View Full Version : District 9
Iroquois
08-13-09, 11:24 AM
http://roddysrockinreviews.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/district-9-marketing-poster.jpg
Everyone's seen the trailer that kick-started one very fishy-looking viral campaign, interviewing several humans and an alien in quick succession. That marks many people's first exposure to Neill Blomkamp's District 9, and the trailer - which had a decently executed "mockumentary" feel to it, which only served to make its sci-fi content seem even more surprising. This same element of surprise is still present throughout the film proper, and it is quite a cinematic treat.
District 9 takes place in an alternate timeline where, twenty years ago, an alien spaceship came to a halt above the city of Johannesburg. The inhabitants of the ship are unable to operate the ship anymore, so they end up being segregrated to their own slum within the city below. Eventually, the government calls for the eviction of the aliens (nicknamed "prawns" due to their appearance) from the slum. The film's ostensible protagonist is Wikus (Sharlto Copley), who through a series of events too complicated to recount in a synopsis, ends up undergoing some rather dramatic changes and before long he's thrust into the middle of something far too big for him to handle...
The best thing about District 9 is that it always manages to stay fresh and surprising throughout. As the trailers indicate, it starts off as a mockumentary in order to expose the gist of the story. The film gradually crosses over to being a more conventional film, although still filmed with a very documentarian look and interspersed with occasional news footage or interviews. Despite the unexpected change in presentation, you don't really notice because you're so wrapped up in the ingenious premise. Then you're presented with the plight of Wikus, whose story is one I don't really want to expose too much because watching it all unfold was just amazing to watch. He's a perfect example of the Everyman, trying to survive as best he can in the face of everything that the world throws at him over the course of the film. His development, along with that Chris, the prawn he befriends (who is surprisingly well-rounded for a CGI character) raises this above your average science-fiction film. Even when the film's final third act becomes incredibly action-packed, it still doesn't jar with the mood of the film and doesn't forsake its characters and intelligence for the sake of cheap action sequences.
On that subject, the action sequences are far from "cheap". Given that Blomkamp and collaborator Peter Jackson were originally aiming to make a film adaptation of Halo before changing to this, there's still plenty of moments that feel quite reminiscient of Bungie's game, from the alien technology to the frantic battles. The effects work looks great in even the simplest of situations, to say nothing of the bombastic finale. There's just something about the way it all comes together, especially when it is combined with one very uncompromising storyline and subject.
District 9 is a rare find nowadays. It doesn't sacrifice the intelligence or raw power that its story affords it for the sake of appeasing your "typical" blockbuster crowd with a lighter rating and less focus on the story. It's a damned fine thriller that is not without its flaws, but is still several cuts above your average summer film and is well worth watching - but only if you can handle the heat. And it does get quite hot.
4.5
Powdered Water
08-13-09, 08:18 PM
Awesome. Can't wait to see this.
ManOf1000Faces
08-13-09, 09:17 PM
i dont wanna see it
1 word
boring
Powdered Water
08-13-09, 09:26 PM
Your loss.
Sorry about my post...I thought this was just another thread made about the movie and not a review one. I'm partially tired and not paying attention lol
My bad.... I deleted my post.
On with the thread ...;)
Iroquois
08-13-09, 11:34 PM
i dont wanna see it
1 word
boring
I'd love to hear your reasoning behind this.
spudracer
08-14-09, 09:40 AM
Iro, very good review! :up: I'm hoping I can get to the theatre to see it this weekend.
meatwadsprite
08-14-09, 11:03 AM
Thanks Iro , I'll probably see this later in the week or next weekend.
Was seein this tomorrow, but am going in about 3 hours with my brother-in-law ..yay!! :D
meatwadsprite
08-14-09, 04:59 PM
apparently i'm seeing today as well :)
Blue Lou
08-14-09, 06:46 PM
Looks good. Looking forward to it. :yup:
no1mccoy
08-14-09, 10:09 PM
Exactly same film a friend and I are discussing abt on facebook. A must watch for me... even Times magazines websites recommends it, just can't be a bad watch!
meatwadsprite
08-15-09, 01:19 AM
I liked it too ...
District 9 (1 view)
http://i30.tinypic.com/wced0k.jpg
Neill Blomkamp's directorial debut probably isn't as significant as lead Sharlto Copley's , but District 9 proves to be a surprising blend of the run of the mill action movie with a very unique documentary extra-terrestrial approach.
The first act sets up the history of humans and their contact and containment of the alien mothership and the sick , stranded inhabitants. Although the focus of the movie will alternate between the well being of all the aliens and our main character Wikus Merwe , who both undergo a multitude of major changes throughout.
What really works are the amazing visual effects and gritty atmosphere , even though the antagonists are your stereotypical bad guys - the movie almost sells them with it's violent grip. The movie is in top form , when the action gets rolling - Copley yells his way through his goretastic showdowns and makes for one of the most root-able action-hero types I've seen.
Though my main gripe with the film is the soundtrack. It feels like it was ripped from Hotel Rwanda , very unfitting and obnoxious. A lot of the movie rests on the music and District 9 really fails to deliver here , feeling manipulative and cheap when you hear the moaning synonymous with any movie plotted in Africa.
3.5
Well I just saw it. I was disappointed. I was expecting a low budget hard hitting sci fi action movie, and instead its Alien Nation meets Doctor Who.
Having said that it was well made, the director has real promise, but hardly was what I wanted to see.
beelzebubbles
08-15-09, 01:57 AM
I saw it tonight and I agree with much of what Meatwad says.
Neill Blomkamp's directorial debut probably isn't as significant as lead Sharlto Copley's , but District 9 proves to be a surprising blend of the run of the mill action movie with a very unique documentary extra-terrestrial approach.I liked that they chose a refugee camp as the setting. It put the hero/douchebags struggle into some kind of real life perspective. Sharlto Copley was excellent. I was appalled by his character's mediocrity and yet still did not loose all sympathy for him. He was truly a regular guy in some crazy circumstances and he doesn't really become a hero until last few minutes because most of his actions are rooted in desperation.
The character I rooted for was the alien, Chris Johnson and his son who were intelligent and heroic, but in this movie the intelligent and the heroic are the supporting CGI characters.
I found myself getting bored after the first hour. Maybe Meatwad is right. Maybe the score could have beefed it up.
2.5
JimminyFinch
08-15-09, 09:36 AM
Its amazing! I saw it August 15. I cant stop bragging about it! Im 15 (not a fat, sweaty, long haired, game addicted nerd stereotype) and i jsut plain and simply loved it. Imo the best sci-fi movie ever made. I know its borrows alot of elements from other films and games (Half-Life 2: grav gun and the aliens are clearly upgraded versions of the Vortigaunts, with 2 hands in the middle etc) and alien, with the eggs and etc, but its just like Dead Space: for everything it borrows, it gives back and District 9 does exactly that.
The violence is spot on (ddaaammmm that eletric-line-blows-up-whole-person gun! i wants one of those :D), the humour comes at the best moments ('Hahaha, howd you manage that? Full doggy-style man. Your a brave white man', 'I thought you werent going the kill humans?' 'Fu**er shot at me!' and how he gives the babby alien a lollypop and it throws it back at his head) and the overall story pretty good. Not the best, but good.
I can go on for longer, but I better stop. I love District 9. Very much, And theres no reason you shouldnt watch it. 10/10
r3port3r66
08-15-09, 12:12 PM
An actual bustop bench:
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb180/reporter66/district9.jpg
beelzebubbles
08-15-09, 12:14 PM
An actual bustop bench:
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb180/reporter66/district9.jpg
That's cool. I have seen nothing here. Maybe it's because I live in the suburbs.
r3port3r66
08-15-09, 12:23 PM
(not a fat, sweaty, long haired, game addicted nerd stereotype)
just another short-haired, skinny person who likes games and science fiction...amazing;)!
MovieMan8877445
08-15-09, 08:24 PM
District 9
Neil Blomkamp, 2009
http://media.avclub.com/images/articles/article/31606/district-9_jpg_595x325_crop_upscale_q85.jpg
Neil Blomkamp’s directorial debut, and for his first feature length film ever, he did a damn fine job. Now as you may have been able to guess from that first sentence, I didn’t think as highly of it as everyone else has seemed to think. Actually, I think the fact that it was so overhyped was a reason why I didn’t like it as much as most. I still thought it was pretty good, but definitely overrated.
I loved that it was totally original, though. Originally is becoming harder and harder to find in Hollywood now, and it’s good to see something fresh every once in a while. I think the fact that it so original is just a factor in why everyone seems to be praising it so much. Now I’m not saying that it’s the only reason why people seem to like it so much, but it is a big reason of it. I like that they chose not to do the entire film in ‘video camera format’. I usually don’t mind it, like in Cloverfield or Quarantine, but it was starting it bug me in the beginning. Blomkamp made a good decision to use it the regular style for the second half of the film.
