I saw it a few hours ago and loved it. This has been a great year for Sci-fi (Moon, Star Trek, D-9)
(V)Thomas Peterson -- The Plain Walker(H)
Best Movie of the Summer.
Absolutely Golden. If they make a sequal I'll be angry. Leaving so much to the imagination like that is great, and releasing a sequal most likely will be a toss.
@Mazzo Grave
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Originally Posted by BackAlleyBrawler
you *******!!!!
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nice review sid
as Ood Sigma said....We will sing to you, Doctor. The universe will sing you to your sleep. This song is ending. But the story never ends.
((I always wait for the dvd, but I might make an exception for this one. 
))
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Definitely see it in theaters. Its so worth it.
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Originally Posted by Heroid
((I always wait for the dvd, but I might make an exception for this one.
)) |
(V)Thomas Peterson -- The Plain Walker(H)
I agree that this movie is completly worth seeing. I will also agree that for a sci-fi movie, the action really does detract from the over all movie.
To give you some refernece, something about this movie really got to me. I left this movie in awe more or less because the message it sent was so good and so well done. Of course seeing it on a Friday night there were a ton of high school students who, suprise suprise, didn't get it! That really bothers me and makes me think that most people who see this movie will only see the action the obvious statements about racism. While missing out of some of the more important messages about humanity.
I repeat, I STRONGLY suggest seeing this movie to anyone. I know it just came out but I would seriously rate it as one of my top favorite movies of all time, possibly my favorite.....
Sorry Repo, you got knocked down. =(
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Already have plans to go see it tomorrow.
Also Ponyo was very cute if I might throw another review in for this one. Much more for kids though than say Howls or Spirited Away.
Let us stifle under mud at the pond's edge
and affirm that it is fitting
and delicious to lose everything. ~ Donald Hall
just saw it, OMFG, it was good, really good, but see it in a theater, because it has a pace that would be hard to watch at home. as the reviewer posted, it starts in the documentary style and makes subtle shifts as the story goes.
personally i think the action that builds up towards the end really makes the film, and gives it the push from good story to excellent film. plus seeing the popping bodies was awesome.
and to top it off South Africa was the perfect back drop for it.
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*WARNING, SPOILERS IN THIS POST*|
Originally Posted by Mariel_Martog
just saw it, OMFG, it was good, really good, but see it in a theater, because it has a pace that would be hard to watch at home. as the reviewer posted, it starts in the documentary style and makes subtle shifts as the story goes.
personally i think the action that builds up towards the end really makes the film, and gives it the push from good story to excellent film. plus seeing the popping bodies was awesome. and to top it off South Africa was the perfect back drop for it. |
Agreed, the whole gang members eating the aliens thing was not only eerie, but that's entirely believeable considering some of the odd beliefs there. Just an amazing film.
@Mazzo Grave
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Originally Posted by BackAlleyBrawler
you *******!!!!
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Well, I've not seen District 9 yet, so this'll be a slight derailing of the thread, but...
I actually really liked Sunshine. I thought the acting, the lighting and the plot were really good. Admittedly, the ending was a bit crappy where they went from "introspective commentary of the hardships of human beings under stressful situations" to "RAR MONSTER PERSON!" But I was willing to overlook that for the rest of the story's sake.
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Yes. That was actually my big problem with Sunshine--it was a fantastic movie until the switch to the slasher-thriller feel in the last 30 minutes. Don't get me wrong, I'll still recommend that one too, but it's markedly less satisfying because in that one, the shift in tone wasn't connected all that well, whereas in District 9, it is.
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Originally Posted by Elysienne
Well, I've not seen District 9 yet, so this'll be a slight derailing of the thread, but...
I actually really liked Sunshine. I thought the acting, the lighting and the plot were really good. Admittedly, the ending was a bit crappy where they went from "introspective commentary of the hardships of human beings under stressful situations" to "RAR MONSTER PERSON!" But I was willing to overlook that for the rest of the story's sake. |
I really liked it. I get the impression there was waaaay more going on with it that was said.
Something very 'Fatal Shore'-ish with the aliens and Earth was their Australia maybe?
Be intersesting to see if there is a sequel.
Let us stifle under mud at the pond's edge
and affirm that it is fitting
and delicious to lose everything. ~ Donald Hall
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Originally Posted by sidney_b
Anyway, it's worth seeing, if you've the time.
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Agreed, if you look at this from your typical Summer blockbuster hit, this'll exceed your expectations as it did for me. I wasn't expecting anything philosophical or mind blowing, therefore I was generally pleased with it. It's a good movie and clearly there'll be a sequel I think.
Chris made a promise, I'd hate to see him forget about it.
