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Just got back from a midnight screening of District 9.

Good stuff, overall.  It's very late and I need to go to bed, so I'll be brief for now.

I liked the overall concept.  Well-directed, well-edited, and excellent effects work.  You'd never guess the film's budget was a scant $30 million.  Great acting from the lead. 

Great, believable world.  Sadly, perhaps too believable.  Lots of small details show a lot of work, skill and intelligence went into this production.  I expect Blomkamp will really be going places after this. 

Also, some good action scenes in the last half.

However, I do have some problems with the film.  First, I really feel we needed a couple more alien characters and the two we do get could have used more development.  Or, even just a greater explanation of the prawns and their actions.  We don't need to know everything, but a little too much was left unexplained. 

Second, I think I would have liked to have seen greater detail in the universe of the film - it builds up all these good ideas in the first third, and then doesn't do enough with them to further this later on.  Third, there are a number of things in the film that I feel weren't that well explained and may be plot holes.  I'll not get too detailed there to avoid spoilers.

Overall, it is a quite good 8/10.  I've heard people saying this is like when The Terminator or Aliens came out..  Sorry, I can't go that far.  Both of those films are a 10/10 from me.

I plan on seeing this one, I'm quite surprised by some of the reception it's gotten, especially from people who seem to be taking it a bit too seriously and are criticizing it for being a metaphor or whatever.

It's actually a quite accurate metaphor for humanity's treatment of groups segregated by the dominant powers.  In fact, the aliens are treated in almost the exact same way man has historically treated "alien" peoples.  

Mild SPOILERS

A few examples: aliens have to adopt English names, signs enforcing segregation, unfair trading for what is basically an addictive drug, claiming to relocate an unwanted people used as an excuse for cruel actions, control of alien reproduction, and exploitation of aliens for profit.  It is even implied the government sometimes steals away alien children under false pretenses, much like what happened to Australian Aboriginals until very recently and American Indians.  

end SPOILERS

In this sense, it isn't even really a metaphor, simply a realistic portrayal of the flaws and cruelty of mankind.  

 :thumbup:   exactly. 

Finally a science fiction movie with a story.  Granted to some it might seem preachy (although it never really is), it's a pretty amazing movie considering the budget .

Hard to describe without spoiling  the film, but I really liked it and I think word of mouth will bring it a lot of business.

I'd definitely say that the director Neill Blomkamp and  the lead actor Sharlto Copley both have promising careers ahead of them.

I just got back from seeing it also. Great movie, could have used a little more gunplay, but that's largely because they are SOOOO F-ing cool. Bonus: Saw a preview for "Zombieland" also, I'm super pumped for that one.

Personally I liked the lack of explanation in regards to the aliens, I hate it when a movie explains things that aren't apparent to the characters in the film, makes it more obvious it's a story.

***1/2 out of ****.   A great and original movie. The less you know going into seeing it the better.

Thinking about it, there aren't any huge gaps that really bothered me.  Mostly just nitpicks and what seem to me to be plotholes. 

Overall, rethinking the movie, my biggest complaint is definitely a lack of prawn characters and character development in general.  The villainous merc is also way too cartoonish for my tastes.  But, overall it was still quite a good film.  I think I'm going to see it again, maybe my opinions will change a bit on repeat viewings. 

Yea, I went with my kid and a friend of his, and we were all like "Oh yea, you KNOW that guy is getting the 'ultra-brutal death scene' treatment by the end of the flick" when that merc first appeared. .

I liked how it kinda pounded through the story with minimal character development, sure seemed to keep the pace up. Coming from someone with an extremely short attention span, it's not surprising I liked that aspect. Attention deficit disorder FTW. . .

Saw it last night, and really enjoyed it. It was a nice blend of both the documentary style and classic movie narrative. Sure there are a few things here and there that could have been fleshed out more in the story, but I like vagueness in films; characters living in them wouldn't monologue explanations about things they already knew all the time in real life so it is far more believable. I am also glad someone made an alien movie where it seems the US Government is nowhere in sight. Also the main character was so unlikable yet you managed to feel for what he was going through despite his selfishness/prejudices persisting until nearly the end.

This director is going places, and I hope it is not straight into Hollywood cookie-cutter summer blockbusters. For $30 M. they managed to outdo practically effects wise every $100-200 M. movie out there. 

Also like ghouck I am stoked to see Zombieland, it looks like a lot of fun.

Wikus' development was actually OK.  It was a little scanty for a straight drama, but fine for a sci fi/action film.  It was really just Christopher and his kid I wanted more from. 

Oh yeah...  And you don't happen to live in the St. Louis area do you?  Because some younger person to my right said almost word for word what you said about the merc and how he'd be offed.   :buggedout:

Saw it tonight, was not all that familiar with the story going in and was totally blown away by it. The social commentary is well done, its worth noting that the director based the film on his own experiences with apartheid as a child. I didnt mind the plot holes much, although the open ended conclusion leaves me hoping for a sequel. According to imdb, there was plenty of backstory written that was not directly presented in the film, so theres a good chance of a continuation in some form.

