District 9

[danny_galaga]

I left the cinema stunned! Who'd a thunk a sci-fi could make such powerful social commentary?


NOT  A SPOILER, BUT SEPARATE IN CASE YOU WANT TO KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE MOVIE BEFORE YOU SEE IT:






















Almost immediately you are struck by the evils of faceless bureaucracy. Things like fascism and Apartheid come to mind. Interestingly, South Africa (where it is filmed) is where the concentration camp first came into use (during the Boer War).

The director of 'Bad Taste' showed good taste by producing this (",)

5/5 from me.

my score for recent movies you may have seen:

  5/5 - Michael Clayton, In Bruges, Gran Torino, Mary and Max

4.5/5 - Taken, Iron Man, Reign Over Me

  4/5 - Traitor, Bedtime Stories, Sunshine, pineapple express

3.5/5 - 300, Max Payne, You dont mess with the Zohan, Yes Man

  3/5 - That new Indiana Jones flick, Disturbia, That new TMNT flick,

2.5/5 - Angels and Demons

  2/5 - The Love Guru. Note: My 2 is probably someone elses 1. Just leaving room for worse!

[shardian]

I wish we would have saved date night for this movie instead of GI Joe...

[Dartful Dodger]

I watched the 20 minute short story District 9 was based on and it reminded me of Alien Nation only less about the aliens' and more about beating you over the head with humans always need to be suppressing someone.

Since this was set this in a post apartheid South Africa and the Africans that lived through apartheid would suppress another race so easily made me think this was going to be an after school special.



It's been getting great reviews, but I'm still going to wait for it to come to Netflix.

[hypernova]

I've heard rather glowing reviews as well.  Looks very good.

[DaOld Man]

This is the short film the movie was based on:


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNReejO7Zu8[/youtube]

[koolmoecraig]

Saw it tonight.

Awesome all around.

[pinballwizard79]

I cant wait for D9 to hit BluRay.....gonna be epic

[RayB]

Excellent movie. Dorks will analyze it to death since not everything is "explained", but IMO that often helps make a story much more enjoyable. I recommend it!

[SithMaster]

The possibility of no sequel is the only downside to this movie.  This is the only movie that I have actually wanted to see again before it comes out on dvd.

[danny_galaga]

This is the only movie that I have actually wanted to see again before it comes out on dvd.

Same here. So i'm taking my housemate to see it soon. Last movie i did that with was Michael Clayton...

[DaOld Man]

I just watched D9, and I liked it.
However I have to disagree with the notion of no sequel. I can definitely see a sequel.
My daughter went with me to see it, and we got there a little early, so we hit the arcade at the theater before the movie started.
I used to take my daughter there a lot when she was younger. (She's 18 now.)
Back then, the place was full of machines, classics and new ones, a couple pool tables and a couple of air hockey tables.
The arcade has really went downhill since those days of long ago.
They have blocked off the upstairs part, and downstairs they only have 4 or five machines.
A galaga/ms pacman combo, a tekken 3, a deer hunter, and a star wars sit down was among the ones that worked.
Only one air hockey and no pool tables.
The counter where they used to sell cheap prizes for tickets was gone too.
The place looked like an empty warehouse.
It really left a sad feeling in me. I think my daughter had a bad feeling about it too.
We wasted a lot of time in there when she was growing up, but it was good times.
Looks like the days of the arcade are just about gone completely.
Even the movies have changed. A lot of commercials and only 2 previews before the movie.
I wonder if movie houses are on the way out too?

Anyway, back on subject, I liked D9. I highly suggest everyone go see it. But a small warning for the weak stomachs: Quite a bit of blood and gore.
I may see it again before it is retired to DVD.

[RyoriNoTetsujin]

THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS POST.  SKIP THIS IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE YET.  That's your warning.

Saw this last night (birthday present to myself ) and I had to take a little time before I left the theater.  This is a layered, intelligent, potentially "Great" movie.  I need to see it again to sort it all out!

Excellent movie. Dorks will analyze it to death since not everything is "explained", but IMO that often helps make a story much more enjoyable. I recommend it!

