District 9

[Pathos]

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk93/soggychewtoy/film/district9poster.jpg

This hit Australian theaters today, and i believe you statesideians get it tomorrow.

Simply put - go and see this film. Forget work, kids, sex, gaming, schoolgirls or collecting your winning lottery ticket; GO AND SEE DISTRICT 9 INSTEAD! It will be the superior experience.

I was lucky enough to worm my way into a press screening a few weeks back and all i've done since is rock back and forth while reliving the entire experience in my head over and over, with the more rousing memories punctuated by a happy drool or an absent-yet-pleasing scratch of the nuts. Not only is District 9 easily the best Sci-Fi flick of the year, but one of the best of the modern era period, eclipsing even my personal favourite films of the last half dozen years, Let the Right One In (http://www.joblo.com/arrow/reviews.php?id=1279) and The Man from Earth (http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=16873).

I won't bother with the synopsis, and link you to the teaser trailer instead (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHihFA8q8xI&fmt=). Why? Because this is the way a trailer SHOULD be frickin done! Unlike the recent trend of giving away the entire movie in 1min 58 secs, this baby presents the world to you without revealing a) the central character, or indeed any at all, and b) what the hell the main plot is! F'n AYE!

My expectations going in were sky bloody high (check out director Neill Blomkamp's Halo 3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BaVb2TlWb0&fmt=) short if you've missed it) and this managed to exceed them. When i walked out of that screening, i had but one word for my companion: "Wow..." And on further reflection, you know what that word has become? Here it is: Masterpiece.

There is no danger of me over-hyping this movie. You will love it. If not... then you're probably a lousy prawn lover. (Don't get it? Well, you'll just have to see the movie to do so. Shame!)

[BlackWolf]

Almost forgot about this movie, i saw the trailer some time ago and its a must c for me =)

[JIMINATOR]

jup, gonna see it saturday! :)

[Pathos]

Here's something i just stumbled across - a cool little spoiler free (just stay away from the youtube comments below the vid) bit of fan reaction from the recent comic-con:

District 9 - Fans Review (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-u9JXk7B25w)

The near-speechless kid with the white cap at 1:14... that was pretty much my initial reaction captured right there. Just with more hand gesticulations and a reddening face.

Oh, and ignore what the dorky reporter dude says about a "twist" - there is no bloody twist! This movie wouldn't stoop to that. This movie doesn't NEED a frickin' grimmick. He's just really confused. I would be too in that outfit.


I'm going to see it after my Prawn dinner :)
Mwaha! Bah-stard! There's always one... [noogie]

[EXEcution]

OH GOD! I will see this tomorrow night and if no one wants to go with me I will go to the theater alone!!!

[Pathos]

OH GOD! I will see this tomorrow night and if no one wants to go with me I will go to the theater alone!!!
That's what i want to hear! I'll be with you in spirit, my friend! [forehead kiss] I've already booked in two further screenings for the week ahead...

Hey, Jiminator should be seeing this about now! Jim, make sure you post your thoughts bud. Good or bad, I can take it. [readies silencer and googles home-made bombs]

[Asian Invasian]

Saw it opening night. Great movie.

[JIMINATOR]

saw it, loved it, will see again to more fully soak it in.
a great sci-fi story, in many ways reminiscent of a video game.
if any of you like scifi then this is the one to see.
this is not the typical hollywood trash movies where they have special
effects and everything else sucks.

[Pathos]

Great to hear, guys! I know what you mean about needing to see it again after letting it settle and stew. There are a few tiny things i could cluck and fuss over, but that's only if we're judging against perfection. (The only perfect movies in my mind, where i would not change a SINGLE detail - be it plot, a line of dialogue, or a facial tick - number only two: Shawshank Redemption and the greatest horror/thriller ever made - John Carpenter's The Thing.)

Much like the recent Battlestar Galactica remake was the sci-fi series for those won't don't like sci-fi television, D9 is the sci-fi flick for those won't don't normally favor sci-fi in film; it's original take on a tired concept and general all round awesomeness basically transcends the genre. (I made my chica, Ms. "OMG Desperate Housewives", watch Battlestar and she loved it start to finish - just now i literally shooed her out the door to D9. No doubt the moment she gets home = lots of grateful sex with new positions and everything.)