So YOU'RE the one to my left with the poor hygiene and uncontrollable flatulence. You just don't get the hint do you? I thought you'd realize I wasn't interested the first time I slapped your hand, but you just kept on trying to go up my shirt, didn't you.

No, I live in Alaska. . .

When I originally saw the trailers for this, I had no interest in seeing it.  I've seen the trailers several times and it still doesn't look like my cup of tea.  However, I've read some good things about this movie, so maybe I'll see it.  Although, comments I've read about the "shaky cam" work still bother me.  A little shaky cam is okay . . . but too much is . . . well . . . TOO MUCH!

There's not that much, honestly.  There's definitely some, but even when it is present it is way less shaky than Cloverfield, for example.

Enjoyed the film a lot, and highly recommend it.

And everyone on this board is gonna watch Zombieland I dare say.  I laughed my fool head off watching that preview -- totally with ya, Ghouck.  Love that role for Harrelson.

I believe this film was made in South Africa ~ Johannesburg specifically and I also believe that this means that South African aliens have taken over the USA box-office.  :buggedout: I was at a cinema a few weeks ago and saw this poster of a giant UFO hovering over Johannesburg and I thought "WTF is that?" Now me know better.  :teddyr:

The story is actually set in South Africa, circa 1982 and reflects the mindset of the people in that time and what they do to and how they treated minorities.

It should be released here next week and I will go see it.  :cheers:

Pro, I'm seeing it this afternoon.

-Jimmybob

It actually starts out around 1982ish, which is when the aliens arrive, but then it jumps ahead 20+ years to around current day (exact dates are unclear, IIRC).  From what I know of South African history, there are apartheid parallels (the title is a reference to it, I believe?) in the movie, but the aliens are mostly used as universal refugees/minorities and it is largely treated as a picture of the way humans treat those figures in general. 

**minor spoilers**

To this end, for example, the primary oppressors in the film (MNU) are actually part of a global corporate manufacturing company, not a part of the South African government.  Aside from MNU, those who treat the aliens the worst are probably Nigerian gangsters who run crime in District 9. 

**end spoilers**

You'll have to let us know how it plays in South Africa!  I'm pretty curious actually.

For anyone interested, there are two trailers on www.zombieland.com (http://www.zombieland.com)

Love the "Zombie kill of the week", and no, not Harelston's kill, but rather the little old lady's kill.

Yeah I'm pumped for Zombieland.

Anyways my socks got a good stoning from this movie.

-Jimmybob

I have no idea what that means. . . :question:

The title refers to a slum area of Cape Town known as District Six which was knocked down in the 1960's / 1970's to make way for developments there ~ almost all the inhabitants were moved to an area known as Mitchell's Plain.

If the SA public feels that District 9 is yet another faint reminder of their supposedly unique past, this film will bomb at the local box-office. Many anti-South African films such as A Dry White Season and Catch A Fire among others, crashed,  burned and slid right down the crapper here.

But filmmakers insist on making them: I don't know why. Look at Skin, The World Unseen and Disgrace. These are wastes of film and all they do is make me is  :hatred:

http://www.takimag.com/article/alien_nation/

^article about real political issues involved in  the movie

Loved the film.  The balance between doco and traditional narrative was well done, and allowed the director to bang out some key plot points in a short sharp way without too much time.

Effects were fantastic and the weapon design was a hell of a lot of fun too.

Personally, as much as I'd like a sequel [because I want to know more about what happens] I think that this is one best left untouched.

On a side note though:

Did anyone else think that this would be a good format/style to make an adaptation of World War Z.  [Someone mentioned Zombieland earlier but since I don't know anything about it you'll have to forgive me if it is like this too]

My socks got rocked?

-Jimmybob

I treated myself to a double feature a couple days ago.  I saw this and G.I. Joe.

Great movie.  I was thinking about all the litlle things I noticed.  Some great action at the end.

Minor Spoiler/Discussion.
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The idea is that the aliens-called Prawns in the movies- where like worker ants.  There didn't have a leader which is whythey really weren't organized.  I kind of got the notion that the main alien and his child, where high ranking and possibly new leader being born.  They seemed smarter, more organized, and driven then the others. 
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End/Spoilers

I think this style will probably be somewhat the road Word War Z takes as the book is basically interviews after the war is over. J. Michael Straczynski is writing the script on that one I believe around a central interviewer so it may be a little more like on the ground combat footage. Either way that was a good read, if a little repetitive at times, so I am very looking forward to that.

It reminds me of Worst Case Scenario, a nazi zombie film that is unfortunately shelved forever due to lack of funding  :question: This should have been a no brainer with the stuff that does get made.






My best friend worked on Zombieland painting around 1200 clay pots and various set props over a long weekend a few months back while it was shooting here. Her handiwork can be seen decorating the cigar store indian/outpost in the trailer. 

:cheers:

The only time the shaky cam is noticeable is whenever a character has a sit-down interview. When that happens, the camera zooms and focuses all over the place. I'm talking Battle Star Galactica level. However, during the action scenes the technique switches to Saving Private Ryan mode and the camera is always centered on the action.