I agree.  This movie has "Collegiate Philosophy/Psychology/Sociology/Drama Major's Term Paper" written all over it -- as much, if not more so than "new-classics" like The Matrix.

The possibility of no sequel is the only downside to this movie. 

Are you referring to a budget issue or something?  As I saw it there's a perfect setup for sequel: (**HERE'S THE SPOILER**) "Three years."  The implications of "Christopher Johnson" coming back, and the questions of what will happen if/when he does -- that's a potential bombshell of a sequel if you ask me!

The problem is: I don't know if I want to see a sequel to this movie.  The artistic gamble in doing a sequel to this is very, very risky.  Given the quality of this movie, I'd put a lot of faith in the director (and especially in Peter Jackson being the producer) protecting the integrity of the story -- but knowing how the big studios like to leverage solo films into "franchises" when they see even a modicum of success... I'm not so sure...

[SithMaster]

I just watched D9, and I liked it.
However I have to disagree with the notion of no sequel. I can definitely see a sequel.

Just repeating what I read from an interview with Neil.  If I remember correctly he has plans for something else as his next movie with a sequel after that if there is enough support for one.  I'm assuming that support would be positive fan feedback.

[RayB]

There's also plenty of room for a prequel. And to satisfy the tards out there who think D9 is nothing more than trying to moralize about "apartheid = bad", they could get Michael Bay to direct and make it all explosions and fighting. Yeah...

[AtomSmasher]

The problem is: I don't know if I want to see a sequel to this movie.  The artistic gamble in doing a sequel to this is very, very risky.  Given the quality of this movie, I'd put a lot of faith in the director (and especially in Peter Jackson being the producer) protecting the integrity of the story -- but knowing how the big studios like to leverage solo films into "franchises" when they see even a modicum of success... I'm not so sure...

Probably the best movie I've seen this year.  I just got back from seeing it, so I'm now reading through this thread for the first time and it's funny that you said this.  As we were walking out of the movie my friend asked me if I thought they would make a sequel, and told I him "I'm sure they will, but I hope they don't".

[vertygo]

I loved the movie too, but it *is* yet another shaky cam movie, which I always think detracts from the story. Yes it's gritty, but when you get there late, and you have to sit in those neck breaking front seats.. the shaky cam really makes the nachos churn.

[AtomSmasher]

I loved the movie too, but it *is* yet another shaky cam movie, which I always think detracts from the story. Yes it's gritty, but when you get there late, and you have to sit in those neck breaking front seats.. the shaky cam really makes the nachos churn.

Except its not Blair Witch or Cloverfield type of shakey-cam, it's far more stable then those.  It's along the line of the show Cops, where its a professional camera crew, but they still have to run around a lot.  The first half of the movie is done like they're filming a documentary, so it works quite well in the movie.  The action sequences reminded me a lot of the action sequences in the movie Children of Men, which I also thought was extremely well done.

[Mauzy]

Saw it this afternoon. Honestly I wasn't at all interested but my family wanted to go so I went (still had popcorn coupons from Inglourious Basterds yesterday  ). Didn't wnt to be a stick in the mud.



HOLY CRAP.
What an awesome movie.

The ONLY thing I found slightly off-putting was the whole "3 years" deal. A cheap yet effective way of setting up a sequel. Almost too obvious. I would love to see one, don't get me wrong. And, TBH, I think if they decide to not do a sequel the film won't suffer too much. I think it would still hold up as a cool movie with a great story as a one shot movie.

Also, the blood and gore aspect was comical in a good way. It takes a little of the shock value out of the movie to keep focus on the story and the peril of the plot. Gruesome without being gruesome I'd say.

[danny_galaga]

Saw it this afternoon. Honestly I wasn't at all interested but my family wanted to go so I went (still had popcorn coupons from Inglourious Basterds yesterday  ). Didn't wnt to be a stick in the mud.



HOLY CRAP.
What an awesome movie.

The ONLY thing I found slightly off-putting was the whole "3 years" deal. A cheap yet effective way of setting up a sequel. Almost too obvious. I would love to see one, don't get me wrong. And, TBH, I think if they decide to not do a sequel the film won't suffer too much. I think it would still hold up as a cool movie with a great story as a one shot movie.

