DISTRICT 9 Post-Release

everything about this movie is full of immense win

i think this jumped quickly and easily into my #1 spot for the year so far.

truly interesting concept/storyline/presentation, great acting, unbelievably realistic cgi, intense action/violence, and everything else possible was superb in this movie

fuck yes district 9

Caught the sneak preview tonight! Best sci fi in a decade!

Not counting The Hurt Locker, it's the best summer film and one of the best films of the year. Should I be the first to throw out Oscar consideration? Really, really debating it.

Yeah, safe to say it left a good impression on me. More coherent thoughts later, but yes the performance and story were great. Oh yeah, and I'm with The Closer in not believing they made it for $30 Million.

Saw it at a press screening last Friday morning. There were only about 20 of us (no guests were allowed, only members of the press) and most everyone said the same thing: Loved the movie.

I thought the plot poin of how the main character changed made no sense whatsoever but overall it was a great movie. Loved the idea behind it, the execution and the aliens looked fantastic for the small amount of money they had.

Very recommended

For effects - most definately.

Agreed there. I've calmed down a little on it getting a Best Picture nomination (sue me, it left that strong an impression, and it deserved it more than THE DARK KNIGHT) but holy shit was it amazing.

Movie's great. Kafka with energy weapons. Funny, moving, great CGI. And a great alien kiddo.

Unbelievably great, one of the few times I've been absolutely blown away by what I was seeing unfold before me. The way it could turn from comedy poignant on a dime, and the fact they were able to take a character from goofball to dickhead to sympathetic to complete asshole to hero.

It was also possibly the greatest video game movie ever made they just forgot to make a game first.

And a sci-fi movie that actually had something to say

I cant think of a button that it didn't hit for me, really

I could go on gushing about this movie for days.

The more I think about it, the more I loved this movie.

Can anyone offer a storyline without too many spoilers? All that I have been able to gather from the trailer is we are oppressing the Aliens and apparently they decide to fight back.

He was incredible. Second best male performance this year next to Rockwell in Moon.

Where's Devin's review? Is he under embargo? I see Harry has already reviewed it..

Glorious.

Pretty fucking amazing.

Brainy, brawny and goddamn tremendous. I almost stood up and cheered the first time Wikus picked up one of those alien pulse rifles.

So we pretty much agree this is the best film of summer 2009 yes?

I enjoyed it very much and thought it was pretty stunning filmmaking but I'm not finding myself so stirred as to be tossing "Best Picture Oscar" or "best movie of Summer 2009" around so easily.

The subject matter was compelling. The plot was unexpected. The performances were engaging. The visual effects were fantastic. The action was energetic. And it was even touching and funny.

And yet, even with all that, I'm not as orgasmic about this film as I was over MOON, WORLD'S GREATEST DAD or even the incredibly flawed-but-effective STAR TREK. There's a strange logic and flow to DISTRICT 9 that kept me at arm's length through most of it. I think the only time I ever really unconditionally loved the film (aside from Wilkus' disturbingly giddy description of "popcorn") was during the spirited mecha-battle in the third act.

Spoilers ahoy...and perhaps more perceptive viewers than myself will provide explanations that I somehow missed...

The idea that the black liquid was both spaceship fuel AND a genetically transformative virus was a bit goofy and convenient. (And why was the fuel even necessary if the Mothership had that tractor beam all along?) The fact that the transformation produced a full-blown alien hand within a few hours but then virtually nothing else for days was odd. What was the point of the massive eviction operation when the aliens remained in D9 afterwards as if nothing happened? And if the aliens had these working weapons at their disposal, why not use them? An army of a million aliens in mecha-suits armed with pulse rifles? They could have taken over JHB with them.

Don't get me wrong, I really think it's a highly impressive film in pretty much every category. But I can't help but feel a little distant from it as well. Still, I hope between this and MOON, we start to see more thoughtful indie science fiction on the way.

My mother has expressed interest in seeing this (if we're lucky enough to get it that is) then I read this on Imdb:

- Detailed depictions of medical procedures (blood shown).

- Brief graphic portrayals of torture.

- Disturbing scenes and grotesque images.

Is this some really sick shit? I'm sure my mother could handle the battle scenes, but this stuff might be too much for her to stomach.

As long as it's mostly humans getting blown apart, it probably won't bother her. She hates to see animals and creatures get hurt. She felt sorry for the Cloverfield monster and Godzilla. My Mom's weird that way.

Well, the ship already had some power, as evidenced by the lighting and holographic display the little prawn was looking at. Surely, the power for the tractor beam originated on the Mothership, which also needed some form of power of its own to be kept hovering over J'berg for two decades.

True, but wow, there seemed to be zero impact on D9 in the wake of that massive and bloody campaign. It wasn't even like a gradual relocation to D10 was happening. It all just stopped cold.

His hand was destroyed, I tend to think of it as that the prawn was emerging from underneath. But also, I tend to think of it as an okay cheat. Him wanting to fly the ship made very little sense to me, but I was enjoying too much to complain too loud.

