Friday, August 2

Movie Review: District 9

Length: 1 hr & 52 mins
Released: August 14, 2009
Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Action, Drama
Rating: R
Directed By: Neill Blomkamp

Where I Got It: borrowed from library

SUMMARY:
"It's been 28 years since the aliens made first contact, but there was never any attack from the skies, nor any profound technological revelation capable of advancing our society. Instead, the aliens were treated as refugees. They were the last of their kind, and in order to accommodate them, the government of South Africa set up a makeshift home in District 9 as politicians and world leaders debated how to handle the situation. As the humans begin to grow wary of the unwelcome intruders, a private company called Multi-National United (MNU) is assigned the task of controlling the aliens. But MNU is less interested in the aliens' welfare than attempting to understand how their weaponry works. Should they manage to make that breakthrough, they will receive tremendous profits to fund their research. Unfortunately, the highly advanced weaponry requires alien DNA in order to be activated. When MNU field operative Wikus van der Merwe is exposed to biotechnology that causes his DNA to mutate, the tensions between the aliens and the humans intensifies. Wikus is the key to unlocking the alien's technology, and he quickly becomes the most wanted man on the planet. Ostracized and isolated, Wikus retreats to District 9 in a desperate bid to shake his dogged pursuers."

CAST:
Wikus van der Merwe - Sharlto Copley
Christopher Johnson, Grey Bradnam - Jason Cope
Koobus Venter - David James
Tania Van de Merwe - Vanessa Haywood
Fundiswa Mhlanga - Mandla Gaduka
Thomas - Kenneth Nkosi
Obesandjo - Eugene Khubanyiwa
Piet Smit - Louis Minnaar
Dirk Michaels - William Allen Young

TRAILER:

REVIEW:
People have been ranting raving about this movie for a while now; even my Dad was drooling all over this when it came out. *sighs* However, I wasn't too keen for it. I'm not HUGE into alien movies. Never have been. Meh. Boyfriend really wanted to watch this, so I succumbed and I watched it with him. 

I'll be honest...it wasn't too bad. I would even go against my pride and say I enjoyed it. However...for this review, I will divide and conquer:

The Good
-The effects were amazing! I was utterly blown away...it all looked legit real.
-The acting and casting was lovely.
-I loved how they made this like a documentary. It was interesting (by no means original, but it made the story better).
-I felt like this was dead-on. If aliens needed our help and we "came to the rescue" and they became refugees...I feel like this would happen. They would stay for a long time and people would resent them and treat them like garbage. One, they are refugees and two, they are unknown to us. Humans are scared of the unknown, so people would resent them. Sad, but true. 
-I liked the ending...but then I hated it. (a love/hate thing is going on here)

The Bad & The Ugly
-Wikus annoyed me to no ends.
-Wikus' voice gave me a headache
- I don't understand why the aliens ALWAYS have to look so UGLY in these movies...why do they look like monsters? They are super smart...why can't they look not so scary and ugly? Is this a poke at the stereotype, "You can't be smart and pretty." Gah. 
- I was confused...so there were no female aliens? How did they create the eggs to reproduce? Me=confused on the functions of these creatures.
-I couldn't keep the names of the characters straight and who was who sometimes.
-The ending made me mad...it was a HUGE cliffhanger and I don't think they'll ever make a sequel (doesn't seem to be). Annoyed.

Conclusion
I don't really care for alien movies...but this wasn't too bad. There was a lot I liked and a lot I didn't like. I wish they would create a sequel for my sanity though! GAH! Don't get me wrong though, the ending was fantastic and was appropriate, however, I wish that they didn't leave such a cliffhanger. I would recommend this to those that adore alien and Sci-fi movies. (*NOTE* I'm adding a new feature to my movie review - yes I will go back and add it to the old ones-*END OF NOTE*) I shall stamp this movie with 3 stars...it's a little shy of 3.5, so I rounded.

Would I re-watch?: 
Nope. 

Favorite Character(s): no one I can really think off...I did feel bad for the aliens though. Humans are cruel.
Not-so Favorite Character(s): Pretty much all the human...humans are bastards.

                               

*CaroleRae*


2 comments:

Blodeuedd said...

I am sure the aliens thought we were really ugly too

Carole Rae said...

mmmm I guess. lol