As for my spoilerific take on the movie: it's a Robocop remake. Both films feature a protagonist who, through science, is turned into something not exactly human. Both take place in a bleak future where corporations are the big baddies. Both feature insanely comical levels of violence. The only difference is that Robocop was a bit more subtle with its message. :smile:

Watched this today on DVD and I really liked it.   :thumbup: It was fun to see an original plot for a sci-fi movie.  I went in with almost zero knowledge about the movie and almost zero knowlege about South Africa's history.  It clubbed you over the head with its message, but it made its point.  It isn't a perfect movie, but it was a fun blood and guts film that made you think.

My wife and I really enjoyed this one.  It is a pretty original piece of Sci-Fi and the effects are really awesome.  Definitely worth the rental fee.

Watched this last night and enjoyed it as well. Very good movie.

Most impressive. The whole thing had my tense and knotted up throughout the whole thing, once things got started, which was about 10 minutes in. Utterly impressive on every level.

really pretty damn good :thumbup:

I just watched this movie and loved it.

The first thing I thought of was how this movie should win the Philip K. Dick award for making the protagonist such an irredeemable bastard.

Second, since this is a South African film, I want to hear what our resident expert Trevor thinks. Granted, the movie posits an alternate reality where aliens drop down on Johannesburg in 1982. Filmed in New Zealand, but with many South African leads.

I can tell you one thing I liked about this movie, is that the filmmakers explicitly stated that they did not want to make a political movie. Of course it has politics, but it's more of "what would happen if it happened here" than any sort of political message.

The movie was never afraid to go for the goofy and irredeemably gory special effects.

I thought it was great, and very compelling.

The film was shot on location in Chiawelo, Soweto during a time of violent unrest in Alexandra, Gauteng and other South African townships involving clashes between native South Africans and Africans born in other countries.[18] The location that portrays District 9 in itself was in fact a real impoverished neighbourhood from which people were being forcibly relocated to government-subsidised housing.

This is a quote from Wikipedia,  the only New Zealand connection is that Peter Jackson was the producer and WETA workshop did the digital effects.

Watched District 9 again tonight on DVD. The movie holds up extremely well on repeat viewings. I think it deserves a best picture nomination.

Whoa, you know someone who worked on some props for the film Zombieland?  That is AWESOME. 

Also, pity about WCS, it seems like it could be a cool film...

1. Saw it in the theatre on the midnight release.
2. Saw it again the next week.
3. Purchased the 2-disc on its release day as the store opened. ( i also reserved it. )
 What im trying to say here is that i loved that movie. ALOT.
the preachy-ness was... tacky.
 but true.

Looks like you got your wish!

I was told by a few people that this is an anti-South African film and I don't go for those, so I haven't seen it.

Well, it does use in large part the position of the aliens as a metaphor for apartheid.  By and large the statement seems to be that people jump at the idea of being in a position of power over others (as everybody seems to look down on the aliens, even those of the black persuasion who might have reason to be sympathetic), and that people don't like poor immigrants. 

Johannesburg is certainly depicted as having a serious crime problem, of course - but, the city does have a crime problem, and the world of District 9 is very different from ours anyway (it's essentially Sci-Fi alternate history, since the aliens have been on Earth for 30 years when the film takes place).

Think the people who'd be most offended by the film would probably be Nigerians.  They're basically monsters in the film.

But, on the flip side, it somewhat dodges the issue much like Avatar did by having the really bad people be either mercenaries hired by an evil corporation, or people in the corp itself.  Thereby, to some degree, absolving any real peoples of true blame for the plight of its characters.

I don't know.  I guess I'd say overall it is a mixed bag for anyone sensitive to negative portrayals of South Africa.  It is negative, but it's more explicitly negative against people in general than South Africa in particular.

Coming in really late to this conversation.   I just watched it and enjoyed it.  It took me so long because many people I had talked to about it weighed me down with their opinions.  Stuff about it being deep and sending profound messages.  Well, the "message" was there but I found it more or less to be on the dark comedy side of things.  Matter of fact I think the film was laced with many moments I found to be hilarious.   Perhaps this was intentional or maybe I'm just a sick b@stard (or both) but it worked nicely.  Either way, mankind in general are made to be the dufuses.

Maybe I missed something but why is it the Aliens put up with so much sh*t?  Their weaponry was beyond superior to that of ours.   A few of them in that Iron Man-like suit could easily take over a country within a few days.  

That's another reason that I haven't seen it as yet. I probably will still do so.


Welllll........these South Africans are strange people...... :wink: :wink: :teddyr:

I think they say something towards the beginning of the movie, when they are interviewing people, that the aliens didn't have any motivation or something like that. They assumed because of illness.. They were sick and near starved when they were found and just like human nature if you constantly do something for someone they wont do for themselves.

It's implied that the aliens are caste based (in the opening prologue), and the leadership caste basically has died off.  So, they're the equivalent of leaderless worker bees.  You can probably assume the lead alien (Christopher, IIRC) in the film is a member of this higher caste, as he demonstrates greater initiative and far greater intelligence than the other prawns we see.