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i saw this movie last night and it is well worth seeing in the theater. i agree with Sidney's review, though depending on how it's handled a sequel could be good or terribly, terribly awful. Overall i thought it was handled much better than most science fiction movies that build to an action climax. Even the characters that could be considered evil or bad were so in a more realistic, human manner.|
Originally Posted by bunkerbuster05
Definitely see it in theaters. Its so worth it.
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One thing the movie reminded me of was how much many of Peter Jackson's films have shared with Cronenburg's in terms of elements of squick, nausea fuel and alienation/transformation of the body and/or mind. Especially if you look at the earlier films of both directors.
Good movie, would watch again.
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i make stuff...
I give it a 5/10. Bland, forgettable, and underwhelming for most of the film. The ending firefight was very cool and the ending was moving, but the first hour or so of the movie was skippable. A decent rental choice, but not worth paying theater price (my wife actually walked out and got her money back, first time she's actually done that).
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@Starflier
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Which just goes to show one man's meat is another man's poison.|
Originally Posted by Starflier
I give it a 5/10. Bland, forgettable, and underwhelming for most of the film. The ending firefight was very cool and the ending was moving, but the first hour or so of the movie was skippable. A decent rental choice, but not worth paying theater price (my wife actually walked out and got her money back, first time she's actually done that).
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i actually thought the ending firefight was a little too "Hollywood" and slightly less engaging, but it was pretty damn cool firefight anyway.
Dr. Todt's theme.
i make stuff...
Agahnim's posts in this thread do a good job of summing up my feelings on the movie.
A movie I didn't particularly care for, and I'm still posting about it in 3 separate threads. Somedays I hate the internet.
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@Starflier
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I'm wary of a sequel. In some ways, given the tone of the film, which I felt was meant to be a bit bittersweet, having Chris return and save District 10 as well as Wikus would be too... |
Originally Posted by Stryph
Agreed, if you look at this from your typical Summer blockbuster hit, this'll exceed your expectations as it did for me. I wasn't expecting anything philosophical or mind blowing, therefore I was generally pleased with it. It's a good movie and clearly there'll be a sequel I think.
Chris made a promise, I'd hate to see him forget about it. |
Well, it's like the story of FFX and FFX-2. The first one ended reasonably satisfyingly. Let's not talk about the second.
...and the other thing would be that if Christopher did come back, it almost automatically suggests an action-oriented confrontational story, which is a little too easy to do poorly. Particularly because then they'd have to explain the aliens and why they came here, rather than leaving it a mystery.
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I'd actually have to disagree with him on some aspects. I think he sells the film short; while he's correct that the film isn't that challenging or makes people think (something which I actually place on the latter half's action-oriented nature), I do think that some of the characters do have redeeming qualities. We do, after all, see a transformation from a muddling middle-manager to a person driven to the edge and given the means to enact his will--and instead of simply going nuts with it, as we see in, say, Thirst, we see him at least try to do some good, which is what he'd been wanting to do all along.|
Originally Posted by Starflier
Agahnim's posts in this thread do a good job of summing up my feelings on the movie.
A movie I didn't particularly care for, and I'm still posting about it in 3 separate threads. Somedays I hate the internet. |
As far as social commentary, etc., it takes place in the background. There's not much there, and it's not particularly novel, but it's there, and it pretty much amounts to: "Forcing anybody into ghettos and creating an apartheid atmosphere is bad, mmkay?"
<QR>
I haven't read this thread...and it is breaking my heart cause I went to see Jule & Julia last night instead of District 9 (as to avoid crowds, I'm going tomorrow during the day)...but Sids, I wanna partake in your discussion damnit! /whine. That is all.
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Given my feelings about there being a deeper story behind the aliens, I'm not sure Chris coming back in three years would be back to save District 10 or Wikus.
Not to say he comes back with an invasion fleet but with enough fire power to ensure the safety of the next batch of refugees.
One point I really didn't understand was why make a biomech suit which has all these cool ways of killing people and then offer to trade it in for a bunch of cat food, instead of just get in the mech suit and TAKE the cat food. Surely they knew they were being taken advantage of by the Nigerians.
Maybe the prawn have a hive mentality and their leaders took sick leaving the rest unable to cohesively think for themselves?
Many questions....ah well, I for one welcome our new prawn overlords and have many cans of Puddi Tat cat food for their enjoyment.
Let us stifle under mud at the pond's edge
and affirm that it is fitting
and delicious to lose everything. ~ Donald Hall
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***spoiler***|
Originally Posted by Rookery.
Given my feelings about there being a deeper story behind the aliens, I'm not sure Chris coming back in three years would be back to save District 10 or Wikus.
