Nuffnang District 9 Premiere Screening

Thanks to Nuffnang's District 9 blog kit... my review gets to seem more, ahem, "professional" ^^


The Synopsis:

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' awesome weaponry work. 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 (Sharlto Copley), 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.

Director Neill Blomkamp teams with producer Peter Jackson for this tale of extraterrestrial refugees stuck in contemporary South Africa. It's been 28 years since the aliens made first contact, but there was never any attack from the skies, nor any profound technological revelation capable of advancing our society. Instead, the aliens were treated as refugees. They were the last of their kind, and in order to accommodate them, the government of South Africa set up a makeshift home in District 9 as politicians and world leaders debated how to handle the situation. As the humans begin to grow wary of the unwelcome intruders, a private company called Multi-National United (MNU) is assigned the task of controlling the aliens. But MNU is less interested in the aliens' welfare than attempting to understand how their weaponry works. Should they manage to make that breakthrough, they will receive tremendous profits to fund their research.

Unfortunately, the highly advanced weaponry requires alien DNA in order to be activated. When MNU field operative Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) is exposed to biotechnology that causes his DNA to mutate, the tensions between the aliens and the humans intensifies. Wikus is the key to unlocking the alien's technology, and he quickly becomes the most wanted man on the planet. Ostracized and isolated, Wikus retreats to District 9 in a desperate bid to shake his dogged pursuers.


Honour Roll:

Directed by Neill Blomkamp

Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell

Produced by:

Peter Jackson

Carolynne Cunningham

Executive Producers:

Ken Kamins

Bill Block

Paul Hanson

Elliot Ferwerda

Cast:

Sharlto Copley

David James


Her Thoughts:

First of all... is District 9 a sci-fi, thriller, horror, social commentary or action flick? Personally, I think it fits into all of those categories XD

The presence of Aliens certainly qualify the movie as sci-fi, whilst the fast paced and somewhat violent storyline fits into the thriller/horror/action movie mold.

The surprise therefore would be the social commentary and pseudo-documentary part of District 9, which is also one of the highlights of the film and what sets it apart from others such as Cloverfield.

Whilst some viewers definitely found the camcording and documentary aspect of the movie confusing, it's an interesting screen technique that's rapidly gaining momentum.

Come on, admit it, we all love a good conspiracy theory... and District 9 cleverly plays on the audience's fascination and fear of the unknown, leaving us clinging to the seats and cringing at all the blood, gore and action that fills 3/4 of the movie.

Thus, word of advice: District 9 is not a date movie unless you're really sure your guy/gal likes gore, blood and profanity ;P

However, to quote a friend of mine: "It's produced by peter Jackson!". Err, right. That does automatically qualify the movie as a blockbuster classic eh.

Kudos though to first-time director Neil Blomkamp for a fascinating movie which would in the future probably provide many film scholars hours of "fun" analysing and dissecting the screen techniques and theories behind District 9.

Sharlto Copley is convincing as well as the stereotyped cowardly, corny, geeky Wikus van der Merwe (even the name is like wth >< ). His character is probably the only one that goes through much inner development as circumstances force him to become a fighter and rebel who wants only to return to the side of his beloved wife.


Tentalizing "shots":

Interesting? Wanna watch? :P

The Verdict:

If you're not adverse to...

:: blood
:: gore
:: Aliens/"prawns" * teehee* XD

... stop reading at this point and go book your tix to the show!

:D

District 9's the must catch sci-fi/pseudo-documentary flick of the year! ^^

The movie starts off slow and meandering but trust me, it's good and the pace picks up towards the latter half ;)

P/S: I love the ending ^^