District 9
Peter Jackson's name attached to District 9 was the only reason I went to see the movie. I wasn't into the buzz or hype but decided to give the movie a chance. I walked in to a nearly empty theater and wondered if anyone was really bothering to check it out?
Set in South Africa, aliens come to Earth, hover spacecraft over J'berg, get boarded and put into their own slumtown, aka District 9. Aliens attack humans, have a thing for cat food, and the drug lords of Nigeria move into slum town to trade cat food for alien weapons that no one can use.
Citizens riot (humans that is) and enters Wilkus, newly promoted man in charge of alien relocation. Wilkus manages to get himself infected with alien DNA and starts to mutate. Wilkus decides to befriend the enemy and try to save himself.
Set against the unpleasantry of the slums, the movie is supposed to make us think about how we're treating people who live in slums, especially the slums with guards and fences. I know that some people find this enlightening. I found it more interesting that the South African film makers use Nigerian drug lords as the same bad guys that US film makers give Mexican drug lords.
More than that, I couldn't get past the fact that if an alien craft had been hovering for 2 decades, that the military, secret service, looters wouldn't have stripped it clean and made it unflyable. The only character that had any common sense was one of the commandos and even he lost it at the end by falling into the trap of explaining why he was going to have fun killing someone, and going at it long enough for the intended victim to be saved.
And the smartest thing in town was the alien bug baby. Seriously, we're to believe this?
Lesson learned - if an alien ship come in carrying aliens that look like they're from Ridley Scott's Alien, blast it out of the sky. Shot first, ask questions later, and don't explain why you're doing it, just do it.
What did I like about District 9? The chance to see a film from South Africa that gives another viewpoint on the world. It's not for everyone but even with my empty theater, it opened with a strong #1 box office showing this weekend.
Set in South Africa, aliens come to Earth, hover spacecraft over J'berg, get boarded and put into their own slumtown, aka District 9. Aliens attack humans, have a thing for cat food, and the drug lords of Nigeria move into slum town to trade cat food for alien weapons that no one can use.
Citizens riot (humans that is) and enters Wilkus, newly promoted man in charge of alien relocation. Wilkus manages to get himself infected with alien DNA and starts to mutate. Wilkus decides to befriend the enemy and try to save himself.
Set against the unpleasantry of the slums, the movie is supposed to make us think about how we're treating people who live in slums, especially the slums with guards and fences. I know that some people find this enlightening. I found it more interesting that the South African film makers use Nigerian drug lords as the same bad guys that US film makers give Mexican drug lords.
More than that, I couldn't get past the fact that if an alien craft had been hovering for 2 decades, that the military, secret service, looters wouldn't have stripped it clean and made it unflyable. The only character that had any common sense was one of the commandos and even he lost it at the end by falling into the trap of explaining why he was going to have fun killing someone, and going at it long enough for the intended victim to be saved.
And the smartest thing in town was the alien bug baby. Seriously, we're to believe this?
Lesson learned - if an alien ship come in carrying aliens that look like they're from Ridley Scott's Alien, blast it out of the sky. Shot first, ask questions later, and don't explain why you're doing it, just do it.
What did I like about District 9? The chance to see a film from South Africa that gives another viewpoint on the world. It's not for everyone but even with my empty theater, it opened with a strong #1 box office showing this weekend.
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