I was hearing a lot of the special effects before seeing the film, with people saying how great they were. The effects were the only thing about the movie that was really great, to me at least. They were the one stand out thing in the movie. I think I have a problem, though, because I seemed to laugh every time someone got blown up. I was the only one actually laughing in the theater, besides my mom, and that’s why it seemed to make me feel weird.
Sharlto Copley’s acting was pretty damn good, too, especially for being his first acting role ever. I wouldn’t mind seeing him in some more upcoming films, as long as he keeps it up. Besides him, there’s really no other person that is really worth mentioning because most of the cast was unknown’s. It’s not that bad of a thing either, because I didn’t find anyone of the cast particularly bad. None of the characters, other than Wikus and Christopher, really had any screen time actually.
It’s not a bad film by any means, but it just isn’t as great as people have been making it out to be. There are still plenty of films from 2009 that I find much better than this one. Something else that I thought could’ve been improved was the soundtrack. It wasn’t technically bad, but it never really stood-out in any of the scenes. I liked the track that was playing during the credits, but that was only about it.
http://blog.cleveland.com/sun/intermission_impact/2009/08/large_WE8460813c.jpg
3+
meatwadsprite
08-15-09, 08:49 PM
I was the only one actually laughing in the theater ...
So was I , the deaths were so over the top and crazy :laugh:
JimminyFinch
08-15-09, 09:37 PM
just another short-haired, skinny person who likes games and science fiction...amazing;)!
Haha! Exactly! But im also pretty good in school and very good with people, I may have you know :D.
JimminyFinch
08-15-09, 09:43 PM
I was the only one actually laughing in the theater, besides my mom, and that’s why it seemed to make me feel weird.
Same here, except everyone else was also laughing. Not at every death, but some of the funny or 'accidental' ones :D. Like that gang leader in the wheelchair. THE MECH OOWWNNEEED THAT MOFO!!
lol how can you not laugh at some points. Sharlto Copley's actions towards some of the aliens were pretty hillarious here and there. especially the part with one of them walkin out in a bra. :laugh:
I think I'll see the movie.
Prospero
08-15-09, 11:55 PM
W its Alien Nation meets Doctor Who.
.More like Watermelon Man meets Enemy Mine.
That being said, I really liked it. The main character, possessed with an overabundance of naivete and a lack of common sense, is a perfect everyman; in no way a typical movie hero. I thought the bad guys were a bit two-dimensional, but they certainly gave you someone to root against.
I also loved the irony of having the whole thing take place in Johannesburg, SA. Now in addition to Soweto, they have District 9 as well.
Good movie.
4
TheUsualSuspect
08-16-09, 12:12 AM
District 9
District 9 has been getting a lot of hype and praise to equal that hype. Not many films can do this. I decided that I would try my best to go into this film not knowing much about it. I've seen the teaser and a couple TV spots and knew the basic premise. What I did not know was what a balls to the walls this film is.
Neill Blomkamp has mixed great sci/fi with themes and issues plaguing our society. A blend that works so well in this film that it plays out in two different styles. The first half of the film is told through a documentary style footage, with people talking directly to the camera explaining the backstory of the mothership and basically setting up the rest of the film. Half way through the film Blomkamp switches the style to a more conventional style of filmmaking, yet it isn't a jarring switch. The two styles bleed into each other and both feel the same.
The film is set in South Africa, the aliens are sequestered into these slums and blocked off away from humans. This segregation is reminiscent of our own history and it works well here, making the film more believable than a film like Independence Day. While watching this film I got a sense of Cloverfield and some Slumdog Millionaire. I wouldn't say it's a mix of the two, but I just got the feeling from it. I saw Cloverfield because this is a sci/fi that we haven't seen before. It's not based on anything and the creators have free range to do what they want. This was apparent in all the awesome weaponry they had. Cloverfield was new, fresh and a monster that we had no idea what it could do. I had no idea what this film was about to do, which was blow me away.
The second half, which is the more conventional filmmaking style, is action-packed and bloody violent. I had no idea what I was in for, but once I saw that the lead got his hands on the weapon technology, I had a huge smile on my face. What he did with it, made me smile even more. There were plenty of "Holy Sh*t" moments on my end. The most fun I've had at the movies this year, even more than the other sci/fi entertainer Star Trek.
The film is gritty, dirty and everything that it needs to be to sell this idea. The special effects look marvelous, especially when placed on such a desolate and depressing backdrop. The slums are dirty and turn into a warzone. A warzone that goes on for a long time and you never get tired of. You end up wanting more, craving more.
For a film with no star names attached and a lead who hasn't acted in anything before, I was surprised in the depth and emotion that these characters had and what Sharlto Copley had to offer. He's between a rock and a hard place. His character transformation from beginning to end is real and saddening. It's not easy to get me to care for CGI creatures, George Lucas failed, Peter Jackson succeeds, again. The alien creatures look great and I was surprised at how well I was able to connect to the Christopher character.
The film is original, fresh and unexpected. I was never bored and had no idea what was going to happen next. In all this action and drama, is there any room for some sweet romantic moments? The answer is yes and it ends on a beautiful note.
Go see this one in theatres.
4.5
iBrianEarley
08-17-09, 12:23 AM
I really liked this movie. I thought it was very different than what most folks are used to, and showed us what humanity really becomes when we come across something that we don't understand and are afraid of. We also see what would happen as far as big corporation and government would do when presented with an opportunity for big profit.
TheDOMINATOR
08-17-09, 01:45 AM
Just got back from seeing this a couple hours ago.
District 9
(Neill Blomkamp, 2009)
http://thecia.com.au/reviews/d/images/district-9-poster-0.jpg
Only kind of wanting to see it in theaters initially, after reading outstanding reviews here (at MoFo) for District 9, I said “What the hell” and went to my local cinema. And while I feel District 9 didn’t quite live up to the hype, it still proved to be an enjoyable summer movie with some very cool concepts, themes, and sequences of action. Mostly I have two major gripes, one more of a personal complaint and one that I felt was an out-right flaw in the story (which I’ll go into later in the review), and it is these two problems, primarily, that hold District 9 back from being as good as it could have been, but nonetheless, it’s a good film, especially considering this was Neill Blomkamp’s directorial debut.
... [READ FULL REVIEW (http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?t=17916&page=7)]
3.5
lili123
08-17-09, 06:12 AM
cant wait to see it~sounds pretty great~
Looking forward to seeing this
GodsOtherMonkey
08-18-09, 04:18 PM
Alien Nation meets Laser Blast.
Not very original or fresh - but looks cool!
TheDOMINATOR
08-18-09, 08:41 PM
Not very original or fresh - but looks cool!
Really? That was one of the things that I particularly liked about it--that it is original.
PimpDaShizzle V2.0
08-19-09, 04:25 AM
I feel cheated and it's got me in the fightin' mood!
http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museumoflondon/images/microsites/derivatives//reassessing/jpeg_046/mid/Z6752.jpg
I haven't seen a movie in a full on theater in what feels like forever. Never again! Or at least not until I get suckered and jived! I hates me some suckin' and jivin'!
Caitlyn
08-19-09, 08:50 PM
Great reviews on District 9 Iro, Meat, Movie, TUS, & Dom (hope I didn't miss anyone)... thanks for sharing... :up:
WBadger
08-22-09, 05:03 PM
Saw this last night, I liked it. More thoughts to come later.
Though it really bothers me, the reasons that my father had for not liking it. "Weird, different, and disgusting"
Movie-Review
08-23-09, 01:08 AM
I watched this movie a few days ago. It was an ok movie in my opinion. It wasn't as good as I expected... I guess because I didn't realize it was a documentary style movie. Either way, wasn't too bad of a movie, but not the greatest either.
Iroquois
08-23-09, 01:45 AM
Saw this last night, I liked it. More thoughts to come later.
Though it really bothers me, the reasons that my father had for not liking it. "Weird, different, and disgusting"
No kidding. Was he aware of what he was getting into, though?
Sharedin
08-23-09, 03:53 AM
District 9
Neil Blomkamp, 2009
http://media.avclub.com/images/articles/article/31606/district-9_jpg_595x325_crop_upscale_q85.jpg
Neil Blomkamp’s directorial debut, and for his first feature length film ever, he did a damn fine job. Now as you may have been able to guess from that first sentence, I didn’t think as highly of it as everyone else has seemed to think. Actually, I think the fact that it was so overhyped was a reason why I didn’t like it as much as most. I still thought it was pretty good, but definitely overrated.
