[Movie] District 9

Dunno how many have already seen this, but they released the first trailer for Neill Blomkamp's upcoming District 9

Must Watch: Neill Blomkamp's District 9 Teaser Trailer! FirstShowing.net

Apple - Trailers - District9

Quote:

An extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions in Johannesburg, South Africa suddenly find a "kindred spirit" in a government agent that is exposed to their mysterious biotechnology.

Most know Blomkamp from the terrific Halo 3 shorts released before the game came out. He was also set to direct the Halo movie but that's either on hold or cancelled.

Anyway, D-9 looks really interesting!

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I thought Alive In Joburg was a pretty interesting short, so to see that a feature length film is being made from the concept is pretty neat.

I am pretty sure I am looking forward to this.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

So, I went to see this last night. I was honestly expecting the documentary style to be the whole of the movie, and frankly I found that a little disappointing because of how limiting it would be for the audience. I'm pleased that it made the shift to a standard style movie even if it made some of the plot points more easy to see coming.

I feel like this film was an attempt to appease both the action crowd and the intellectual crowd, so in that sense it was kind of a leap of faith halfway through the movie when the tone shifts so much, but I felt like it was a logical continuation of the director's message for the film. I tend to see movies as visual essays, so if their introduction, body, and conclusion match up, I'm much more inclined to give them a positive review. What better way to follow your shoot-em-up short than with a piece on xenophobia?

Re: Sprout's review and related comments:

Spoiler:

I feel like corporate culture is such that the really twisted ones that make it to be CEOs would want to surround themselves with people who think alike. It is probably a stretch to say that no one would have a problem with carving up a human-turned-alien, but remember that this takes place in a world where the aliens landed in the early 80's (THE corporate decade) and in the intervening 30 years people had a lot of resentment over the worker prawns with theft and riots. That's plenty of time to foster a lovely little "us and them" mentality.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I looked forward to seeing the movie more than getting laid for the first time in my life. I was let down by a docudrama which turned into a movie half way thru. Oh I was also pushed a message reather than entertained by what I had hope to be a cool scifi event.


Yea yea corporate bad, evil blah blah they probabaly had plenty of corporate funding to make the movie..

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by JewishNegroe

Oh I was also pushed a message reather than entertained by what I had hope to be a cool scifi event.

Most movies worth watching do that. If anything lately there's an overabundance of films that are "it's just a movie" movies.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Actually went and caught this last night as well. For me, I barely registered the documentary -> standard format shift, as there was a gradual rolloff in the number of documentary style shots.

The film itself kind of blindsided me, as I had only heard some mumblings from Comic Con and then a roommate asked if I wanted to check it out. Looking at what's out there though, the trailer's are actually rather light on details, which I appreciate. Seems like its rare to not have most of the plot and major action scenes given away by the trailer.

What with being uninformed, I was pleasantly surprised. Particularly with the portrayal of the aliens themselves. No dark rooms with half seen monsters. First shots, they're out in the sun, and fairly unsympathetic. This mood shifts a bit through the film, as you find out a bit more about their structure, and what humans have done, but the large majority are still left as violent vagrants even by the conclusion.

Also, I enjoyed the fact that the "hero" was never really much of one, and just became a bit less craven over the course of the film. It was an interesting personal shift in the theater to realize that I wasn't really rooting for him, as much as I was hoping for the good effects his actions would have on the prawns.

Finally, violence. I can't remember the last movie I saw where people were visibly gibbed. Probably Saving Private Ryan. And after the tone shift, it was pretty frequent here. Still, in this film it felt like it was mostly being used as a tool. Accentuating the light, frail nature of the humans, along with the slow decomposition of the hero. There was some violence for "coolness" sake, like the mech suit, but even that was relatively well done.

Since it seems obvious they're heading down the road of District 10 though, I can totally see this just coming back as some Independence Day knockoff for the sequel.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

So far, this is my favorite movie of the year, and by far the most entertaining summer flick.

