Movies like music, must consider their time value. The way a movie is filmed, the dialog, the pace, the uniqueness of its interpretation, are all akin to
listening to classic music. Like music which can be off putting if recorded using only time sensitive sounds, great movies must be uniquely and properly
made to hold a sense of relevance over time.
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When making District 9, Neill Blomkamp didn't settle for making just another alien invasion movie. Instead he captured what great movies are truly made of,
pushing for a darker, edgier style, and a lush soundtrack. In choosing the unknown actor Sharlto Copley, the film achieved the intended effect of placing us
in the movie ourselves, as if this story could be happening to anyone. Taking place in the post modern town of Johannesburg, we are drawn into the story of
a mysterious space ship that's left hovering over the city. When nothing of interest seems to happen, a special team is sent to break into the ship,
discovering an entire civilization of alien creatures on the brink of starvation. Twisting the "invasion" bedtime story into a far more sinister tale,
where the humans are the captors, we follow the path of our aliens as they are kept on earth as refugees. Our main character, plays a man that is in charge
of evicting and relocating the over one million refugees from one prison to another. This is where the plot thickens, and gets intense. Shot
intermittently in a documentary style, the story unfolds to reveal gross injustice and cruelty with equally engrossing results. As the story progresses
we are taken into the real-time horrors of the situation at District 9. In fairness, I cannot reveal any more of the plot without ruining it for you. But
I can tell you that it hits all its marks with ease, being both entertaining and thought provoking. Exposing the facets of human nature that are most
revealing and unfair, you will be reminded of past atrocities, which show how quickly ignorance turns to hatred and cruelty. At the same time, there
are plenty of fabulous special effects, but not so many as to overshadow the story line. If you can handle the R rating and are interested in
extraterrestrials, technology, gang wars, and government conspiracies, then this is a movie you will love. While it has a very satisfying ending you
will be left wanting more, and there is talk of a D-10, which for millions of fans is a very exciting prospect. This is one movie you don't want to be
out of the loop on. At 1/6 the cost that it took to make the Transformers movie, it outshines in every area, from plot to cinematography. Every attempt
in recent history to renew our fascination with aliens, has fallen victim to formulaic mistakes that we've seen again and again. The movie District 9 is
a movie that will stand the test of time, becoming nothing if not a great cult classic. Rent it Now!
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