I can see how some would think of "Alien Nation", "V", even "Independence Day"
(the shape of the ship), but that means nothing. Some concepts in scifi are
simply not new: the idea of aliens coming to Earth and then being ghettoized
isn't. But it's the treatment, the new way the story's told, the committment to
intelligent writing and acting, the unique spin of the director and producer
and actors, that makes all the difference. Peter Jackson doesn't like to
support crappy fare that's devoid of something for the grey matter, so I'm more
excited about this than I am, say, the American remake of "V" that's being
discussed.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Martin Baxter" <truthseeker...@lycos.com>
To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, August 8, 2009 7:51:36 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: [RE][scifinoir2] Looking forward to "District 9"
Keith, I'm hyped for it as well. I've been avoiding any websites that
hawk it in anyway, primarily because of my aversion to critics. All but one
person I've spoken to regarding it are keen to see it as well. (That one refers
to it as an " 'Alien Nation' ripoff".)
---------[ Received Mail Content ]----------
Subject : [scifinoir2] Looking forward to "District 9"
Date : Sat, 8 Aug 2009 06:55:00 +0000 (UTC)
>From : Keith Johnson <keithbjohn...@comcast.net>
To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
The "District 9" flick has me really intrigued. with its locale of South Africa
(so different from usual Hollywood story locatons), it's gritty look, and the
fact that it's a Peter Jackson joint, i have high hopes. Indeed, I'm actually
looking forward to it more than I have any other movie so far this year,
including Star Trek. Anyone heard any early buzz? I did find favorable reviews
via jumping from Rotten Tomatoes (something I loathe to do, but as local
newspapers fire more critics, I'm having to venture further afield to even find
real critics).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/district_9/
***************************************************************************
http://boxoffice.com/reviews/2009/07/district-9.php
District 9 is about the apartheid struggle in South Africa. For those under the
age of 35 or so, apartheid was the system of racial segregation legally
established by the government of South Africa between 1948 and 1994. No matter
what else it seems to be about, District 9 , a film made a young, white, South
African director, is about apartheid. Co-writer/director Neill Blomkamp spent
his formative years living under the system of apartheid and has
conscientiously insinuated the issue into his film. The attitudes, ideals and
actions of the characters, from everyday citizens to government officials and
those in business, reflect those that were common during the apartheid regime.
The filmmakers, including producer Peter Jackson, have stealthily laid the
artifacts of these dark days beneath the guise of an Alien invasion movie that
is intense, graphically novelistic (though it’s an original story) and just
funny enough to keep you thoroughly entertained, even while the s! ubtext is of
a very serious nature. Buzz and an also clever marketing scheme suggest this
should be worth a few bucks at the box office—especially if the audience is
mostly under 35.
The film is told using a number of cinematic modes including documentary
footage, mockumentary footage, newsreel accounts, surveillance cameras and the
standard story elements of narrative fiction. This is actually less chaotic
than it sounds and serves to move the narrative along at a brisk pace. There’s
little need here for filler. The filmmakers can justify any narrative
exposition by putting a camera on the action (any potential camera) and just
showing us, or having the characters explain the action to the cameramen. When
all else fails Blomkamp inserts a movie moment and presses on. Lovely. Mister
Blomkamp is a fine director who cut his teeth on commercials and music videos,
and at the knee of director and special effects guru Peter Jackson. Between the
two of them (Jackson’s company was employed for the effects) they’ve come up
with the best CGI effects film to date. The spacecrafts, the cityscapes, the
weapons effects and the aliens themselves (which we are! told are 100 percent
CGI) are all exceptional. But the best thing in the movie is lead actor Sharlto
Copley, a long time friend of the director and fairly novice actor. Copley is
pitch perfect, delicately straddling the line between ordinary Afrikaans racist
and empathic hero.
The narrative of District 9 revolves around a giant alien spacecraft that came
to rest above downtown Johannesburg, South Africa, some 20 years before the
story began. Inhabited by one million crawfish-like, cat food and raw meat
eating, humanoid aliens, little can be discerned about where the ship came from
or who the creatures are. They are simply here. They are strong but without
direction or purpose, mostly docile and apparently of little use to humanity.
So we warehouse them—in District 9. Then, we decide to forcibly move them to a
different, shoddier, interment camp.
While other nations are far from guiltless of such cruelties, the emphasis here
is on the South African history. Still, the structures the film employs are
incisive and direct and, if you’re over 35, they might piss you off.
Distributor: Sony Pictures
Cast: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, Nathalie Boltt, Sylvaine Strike, William
Allen Young and Robert Hobbs
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Screenwriters: Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
Producers: Peter Jackson
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: Rated R for bloody violence and pervasive language.
Running Time: 113 min.
Release date: August 14, 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