I loved that it was totally original, though. Originally is becoming harder and harder to find in Hollywood now, and it’s good to see something fresh every once in a while. I think the fact that it so original is just a factor in why everyone seems to be praising it so much. Now I’m not saying that it’s the only reason why people seem to like it so much, but it is a big reason of it. I like that they chose not to do the entire film in ‘video camera format’. I usually don’t mind it, like in Cloverfield or Quarantine, but it was starting it bug me in the beginning. Blomkamp made a good decision to use it the regular style for the second half of the film.
I was hearing a lot of the special effects before seeing the film, with people saying how great they were. The effects were the only thing about the movie that was really great, to me at least. They were the one stand out thing in the movie. I think I have a problem, though, because I seemed to laugh every time someone got blown up. I was the only one actually laughing in the theater, besides my mom, and that’s why it seemed to make me feel weird.
Sharlto Copley’s acting was pretty damn good, too, especially for being his first acting role ever. I wouldn’t mind seeing him in some more upcoming films, as long as he keeps it up. Besides him, there’s really no other person that is really worth mentioning because most of the cast was unknown’s. It’s not that bad of a thing either, because I didn’t find anyone of the cast particularly bad. None of the characters, other than Wikus and Christopher, really had any screen time actually.
It’s not a bad film by any means, but it just isn’t as great as people have been making it out to be. There are still plenty of films from 2009 that I find much better than this one. Something else that I thought could’ve been improved was the soundtrack. It wasn’t technically bad, but it never really stood-out in any of the scenes. I liked the track that was playing during the credits, but that was only about it.
http://blog.cleveland.com/sun/intermission_impact/2009/08/large_WE8460813c.jpg
3+
I like your review.
cant wait to see it~sounds pretty great~
This person was given negative rep for saying that why??
Sorry for the delay in this review; I didn't see District 9 until it'd been out for a week or so, and just finished writing my review today. Here's an excerpt, with a link to the rest:
District 9 (http://www.movieforums.com/reviews/district_9.html)
http://www.movieforums.com/images/main/district_9_main.jpg
The film's allegory is as subtle as a giant alien bazooka (which it also has), though given the relative lack of attention paid to the history of South Africa, the overt approach may be necessary. But the subject matter is so potent, and the performances so authentic, that it hardly seems to matter....READ MORE
4
A very impressive, promising debut. I think the message was a little on the simplistic side, and I would've liked to have seen a fresher take that emphasized the way bureaucratic organizations can create and obscure moral tragedies without even meaning to. It opts for retread antagonists, instead, but the rest of the tale is too engaging for any of this to bring the movie down much.
I was particularly pleased with the way the film built to the outburst of action in its third act in a completely organic way. It never felt as if the violence was ramped off merely because the film needed a boffo third act; it all happened because it had to, given what had come before it.
now here is a movie that i will definitely be seeing when it comes over here...looks different (as in more realistic) from your average sci-fi, special effect, whatever, movie.
bleacheddecay
09-08-09, 06:14 PM
My teens and I saw this movie over the weekend.
I expected an Enemy Mine kind of scenario and it had some of that in it but it was updated to what teens these days love with tons of special effects, some shaky cam (but thankfully not too much) and much action.
After seeing it I also got shades of Predator, and two of Morgan Spurlock's 30 days shows. Those two shows being the one from when Morgan spent 30 days on a reservation and the one when he put a border guard living with an illegal Mexican family.
My teens LOVED this film. My 16 year old says it's the best movie he has ever seen!
My 18 year old enjoyed it a great deal as well.
As for me, I was relieved it didn't suck. I thought it was pretty good. I could have done without some of the gore and shaky cam. I could have enjoyed more story particularly into the aliens.
One thing I think it didn't really get into but which was implied is the theory that if there is no Alpha, one of the betas will change into an Alpha. They said that it looked like all the leaders had died leaving only directionless workers.
I thought it was pretty neat that they had someone step up. True he did it in a way that was covert. It was probably not widely known among his people that he was the alpha. It seemed only to be known by two others.
OK, I finally got around to seeing August's major movies (at least, two of them), so I can comment on District 9. I might as well tell you up front that I give it 3.5. I will agree, up to a point, that it's an original concept, but even so, I was strongly reminded for obvious reasons of several other films. Both versions of The Fly came to mind, and I'll admit that Sarah hit it on the nose that the original might have been more-influential. Besides that, Independence Day, Children of Men, Aliens, Robocop 2 (or Iron Man if you can't think that far back), all cried out to me at various times. My wife Brenda was grabbing my arm, hard, at several times. At first, it was just because it was all so damn intense, and afterwards, when you totally got into the Christopher character, she said that she really wanted him and his son to get back to their family just like she wanted Tom Hanks' character to get back to his wife in Saving Private Ryan.
I'm not sure what else to add which hasn't been said. I did laugh at quite a few of the deaths. I thought the inclusion of the Nigerians was a masterstroke, but I need to ask our friend no1mccoy what he thinks because I laughed at their wastocity. I really don't understand the complaints about the film's score. There are many different kinds of African music, but since much of the film was shot in Soweto, it makes sense that you would hear music from Soweto, one of the continent's and definitely South Africa's touchstone for apartheid and civil rights. There would be no sense in setting the flick in South Africa and Soweto unless it included appropriate music. Rwanda and South Africa are thousands of miles apart, so learn about African music if you're going to discuss it. :cool:
The film is definitely set up for a sequel: District 10, and it's ripe for story strands from both lead characters, one I never even mentioned by name here in this post.
Powdered Water
09-08-09, 08:38 PM
I liked the music, A lot. Why would anyone complain about the music? Sure did enjoy the movie. I think your rating is spot on Mr. Eff.
WBadger
09-08-09, 11:11 PM
Is anyone else bothered by all the plot holes in this film?
Seems no one is really commenting on the main story and the aspects of the plot that don't make sense and all of the problems it had.
I can't think of any egregious plot holes off the top of my head. Mind elaborating (with spoiler tags, of course)? :)
Harry Lime
09-08-09, 11:36 PM
I'd like to hear as well.
WBadger
09-08-09, 11:44 PM
Sure, I'll elaborate a bit. First time trying the spoiler tags so hopefully I get them right.
Aliens are obviously supposed to be intelligent creatures, right? These are the creatures that had the intelligence to create space travel to get over to Earth. Yet, these aliens were portrayed as stupid beings at times. For example, the aliens are fighting over cans of cat food, is this really realistic for aliens? That is kind of a small example, but how the hell could humans be treating these aliens like slaves? As pointed out in the movie, these aliens had WEAPONS that only they could use. How could the humans overpower the aliens, and end up putting them in slums, when they had weapons. The way this movie portrays it is that humans are superior to aliens. Here are some more plot holes:
Why did the ship come to Earth in the first place? (there wasn't any evidence of why or if they had any purpose to do so.)
Not only did the aliens have the weapons, but they had that super suit that the main guy used in the end of the film.
Why did the aliens run out of a fuel, when they got there?
I must forgetting some things but these can't be explained, and without these answers, I can't get into the film. I can't get into a film that doesn't make sense or is at least a reasonable plot, so many plot holes.
Harry Lime
09-08-09, 11:52 PM
The dang spoiler thing isn't working for me.
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
I believe that although Christopher said that he was going to get help he also stated that they could not return home. Obviously something happened on their home planet, causing them to become refugees, they probably have a bunch of scouting ships or something. They may have had the advanced weaponry, but we have nukes and biological weapons. They are refugees, they do not want to be exterminated. They want to thrive, build their numbers so as not to be so threatened. And when referring to them fighting like animals for food, remember they are refugees, with nowhere else to go.
At least what I thought, it leaves it open ended for the viewer to figure out.
WBadger
09-08-09, 11:54 PM
What are you referring to?
Sure, I'll elaborate a bit. First time trying the spoiler tags so hopefully I get them right.
You did! :)
Aliens are obviously supposed to be intelligent creatures, right? These are the creatures that had the intelligence to create space travel to get over to Earth. Yet, these aliens were portrayed as stupid beings at times. For example, the aliens are fighting over cans of cat food, is this really realistic for aliens? That is kind of a small example, but how the hell could humans be treating these aliens like slaves? As pointed out in the movie, these aliens had WEAPONS that only they could use. How could the humans overpower the aliens, and end up putting them in slums, when they had weapons. The way this movie portrays it is that humans are superior to aliens.
The movie explained that the aliens we saw were low-level workers, and that their "leadership" had died off. The implication is that they use some kind of caste system, with a large gap between the various members of the species. They possess raw intelligence, but the idea is that they've basically just been manual laborers or engineers their entire lives. They're also, of course, very desperate and run-down by the time we see them.
I'll agree, however, that it might have stretched this point just a little bit at times. I buy the explanation, though perhaps not to enough of a degree to account for everything we see on screen.
Here are some more plot holes:
Why did the ship come to Earth in the first place? (there wasn't any evidence of why or if they had any purpose to do so.)