Also, the blood and gore aspect was comical in a good way. It takes a little of the shock value out of the movie to keep focus on the story and the peril of the plot. Gruesome without being gruesome I'd say.

Glad you liked it (",)

I think you are looking into the 3 year thing too much. 3 years is a realistically interminable amount of time for someone in Wiikes plight, is all.

[shardian]

Was kinda weird, I had seen the previews where the robot grabs the bazooka missile and dismissed those previews as some kind of Transformers tie in.  That scene is 5 minutes but guess they were trying to get into the autobot hype.

I saw that preview, and it actually turned me off from seeing this movie.

[SNAAKE]

really good movie for a 30mill budget and no name actors. ONLY thing bothered me is how the dude got infected. the "engergy fuel" thats supposed to take the aliens home can also infect humans and turn em into aliens? ok thats....DUMB

everything else is great scifi. gotta love the random pace. starts with bootleg documentary and ends with black hawk down style action scenes and dramatic music assist. cant complain about unnecessary-peterjackson-gore.

dont care about a sequal but id watch it if there is one. maybe micheal bay can direct it. EXPLOSIONSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[massive88]

My only problem was this line of reasoning:

1 - The prawns are mostly dumb, and good at taking orders (quote from the movie)
2 - There are nearly 2 million prawns, no one really cares if the die or disappear, and they seem capable of mass reproduction (shown throughout the movie)
3 - It appears any prawn can fire the prawn weapons (nothing shown to discount that)
4 - A human able to fire weapons is worth billions of dollars (quote from the movie)
5 - So... why not train prawns to use the weapons where humans tell them to?  Hell, give them catfood for it.

You cant tell me if the ability to use weapons is that valuable, that they would do what they were about to do to Wikus, that they couldnt smuggle some prawns out that would either be complicit, or young ones they could train from youth.  That seems highly more likely than harvesting dude for his tissue.

[RayB]

@massive: The whole movie's foundation is the moral dilemmas humans, populations, corporations and governments face with regard to people and living things. ie: Where do you draw the line regarding another person or creature having basic "rights"? Does it have to be genetically "human" or just sentient?   We saw both subtle and not so subtle views of this dilemma throughout the movie. It seemed people came to the general concensus that the "prawns" had some basic right to live, but humans being humans, "racism" prevented real integration (thus all those signs prohibiting prawns from entering certain locations, forcing them to stay in a shanty-town); And a corporation's view that they were no better than cattle. And corporations being corporations, they will do what serves them best until government forces laws to control what they do. (Not to mention how a government can distance itself from unpopular, attrocious acts by contracting to private corporations). These are all parallels to real-world things that have happened to humans in the past or even still happening now.

To address your specific pondering, I would imagine the world reaction to these 1 million prawns disappearing, only to reappear on a battlefield later just wouldn't have been very positive politically or otherwise.

[massive88]

To address your specific pondering, I would imagine the world reaction to these 1 million prawns disappearing, only to reappear on a battlefield later just wouldn't have been very positive politically or otherwise.

I wasnt thinking millions, a squad of 100 well trained and motivated prawns could do some massive damage with their weaponry, and due to their living conditions, would never be missed.  Same could be said for 10,000 even.

I understand its central to the movie and its motifs, but you could have had the same themes if you made it so that no one could do it prawn or human, with the hybrid of Wikus being the only one.  Would eliminate that possibility from the universe.  The only other change to the movie would be Christopher having to use human weapons when storming the building.  No big deal.

PBJ - The way they described it, was that it had to be done by a living prawn.  I think they even showed them trying to force a dead one to do it?  Not sure, I saw it a while ago.  And I dont think looking normal is nearly as important as being able to operate the technologically superior weapons.

[RayB]

I got the impression that the prawns were not cooperative in that respect. That they were a peaceful people who would rather go home. Otherwise they could have easily self-organized and used their weapons rather than trade them in.

Umm... how did weapons end up in D9 if the prawns were all moved off the ship via helicopters?