How ya doing, buddy?

Don't even get me started on this movie ok. This garbage was borderline racist man. It's basically like a really fucked up aparteid allegory y'know. (South African equivalent to Jim Crow for those of you who don't know.) don't ask me to explain it cuz I'm really high right now and I can't think straight. But the whole voodoo witch doctor dancing around having sex with aliens and shit didn't help much eitherr.Just sayin y'know. That shit SUCKED ok.

Additional Spam:
Ohhh yeah and the cannibalism too man. I'll explain my logic a bit better later on man. Just don't support this movie.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Like Araes I also went and saw it with minimal anticipation. I saw an very early teaser of it, thought 'meh', and added it to my list.
I had no idea this movie had received so much hype, and if I had jumped the bandwagon, maybe I would have been disappointed too.
But I didn't. I half expected a b-movie, and was totally blown away.

Love the setting, style and characters. Except for stereotypical "Evil Army Guy" who unsurprisingly gets what's coming to him.
I'm not even sure if the main character is an antihero, but more of a typical selfish random guy.
Antiheroes are normally liked, but this guy isn't necessarily - though he acquires some kind of empathy towards the end.
The CG also does a good job of being trustworthy.

I liked this movie, but I also liked Cloverfield, so there.

Originally Posted by Guy Axelrod

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.

Don't watch movies. It's bad for you.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Guy Axelrod

(South African equivalent to Jim Crow for those of you who don't know.)

ITT: Apples and oranges compared, deemed similar

Film at 11

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Guy Axelrod

Don't even get me started on this movie ok. This garbage was borderline racist man. It's basically like a really fucked up aparteid allegory y'know. (South African equivalent to Jim Crow for those of you who don't know.) don't ask me to explain it cuz I'm really high right now and I can't think straight. But the whole voodoo witch doctor dancing around having sex with aliens and shit didn't help much eitherr.Just sayin y'know. That shit SUCKED ok.

Additional Spam:
Ohhh yeah and the cannibalism too man. I'll explain my logic a bit better later on man. Just don't support this movie.

Yes there is absolutely no evidence of similar behavior in African nations. How racist of the movie to include this just because they're black.

This movie is about as racist as American History X. Exposing the innate prejudice in humans does not constitute racism.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I liked the movie. A lot. I would have liked it better if they had stuck with the documentary feel, which they did an excellent job with at the beginning but let fizzle out somewhere around the middle. Also, in parts I thought the gross-out factor was a little much...definitely more than I expected. I literally began covering my eyes due to my discovery of a previously untapped puke-detector I hadn't realized I was equipped with after about the fourth or fifith spewage of black stuff, but overall I was impressed with the originality of it and I definitely don't think I've ever seen anything like it before.

Racist? I didn't come away with that at all.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Alice

I liked the movie. A lot. I would have liked it better if they had stuck with the documentary feel, which they did an excellent job with at the beginning but let fizzle out somewhere around the middle. Also, in parts I thought the gross-out factor was a little much...definitely more than I expected. I literally began covering my eyes due to my discovery of a previously untapped puke-detector I hadn't realized I was equipped with after about the fourth or fifith spewage of black stuff, but overall I was impressed with the originality of it and I definitely don't think I've ever seen anything like it before.

Racist? I didn't come away with that at all.

A) The southerner doesn't see why black people being maligned is evil.

B) The mom didn't like the gross out parts.

I love the way you just live up to my stereotypes Alice. It makes keeping my worldview so easy.

It isn't original, by the way. Not even close to it. How anyone could like this movie more than in passing blows my mind. Smart movie for stupid people etc. Not that impressive in terms of CG etc. Same models with different clothing etc. Unbelievable plot etc.

Meh. Etc.

I was speaking idiomatically.

It had perfectly fine entertainment value for a Wednesday evening watch.

Internet guy (fancies himself quite the intellectual movie watcher with a heightened sense of things) disagrees. Gee, watch me as I'm about to topple over with surprise.