Not only did the aliens have the weapons, but they had that super suit that the main guy used in the end of the film.
Why did the aliens run out of a fuel, when they got there?
I must forgetting some things but these can't be explained, and without these answers, I can't get into the film. I can't get into a film that doesn't make sense or is at least a reasonable plot, so many plot holes.
Well, there's a big difference between a plot hole, and something which is deliberately unexplained. The aliens running out of fuel is not a plot hole, it's just something we're not told about. For all we know there was a leak, or a technical malfunction. There are plenty of possible explanations.
As for the weapons: I think that, too, is explained by their leadership dying off. By the time the humans actually fly up there and break into the ship they're already starving and trapped without adequate power, and obviously the weapons are mostly confiscated. Some are floating around on the black market, but not enough for some kind of mass uprising, obviously.
meatwadsprite
09-08-09, 11:57 PM
- energy for the ship to launch just so happens to turn humans into aliens
- the media is covering all of this , yet once the mercenary decides to shoot Wikus nobody's there
- Wikus' father-in-law puts Wikus in charge of the whole operation and supposdly really likes him - although he dosen't hesitate for a second to trade Wikus for some cash
Another one that kind of comes off as an epic plot-hole is that the movie is set in reasonably modern times and nothing much is different rather than the aliens coming to Earth - although the world is very different in that MNU basically controls the entire planet.
Harry Lime
09-08-09, 11:58 PM
I wonder why it wouldn't work for me there Yoda.
edit: I don't get what you're saying there Meat. Christopher mentioned that their technology is biotech stuff. And you're "epic plot-hole" is not a plot-hole.
Some of the back story is mostly left uncovered. They do go into detail about how some of the aliens are "drones" and some are more "intelligent', but after 20 years, the Earthlings seem to think that the intelligent aliens disappeared when that "ship" disappeared even though it seemed to fall to the desert.
Do we need to know why the aliens ran out of fuel? Is that really a plot hole? You have to remember that this film had to supply a back story which covered 20 years and did so quickly enough to get people involved with what was happening in the "present day". Therefore, a film as complex and sophisticated as this should be allowed to pick and choose its significant plot points before it's called majorly-flawed like a film which starts from a "dead stop".
meatwadsprite
09-09-09, 12:04 AM
It caught me off-guard and isn't really explained throughout , but apparently MNU has major control over world politics - if they have the authority to deal with the aliens.
I was under the impression that MNU was local. Otherwise, I would have expected to hear some different accents. :cool:
Yeah, they have a crucial job, but I don't think they need worldwide power. The aliens landed in Johannesburg, after all, so I don't have much trouble believing that they were left to deal with it.
Either way, the fact that 20 years has passed and an otherwise amazing thing has become mundane and depressing is part of the point the film is making, I think, and it's one of the things that makes it so interesting. We, the audience, come at it from an entirely different perspective than the people in the film, for whom the amazement has faded, and all that's left in its place is an impossible problem.
WBadger
09-09-09, 12:12 AM
You did! :)
The movie explained that the aliens we saw were low-level workers, and that their "leadership" had died off. The implication is that they use some kind of caste system, with a large gap between the various members of the species. They possess raw intelligence, but the idea is that they've basically just been manual laborers or engineers their entire lives. They're also, of course, very desperate and run-down by the time we see them.
I'll agree, however, that it might have stretched this point just a little bit at times. I buy the explanation, though perhaps not to enough of a degree to account for everything we see on screen.
Hmm.. I think the movie was inconsistent with the aliens' intelligence. At one point, they are described in that way ( as laborers ), but sometimes they can be described as intelligent beings who know how to use weapons, and it's once thing for humans to take control of the aliens. Sorry, I just don't like aliens being depicted in that way, just not realistic to me.
Well, there's a big difference between a plot hole, and something which is deliberately unexplained. The aliens running out of fuel is not a plot hole, it's just something we're not told about. For all we know there was a leak, or a technical malfunction. There are plenty of possible explanations.
As for the weapons: I think that, too, is explained by their leadership dying off. By the time the humans actually fly up there and break into the ship they're already starving and trapped without adequate power, and obviously the weapons are mostly confiscated. Some are floating around on the black market, but not enough for some kind of mass uprising, obviously.
Yeah, I kind of got off-topic from plot holes to unexplained aspects. I think you are just naming possible things that COULD'VE happened, and you're guessing. I guess this movie does leave you to come up with the explanations, which isn't always a bad thing. But, again, the whole thing isn't very realistic to me. This movie kind of takes an opposite approach to the alien species, I think, because aliens are (and should be) usually portrayed as a higher order species than humans. Sci-Fi is a great genre when everything comes together, it is at least somewhat reasonable, and most plot points are explained. :D
The aliens' ability to use weapons is supposed to be due to genetics. However, we don't know why they were almost immovable when their mothership was invaded by the Earthlings, and it appears that the Earthlings removed most all of their weapons at that time when they were weakest. Of course, there's always the "Secret Info" reason: Payback in a Sequel!!
Harry Lime
09-09-09, 12:29 AM
The sequel should explain a bit more, and there will be a sequel.
bleacheddecay
09-09-09, 01:10 AM
Yes! The Fly! My son said that too. I so agree.
OK, I finally got around to seeing August's major movies (at least, two of them), so I can comment on District 9. I might as well tell you up front that I give it 3.5. I will agree, up to a point, that it's an original concept, but even so, I was strongly reminded for obvious reasons of several other films. Both versions of The Fly came to mind, and I'll admit that Sarah hit it on the nose that the original might have been more-influential. Besides that, Independence Day, Children of Men, Aliens, Robocop 2 (or Iron Man if you can't think that far back), all cried out to me at various times. My wife Brenda was grabbing my arm, hard, at several times. At first, it was just because it was all so damn intense, and afterwards, when you totally got into the Christopher character, she said that she really wanted him and his son to get back to their family just like she wanted Tom Hanks' character to get back to his wife in Saving Private Ryan.
I'm not sure what else to add which hasn't been said. I did laugh at quite a few of the deaths. I thought the inclusion of the Nigerians was a masterstroke, but I need to ask our friend no1mccoy what he thinks because I laughed at their wastocity. I really don't understand the complaints about the film's score. There are many different kinds of African music, but since much of the film was shot in Soweto, it makes sense that you would hear music from Soweto, one of the continent's and definitely South Africa's touchstone for apartheid and civil rights. There would be no sense in setting the flick in South Africa and Soweto unless it included appropriate music. Rwanda and South Africa are thousands of miles apart, so learn about African music if you're going to discuss it. :cool:
The film is definitely set up for a sequel: District 10, and it's ripe for story strands from both lead characters, one I never even mentioned by name here in this post.
bleacheddecay
09-09-09, 01:13 AM
That first one required a very suspension of disbelief, IMO.
I'm not at all sure that MNU controlled the entire planet in the movie though.
- energy for the ship to launch just so happens to turn humans into aliens
- the media is covering all of this , yet once the mercenary decides to shoot Wikus nobody's there
- Wikus' father-in-law puts Wikus in charge of the whole operation and supposdly really likes him - although he dosen't hesitate for a second to trade Wikus for some cash
Another one that kind of comes off as an epic plot-hole is that the movie is set in reasonably modern times and nothing much is different rather than the aliens coming to Earth - although the world is very different in that MNU basically controls the entire planet.
The Taxi Driver
09-09-09, 11:38 AM
The Aliens may have had better weapons and been stronger than the humans but I think the whole situation was portrayed pretty realistically. The aliens did not come to earth to try and conquer our less advance race, they ended up here on accident. They were confused, scared and hungry and in their situation the best plan of action would not be to go into a planet they know nothing about and start shooting everything they see. They were indeed scared of the humans and the situation because they had no orders to follow or leadership and they wanted to go home.
It was pretty obvious to see the prawns weren't well organized and aside from a few notable cases weren't very intelligent or willing to work together.
What happened to the original District 9 thread? Anyway....here are 2 cool looking and yet misleading District 9 one sheets.
http://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/district-9-thai-poster1.jpg
http://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/district-9-thai-poster2.jpg
spudracer
09-12-09, 12:41 AM
What happened to the original District 9 thread?
I'm assuming that you mean the thread from the Upcoming Movies forum. Technically, since each forum is different this is the original thread for this forum. :)
By the by, why post one-sheets for a movie that's already out in theatres? Just curious.
Iroquois
09-12-09, 01:08 AM
Because he's Jrs. Posting one-sheets make up half his posts.
spudracer
09-12-09, 12:03 PM
Because he's Jrs. Posting one-sheets make up half his posts.
More like 98%.
I'm assuming that you mean the thread from the Upcoming Movies forum. Technically, since each forum is different this is the original thread for this forum. :)
Yes you assume correct. What do other forums have to do with me asking what happened to the District 9 thread in the upcoming/sequels section?
