Wow. I was very interested in this film well before I sat down in the movie theater. I have to give the marketing guys props for this because it was one of the best ad campaigns for a film I have seen in a long time. District 9 is a fascinating film about aliens that are attempting to co-exist with humans in a dingy and unforgiving world. Wikus Van De Merwe (newcomer Sharlto Copley) becomes our eyes and ears as he becomes more and more sympathetic to the aliens plight.
What’s good about it–Fantastic visual effects; it does what they should and they add to the movie and they do not BECOME the movie. Filmed in Johannesburg, the cameramen went down and dirty and went for guerrilla filmmaking which gives the film a raw and grizzly feel. The story is original and very compelling. It was filmed in a very documentary style and you fall right into the world that the filmmakers created. I was fascinated and I had no idea where the film was going to take me. And I was moved too! The film had something to tell me and I was angered by the aliens and by the humans. It turned the camera around on us and made us think. The acting was very good and I felt a connection with Wikus as his eyes were slowly opened to a different perspective. You feel something and you want to do something after you see the film and that is a difficult artistic achievement.
What’s not so good–Make no bones about it, this is an action movie. For me the third act was a little bit of a let down as far as the story goes. It became extremely violent (we even had our summer movie giant killer robot at the end). It reminded me that I was not watching a message film with action, but an action film with a message. Not really a critique, just know what movie you are watching…it will help. There are a lot of questions left unanswered, but the answers are not easy ones to find (especially if you parallell it’s message with our world today). It can be messy and a tough ride, but hang on because it is worth it.
I will want to watch this film again, and I wonder if a sequel might be in the future. It doesn’t have to be, but the story certainly could go on. I would highly recommend seeing this film, but bring your trash bags in case blood splatters on your shirt. A-
I often feel my film standards are set too high. I cringe at little things that others omit from there memories and I praise the smallest camera trick that is barely noticeable. However, I feel this film is a nice blend–audience appeal and good filmmaking. Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) recounts his relationship with Summer (Zooey Deschanel) in sporadic, non-linear fashion. It is both hilarious and touching to watch the results of two people sharing so much of their lives together to ultimately not be compatible.
The director of THE BROTHERS BLOOM is what initially attracted me to this film. Rian Johnson created BRICK back in 2005 which was a film noir favorite of mine. He has returned (with a bit more of a budget this time) to create a fun heist movie with Adrian Brody and Mark Ruffalo as sibling con-men. They hatch a scheme to swindle a billion dollar heiress (Rachel Weisz) yet through the course of there adventure, Brody inevitably falls in love with her. However, they all have crafted a web of lies that has become too tangled to get out easily. We are left wondering what is true and what is false just as much as the characters. 
Most films that are released in the summer months are box office dynamite–in that they draw in audiences. After watching a few of what Hollywood had to offer, I felt a sharp ache in my heart for something deeper. I realized that ultimately the spectacle of Wolverine, Terminator, and Transformers was a drug that provided little sustenance. I therefore went to the indie theater, and my money now goes toward tickets for the underground favorites. I feel like I am giving my lunch money to a small, intelligent dork with a lot of potential instead of the flashy, popular class bully that everyone ultimately dislikes. So may I introduce you to MOON. Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is completing his 3 year mission on the moon mining for precious minerals to sustain life on Earth. He is alone, aside from his computer companion GERTY (in the spirit of HAL 9000–and voiced by Kevin Spacey). All he wants is to return home to his wife and child, but his mind is finally reaching a breaking point on the empty lunar surface. Then something happens (as it always does in science fiction). Sam is injured and is rescued by…himself.
Hey everyone, finally I will interject a review in the middle of the Friday the 13th marathon. I break the silence with X-Men Origins: Wolverine. We get the back story from everyone’s favorite X-man. We discover what tortuous past leads Logan to inject indestructible metal into his bones and become Wolverine. He must battle the government, his arch-nemesis Sabertooth (brilliantly casted with Liev Schreiber) and mingle with many-a-mutant. Forewarning, there will be spoilers if you keep reading…
This is the low point of the series, but I told you that I would watch all these, so here I am. I’m doing this so you don’t have to. That said, here we go!