These people will remember this movie far longer than the rest of world will.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Malmer

It had perfectly fine entertainment value for a Wednesday evening watch.

Internet guy (fancies himself quite the intellectual movie watcher with a heightened sense of things) disagrees. Gee, watch me as I'm about to topple over with surprise.

These people will remember this movie far longer than the rest of world will.

Yes, as the intellectual movie goer remembers things longer due to the fact he often exercises his brain.

Man, I wish I was comfortable enough with myself to tell everyone, no, not tell, brag to everyone that I prefer vapid, stupid forms of entertainment to something interesting and/or intriguing.

Clearly you are the best of us.

(In both before and after "be more stupid and like stupid things. It's cool.")

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Denicalis

to something interesting

What the hell makes you think it's either/or? Maybe, just maybe most people are able to watch a wider spread of movies for what it's worth.

Please can't we join your snobby club? Is it only tea, or can I bring some regular water.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

My only problem with that criticism is "it's a smart movie for dumb people," which (as a general complaint) I think is a cop-out and does nothing but make everyone think "great, this asshole's spouting ivory tower bullshit." I don't care if Deni dislikes it, I know quite a few people who haven't, but I don't see any reason to try to kick down people who like it while simultaneously mounting the ol' high horse.

That said, I haven't seen District 9. Spoiled it for myself and haven't had the desire to see it in spite of that.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Well, the thing is, it's not a dumb movie as much as it has had its primary allegory repeated ad nauseum by every critic that's seen the movie. It's still a very effective movie emotionally and in terms of its production, but I think some folks went in expecting something they didn't get.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Malmer

What the hell makes you think it's either/or? Maybe, just maybe most people are able to watch a wider spread of movies for what it's worth.

Please can't we join your snobby club? Is it only tea, or can I bring some regular water.

You know tea is the drink of the masses, right? I mean, you're aware you just said "Hey, buddy. Can I come to your snobby club where you wear t-shirts?"

Also, maybe they can watch a wider spread of movies? I'm fairly certain what you mean to say is people who don't understand film as well as other people are more likely to not notice flaws. So yes, I suppose in that way ignorance is blissful. However, I'll always take knowledge over bread and circuses. I know a lot of people can enjoy terrible movies (which this isn't, you'll notice I said it was flawed and middling, not that it was terrible. My overwhelming reaction to this film was to yawn and be underwhelmed. I'm not comparing it to White Chicks over here. Good Martyr Complex though.) and I'm sure that makes them feel warm and fuzzy inside, but I'm quite comfortable with knowing better.

You keep enjoying your wider spread of movies, I'll be over here enjoying the good ones.

Originally Posted by YOU MAD

Just accept the fact that Deni and Lehah will be here to tell us how we're awful people for liking movies they find so pedestrian.

Nice of you to look up from your game of Halo and throwing a hissy fit before storming off forever because someone said you sucked at games long enough to be snarky and miss the point, Devo. I seem to remember a certain waifish bitch going after bad photoshopping in her prime like they were herding people into gas chambers. Don't get all sandy-vagged just because this isn't an area you're especially knowledgeable about. You don't see me trying to tell me how to do, I don't know, layering or colouring in the lines or anything like that, hm? People who know more about a subject are more likely to be critical about it. Knowledge. It's a bitch.

Originally Posted by GB

My only problem with that criticism is "it's a smart movie for dumb people," which I think is a cop-out and does nothing but make everyone think "great, this asshole's spouting more ivory tower bullshit." I don't care if Deni dislikes it (I know quite a few people who haven't), but I don't see any reason to try to kick down people who like it while simultaneously mounting the ol' high horse.

That said, I haven't seen District 9. Spoiled it for myself and haven't had the desire to see it in spite of that.

Blatant allegory that smacks you in the face with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer so at the end you can nudge your friend and explain to him it's about apartheid. Smart movie for stupid people. I say it's apt.

