District 9 (HINT: Rating in Movie Title)

It's been a quiet streak from me of late, so I decided to come back with something relevant to the recently (terrible) aired Academy Awards. Everyone already knew my thoughts on Avatar, and reviewing The Hurt Locker will probably just make my blood boil, so why not review the most deserving Best Pic. nominee, eh?

Wait, most deserving? Did I just say that? That's right, bitches. D9 > all other 9 nominees (and Hurt Locker and Avatar combined for that matter)* How is that? It was probably the least likely movie to actually get the award, right?... Right?

Well, let's start off with of the awesomeness that is District 9, eh? We have all of the essentials of good film-making here: a good story, strong main character, good (though not really great) performances, and a message that doesn't come off as heavy-handed or pretentious. Not in the slightest. Corporations aren't all corporationy in this movie. All of this leads up to a climax that isn't the (now stereotypical/lazy) EVERYONE GRAB A SWORD fest that you might think it would turn out to be.

Aside from the all of that, let me talk about that camera work for a second there. It's sharp, crisp... just real clean. It gives off that kind of gimmicky "hand held" bullshit that people are feeding us, but it does the most important thing: practices restraint. Yes, there are moments of shakiness, and it can be a bit frustrating, but it's only done at appropriate moments, and manages to still remain somewhat steady so as not to induce unintentional vomit. Well-played, Neil Blomkamp... well-played indeed.

I think what makes this so great is that from both a technical aspect and emotional aspect, this movie is sharp. Sharlto Copley turns in probably the best performance of the movie. He manages to act out the character arc remarkably well. It starts off as a giddy, idiot promoted above his means, and for the longest time, even as the shit is going down, you can't quite sympathize with the guy because of his dickish view of the aliens.

Fucking Prawns!!!!!

Then you slowly see him change. It's remarkable how physical and emotional reflect each other so well in this process, and the character becomes progressively more sympathetic. Especially as the film reaches its last moments.

So, on the whole shot, this is a damn good movie with a big heart. What's keeping it from being perfect? I'd have to say it's the film's inability to capture any secondary characters with any amount of depth, or that much attention. Yes, this is very much the story of Wikus, but a large amount of side characters are not only kind of flat, but some even iredeemable. Of course, these are the antagonists, and they shouldn't be that likable... Still, some background/personality traits would have bee appreciated.

Other than that, though, District 9 is just a good fucking movie.

Overall - 9, and I'll stand by that rating, too. D9 is da shiznet, yo! (I immediately apologize for that statement). You should check it out for yourself sometime.


* - What's with me being all bitchy? Sorry 'bout that.

Avatar: Dances with Last Samurai... IN 3D!!!!

It's tough to decide what movie I wanted to review first. A favorite? A hated one? Then it hit me: why not a record breaker? So, here it is: Avatar. Yes, that movie. The one that's getting all of the hot awards (Golden Globes for Best Pic. and Best Director, I believe). I saw this a while back, but my memory of it has not faltered! Nay, I saw it and dwelled on it! And what say I of this movie? Of this film which has driven the masses to theaters and left them thrilled?!

Anti-climatically: it's not that good.

Why? Where to start? Well, I guess the rampant plagiarism is a good place to start. What plagiarism? Well... *points at plot* the whole thing for starters. It's a movie about a man out of his element who is recruited to try to coerce a group of culturally different natives into abandoning their homeland for the good of the human race. Then, in a flash, he is cautiously welcomed by the race, shown their ways, and begins to think that maybe he's in the wrong. (And meets a female).

Quick: Alter the sentence to read like this!

Kevin Costner travels into the frontier by his lonesome for the army. Whilst there, he meets a group of Native Americans. At first, they aren't all that fond of each other, but as time moves on, his further exposure to their culture captivates him, and he slowly falls in love with their kind. (Including a woman)

OR:

Tom Cruise is recruited to go to Japan to put down a rebellion led by Samurai. He's taken captive and forced to live the season amongst them. Whilst there, he begins to see that the Samurai are a noble, honorable race. One worth saving, even. He falls in love with their kind (including a woman).

I don't care how good the effects are, that's just a rip-off. In the process, he even does the ole "Copy and Paste" for side characters of the movie.

Colonel Bagley

vs.

Colonel Quaritch

They even hold the same rank! Wowzers!

Okay, so beyond the fact that the story is weak, what about the characters? Two dimensional, at best. You know exactly what's going to happen next, and if you don't... I don't know what to say. Every response to the situation the make is cookie-cutter. The 'hippies' will try to save the indigenous peoples, and the 'militants' will try to destroy. Of course, the militant who happens to be a friend of the hippies... what will she do? You could probably guess.

I will say this, though: there are some really neat aspects. The floating mountains, the link they make with the creatures, and yes, the effects, are all really cool. If you're a style-over-substance kind of person, this movie was made for you.

However, it can't make up for ideas this movie has taken: Dances With Wolves, The Matrix, Fern Gully, Pocahontas, Aliens (revisiting old ideas, Cameron?), etc. It's just... It's the most frustrating movie I've ever seen. Proceed with caution.

Overall - 4 if you see it in theaters. 2 if you don't.