By the by, why post one-sheets for a movie that's already out in theatres? Just curious.
Maybe because I found them cool looking like I wrote in the post. A poster is a poster, no matter if it comes out next month or if it came out last year. What does a poster have to do with when the film gets released?
Posting one-sheets make up half his posts.
More like 98%
:rolleyes:
ihavemovies
09-13-09, 12:03 AM
i think ill watch it but im gonna find it online
Caitlyn
09-13-09, 11:19 AM
i think ill watch it but im gonna find it online
The discussion of illegally downloading/viewing movies is frowned upon on Movie Forums so I suggest you keep your intentions to yourself in the future... of course, the smartest thing to do would be to go to the theater and pay to see the movie or wait until the DVD comes out and legally rent it...
rice1245
09-13-09, 05:02 PM
I don't get why everyone is so hung up and mad about the lack of explanations for why or how they got there and stuff that happened before the timeframe of the film because that's obviously not the focus of the film. The focus is merely on the relocation of aliens 22 years after they landed, which then of course escalates as we all know it's about them leaving. It was not the movie's intention to answer any of those questions because that's simply just not what the movie's about. The sequel will explain much more this one was pretty much a very awesome set up for the next one.
And i think people need to rethink their definitions of 'plotholes'
Iroquois
09-13-09, 11:00 PM
Agreed, rice. I don't get how some people just can't see the forest for the trees.
TheUsualSuspect
09-13-09, 11:02 PM
I hope to GOD there is no sequel.
Iroquois
09-13-09, 11:17 PM
I don't know, man. The way the ending of the film is set up, it seems pretty obvious that there's going to be a sequel. Given the amount of effort put into the original, I think a sequel can be done properly - although whether that means they should do it...hmm.
rice1245
09-13-09, 11:44 PM
I hope to GOD there is no sequel.
Buh why?
Iroquois
09-13-09, 11:46 PM
In case it f***s up royally, I guess.
spudracer
09-13-09, 11:52 PM
Yes you assume correct. What do other forums have to do with me asking what happened to the District 9 thread in the upcoming/sequels section?
Because each "section," as you call it, is actually a forum.
rice1245
09-13-09, 11:58 PM
Which i really don't think will happen. I personally am really excited and would love to find out what Christopher's next plan of action or if it's even up to him he may not even be the 'leader' maybe of that ship yes but i bet on their planet there are higher forms of leadership but then again who knows? that's why i want a sequel because there are so many different ways that it could go and i wanna know!
spudracer
09-14-09, 12:04 AM
I STILL need to see this.
I didn't really think it was all that special. I'm not saying it was bad, just isn't all that new and exciting like everyone seems to think it is..
Wanting to know where the aliens come from and so on and so forth is like wanting to know where E.T comes from. Sure it might be interesting but if your asking those kinds of questions you were paying attention to all the wrong aspects of the movie.
ihavemovies
09-14-09, 01:17 AM
The discussion of illegally downloading/viewing movies is frowned upon on Movie Forums so I suggest you keep your intentions to yourself in the future... of course, the smartest thing to do would be to go to the theater and pay to see the movie or wait until the DVD comes out and legally rent it...
lol sorry didnt mean to cause any harm here..didnt think watching it online was illegal on my behalf if i was watching it on a streaming site such as (Removing Link!) NOT downloading it... it would be the streamer infringing the copy right law im just an innocent googler lol
Iroquois
09-14-09, 01:25 AM
lol sorry didnt mean to cause any harm here..didnt think watching it online was illegal on my behalf if i was watching it on a streaming site such as (Removing Link!) NOT downloading it... it would be the streamer infringing the copy right law im just an innocent googler lol
Innocent, my ass. By watching it online, you're as much a part of the problem as the people who illegally put it up for streaming in the first place. You don't pay, you don't play.
didnt think watching it online was illegal
It's not.
Đčstîńy
09-14-09, 01:38 AM
I don't know what site that was, but I did remove it from your post, since you mentioned it in reference to watching movies on-line. That is against the forum rules. So was your signature that I just removed. You are not allowed to link to any sites that allow movie downloads, or viewing. Don't do it again.
Iroquois
09-14-09, 01:39 AM
Negative rep? Really?
rice1245
09-14-09, 05:09 AM
so ANYWAY about that one movie...District 9....
SoulInside
09-14-09, 05:15 AM
... about illegal movie-aliens ... :)
District 9 Neill Blomkamp 2009
http://www.zap2it.com/media/photo/2009-07/48400144.jpg
District 9, has some substance and the imagery and CGI are amazing in there own way. But I don't think it deserved the 'blockbuster' reputation it gathered and would have been more appreciated in a art house theater rather then at the box office.
I heard so much about this film in the last few months, I've seen the posters everywhere and watched that first teaser trailer that started all the fuss over District 9. Ill admit it all had me engrossed, the imagery was shocking and new, that shot of the space ship hovering over the horizon really impressed me. I gathered this was going to be something big. But it wasn't. Its not a huge or overwhelming story. This is an intimate and small story, a humanitarian tale. Not that its a bad thing I just didn't expect it and I doubt many people did. So like in my review of Inglourious Basterds I think the advertising has got it wrong again, this movie would have been much better without it.
Another problem I had with District 9 is that sometimes I felt like I was watching an amature film. The documentary style is one of the reasons for that. But mainly some of the props were unconvincing and looked obviously fake. I'm a big fan of Sunshine another science fiction movie with a low budget the special effects were done with tact and I never noticed. But during District 9 they stuck out between the better effects. District 9seemed like a mash up of other movies, the raw handy-cam and unknown actor style of Cloverfield, the spaceship looks like it came straight out Independence Day, the narrative itself resembles the plot of E.T and maybe just a hint of The Fly. Overall I just wasn't that impressed when I walked out of the theater or at least not as much as I though I would be.
The 'prawns' are one of the most convincing aspects of District 9. The CGI is first class, the way the prawns interact with the environment and real people looks life like. Especially there glass-like eyes, its hard to believe they're computer generated. There spaceship that hovers over Johannesburg is the other impressive piece of CGI, the way the documentary style footage shoots it, really looks realistic. Ill admit I never got bored with these things.
Towards the end the action speeds up and there a few minutes of suspense. I enjoyed those few minutes but apart from that the only thing I liked apart from the CGI was the message, ' human beings are scared of what they don't understand ' this message could have worked just as well with an all human cast, the aliens are only there to get the public interested. In that way it does what good science fiction should. I expect most people will be more interested in the aliens themselves and not whats actually taking place and therefore missing the message altogether.
A strong underlying message but a weak movie in the end.
http://www.movieforums.com/community/../images/popcorn/2.5box.gif
Caitlyn
09-14-09, 10:42 AM
lol sorry didnt mean to cause any harm here..dint think watching it online was illegal on my behalf if i was watching it on a streaming site such as (Removing Link!) NOT downloading it... it would be the streamer infringing the copy right law im just an innocent googler lol
Watching movies illegally is watching movies illegally… you may not be fined but you very well could lose your internet connection.
Oh, and thanks for the negative rep...
Caitlyn
09-14-09, 10:46 AM
It's not.
If the person/s who own the copyright to a movie have authorized the movie to be shown on line for free, then it is legal... if they have not authorized it, it is illegal....
spudracer
09-14-09, 11:51 AM
It's not.
Pfft, if you're paying for it, it's not. However, I doubt this guy was paying for it.
There's a clearly defined line there, of which, I'm not sure if it's clear enough for either of you.
Yeah, it's not even a debate. Of course watching it online is illegal, even if you're not the uploader, much in the way people can be held liable for owning stolen goods, even if they're not the ones who stole it.
GodsOtherMonkey
09-14-09, 02:08 PM
Have not seen too many movies worth paying for. When I do, I buy them.
KasperKristensen
09-21-09, 08:38 PM
"Oh my God, my fingernail is falling off! I'll hurry and pull off another one!"
"Oh my God, I just lost a tooth! Lemme just jerk out another one!"
"Oh my God, I'm missing a huge chunk of skin! Watch me as I pull even more off!"
watchmovies
09-23-09, 11:09 AM
Best Sci-fi movie ever. I loved district 9. This movie is freakin' awesome! Best alien movie ever. My girlfriend also thought it was great.
Best Sci-fi movie ever. I loved district 9. This movie is freakin' awesome! Best alien movie ever. My girlfriend also thought it was great.
It was good, really good, but best sci-fi ever? In my opinion it is not even best sci-fi this year as Moon takes that.
actrogirl
10-15-09, 05:50 PM
The main Actor was great. This movie was different and that’s cool with me. I like new stuff, I get bored with most movies and this one was interesting. At the beginning of the movie, I almost walked out, but about 10 minutes later it got real good. It was worth my dollar.