Not to say he comes back with an invasion fleet but with enough fire power to ensure the safety of the next batch of refugees. One point I really didn't understand was why make a biomech suit which has all these cool ways of killing people and then offer to trade it in for a bunch of cat food, instead of just get in the mech suit and TAKE the cat food. Surely they knew they were being taken advantage of by the Nigerians. Maybe the prawn have a hive mentality and their leaders took sick leaving the rest unable to cohesively think for themselves? Many questions....ah well, I for one welcome our new prawn overlords and have many cans of Puddi Tat cat food for their enjoyment. |
Well my thinking is to figure what kind of ship was it, and why did they come to earth to live in the first place.
The ship was most likely a colony/Exploration ship which do to some error they lost food storage or plainly just food stores. This may have forced them to take nearest shelter, i.e. Earth. Their bad luck was to choose South Africa as port of call. Therefore, the weapons were not as important as just surviving; see the Nigerians even with their homicidal tendencies did supply food.
Now who was this Chris? He/she was the captain and once the crew was off the ship he/she could make the return journey with the limited supplies.
What will happen in 3 years? I would say not an invasion of Earth but definitely an Invasion of South Africa, and most likely a real War where the rest of the Earth would be hard pressed to pick a side.
Why do I say this? Because Chris was not outraged by his treatment, until he saw the genetic research. The redeeming feature was in his twenty years he had obviously studied the Earth and our geo-political situation. In addition, he saw firsthand that humans have the capacity for change (both emotional and genetic), and the human emotion of self-sacrifice and he knew about the concept. So what happens in three years? There would be Second contact, with an overwhelming military force that would both protect the "prawn" colony and the establishment political relationships with humans.
and maybe the conversion of humans in to "Prawns"
Yes, apperently the species was a hive mentality species, and their queen/leadership group was killed before the crash. From the Word of God on an interview.
So all the aliens acting like they did? They really WERE little more than hive-minded bugs. Reacting for the moment, not planning things out long-term.
So does this mean humans were right in treating them poorly? No idea.
Did Chris change into a leadership position? (Like some insects do when their queen is killed?) Who knows...
And why do I know all this from people talking about the movie, linking interviews, and I still haven't seen the film? (Broke atm)
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Since possession of alien weaponry is illegal, actually using the suit would have brought down the wrath of the MNU as well as other military forces. We saw that despite the advanced technology of the suit, it is not invulnerable to conventional weaponry.|
Originally Posted by Rookery.
One point I really didn't understand was why make a biomech suit which has all these cool ways of killing people and then offer to trade it in for a bunch of cat food, instead of just get in the mech suit and TAKE the cat food. Surely they knew they were being taken advantage of by the Nigerians.
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Better to give the weapon to someone you know can't use it, but will give you large quantities of narcotics in exchange.
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I'll just flat out admit there may be spoilers ahead.
I'll admit that I entered the movie knowing very little about it, other than the small factoid that Peter Jackson produced it, and let the erstwhile director of the stillborn Halo movie have free reign to tell a story.
Overall, I'd recommend this one. It's not quite an allegory about apartheid; nor is it quite a story about race relations. That commentary takes place almost entirely in the background: you do see scenes reminiscent of the outdoor ad campaign (signs proclaiming that certain buses are for humans only, among others), and in the simple inhuman behavior scattered throughout the film of both the humans and aliens. What the story is about, I'd think, is actually more of identity.
When we first meet the protagonist, the interviews with his friends and family give the impression of a simple, well-meaning but in-over-his-head middle manager tasked with a horrific duty: the relocation of a couple million alien refugees, with a facade of legality to allow the humans to at least try to sleep at night. Some things go wrong, mistakes are made, and then, at the end, we have a hero--at least, for the viewers and the faction in the story one is meant to side with.
The reason why it's about identity, though, is that every time our protagonist grows as a character, there's a very noticeable shift in the tone and type of movie: from a documentary-style film to the fugitive-style, ultimately culminating with the heroic and noble battle; not only that, but the viewer's outlook and sympathies towards the aliens shift very much in line with Wikus van de Merwe's--who, all along, retains his rather simple, well-meaning core in one form or another.
While it does shift a bit too much towards the standard action fare in its conclusion, the buildup is at least well-structured (unlike, say, Sunshine), so it's not as jarring; it does cause the film, however, to seemingly lose hold of a lot of other things it may have been meaning to say, and makes its previous, more subtle criticisms painfully, awkwardly blunt.
The visual effects are near-seamless; one thing that struck me, though, was how well this story would work as a graphic novel.
Anyway, it's worth seeing, if you've the time.