[SNAAKE]

well they brought some weapons down with the aliens? seems logical. for research purpose or whatever.

dunno about the huge robot though. who the hell brought THAT down

[Ond]

Overall I was pretty impressed with this film.  I hated the wobble cam though, sorry but whenever I see wobble cam it makes me want to stand up and scream "hold the friggin camera steady ---uvulas---!!!" ya I know, it's arty, projects realism into dramatic scenes (not)    Example of films that suffered for it : Bourne Supremcy (otherwise great!), A Quantum of Solace (was crap anway  )

Best thing (for me) is the transition in Wikus's character from his own kinda wimpy self preservation act to selflless hero and the sheer adrenaline rush of the least 20 or so mins starting with when Wikus grabs the alien gun at the gang HQ.   If they make a sequel it'd want to have some new content/untold story to carry it.  A sequel that simply picks up on the '3 years later' and nothing else would generate the same let down felt when having to explain the punchline of joke to some one who doesn't get it. 

[shardian]

Saw this last night. It was okay for what it was. The basic story was good, the special effects were amazing considering the budget. The only thing I think that sucked was the director.
The documentary aspect sucked. The camera work sucked harder. The inconsistencies in story and motivations sucked hardest.

SPOILERS:::!!!!!!!!!!!!






The 'fuel' turning him alien was stupid, especially since it really only was fuel. The whole secretive thing with the aliens, combined with what happened, combined with how MNU reacted so quickly and efficiently to Wikus in the Hospital signaled one glorious thing to me: It was the plan ALL ALONG of the aliens! Now THAT was a badass story setup! Imagine it: The aliens dump a whole ship of their lower beings, along with a small contingent of the smarter beings. Let them study the planet/people from a lower class setting. Then, unleash a biotoxin that turns the whole population into worker aliens.
I was led to believe from the way MNU reacted to Wikus, that this was not the first time they had seen a human turn into a prawn. Honestly, watch it again when it is on DVD, you'll see what I mean. They knew way too much.

I felt robbed when this turned out not to be the case. Seriously, did the director not have ANYONE else take note of this?

- The prawns: are they peaceful, passive, bloodthirsty...what? Why do they take the human's ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---? One scene they can rip a guy's arm off and send him flying 50 feet. The next, they are getting manhandled by a tiny human. If they're passive, why do they have all that frikkin crazy weaponry? If they're warlike, why are they ---Bad words, bad words, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when saint censors you?---? Why does Christopher tell Wikkus not to kill anyone when they hit the lab? Overall terrible execution on the motivations and actions of the prawns.

And what about those weapons? It's been said here before - where'd they come from? My coworker interpreted from the way the prawns scavenged, that they built them from scratch from trash piles. Well that can't be - because they are powered by "the fuel". You know, the tiny vial that Christopher took 20 years to accumulate.
The prawns just waltz in that big-ass battle suit to the warlord? Gimme a break! Sorry Mr. Director, but you shot yourself in the foot on that one by the mere documentary/security cam setup.

In closing, I have a limit to how many inconsistencies I can overlook in a movie. Once that limit is reached, it is open season. It's just sloppy movie making. Hopefully the studio realizes this Blokamp dude isn't big budget director material, and gives Peter Jackson the sequel reigns.

[hypernova]

I was led to believe from the way MNU reacted to Wikus, that this was not the first time they had seen a human turn into a prawn. Honestly, watch it again when it is on DVD, you'll see what I mean. They knew way too much.

I remember the scientist or someone saying that Wikus was the first successful hybrid, that all the previous tries resulted in death.  Like they had attempted hybridization before in a lab.

massive88-I believe white people considered many of those same questions centuries ago concerning black people.

How many of those weapons were in the command module when it was dropped, I wonder.  The battle armor is a good question as to how it got there.

So what if the fuel can morph people into Prawns?  Oil is used for plastic.  Hydrogen for many applications.  Corn is food.  I don't think a civilization that has an interstellar spaceship that uses a fuel known for its transforming properties is that much of a stretch.

Speaking of fuel, interesting that it goes into their weapons, and their weapons require Prawn genetics to operate.