Speaking of perfection and awesomeness, how amazing was first-time actor Sharlto Copley? What a fu#^ing performance! As great as everything was, he somehow managed to elevate proceedings.

Here's some short and sweet interviewy goodness from comic-con for those of you who have seen the film: Producer Peter Jackson, Director Neill Blomkamp, and Sharlto THE MAN Copley. (http://tinyurl.com/lyej2k) No real spoilers in this link, but i'd still recommend waiting until after you've seen a screening to go in completely fresh.

[Sirc]

There is no danger of me over-hyping this movie.


Actually, there is. And you did. I enjoyed it anyway, but probably not as much as I could have. 4 out of 5 stars.

Lighten up on the caffeine Pathos.

[EXEcution]

Actually, there is. And you did. I enjoyed it anyway, but probably not as much as I could have. 4 out of 5 stars.

Lighten up on the caffeine Pathos.

I managed to finally see this and I have to agree with Sirc. It was very well done visually and the characters were well developed.

I guess my pet peeve is that it wasn't really a true sci-fi movie. There wasn't much explanation of the "why", the movie mainly focused on the events and revaluations of the events taking place during the film.

But I did enjoy both the beginning and the end. Great job for a first time director. However, hype always kills even the best movies.

[SASQUATCH]

Speaking about The Man from Earth, I posted it a while ago about watching this movie. It was excellent the story.

Here is something you should all know about this movie btw. I knew of this long ago and the story behind it is interesting thanks to Peter Jackson who help to bring Lords of the Ring and he also done King Kong.

Originally, Neill Blomkamp was contacted by Peter Jackson to direct Halo, a film based on the video game series of the same name. When this project did not turn out due to internal disagreements between Fox, Universal and Microsoft, Jackson and those involved felt obligated to give Blomkamp financial support and a chance to direct another film, and it was decided that the short film Alive in Joburg could be expanded into a feature instead. According to Jackson, District 9 was born "the day Halo [the film] died."

There is more to the story but this is a short version of it.

[Pathos]

Interesting points!

I'm usually with you fellas on the hype front, but that's the thing which most surprised me about this flick; I read all the links i posted here, indulged in a ton of Comic-con feedback more akin to life-affirming epiphanies, and devoured this review one hour before my screening (http://www.aintitcool.com/node/41892) (if you thought i waxed lyrical, this guy makes me sound positively lukewarm - though his write-up so mirrors my thoughts it renders the need for an actual review on my part moot) and you know what? The film STILL dazzled me. It took me on a ride where i was completely in the moment, grabbing me by my lobes and refusing to allow me the slightest opportunity to think along extraneous lines, about how much other people enjoyed this or subconsciously willing myself to like it more (which happens more than i care to admit). I simply forgot i was in a theaterette in a crappy seat with a bunch of snooty, snobby press. I sat there slowly blinking when the lights came up at the conclusion, my brain furiously re-wiring and fighting to remind me the world i just inhabited was not my own. The last film to make me feel this way was Once Were Warriors (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110729/), and that was bloody 1994!

My friend surprised me here. She was not only exposed to media hype, but, well, Pathos hype! And when she exited her D9 screening she had not even boarded a cab before enthusing about various plot points in an out of breath way. Later i was downright shocked when she confided she had downloaded a film podcast relating to District 9, stating that she kept coming back to key themes and events in her head and needed some kind of release mechanism to sort through it all (you know, away from my manic intensity).


I guess my pet peeve is that it wasn't really a true sci-fi movie. There wasn't much explanation of the "why", the movie mainly focused on the events and revaluations of the events taking place during the film.
Exe - many of my buds had the same minor quibbles as you. For my part, those points are a huge part of why i enjoyed this thing so much: A decidedly non-Sci-Fi story told entirely through an Alien framework, dutifully explored amid the absence of traditional plot beats and revelations - points peripheral to the story and hence shunted aside, yet if you so wish they do feed you JUST enough of it to open up entirely new avenues for debate and conjecture, in many ways re-contextualizing entire elements of the film (as one of my recent overly-lengthy real world discussions went). It's the difference between a lazy script and an intelligent one.

