District 9

  • Thread starter Thread starter Iroquois
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Sorry about my post...I thought this was just another thread made about the movie and not a review one. I'm partially tired and not paying attention lol
My bad.... I deleted my post.

On with the thread ...
 
That first one required a very suspension of disbelief, IMO.

I'm not at all sure that MNU controlled the entire planet in the movie though.
 
My teens and I saw this movie over the weekend.

I expected an Enemy Mine kind of scenario and it had some of that in it but it was updated to what teens these days love with tons of special effects, some shaky cam (but thankfully not too much) and much action.

After seeing it I also got shades of Predator, and two of Morgan Spurlock's 30 days shows. Those two shows being the one from when Morgan spent 30 days on a reservation and the one when he put a border guard living with an illegal Mexican family.

My teens LOVED this film. My 16 year old says it's the best movie he has ever seen!

My 18 year old enjoyed it a great deal as well.

As for me, I was relieved it didn't suck. I thought it was pretty good. I could have done without some of the gore and shaky cam. I could have enjoyed more story particularly into the aliens.

One thing I think it didn't really get into but which was implied is the theory that if there is no Alpha, one of the betas will change into an Alpha. They said that it looked like all the leaders had died leaving only directionless workers.

I thought it was pretty neat that they had someone step up. True he did it in a way that was covert. It was probably not widely known among his people that he was the alpha. It seemed only to be known by two others.
 
The Aliens may have had better weapons and been stronger than the humans but I think the whole situation was portrayed pretty realistically. The aliens did not come to earth to try and conquer our less advance race, they ended up here on accident. They were confused, scared and hungry and in their situation the best plan of action would not be to go into a planet they know nothing about and start shooting everything they see. They were indeed scared of the humans and the situation because they had no orders to follow or leadership and they wanted to go home.
It was pretty obvious to see the prawns weren't well organized and aside from a few notable cases weren't very intelligent or willing to work together.
 
OK, I finally got around to seeing August's major movies (at least, two of them), so I can comment on District 9. I might as well tell you up front that I give it [rating]3.5[/rating]. I will agree, up to a point, that it's an original concept, but even so, I was strongly reminded for obvious reasons of several other films. Both versions of The Fly came to mind, and I'll admit that Sarah hit it on the nose that the original might have been more-influential. Besides that, Independence Day, Children of Men, Aliens, Robocop 2 (or Iron Man if you can't think that far back), all cried out to me at various times. My wife Brenda was grabbing my arm, hard, at several times. At first, it was just because it was all so damn intense, and afterwards, when you totally got into the Christopher character, she said that she really wanted him and his son to get back to their family just like she wanted Tom Hanks' character to get back to his wife in Saving Private Ryan.

I'm not sure what else to add which hasn't been said. I did laugh at quite a few of the deaths. I thought the inclusion of the Nigerians was a masterstroke, but I need to ask our friend no1mccoy what he thinks because I laughed at their wastocity. I really don't understand the complaints about the film's score. There are many different kinds of African music, but since much of the film was shot in Soweto, it makes sense that you would hear music from Soweto, one of the continent's and definitely South Africa's touchstone for apartheid and civil rights. There would be no sense in setting the flick in South Africa and Soweto unless it included appropriate music. Rwanda and South Africa are thousands of miles apart, so learn about African music if you're going to discuss it.

The film is definitely set up for a sequel: District 10, and it's ripe for story strands from both lead characters, one I never even mentioned by name here in this post.
 
More like Watermelon Man meets Enemy Mine.

That being said, I really liked it. The main character, possessed with an overabundance of naivete and a lack of common sense, is a perfect everyman; in no way a typical movie hero. I thought the bad guys were a bit two-dimensional, but they certainly gave you someone to root against.

I also loved the irony of having the whole thing take place in Johannesburg, SA. Now in addition to Soweto, they have District 9 as well.

Good movie.
[rating]4[/rating]
 
I liked the music, A lot. Why would anyone complain about the music? Sure did enjoy the movie. I think your rating is spot on Mr. Eff.
 
What happened to the original District 9 thread? Anyway....here are 2 cool looking and yet misleading District 9 one sheets.
 
Iro, very good review! I'm hoping I can get to the theatre to see it this weekend.
 
I don't know what site that was, but I did remove it from your post, since you mentioned it in reference to watching movies on-line. That is against the forum rules. So was your signature that I just removed. You are not allowed to link to any sites that allow movie downloads, or viewing. Don't do it again.
 
Is anyone else bothered by all the plot holes in this film?

Seems no one is really commenting on the main story and the aspects of the plot that don't make sense and all of the problems it had.
 
District 9

District 9 has been getting a lot of hype and praise to equal that hype. Not many films can do this. I decided that I would try my best to go into this film not knowing much about it. I've seen the teaser and a couple TV spots and knew the basic premise. What I did not know was what a balls to the walls this film is.

Neill Blomkamp has mixed great sci/fi with themes and issues plaguing our society. A blend that works so well in this film that it plays out in two different styles. The first half of the film is told through a documentary style footage, with people talking directly to the camera explaining the backstory of the mothership and basically setting up the rest of the film. Half way through the film Blomkamp switches the style to a more conventional style of filmmaking, yet it isn't a jarring switch. The two styles bleed into each other and both feel the same.

The film is set in South Africa, the aliens are sequestered into these slums and blocked off away from humans. This segregation is reminiscent of our own history and it works well here, making the film more believable than a film like Independence Day. While watching this film I got a sense of Cloverfield and some Slumdog Millionaire. I wouldn't say it's a mix of the two, but I just got the feeling from it. I saw Cloverfield because this is a sci/fi that we haven't seen before. It's not based on anything and the creators have free range to do what they want. This was apparent in all the awesome weaponry they had. Cloverfield was new, fresh and a monster that we had no idea what it could do. I had no idea what this film was about to do, which was blow me away.

The second half, which is the more conventional filmmaking style, is action-packed and bloody violent. I had no idea what I was in for, but once I saw that the lead got his hands on the weapon technology, I had a huge smile on my face. What he did with it, made me smile even more. There were plenty of "Holy Sh*t" moments on my end. The most fun I've had at the movies this year, even more than the other sci/fi entertainer Star Trek.

The film is gritty, dirty and everything that it needs to be to sell this idea. The special effects look marvelous, especially when placed on such a desolate and depressing backdrop. The slums are dirty and turn into a warzone. A warzone that goes on for a long time and you never get tired of. You end up wanting more, craving more.

For a film with no star names attached and a lead who hasn't acted in anything before, I was surprised in the depth and emotion that these characters had and what Sharlto Copley had to offer. He's between a rock and a hard place. His character transformation from beginning to end is real and saddening. It's not easy to get me to care for CGI creatures, George Lucas failed, Peter Jackson succeeds, again. The alien creatures look great and I was surprised at how well I was able to connect to the Christopher character.

The film is original, fresh and unexpected. I was never bored and had no idea what was going to happen next. In all this action and drama, is there any room for some sweet romantic moments? The answer is yes and it ends on a beautiful note.

Go see this one in theatres.

[rating]4.5[/rating]
 
I can't think of any egregious plot holes off the top of my head. Mind elaborating (with spoiler tags, of course)?
 
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