Mike Reviews District 9
Happy Thursday!
1. Last night I saw the new sci-fi alien flick District 9. District 9 is truly one of the most original movies I’ve seen in a long while. Bear in mind, I don’t actually see that many movies, so whether or not this movie truly is original is probably best answered by someone more “sci fi” informed than me. And that person might be the asshole fan boy who sat behind me and at the end of the movie proclaimed with more authority than I think he truly has in any other aspect of his life, “I hated the ending!”
And that was that. Fan boy had spoken. His penis may never feel the inside of a vagina, but on this night his fear of dying a virgin was overridden by the rage he felt over D-9′s ending. I feel pity for those who shared the same District 9 chat board with him later that evening. Surely his venomous posting was not for the faint of heart.
What I do know is that it turns out I really respond to movies about ugly aliens, segregation, the evil of bio technology and the human impulse to create an “us vs them” scenario when dealing with anything that’s different from the norm or threatens what we consider to be normal, and endings that leave everything in doubt.
Ray felt overdressed when he realized he was the only person who wore riot gear to the BBQ.
D-9 is not a bang bang shoot em’ up alien flick, at least the majority of it isn’t. That’s not to say the movie isn’t gory. It’s gory as all get out. It’s simply that the gore comes in different ways than I expected and is central to what I thought was a brilliant plot device.
I would tell you more about it, but I am not a good enough writer to do so and NOT give away major plot points.
If you’re expecting Independence Day, don’t go. If you want to continue eating shrimp without guilt, don’t go. But if you’re looking for the “thinking man’s” alien movie, then District 9 is right up your alley.
FOTIs.
Definitely agree. Even though the “In order to understand something, you must experience it” thing isn’t new, D-9 was not quite like anything I’d ever seen. I liked how they made the main character a kind of anti-hero, a little twerp. Some of it was hard to watch, but I’m glad I did.
Plus, that scene where the Transformer-esque robot fires up that magno-bullet-ball? You have to admit that was pretty fucking kickass.
My sci-fi loving aunt will be taking me over the weekend.
Have you seen “In the Loop”? Please go right away unless you hate British stuff.
Rachel-Agreed! That gun was sweet and I can only assume that ten minutes of the movie was infinitely better than the actual Transformers movie.
Sarah-I have no beef with the Brits.
Apparently I will not be getting laid any time in the near future (I know, NEWS FLASH!) because I felt like the message was trite and lacking nuance (Ooh! Apartheid = bad!) and the pacing fell flat. (The opening documentary segment felt like the prologue to an entirely different movie.)
Once you realize that it’s a video game where it’s the ALIENS who are the protagonists, the whole plot is pretty predictable. You could tell the director wanted to direct the Halo movie, but had to settle for this instead.
I did like the lead – really great job for his first film. And I liked the relationship between Christopher Johnson and his child.
This seems like a really polarizing movie. Some people LOVE it like you do, but I also know people who walked out on it. I was underwhelmed.
Sorry to be yet another asshole fanboy.
…Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go moderate the Green Lantern messageboards at Ain’t It Cool News.
Tom-It’s true that before I looked back to see who was talking, I thought to myself, “What is Tom doing back in MPLS?”
!
Don’t worry Mike, I wouldn’t travel all the way to Minneapolis JUST to ruin a movie for you.
I’d hit you up for a spot on your couch, too. ;-P
Tom-Speaking of, are you ever coming back to the MSP for a visit?
Probably not until Christmas.