Originally Posted by Skexis

Well, the thing is, it's not a dumb movie as much as it has had its primary allegory repeated ad nauseum by every critic that's seen the movie. It's still a very effective movie emotionally and in terms of its production, but I think some folks went in expecting something they didn't get.

The problem is the allegory was so blunt and poorly handled my dog could have worked it out by the mid-point. Bad writing is bad writing. If this was Twilight we were talking about, the whole group of internet nerds would be up in arms over how hackneyed the literary devices are.

This whole discussion happens three times a week. Watch, I'll sum it up:

"Just be more dumb and like dumb things."

"I can't, I'm not a retard so I don't like things that treat me like a retard."

"Shut up here's popcorn and the Dark Knight."

"Sorry, can't help not liking stupid things when I notice they're stupid."

"Okay, elitist."

And the irony is that I bet the entire group of people throwing that word around as an insult get offended when FOX news does it.

Internet. Classic.

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Originally Posted by Denicalis

Blatant allegory that smacks you in the face with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer so at the end you can nudge your friend and explain to him it's about apartheid. Smart movie for stupid people. I say it's apt.

By this description, I think "dumb movie that thinks it's smart" might be more appropriate. Doesn't seem like much of a difference, no, but this would focus your criticism more on the movie than on the individual. And that'd make it a much more compelling argument, I think.

When you explained that, without any of the personal criticisms that a lot of people have an aversion to, I said to myself "wow, that sounds like the exact same shit I hate about 95% of movies. I have even less interest in seeing it."

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Denicalis

"I can't, I'm not a retard so I don't like things that treat me like a retard."

But it doesn't. Neither of those movies. I don't want to drag up the whole Dark Knight discussion again, but the simple virtue of being continuous throughout the film (and in fact, essential to the plot) doesn't make it a bad allegory.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Shit, it's just another flick. How deep does every movie need to be, Denicalis?

Sure I enjoy a fulfilling white wine to my lobster, but sometimes I just need me a brew and a hot dog.
As if your 1st class ass has never sunken into sinful indulgence.


Dedicating your time to make that wall of insult in here, I'm beginning to think you actually like this movie.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Saw it last night. Enjoyed it a lot, but I feel it didn't live up to my superior intellectual tastes. smokes pipe Furthermore,

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Malmer

Shit, it's just another flick. How deep does every movie need to be, Denicalis?

Sure I enjoy a fulfilling white wine to my lobster, but sometimes I just need me a brew and a hot dog.
As if your 1st class ass has never sunken into sinful indulgence.


Dedicating your time to make that wall of insult in here, I'm beginning to think you actually like this movie.

Ignoring that really, really bad schoolyard troll at the end, you deserve a reply to that. I'm not saying anyone who likes District 9 is an idiot. Liking something is pure taste. Note I got annoyed when people called it original, not when people said they liked it. Yes, it's just another popcorn flick, but they've all been just another popcorn flick lately. If this flick has been sandwiched between Blue Velvet and Picnic at Hanging Rock, I'd probably be less irritated by the fact I was let down by yet another film. But it isn't. it's sandwiched between years of GI Joe, Transformers and Twilight. There actually existed a time when you could go to a theatre that wasn't arthouse and see a well-crafted film. Mind blowing.

And Devo makes a picture post. Shocking. Hang around Kurado less, he's sapped any brain you had left. My god. How could someone take an art form seriously. Clearly it is more important to be internet-cool than it is to have an intellectual leaning of any sort. Quick, post another photo. A discussion has broken out. Scary.

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It's when people are consistently subjected to the dreck that Hollywood churns out every year that movies like District 9, which are entertaining but not exactly high art, get much more praise and acclaim than they normally would if say, every movie was like District 9 and something better came along. But they aren't. Most movies are fucking awful and should never have been made, so District 9 looks even better in comparison.

Either way, I enjoyed it. I was entertained. More importantly:

Spoiler:

I DID NOT HAVE PORNOGRAPHIC ACTIVITY FOCKIN' CREATURE

Jam it back in, in the dark.