elements for a more traditional and somewhat less interesting narrative. The mid-point of the film is the weakest, a gory "The Fugitive" knock-off with pacing that drags for long periods before rousing itself to an explosive action-packed third act filled with cross-city chases, an armored mecha robot battle, human and alien bodies literally exploding in shoot outs, and some fun action including my favourite - a blink and you'll miss it death by flying pig carcass.

 

The main issue here is an obvious lack of final polish. The subtext is too spread out and dissonant to come together and make a conclusive overall point. The setup is so ambitious and audacious that the falling back on more conventional sci-fi trappings such as a cute kid alien, a convenient macguffin that will resolve most issues (in this case a black liquid power source), and a human/alien friendship that overcomes prejudice is disappointing. While Wikus himself is fully fleshed out, all the other human characters are purely cartoonish in their villainy or simply talking heads for the interview segments. Though it comes to a satisfying ending, there's a few notable holes left unexplained in the otherwise tight story.

 

Though the flaws stop this from reaching the great heights of the genre, what's here is nevertheless quite exceptional in many ways and will certainly become a major cult hit. Performances from a range of New Zealand and South African actors are solid across the board, particularly filmmaker-turned-actor Copley who delivers strong work in a physically demanding and often unlikable protagonist role.

 

Production values are remarkable, the CG is often astonishingly well integrated with Trent Opaloch's cinematography which effectively conveys an on-location improvised style for sequences that would had to have been planned down to the last detail. Blomkamp, helped along by Clinton Shorter's effective score, keeps the pacing tight with only that aforementioned sag in the middle slowing down events from moving along at an otherwise quite punchy speed.

 

More than anyone else, Blomkamp is the one that comes out of this as a talent to watch - nimble, fresh, inventive and full of the energy of most young first-time filmmakers and yet already displaying the artistic skill of many of the greats. Only the odd moment of over-indulgence takes away from an otherwise remarkable level of self-control and proficiency. With "District 9" he's created an engaging sci-fi parable rooted in both universal themes and a specific setting that often takes you by surprise with both its smarts and intensity, something you don't see often in this kind of cinema these days.

 

 

 

[Krakalakachkn]

Loved this movie.  10/10

[Emperor]

10 out of 10 is a bit too much for me.  I did like this movie and it may be the best movie I have seen this year so far... which isn't saying much because most of it has been popcorn flicks of suckage.  It was smart, the graphics were great, the plot was well written and a great reflection on our society.  I would give it a 7 out of 10.

[NighteyesDM]

Hey Emp want to come down to FL and babysit so me and the wife can go this this one? Pretty pwease!

[Emperor]

Ummm... no?  Yeah... no is the right answer. 

[Krakalakachkn]

You're probably right about it not deserving a 10/10, but I wouldn't say it was as bad as a 7/10.  My revised opinion is 8.25 or 8.5/10

[Emperor]

7 is good from me.  I gave it 4 stars on netflix.

[NighteyesDM]

Ummm... no?  Yeah... no is the right answer. 

 

 

Fine fine we will come visit you and then you can babysit!

[Emperor]

You are always welcome to visit.  I doubt you really want me babysitting your kids.  They will not leave the same.

[NighteyesDM]

You are always welcome to visit.  I doubt you really want me babysitting your kids.  They will not leave the same.

 

 

Well technically i only have one so far. However with that said certain monthly things have not happened for last month. Now the test said no but then again it said no 3 times in a row with my son and low and behold. 99% accurate my ass!