"Grossly Engrossing"

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Variety's Justin Chang is calling Neill Blomkamp's District 9 (Sony, 8.14) "an enjoyably disgusting sci-fier set in and around a rubble-strewn war zone where extraterrestrial refugees have taken up indefinite residence. Better conceived and executed than one might expect from a low-budget rebound project, this grossly engrossing speculative fiction bears Jackson's blood-splattered fingerprints but also heralds first-time feature director Blomkamp as a nimble talent to watch.

"Shot and set in Blomkamp's native South Africa, District 9 imagines a present-day scenario in which humans and aliens are forced into an uneasy co-existence and, predictably, bring out the violent worst in each other. As scripted by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, the result reps a remarkably cohesive hybrid of creature feature and satirical mockumentary that elaborates on the helmer's 2005 short Alive in Jo'burg, borrows plot points from 1988's Alien Nation and takes its emotional cues from E.T.."

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on July 28, 2009 at 7:23 PM

comment #1

p.Vice says ...

Kyle Smith's Dunder-Mifflin comment just gets better every week.

Posted by p.Vice at July 28, 2009 9:56 PM

comment #2

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

Looks a bit like The Arrival with a much bigger budget and state of the art sfx. I'm quietly optimistic about this one.

Posted by CitizenKanedforChewingGum at July 28, 2009 11:33 PM

comment #3

storymark says ...

I see no parallels to the arrival, other than there being aliens... which seems a bit of a reach, all things considered.

Posted by storymark at July 28, 2009 11:35 PM

comment #4

actionman says ...

looks and sounds sweet

Posted by actionman at July 29, 2009 3:26 AM

comment #5

Alboone says ...

Looks awesome. I'm there opening weekend.

Posted by Alboone at July 29, 2009 4:26 AM

comment #6

Steven Kar says ...

All the big movies disappointed me this summer, but I'm hoping this one will be an exciting experience at the theatre. (Hurt Locker was OK but didn't blow me away or amaze me.)

Posted by Steven Kar at July 29, 2009 5:10 AM

comment #7

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

"I see no parallels to the arrival, other than there being aliens... which seems a bit of a reach, all things considered."

I wrote that poast rather fast. To clarify, what I meant to say is that the tone feels similar. Both seem interested in quietly exploring the outcomes of hypothetical situations if humans/extraterrestrials were ever to meet or co-exist. In other words, it seems more interested in serious s.f. themes than does pure spectacle -- at least in its first couple acts.

That is the feeling I got from the trailer, anyway. I only brought up The Arrival because it's getting a lot knee-jerk reactions to Independence Day, which seems like a reach to me. I'm sure there will be a ton of fx-laden shots, but they seem to be used wisely here (as background to the substantial material, not the primary focus).

Obviously, the actual story of the film bears no resemblance to either ID or TA. Alien Nation seems a more appropriate reference, but Jeff already used it in his article.

Posted by CitizenKanedforChewingGum at July 29, 2009 6:41 AM

comment #8

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

poast = short for pot roast...it'll catch on, you'll see.

Posted by CitizenKanedforChewingGum at July 29, 2009 6:42 AM

comment #9

dggunz says ...

SK: All big movies? What about "Hurt Locker," "Up," & "Star Trek?" All 3 of those were successful in one way or another.

Posted by dggunz at July 29, 2009 7:03 AM

comment #10

Steven Kar says ...

Gunz,

Big movies as in the Hollywood stuff that we get every year between May and August.

HURT LOCKER doesn't qualify since it's independent and low-budget and came below the radar. I did see it though, as I mentioned in my post above, I thought it was OK but certainly did not amaze me in any way. It had a couple of terrific sequences, but I won't go into a review of the movie now.

UP was a big-budget studio picture that made loads of money; it turned out to be my least liked of the Pixar movies. (I haven't seen CARS, still no interest in seeing it.)

STAR TREK was OK but I just cannot see myself watching it again, even if it's playing on TV.

So like I said, everything I've seen so far this summer has disappointed me, or has barely registered for me, which is why I'm hoping that DISTRICT 9 will surprise me and will be a movie that I can recommend to other with good conscience.

Posted by Steven Kar at July 29, 2009 8:08 AM

comment #11

raygo says ...

Saw Harry Potter last weekend. I liked it a lot. I don't read or follow the Potter "mythology", so I treat each one as a standalone.

Ebert gave (500) Days of Summer ****

Posted by raygo at July 29, 2009 9:58 AM

comment #12

Rothchild says ...

The movie is fucking awesome. Don't read any reviews. The trailers haven't given away the A plot yet. Fun stuff. Great third act.

Posted by Rothchild at July 29, 2009 10:05 AM

comment #13

Steven Kar says ...

Yes, avoid the DISTRICT 9 reviews.

Posted by Steven Kar at July 29, 2009 10:11 AM

comment #14

Thesilenttype says ...

To me, it's Cloverfield meets Right at Your Door.

Posted by Thesilenttype at July 29, 2009 11:03 AM

comment #15

RMBurnett says ...

Silenttype,

Mad props to you for the RIGHT AT YOUR DOOR shout out. Love that film. I can't tell you how many people I've shown in to. One of the great genre films of the past five years.

Unfortunately, no one has seen it.

Cannont wait for DISTRICT 9.

Posted by RMBurnett at July 29, 2009 12:07 PM

comment #16