Cloverfield is an example where this method did not succeed. It got close, mind you, but not quite. It's a decent picture that should have been great, one where frustration ultimately won out; you left the film asking yourself "but where did the monster COME FROM?" and such BEFORE you thought, "that scenario was actually quite good". I.e., the questions got in the way of the experience of filmic entertainment. With District 9 it is the other way around; you still have similar questions, but they take a back seat to the essence of the whole and the emotional exploration therein. Indeed the movie almost prompts you to explore these details on reflection; one gets the feeling the answers ARE there, teasing you while just out of frame, as opposed to Cloverfield where the lasting impression is the writers came up with cool moments with no serious thought given to establishing background and certainly no answers for anything. (Until of course the sequel where they are forced to retcon!)

To highlight this strength, there's been more than than one journalist out there who has cited how loathe they are to call the aliens by the racist/specist/derogatory term "Prawn". I just love that! These things aren't frickin' REAL, and yet... Clearly it's not all about the CGI and cool shit going splatty - the central theme of the film is what is getting through to people.

Know which film this most reminded me of? Surprisingly, not Alien Nation. Rather, much like what Stardust was to many fans of Princess Bride, at it's heart District 9 is Enemy Mine (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089092/) for the current generation. It even rhymes. The parallels are so brazen I'm surprised i haven't seen this mentioned elsewhere (possibly because, though it perplexes me, opinions are very much split on EM). If you enjoyed D9, and can see your way past horribly dated FX, i recommend that one.

On a HYPE! related front, it will be fascinating to track the progress of James Cameron's Avatar. This thing is months from release, years in the making, and the hype is so massive it's ALREADY started a hugely negative kickback (http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/2008-12-6-motion-captured/posts/avatar-trailer-premieres-online). You'll be happy to hear I have my coffee brewed and ready for it's December release...

[Pathos]

My son and I saw it yesterday (after eating burritos) and thought it was great.!
Man, i really envy you! I simply cannot WAIT until my little girl is old enough to put up with her old man dragging her to stuff like this.

And the day i introduce her to the Star Wars Original Trilogy... ? We'll be the closest father-daughter tandem ever! We'll win sack races and everything.


Speaking about The Man from Earth, I posted it a while ago about watching this movie. It was excellent the story.

I missed that thread initially, Sas, but i have just backtracked and you are indeed the man! I find it hard to get people to watch that film given it's set entirely in one lousy room and completely dialogue and performance driven, but once i sit them down? They do not get up! Even after the film has finished! They just sit there in stupefied awe and i have to physically throw them out or make a daring citizen's arrest.



Here is something you should all know about this movie btw.
And more:

5 Things You Did Not Know About District 9 (http://io9.com/5341120/5-things-you-didnt-know-about-district-9)
Warning: Spoilers galore in this link! Click only if you've seen the film.

[SASQUATCH]

Yes I know of this thank you but here is something you are going to want to watch.
Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) is a science fiction film it's old movie that I watch long ago and for its time it was pretty good, I loved it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/index.html?curid=269528


The good news is Ron Howard the magical director is now going to be part of the remake of Colossus which I am looking forward to it. There are three parts of this book on this movie and the 1970 version was only the first part. Ron Howard will be directing this remake of Colossues and all three parts will be included if anyone hasn't read the books. This movie I know for sure is going to kick as*. I tell you it will because if you know about the story of this flick it is about computers taking over the world. If you have been watching science channel or reading up on it like I have, scientist have said that we are at very dangerous time with our new technology and we must be very careful about artificially Intelligent super power systems and to mention Nanotechnology.


Anyway it’s going to happen this movie a remake of it is now on the way thx to Ron Howard and I am so glad he is taking this project because what he touches turns to gold.

Not sure if it's been official that Ron Howard is taking on the project but there is good chance he will.

[FUS1ON]

It was entertaining and OK at best.

3.5/5 stars

[Nitro]

This was an amazing movie. I loved it almost as much as Wall-E. I'm glad they left the end the way they did.

9/10

[Ra\/en]

Pathos. I fully agree with you with regards to this amazing and stunning flick!

I dropped everything and went out to see it on the opening weekend last month. It was totally worth it. I know I'm pretty late here, but I just noticed the thread.

In any case, everybody here needs to see it. It's a geek's orgasmic delight.

:)