[DaOld Man]

I think that the fuel had genetic material of the aliens in it, since the weapons could only be activated by an alien, makes sense that the fuel would be tied to genetics too.
Could explain why it morphed the human when he got it on his skin.
Also, I think I agree with a previous post, maybe most of these aliens were defective, maybe mentally retarded, perhaps they were sent here to get rid of them.
Would explain why it only took one to fly the big ship home.
Only two or three of them acted like they were really intelligent.
But this doesnt explain why they brought so many sophisticated weapons.

[SNAAKE]

- The prawns: are they peaceful, passive, bloodthirsty...what? Why do they take the human's ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---? One scene they can rip a guy's arm off and send him flying 50 feet. The next, they are getting manhandled by a tiny human. If they're passive, why do they have all that frikkin crazy weaponry? If they're warlike, why are they ---Bad words, bad words, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when saint censors you?---? Why does Christopher tell Wikkus not to kill anyone when they hit the lab? Overall terrible execution on the motivations and actions of the prawns.

the prawns are peaceful. thats the general idea. they dont show aggression unless threatened or whatever. lets say most are peaceful but some are crazy(stupid? lol) like the one chewing on tires and kicking random human for whatever reason. just like humans, they are not all EXACT same carbon copies. get the idea?? they are smart enough to know when they shouldnt become a problem and try not to get shot in the face. sure they could pick up their gun and start killing ppl but they are not here for a war. 

head ripping wasnt just random violence. they saw one of theirs(wikus apparently) in trouble and saved him. the "badass trigger happy human dude" had it coming.

oh and chris is the prawn and wikus is the human and he tells the prawn not the shoot as he probably thought they can do this without killing ppl but obviously that didnt work because they were getting shot at so they had to shoot back in order to stay alive and get that fluid back.

I think that the fuel had genetic material of the aliens in it, since the weapons could only be activated by an alien, makes sense that the fuel would be tied to genetics too.
Could explain why it morphed the human when he got it on his skin.

yeah at first it thought that part was kinda dumb but I agree with your post. that fluid probably contains genetic material. same as alien weapons. make sense kinda.


I dont agree with the "alien has been here for 20 years" part. I mean..NO ONE did anything about it by now? it would make a lot more sense if it was like only a year or two. yeah so humans didnt really have time to do anything about it yet. we are studying but no real progress(20 years is ridiculous)

ppl cheering when the alien ship was leaving didnt make ANY sense. earlier they show how ppl dont really like prawns and want them out of here. and ship that would take them home is......gone! whats so awesome about that and why you clowns cheering? sometimes I wonder how these things get past screeners. no one brought this up at all

[protokatie]

Also, I think I agree with a previous post, maybe most of these aliens were defective, maybe mentally retarded, perhaps they were sent here to get rid of them.

According to Douglas Adams, this is how Humans began. You wouldn't happen to be a phone sanitizer class 3, would you?

*apol's for the HHGtTG ref

[hypernova]

pl cheering when the alien ship was leaving didnt make ANY sense. earlier they show how ppl dont really like prawns and want them out of here. and ship that would take them home is......gone! whats so awesome about that and why you clowns cheering?

You realize the answer to your question is in the very question your raised?

[SavannahLion]

I think the fact the aliens look an awful lot like a certain other alien COUGHVORTIGAUNTCOUGH taints my perceptions a little bit.

Also, I think I agree with a previous post, maybe most of these aliens were defective, maybe mentally retarded, perhaps they were sent here to get rid of them.
Would explain why it only took one to fly the big ship home.
Only two or three of them acted like they were really intelligent.
But this doesnt explain why they brought so many sophisticated weapons.

In the very first scene showing the aliens on the mothership, it looked to me more of a refugee situation. (My first thought was it was actually a prison ship, but the behavior of the aliens seem to point elsewhere.) I thought most of the aliens were civilians of some sort. Now that I think about it, they might even be "modified" aliens from yet a third planet.

The aliens seem to act like a bunch of civilians. Take this example. Take a group of 100b random adult people and ask them how many can drive a car, most will raise their hands. Ask that same group if they know how to drive a boat, you won't get nearly as many people (unless you're in a coastal town I guess). Then ask that same group if they know how to fly a helicopter, you'll be lucky to get a couple. Same goes for the aliens. They're on an alien world with no resources and no knowledge on how to fly the ship. If they knew how to control the ship, why where there camp fires and refuse inside? Stands to reason they would know how to manage the environmental controls at least.

