Post by mizhowlinmad on Jan 20, 2010 17:36:48 GMT -5
Ok, finally capitulated and watched this. (Figured I'd start a thread for it, because of the TAT connection.) Not that it's normally the kind of movie I'd watch, but since SC hasn't been in anything else major, had to see for myself.
It's a pretty interesting concept. Since the movie is a South African production, the basic setup is that the alien landing in Johannesburg, SA is a kind of metaphor for apartheid. The aliens (nicknamed 'prawns' for their appearance) are forced into a permanent refugee camp called District 9. They're treated as the lowest rung of society and they live as scavengers in a shantytown. (There is one hilarious joke in the movie: the aliens develop a taste for cat food, and the local Nigerian gang provides them black-market cans of it. Yummy.)
The first half of it feels almost like a faux documentary, with the main character, Wikus, part of a team supposed to go in and serve eviction notices to the aliens, who are to be moved to another, newer, camp. The main agency is called MNU for Multi-National Union, which is a kind of UN. He's idealistic and young but has no idea what he's in for. His father-in-law, unbeknownst to him, is part of a shadowy agency which vivisects the aliens for research in order to use their technology and weapons.
Anyway...Wikus and his team wind up in District 9, and he is accidentally exposed to a particular substance which causes him to start turning into a "prawn." Of course, this causes all sorts of complications for him. (I couldn't help but think of ALIEN mixed with BLADE RUNNER. It's pretty gruesome.) He winds up being the only man who can control any of the alien technology, so he's also the most wanted man in the world.
I wouldn't recommend it for anyone with a weak stomach.
But the special effects are quite good and the actors, all of whom are pretty much unknown outside SA, are also good. SC...quite a good actor himself, just not sure I'm seeing him as 'Murdock' right now. He does do a heck of a job playing a guy who is losing his sanity; I'll give him that.
Other than the cat food joke, it's very dark and ultimately pretty much a downer. But I'd say it's definitely above average.
It's a pretty interesting concept. Since the movie is a South African production, the basic setup is that the alien landing in Johannesburg, SA is a kind of metaphor for apartheid. The aliens (nicknamed 'prawns' for their appearance) are forced into a permanent refugee camp called District 9. They're treated as the lowest rung of society and they live as scavengers in a shantytown. (There is one hilarious joke in the movie: the aliens develop a taste for cat food, and the local Nigerian gang provides them black-market cans of it. Yummy.)
The first half of it feels almost like a faux documentary, with the main character, Wikus, part of a team supposed to go in and serve eviction notices to the aliens, who are to be moved to another, newer, camp. The main agency is called MNU for Multi-National Union, which is a kind of UN. He's idealistic and young but has no idea what he's in for. His father-in-law, unbeknownst to him, is part of a shadowy agency which vivisects the aliens for research in order to use their technology and weapons.
Anyway...Wikus and his team wind up in District 9, and he is accidentally exposed to a particular substance which causes him to start turning into a "prawn." Of course, this causes all sorts of complications for him. (I couldn't help but think of ALIEN mixed with BLADE RUNNER. It's pretty gruesome.) He winds up being the only man who can control any of the alien technology, so he's also the most wanted man in the world.
I wouldn't recommend it for anyone with a weak stomach.
But the special effects are quite good and the actors, all of whom are pretty much unknown outside SA, are also good. SC...quite a good actor himself, just not sure I'm seeing him as 'Murdock' right now. He does do a heck of a job playing a guy who is losing his sanity; I'll give him that. Other than the cat food joke, it's very dark and ultimately pretty much a downer. But I'd say it's definitely above average.