And let me say this: CLOVERFIELD cost about as much, but the whole conceit of the picture was kind of a rip off because the filmmakers did it in such a way that the reason it was cheap was because they didn't really tell much of a story or give you what you wanted until the end. DISTRICT 9 cost the same amount (again, studio numbers mean dick all), and it never cheats you. Ever. Fuck Cloverfield.

Agreed. I think I overlooked a lot of the normal, more slightly pedantic complaints I would have had just because I was having such a blast with it. I'm absolutely going to go see it again, because it's a movie worth paying money for, so we'll see how much criticism comes through next time around.

First negative review up on RT.

Guess who.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/district_9/

I don't agree with White, but the comments on that review are idiotic.

So it's idiots shouting at each other?
Sorry, but White is as phony as the mainstream Critics he claims to despise so much. Being a maverick is one thing, but automatically taking a opposite viewpoint to majority opinion every single damn time ain't being a maverick,it's a cheap gimmick.

White gives class readings to film on top of being a contrarian. Though most of you will dismiss the review, there is something to be said that it's understanding of class and race issues are simplistic to say the least.

Does the 20 to 30 Million dollar budget include post production?
It's no secret that some films that claim to have a fairly low budget cost a LOT more then stated becuase they have to be clleaned up and enhanced in post production after a major company picks it up for release.

Not trying to be purposely obtuse here, I'm tired: in the last sentence, are you referring to the review or the movie?

White being the douche he is, gives a big spoiler. So dont read the review if you have not seen the film yet.

The film trades on racial issues without saying much about them. The setting of South Africa might be a budget thing, but it adds a layer to the movie. I don't think any of that stuff is foregrounded in the movie, which is why it doesn't bother me, but it's there on a very base level.

Gotcha. Yeah, it does - not even taking into account the history of South Africa, the earlier parts played out like a slightly more extreme version of the undocumented immigrant debate here in the US, the clash over aboriginal tribes in Australia, etc. I just don't agree with White attacking the film on that level since it's not even really working that hard at acknowledging that part of it - sure, there's commentary, but like you said it's there on a very base level.

But Whit etends to view things through a class perspective, which - when he's not just being a contrarian (which he's settled into) is an interesting way to look at movies. White has a point, the racial/class elements of the film are weak and second hand, but that's because the story uses it for shorthand.

Gotcha. I've never read any of White's stuff save for that review, so I wasn't sure what to think about people's automatic reactions of "Guess who" and him being a "douche".

Just as a couple of examples:

White hated UP, and thought HP6 was inferior to the "wondrously imagined" Twilight. Say what you will about his "readings" of film, but I find him to be purposefully contrarian more often than not.

White used to be pretty good, but he's gone of the deep end for sure. But, if D9 has a weakness, it's exactly what he was attacking it for. Now, the makers of the film were sentient of ALIEN NATION, and surely were trying to do their own thing without being totally derivative, but the film does trade on shorthand.

I saw D9 had a 100% RT rating thru Tuesday and I KNEW that White was going to be the first negative review. It's one thing to go against the current but he has become so predictable with his reviews. I have a feeling that if Citizen Kane or The Godfather or Lawrence of Arabia had come out in 2009 he would bash those as well, simply to draw attention to himself as the critic who was the one dissenting voice.

Writing my review and I need some help remembering the order of events:

Does Wikus break his arm before or after being exposed to the fluid?

After, because he was using both hands to diddle with the canister.

EDIT: Shit, now I'm questioning that. I can't remember exactly.

EDITEDIT: Had to have been after, because they were ransacking the place too.

I agree with Litmus' criticisms and I have many more of my own. Twenty minutes in, something happens to the main character with that canister and I'm thinking; "oh, it's not going there, is it?" But it does and the film goes off the rails at that point, leading to a ridiculously predictable final shot. I know I've seen that same ending before and I'm wracking my brain trying to place it; can someone help me out here?

So much kept taking me out of the film and no amount of carnage and powersuits could make up for it. I've seen it twice for the absolutely mind-blowing effects, but I needed more. Ultimately it's a damned stupid film that could have been so much better, something I've come to expect from 2009 films. I ended up liking Trek so much more; no less idiotic but it gets by on charm.

Agreed. The problem with White is that,as Bart Simpson would say, "Way Too Obvious, dude".
Every time a film gets a great critical or popular reception, you can bet that White will give it a bad review.
Dissenting on specific films is fine, but what White is doing is Shtick, and not very clever shtick at that.

White is nothing more than a professional troll, regardless of what class or race perspective he employs.

I cant wait to go check this shit out, Im actually considering passing up dollar beer night to go see this sucker at midnight. Decisions decisions.

See, I thought it was the other way around. Wasn't he attacked by the Yellow Prawn who they then killed? He then got fixed up, went inside, found the liquid, it sprayed him, then he went to Christopher's, interrogated him, and then he got sick and fell over?

Also, I thought that since the arm had basically been exposed by the injury, that's why the fluid went after it first.