WBadger
10-15-09, 06:45 PM
Rule #1: Never walk out and/or turn off a movie.
friendly-stranger
10-17-09, 08:17 PM
Unless that movie is "Dude who stole my car."
D9 was entertaining, but there were too many cliche action movie scenes. I'm not sure if they were doing this to be ironic, or just because they couldn't think of anything else.
jakethesnake39xd
10-21-09, 10:25 PM
awesome movie! i was kinda disappointed that i heard all the hype before i saw it, It probably would have had the same effect zombieland had on me, surprise hit!
Used Future
11-21-09, 09:57 PM
I turned this off after ten minutes. I just couldn't stand the fake mockumentary beginning; it was cringeworthy to me. I'm not condemning the film outright because, granted, I didn't give it enough of a chance. If the mood takes me I might sit down and give this another look in the future, but man, that opening is so forced.
You probably could have understood what was going on with a two-minute crawl on the screen at the beginning, but there are a lot of ramifications which would have been missed. I think they probably had to start it off that way because they created such a huge back story. I do think you'll totally get into it once the main human and alien characters take over the plot and the TV commentators fall by the wayside. It takes a while to figure out what the movie is actually about, but it sorts itself out soon enough.
adidasss
11-22-09, 08:12 AM
I think the premise is set up within the first 10 minutes (South Africa, ghetto, Aliens not allowed sings etc). Anyhow, I just watched this the other day and thought it was a fun film. A combination of The Fly and Black Hawk Down, and unlike most people, I really dug the latter. It probably would have been better to see it on the big screen but they don't have a scheduled release in the near future and I just couldn't wait to see what all the fuss was about. I would give it a 4 Very solid entertainment with some interesting subthemes, if you can call them that.
Sector8
11-22-09, 08:34 PM
i loved this movie it was great
Plainview
11-23-09, 12:01 AM
I thought District 9 was really good. I was completely satisfied 4 out of 5.
MovieFanaticSB
11-27-09, 02:26 PM
this was probably the most underrated movie of 2009 - I loved it!!!
meatwadsprite
11-27-09, 05:26 PM
Underrated really ?
i really liked this one, it gives a whole other perspective on the aliens.. i expect a sequal though!
Squawker
12-22-09, 11:02 AM
one of the most interesting sci-fi movies that i like...
linaelectronic
12-23-09, 05:37 AM
I recently attending a promotional screening of District 9. I would like to give my opinion of the film, but not any of the plot or details.
I went into the theater basically only knowing the genre of the film, being exposed just to the minimal "humans only" ads. While I watching the film, I immediately wanted to view it again. It is intriguing and highly entertaining, with a dynamic characters and rich in both humor and action. Once it ended, my friends and I chattered excitedly about the numerous aspects we liked. As cliché as it may be, there are parts of this film that will stay with you.
When it is released, I will be waiting with everyone else to see it again!!!
Black Rawkus
12-23-09, 01:12 PM
I like it and One of the great sci-fi movie.
I was very impressed that movie was 30 million dollars budget.
mojofilter
12-23-09, 03:02 PM
I just watched this on DVD!
It is a very good movie. The story might have been told before, but the execution: the effects, the cinematography, and the acting were brilliant.
I give it a 4.5
IMPORTANT QUESTION THAT I HOPE WILL BE ANSWERED: How can I add the "popcorn bucket" rating to my reviews?
[ rating ] the rating number goes here [/ rating ] < --- (no spaces)
mojofilter
12-23-09, 03:37 PM
[ rating ] the rating number goes here [/ rating ] < --- (no spaces)
Thank you! I got it now ;)
Black Rawkus
12-23-09, 07:14 PM
What I don't get it...why people are complaining about this movie is a plot-hole or thought Alien is smart than human being?......Alien doesn't exist and how do we know that if Alien smarter than Human Being?
I like this film because it's different than other "Alien" movie....we don't have to listen to the same story over and over, etc. At least this movie is something different.
CousinJake
12-27-09, 08:51 AM
this was probably the most underrated movie of 2009 - I loved it!!!
I agree. You just can't disagree. So many funny co-incidental Hollywood inside jokes it made my head spin. Fake prawn suits in the pre-film idea would suggest it is a flop, but not according to Jackson, who is an absolute genius for letting this one get blockbuster status. I implore you to give any other film this year a better criticism, but as a dare, because Cameron lets Blomkamp have executive authority over the story and special computer effects. Killer run throughout the whole film except towards the end where Chris should just take off and make it to the UFO, unfortunately getting delayed by the robotic hardware traded by the rebel gang.
I want to see this film again, more than Inglorious Basterds that came out in the movies in the same week, and now that Avatar has come out, I have to say you could put these two together side by side and compare them in production and direction ability, but give District nine better marks for storyline and cultural experimentation, (after all the Na'vi are pretty tall, and colorful, but who cares about the Na'vi anyway, it the Alien prawns that should be getting the attention eh?
GodsOtherMonkey
12-31-09, 07:20 PM
This is an interesting movie. The first thirty minutes borders on being a Monty Python sci-fi. I mean, too funny.
“Is that tear gas?”
“No, it’s cat food.”
Wikus Van De Merwe, the “protagonist” is a creep. The guy laughs at killing alien offspring before they are hatched. As the flame thrower moves in and burns the eggs, he laughs, “… that’s a popping sound that you’re hearing; it’s almost like a pop corn; what the egg does is it it it it pops up; you know, the little guy, what’s left of him, pop’s out there … “
I had no love for WIkus. He could have died at any point in the movie. I would not have cared.
But, of course, we can’t hate the hero. so the big bad company must get hold of him and make him suffer. Here the movie turns into a rather bad exploitation film; incorporating unnecessary torture, unnecessary use of living targets during weapon testing, and attempted vivisection. This is all done for visceral shock value and to win sympathy for WIkus (who remains a scugbag). Very cheap gimmicks here.
The saving grace of this film is Christopher Johnson, the alien, and his son. These two digital/puppet characters are wonderful. The wise Christopher and his son are by far the best aspect of the story. The CG animation is very good, but it is the nature of the personalities of both father and son that make them special characters.
The rest of the film is rather generic. I like the use of the South African ghetto. A Tijuana slum or any other such place makes for a interesting alternate reality location. I also liked the mech battle at the end. Exoskeleton weapon-systems are always fun when done realistically. This robot looked very nice. I want one.
I thought the story overall weak. Too many holes in the alien back story. I thought the writing and directing both very amateur. I was not impressed with the directing one bit.
I thought the acting fair to poor. The aliens were great and completely digital and puppet, so …. no actor to take credit there. But there are artists who can take pride, they are the best part of this movie.
Production was top notch. The movie looked great. Music good. Editing was outstanding, although format (quasi-docu) was off and on.
Overall, worth the watch. Worth it for the FX and for the alien father/son subplot.
latoure
01-13-10, 02:33 AM
This moview was fair/good in my opinion. Anyone know if there will be a sequel?
planet news
08-04-10, 07:45 PM
Super-old news but here're some of my thoughts on District 9 and Avatar. It's reposted content from my blog (http://youngdaguerreotypes.wordpress.com/2010/06/30/on-neill-blomkamps-district-9/) if you were wondering. Reading it again after a month or so, I'd probably want to rewrite it or add/take away some points, but I'm too lazy to do so now.
---
District 9 is by and large a very good film and a very hard film to dislike, but here I have managed it. If only because District 9 and James Cameron’s Avatar are two versions of the same film. At the heart of both films is the phenomenon of interspecies transformation, which can easily be understood through the base ideology of racial/cultural transformation. In Avatar the transformation is from white man to noble savage. In District 9 the transformation is from white man to poor black man. What is so startling about both films is that, in taking Kevin Costner’s Dances with Wolves to its logical conclusion, the main character does not only assimilate the “alien” culture but rather transforms bodily into the “alien” itself.
In this lays a key tenet of today’s liberal ideology first espoused by Jesus as the second foremost commandment; “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”. Slovenian cultural theorist Slavoj Žižek is highly critical of this notion of “an enemy is someone whose story you have not heard” and frequently cites it in his books and talks as a major flaw in our conception of multicultural relations.
Imagine for a moment if instead of basing District 9 off of the events surrounding 1970s District Six, Cape Town, Blomkamp instead chose to shoot a historical fiction mockumentary about District Six itself, all the while reincorporating analogous events related to the escape of one of the aliens and a white turncoat. How would these two films be different? Apart from the obvious lack of the looming alien mothership and alien technology, the emotional impact of Christopher’s escape—whether by boat or mothership—is the same. As is the final defeat of the racist villain Koobus Venter by Wikus’s fellow blacks/prawns. We sympathize with the “aliens” precisely for the same reason as we sympathize with the residents of District Six when we read about them or see photos of their slum. In the same vein, Blomkamp admits to interviewing the South Africans about Zimbabwean refugees in order to achieve the impressively natural reactions of District 9‘s surrounding citizens to the alien refugees.
