February is almost over and this is my first post. I haven't exactly been as diligent about my blogging as I thought I'd be. It's in keeping with a lot of aspects of my life, I'm also months and months behind on movies. I think the last film I saw in a theater was The Hangover. My work schedule and my lady's manage to encompass all the prime movie viewing time slots, so we wind up just watching a lot of stuff on Netflix.
Tonight's movie was District 9, and I was not disappointed at all. The story makes no attempt to hide it's obvious political overtones, which did not distract at all from the story. The fact that it was made by a South African filmmaker was also a selling point. It managed to get all the typical sci-fi bits in there, but came across as very realistic. Usually the aliens in sci-fi arriving on earth wind up falling into very tried and true roles. There's wolves in sheeps clothing, the most classic example being the aliens from the classic Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man" (it's a cookbook!!!). Then there's the alien that arrives to warn us of impending doom, like in The Day the Earth Stood still. Then there's the straight up invaders, like in Independence Day.
District 9 succeeds by taking a different route. Aliens arrive malnourished and confused, and a humanitarian mission to save them eventually turns into a segregated settlement camp on earth. The fact that it took place in Africa drives it all home. The story gets interesting when it becomes a literal version of "walk a mile in my mocassins". If the aliens are not dominating us, we will subjugate them. I found that totally believable. Multinationals with less than altruistic plans, also totally believable. Lots of issues you never see in a typical aliens on earth movie, like racism, segregation, subjugation, addiction, opportunistic warlords and governments that are no better than they are.
This was a message movie, usually that's an automatic turn off but not this time. Humans are the bad guys in this one, and at times it made me feel really crappy. Really dug this movie. Must point out the director's obvious penchant for the '86 remake of The Fly, but that's all good. And oh yes, fantastic gore and alien weaponry, always good.
Tonight's movie was District 9, and I was not disappointed at all. The story makes no attempt to hide it's obvious political overtones, which did not distract at all from the story. The fact that it was made by a South African filmmaker was also a selling point. It managed to get all the typical sci-fi bits in there, but came across as very realistic. Usually the aliens in sci-fi arriving on earth wind up falling into very tried and true roles. There's wolves in sheeps clothing, the most classic example being the aliens from the classic Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man" (it's a cookbook!!!). Then there's the alien that arrives to warn us of impending doom, like in The Day the Earth Stood still. Then there's the straight up invaders, like in Independence Day.
District 9 succeeds by taking a different route. Aliens arrive malnourished and confused, and a humanitarian mission to save them eventually turns into a segregated settlement camp on earth. The fact that it took place in Africa drives it all home. The story gets interesting when it becomes a literal version of "walk a mile in my mocassins". If the aliens are not dominating us, we will subjugate them. I found that totally believable. Multinationals with less than altruistic plans, also totally believable. Lots of issues you never see in a typical aliens on earth movie, like racism, segregation, subjugation, addiction, opportunistic warlords and governments that are no better than they are.
This was a message movie, usually that's an automatic turn off but not this time. Humans are the bad guys in this one, and at times it made me feel really crappy. Really dug this movie. Must point out the director's obvious penchant for the '86 remake of The Fly, but that's all good. And oh yes, fantastic gore and alien weaponry, always good.
The RedLetterMedia review of AVATAR used DISTRICT 9 as an example of heartstring-tugging sci-fi that actually works and isn't obvious. At one point, the narrator/reviewer basically says "of COURSE the Na'vi are noble and good, and of COURSE the human joins them, because they look like jerkoff material. It would actually be an interesting, surprising story if he fell in love with, and joined forces with, one of the aliens in DISTRICT 9."
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