Film: District 9

STARRING: Sharlto Copely (newcomer)
DIRECTOR: Neill Blomkamp (newcomer)
WRITERS: Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell (newcomers)
PLOT: An alien race is forced to live in the slums of Johannesburg but get an ally in a by-the-book government agent.



FIVE OBSERVATIONS
4 When Oscar time comes around, we better hear the name Sharlto Copely in the nominees for outstanding lead actor in a motion picture. This newcomer is amazing. He carries the movie. I’m sure being best friends with the director helped, but this guy knocks the film out of the park. Copely plays the perfect underdog hero. His reactions are relatable. He often chooses to run. He panics. He is the main reason to watch this film. Wow.
4 This film was supposedly made for 30 million dollars. That’s cheap by Hollywood standards. Sure the filming style does not look expensive but the giant ship and the constant alien presence would have quite the price-tag. But then again, the director had done loads of 3D animation for other films. I’m sure he discounted his own work to make everything look so realistic. Wow.
4 District 9 may be sci-fi based but it definitely has a great message about how we treat those from different races and social standings. Talk about walking a mile in another man’s shoes. Who would have thought a sci-fi film could be this meaningful? I also liked that the story remained simple. There’s not this huge mythology you need to know before going in. A lot of the backstory is told in documentary form, so it’s easy to follow along.
4 There are some scenes that are hard to watch. It kind of reminded me of The Fly with Jeff Goldblum. This film could stop people from biting their nails entirely. I shudder just thinking it about it. But then, again I have a thing with fingernails.
4 One of the only things that bothered me is that they switch from documentary style to regular filming without a clean break. It just seems to morph. Maybe they don’t want you to notice, but I think there should have been something more distinctive. Something Cloverfield-style maybe. But this is a minor detail.

RECOMMENDATION
See it in the theatre/ Wait for DVD
(There is some great action and visual effects)
(The shaky camera may irritate some)

COMING SOON
Inglorious Basterds