I was not intentionally trying to deceive the people we interviewed. I was just trying to get the most completely real and genuine answers. In essence, there is no difference except that in my film we have a group of intergalactic aliens as opposed to illegal aliens.
So what does Blomkamp mean when he says this? Does he not mean that the reaction is precisely the same? No matter what kind of alien, it will always be alien. There will always be the interminable gap. Whether its cultural or physical the gap will always remain, and though physical characteristics can be made to hardly matter, cultural differences can never disappear.
http://i756.photobucket.com/albums/xx205/planetnews/district9post3.png
What is Avatar‘s and District 9‘s solution to this problem? We can call it the “walk two moons” solution. As is said so innocently in Sharon Creech’s 1994 children’s novel, “don’t judge a man until you have walked two moons in his moccasins.” What is interesting is that our turncoat hero Wikus van de Merwe did indeed find himself walking two moons before his final “spiritual” transformation into a Prawn. Or at least until he is able to turn himself around and save his Prawn friend Christopher from being executed. What must be remembered here is that this is only after having heard Christopher’s story. In other words, the only way to break down cultural barriers and racial prejudices is to immerse yourself into the alien culture and see life through their eyes, so to speak—this is not merely figurative in the film, as Wikus’s left eye actually transforms to a Prawn eye. However, this solution, Žižek claims, is a fake and paradoxically an avenue for even greater intolerance.
District 9 is honest when it shows Wikus’s disgust with his own transformation. This is where the film differs itself from Avatar in a crucial way. There is always something horrible about being separated from your own culture; whether physically or mentally, it is always an inherently violent process. Arrogance is usually what emerges from this disgust as a form of mental distancing. When Wikus is first taken down into Christopher’s hidden spacecraft, his Prawn son points to Wikus’s deformed arm and his own arm and says that they are both the same. Wikus is immediately disgusted by this comparison, and brushes the comment aside. Never is it shown in the film that he accepts his transformation. By the end of the film he is probably still waiting for Christopher to return in 3 years and transform him back.
Yet this hatred, Žižek claims, is the key to successful multicultural relations and the end of racism. What occurs in Avatar and District 9 cannot occur for each and every culture on our planet with each and every other culture. We can never learn to be universally aware of everyone nor should we be forced to. What Žižek proposes is a universalized “battle space”, an international discourse that recognizes our differences and embraces them in a harmless manner. Žižek points to the derogatory racial humor in his birthplace of Yugoslavia as precisely this kind of harmless battle space. With hyperbolic racial humor, differences are brought out into the open but at the same time made ridiculous and deprived of their racism. To pretend to immerse yourself into another culture is only condescending and much more likely to breed stereotypes and hatreds.
The main problem with District 9 is that it cannot help itself from redeeming Wikus’s hatred and disgust of the Prawns with a heroic act of sympathy. It is only then that he finally finds the courage within himself to stand up for what is now his own kind. What saves the film in the end is its ambiguity as to Wikus’s true motivations. Did he rescue Christopher because he wanted to save a Prawn “brother” or because he knew that Christopher was his only chance to escape from being a Prawn “brother”? However much “better” the former option seems in terms of heroism and morality and so on, the latter perspective is ultimately the more honest one. Anyone who has seen the film understands that Wikus’s line “go before I change my mind!” is meant to suggest the former option. He does not say “go so you can change me back!” It is the Prawn Christopher that promises to return and save Wikus. He gives Wikus enough respect to realize that he cannot possibly enjoy being a Prawn.
http://i756.photobucket.com/albums/xx205/planetnews/district9post2.png
Avatar fails in providing this ambiguity. It relishes in the white turncoat’s acceptance of his transformation. It is only through his walking several months in the body of a Na’vi that he has gained understanding of their culture. The film calls for all of us to take avatars when approaching multiculturalism. What would it be like to be Arab? What would it be like to be Japanese? And as soon as we do this we find ourselves looking down from a helicopter or looking through the lens of a microscope. Or, if we are truly torn away from our own culture like Wikus was, hating the very thing we are becoming even more than we had before. We cannot even maintain the arrogant distance that we had before. We may now truly hate because what we are hating is ourselves.
If we take a look at the final battles in both District 9 and Avatar—that is, the one-on-one between our white turncoat hero and the racist villain—we can see a clear exemplification of the difference between both films’ stances on racial objectification. In Avatar, the racist villain Colonel Quaritch nearly kills the main hero with a powered exoskeleton but is stopped by a Na’vi spear. In District 9 the main hero nearly kills the racist villain Venter with a powered exoskeleton but is stopped by modern weapons technology. Superior military technology is clearly signified by the presence of the combat armored suit, a relatively common sci-fi trope of military power spanning from 1986′s Aliens (actually from even before this) to 2003′s The Matrix: Revolutions. In other words, the Prawns are the “actual” superior species or at least equals, the hovering mothership being a constant but dulled reminder; they are “kept dumb” by the apartheid regime—kept from their true potential. What Avatar posits is that primitivism is inherently superior to any kind of technology. Though white man is obviously superior in his technical achievements, he is still missing a crucial connection with mother nature; this is what allows the naive, native Na’vi to win. To be clear, District 9‘s hypothesis is the same kind of logic that leads to avocation of affirmative action programs and could be called the prevailing liberal attitude, at least when dealing with practical matters. The alien Christopher “rising” to his ultimate potential with the tractor beam should be a powerful and humbling image for “white man” (which in this case actually includes blacks), and yet, all the people on the streets are cheering with relief when the mothership finally leaves Johannesburg in exactly the same way the Na’vi cheer when the military leaves Pandora. At the end of both films the question of whether the aliens will ever return is left unanswered.
This is intolerance at its most insidious: when we fear the report of their ambassador.
The Next Big Thing
08-04-10, 07:55 PM
Super-old news but here're some of my thoughts on District 9 and Avatar. It's reposted content from my blog (http://youngdaguerreotypes.wordpress.com/2010/06/30/on-neill-blomkamps-district-9/) if you were wondering. Reading it again after a month or so, I'd probably want to rewrite it or add/take away some points, but I'm too lazy to do so now.
---
District 9 is by and large a very good film and a very hard film to dislike, but here I have managed it. If only because District 9 and James Cameron’s Avatar are two versions of the same film. At the heart of both films is the phenomenon of interspecies transformation, which can easily be understood through the base ideology of racial/cultural transformation. In Avatar the transformation is from white man to noble savage. In District 9 the transformation is from white man to poor black man. What is so startling about both films is that, in taking Kevin Costner’s Dances with Wolves to its logical conclusion, the main character does not only assimilate the “alien” culture but rather transforms bodily into the “alien” itself.
In this lays a key tenet of today’s liberal ideology first espoused by Jesus as the second foremost commandment; “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”. Slovenian cultural theorist Slavoj Žižek is highly critical of this notion of “an enemy is someone whose story you have not heard” and frequently cites it in his books and talks as a major flaw in our conception of multicultural relations.
Imagine for a moment if instead of basing District 9 off of the events surrounding 1970s District Six, Cape Town, Blomkamp instead chose to shoot a historical fiction mockumentary about District Six itself, all the while reincorporating analogous events related to the escape of one of the aliens and a white turncoat. How would these two films be different? Apart from the obvious lack of the looming alien mothership and alien technology, the emotional impact of Christopher’s escape—whether by boat or mothership—is the same. As is the final defeat of the racist villain Koobus Venter by Wikus’s fellow blacks/prawns. We sympathize with the “aliens” precisely for the same reason as we sympathize with the residents of District Six when we read about them or see photos of their slum. In the same vein, Blomkamp admits to interviewing the South Africans about Zimbabwean refugees in order to achieve the impressively natural reactions of District 9‘s surrounding citizens to the alien refugees.
I was not intentionally trying to deceive the people we interviewed. I was just trying to get the most completely real and genuine answers. In essence, there is no difference except that in my film we have a group of intergalactic aliens as opposed to illegal aliens.
So what does Blomkamp mean when he says this? Does he not mean that the reaction is precisely the same? No matter what kind of alien, it will always be alien. There will always be the interminable gap. Whether its cultural or physical the gap will always remain, and though physical characteristics can be made to hardly matter, cultural differences can never disappear.
http://i756.photobucket.com/albums/xx205/planetnews/district9post3.png
What is Avatar‘s and District 9‘s solution to this problem? We can call it the “walk two moons” solution. As is said so innocently in Sharon Creech’s 1994 children’s novel, “don’t judge a man until you have walked two moons in his moccasins.” What is interesting is that our turncoat hero Wikus van de Merwe did indeed find himself walking two moons before his final “spiritual” transformation into a Prawn. Or at least until he is able to turn himself around and save his Prawn friend Christopher from being executed. What must be remembered here is that this is only after having heard Christopher’s story. In other words, the only way to break down cultural barriers and racial prejudices is to immerse yourself into the alien culture and see life through their eyes, so to speak—this is not merely figurative in the film, as Wikus’s left eye actually transforms to a Prawn eye. However, this solution, Žižek claims, is a fake and paradoxically an avenue for even greater intolerance.
