Extra-Terrestrial Preferences

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I sincerely hope to be blown away come December with the release of Avatar, but after another viewing of the teaser for James Cameron's latest I have to say that I prefer the photorealism of District 9's prawns to the blue-cartoonism of the Na'vi.

DISTRICT 9

Screenplay by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
Directed by Neill Blomkamp

Sharlto Copley
Jason Cope
Robert Hobbs

Premiere date: August 14, 2009
R for bloody violence and pervasive language.

Thirty years ago, aliens made first contact with Earth. Humans waited for the hostile attack, or the giant advances in technology. Neither came. Instead, the aliens were refugees, the last survivors of their home world. The creatures were set up in a makeshift home in South Africa's District 9 as the world's nations argued over what to do with them.

Now, patience over the alien situation has run out. Control over the aliens has been contracted out to Multi-National United (MNU), a private company uninterested in the aliens' welfare - they will receive tremendous profits if they can make the aliens' advanced weaponry work for mankind. So far, they have failed; activation of the weaponry requires alien DNA.

The tension between the aliens and the humans comes to a head when an MNU field operative, Wikus van der Merwe, contracts a mysterious virus that begins changing his DNA. Wikus quickly becomes the most hunted man in the world, as well as the most valuable - he is the key to unlocking the secrets of alien technology. Ostracized and friendless, there is only one place left for him to hide: District 9.

AWARDS INFO COMING WHEN AVAILABLE

Wow

Just got back from seeing District 9, folks.

It's true. It's a great science fiction film, one of the best movies of the summer, and was the most fun I've had in the theater in the past few years. The ending was left wide open for a sequel, and for once I'm not upset about that. There's plenty more to explore in Neill Blomkamp's world. I hope he'll take us back sometime soon.

By the way, it will be a great injustice if we don't see District 9 star Sharlto Copley in more films soon. He gives one of the best performances I've seen all year here. No joke.

District 9 Links

District 9 is stirring up quite a bit of conversation and controversy. I won't have a chance to see it until this Saturday, so I'm trying to avoid reading anything that smells of spoilers. Until then, here's what a few people have been saying so far.

Sci-fi website io9.com talks about the similarities between District 9 and Moon, another well-reviewed science fiction film from earlier this year.

Cinematical's Todd Gilchrist has an interesting interview with the film's director, Neill Blomkamp.

Screen Rant reviews District 9, declaring it an instant sci-fi classic.

Tom O'Neil over at the Los Angeles Times wonders what the reactions to District 9 at an Academy screening mean for its Oscar chances.

The film's nifty official site.

MTV has the news that the filmmakers are already discussing a sequel. District 10?

The Associated Press reports on District 9's opening weekend earnings.

A South African newspaper is not pleased with the implications of the film's setting.

MSNBC takes a stab at identifying some of the films that inspired District 9's plot and tone.

District 9

I'm hoping to get to this one sometime this coming weekend. It's getting great reviews and has the coolest premise of any movie out this summer. Peter Jackson's involvement is always a plus, of course.