As for the weapons and how they got down? Well... that's a bit tougher since it's a bit bizarre that the aliens don't seem to actually use the weapons they have except in the assault against MNU. Maybe they weren't originally meant as weapons? The movie kind of makes the whole issue a little hazy. It seems the MNU people knew exactly what the weapons did, but now how to use them. But the tests later in the film seem to imply they had no idea what the weapons actually do.  I was more interested in the reasoning behind the alien and human refuse the aliens kept digging through instead of how the aliens acquired their weapons. I think if one discovers the answer for one, the other will be discovered as well.

[RayB]

pl cheering when the alien ship was leaving didnt make ANY sense. earlier they show how ppl dont really like prawns and want them out of here. and ship that would take them home is......gone! whats so awesome about that and why you clowns cheering?

You realize the answer to your question is in the very question your raised?

Think about it. 1 million (or was it 2 million by then?)  aliens people want gone, and their means of leaving has just left without them.

[BurgerKingDiamond]

All I know is I turned it off after 25 minutes because the shaky camera work was making me nauseous. I hate it when movies are shot like this. I don't see why it's necessary. I thought the same thing about Cloverfield.

[Mauzy]

All I know is I turned it off after 25 minutes because the shaky camera work was making me nauseous. I hate it when movies are shot like this. I don't see why it's necessary. I thought the same thing about Cloverfield.

Its only like that for about the first third (though I may have just gotten used to it...). It seems to morph from a rough documentary (shaky cam and all) into a high-budget film.

[Loafmeister]

It was a really good movie.  Personally, I think the social commentary would have worked better if it wasn’t in South Africa.  As it is, it felt more ironic and akin to someone taking a sledge hammer to my brain saying “SEE … SOUTH AFRICA… MISTREATMENT… ALIENS ARE THE VICTIM… GET IT?”  You know, I kind of had that figured out . Still nice to see an alien on earth story not located in New York.

I want to formulate a different theory about the Prawns: perhaps they are not a real race per say but a result of a biological experiment gone wrong, where an attempt to link with a sentient ship resulted in something else entirely.  I think what happened to Wikus, happened to most of the Prawns (aside from those who reproduced) sometime in the past. This would explain why some are “slow”; they might have been from non-technical civilizations.  The entire ship itself might have basic sentience (which might help explain why the navigation portion detached itself, we’re assuming its Christopher but why drop it off if it can just take off again?).  Maybe Christopher is one of the original Prawns, or maybe he’s just one from a highly advanced world that got infected a long time ago.  My Would explain why he’s more familiar with it then all other Prawns.  Maybe depending on the type of brain structure, becoming a Prawn might mean part of your brain gets overwritten? This might explain Wikus’ appreciation for cat food before he’s fully converted. Maybe most Prawns became Prawns elsewhere, those who couldn’t help them (Christopher’s people) built the ship with the intent not to get rid of them but to transport this “new” species to a new location where they could get a fresh start.

My personal favorite theory is partially the scenario above but that it was to get rid of them, out of sight, out of mind. This kind of makes sense because all the Prawns were locked up and they couldn’t even get out of the ship (humans had to open up the hatch, they were living in crap conditions).

It’s to the credit of this movie that aside from the many social commentary issues, there’s also many questions one can ask on the science behind the “Science Fiction”.

[hypernova]

pl cheering when the alien ship was leaving didnt make ANY sense. earlier they show how ppl dont really like prawns and want them out of here. and ship that would take them home is......gone! whats so awesome about that and why you clowns cheering?

You realize the answer to your question is in the very question your raised?

Think about it. 1 million (or was it 2 million by then?)  aliens people want gone, and their means of leaving has just left without them.

Yes, but it is a step in the right direction, in their eyes.

[danny_galaga]

My personal favorite theory is partially the scenario above but that it was to get rid of them, out of sight, out of mind. This kind of makes sense because all the Prawns were locked up and they couldn’t even get out of the ship (humans had to open up the hatch, they were living in crap conditions).

That ties in with the Douglas Adams 'B ark' but also you just made me think of the medieval europeans 'ship of fools'...