District 9 is honest when it shows Wikus’s disgust with his own transformation. This is where the film differs itself from Avatar in a crucial way. There is always something horrible about being separated from your own culture; whether physically or mentally, it is always an inherently violent process. Arrogance is usually what emerges from this disgust as a form of mental distancing. When Wikus is first taken down into Christopher’s hidden spacecraft, his Prawn son points to Wikus’s deformed arm and his own arm and says that they are both the same. Wikus is immediately disgusted by this comparison, and brushes the comment aside. Never is it shown in the film that he accepts his transformation. By the end of the film he is probably still waiting for Christopher to return in 3 years and transform him back.
Yet this hatred, Žižek claims, is the key to successful multicultural relations and the end of racism. What occurs in Avatar and District 9 cannot occur for each and every culture on our planet with each and every other culture. We can never learn to be universally aware of everyone nor should we be forced to. What Žižek proposes is a universalized “battle space”, an international discourse that recognizes our differences and embraces them in a harmless manner. Žižek points to the derogatory racial humor in his birthplace of Yugoslavia as precisely this kind of harmless battle space. With hyperbolic racial humor, differences are brought out into the open but at the same time made ridiculous and deprived of their racism. To pretend to immerse yourself into another culture is only condescending and much more likely to breed stereotypes and hatreds.
The main problem with District 9 is that it cannot help itself from redeeming Wikus’s hatred and disgust of the Prawns with a heroic act of sympathy. It is only then that he finally finds the courage within himself to stand up for what is now his own kind. What saves the film in the end is its ambiguity as to Wikus’s true motivations. Did he rescue Christopher because he wanted to save a Prawn “brother” or because he knew that Christopher was his only chance to escape from being a Prawn “brother”? However much “better” the former option seems in terms of heroism and morality and so on, the latter perspective is ultimately the more honest one. Anyone who has seen the film understands that Wikus’s line “go before I change my mind!” is meant to suggest the former option. He does not say “go so you can change me back!” It is the Prawn Christopher that promises to return and save Wikus. He gives Wikus enough respect to realize that he cannot possibly enjoy being a Prawn.
http://i756.photobucket.com/albums/xx205/planetnews/district9post2.png
Avatar fails in providing this ambiguity. It relishes in the white turncoat’s acceptance of his transformation. It is only through his walking several months in the body of a Na’vi that he has gained understanding of their culture. The film calls for all of us to take avatars when approaching multiculturalism. What would it be like to be Arab? What would it be like to be Japanese? And as soon as we do this we find ourselves looking down from a helicopter or looking through the lens of a microscope. Or, if we are truly torn away from our own culture like Wikus was, hating the very thing we are becoming even more than we had before. We cannot even maintain the arrogant distance that we had before. We may now truly hate because what we are hating is ourselves.
If we take a look at the final battles in both District 9 and Avatar—that is, the one-on-one between our white turncoat hero and the racist villain—we can see a clear exemplification of the difference between both films’ stances on racial objectification. In Avatar, the racist villain Colonel Quaritch nearly kills the main hero with a powered exoskeleton but is stopped by a Na’vi spear. In District 9 the main hero nearly kills the racist villain Venter with a powered exoskeleton but is stopped by modern weapons technology. Superior military technology is clearly signified by the presence of the combat armored suit, a relatively common sci-fi trope of military power spanning from 1986′s Aliens (actually from even before this) to 2003′s The Matrix: Revolutions. In other words, the Prawns are the “actual” superior species or at least equals, the hovering mothership being a constant but dulled reminder; they are “kept dumb” by the apartheid regime—kept from their true potential. What Avatar posits is that primitivism is inherently superior to any kind of technology. Though white man is obviously superior in his technical achievements, he is still missing a crucial connection with mother nature; this is what allows the naive, native Na’vi to win. To be clear, District 9‘s hypothesis is the same kind of logic that leads to avocation of affirmative action programs and could be called the prevailing liberal attitude, at least when dealing with practical matters. The alien Christopher “rising” to his ultimate potential with the tractor beam should be a powerful and humbling image for “white man” (which in this case actually includes blacks), and yet, all the people on the streets are cheering with relief when the mothership finally leaves Johannesburg in exactly the same way the Na’vi cheer when the military leaves Pandora. At the end of both films the question of whether the aliens will ever return is left unanswered.
This is intolerance at its most insidious: when we fear the report of their ambassador.
Interesting review, thanks for this.
Good to see another word-press user too. Im still trying to get CSS down before getting my site up. I'm fairly terrible when it comes to coding, getting better mind. :D
planet news
08-04-10, 07:58 PM
Thanks a bunch man. And yes, wordpress is awesome, but they won't let you edit CSS for free, you know. You can only stick with their templates. Some are more variable than others.
I'm not sure if the quote was necessary, but thanks.
The Next Big Thing
08-04-10, 08:00 PM
Thanks a bunch man. And yes, wordpress is awesome, but they won't let you edit CSS for free, you know. You can only stick with their templates. Some are more variable than others.
I'm not sure if the quote was necessary, but thanks.
I think your mistaken. I was under the impression you could do whatever you want. Can you explain?
planet news
08-04-10, 08:12 PM
Do you have an account? Pick a template and then try to edit it. It makes you pay.
Unless I'm wrong, because I could be. I didn't really want to edit the layout that much anyhow.
The Next Big Thing
08-04-10, 09:07 PM
Do you have an account? Pick a template and then try to edit it. It makes you pay.
Unless I'm wrong, because I could be. I didn't really want to edit the layout that much anyhow.
Oh, I see. I wont be using a template anyway. I design my website in Photoshop and then build it using CSS. :)
THEproductions
01-17-11, 08:41 PM
Very well done, film style made it seem gritty and realistic, however the story seemed weak and predictable.
Wintermute
01-31-11, 03:46 AM
Hi,
I enjoyed this movie very much. However, I am very curious, as I saw this image - see attachment (not yet allowed to post links). :p
But I did not saw this scene anywhere in the movie. I suppose this is from the time Wikus breaks in the MNU building. Maybe in my file is something missing. Could anybody say at which time this occurs or whether if it is a part of some extended version only.
PS: do not want to write a flame here, but talking about legality of watching movies online etc. is doubtful. For example, in our country it is legal to download (not to upload) movies and music for private use. You only cannot download illegal SW or upload any copyrighted files. And as our government accepted that for each CD/DVD or any data medium a small fee will be paid by the customer (this fee goes to something like local equivalent of RIAA). So as this is like presumption of guilty, the most people here are snarky and take this fee like justification for movie and music downloading. :D
wintertriangles
01-31-11, 03:54 AM
It's probably just a still from production. I don't remember it in the film.
CallMeFishMeal
10-26-13, 11:59 AM
"District 9" is a scifi and a documentary look alike movie I recently saw. It is directed by Neill Blomkamp, co-writen with Terri Tatchell and it features Jason Copek, Robert Hobbs and Sharlto Copley.
The whole story occurs in Johannesburg, South Africa. At the very beginning of the movie, we can see workers of the MNU -MultiNational United- interviewed and talking about a starship that has stopped above the city but can't leave the planet because of mechanic problems. For 20 years, the "prawns" -nickname given by the humans for the aliens found in the ship- live in a ghetto located right under their ship. This place is called "District 9", and is a very dangerous and corrupted place.
Wikus, the main protagonist, who also works for MNU, is chosen to be the head of an alien relocation plan. With war vehicles and body guards he manages to speak to the aliens and tries hard to be understood. All of a sudden a fight begins and Wikus is hurt by an upset alien. Wikus is instantly affected by a virus that will progressively transform him into an alien.
Till that moment he will try to find a solution to stop the mutation to get back with his family...
I honestly found this movie quite interesting in the beginning; the "alien context" is for a while completely different from what we always see. Humans ans aliens live in peace for 20 years, they don't want to onvade and eradicate the human specie, etc. Plus I loved the intensity of the action; we are directly in the heart of the action, we try to understand everything with the several interviews we see... Moreover, the way it is filmed -like a documentary- really pleased me.
The I admit the second half of "District 9" was less gripping and the plot was clearly less enjoyable.
However if you're a scifi fan I recommend you to go and see it because of the plot's uniqueness, the hidden links between the plot and South Africa history and the actors' play quality :D
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