District 9

polkablues · August 16, 2009, 08:39:22 PM

There's not much bad I can say about this movie. I'm not one of the bigger sci-fi fans in the world, but this was closer to Black Hawk Down than anything else. The special effects were nearly flawless; there was nothing flashy or fake about them, they simply seemed to exist in the same world as everything else. This to me is far more revolutionary than any of the cartoonish dreck that James Cameron has been slowly leaking. And to have made this movie for $30 million is astonishing. I can't wait to see what Neil Blomkamp does next (as long as it's not Halo).

hedwig · August 16, 2009, 08:42:44 PM

polka please explain your james cameron comment right now.

DISCLAIMER: i think i agree with you.

polkablues · August 16, 2009, 10:36:44 PM

link

This right here. This is not revolutionary, photo-real CGI. This is a man sitting in front of a cartoon. This is a big blue Roger Rabbit, minus the humor and heart, as done by a fleet of computers. This does not thrill me.

*admin-edit: linked cause page was gettin all wide 'n shit

Gamblour. · August 20, 2009, 10:54:26 PM

Now that the existential soul-searching of this board is over, I just want to reiterate: I LOVE THESE BOARDS.

Seriously, you mother fuckers, I sit down to write about how much I liked this film and EVERYONE here has plucked the thoughts straight out of my fucking head.

So I will piece together a review:

FANTASTIC. the lead guy who apparently has never acted before is BRILLIANT. his character is the heart of the movie and he absolutely carries it. very powerful performance. best performance in a while definitely. This to me is far more revolutionary than any of the cartoonish dreck that James Cameron has been slowly leaking. it was on the fence about whether it was a documentary (some scenes were obviously supposed to be but others were things we wouldn't have seen with a camera crew), but it had some neat twists that made it interesting. the lead actor is AMAZING, doubly. all the dialogue was improvised? flawless.

i would LOVE a sequel to this. i'd love a trilogy. it's not instantly a bad idea.

(thanks to polka, mod, and pic for quotes, I only change a few)

I will add that the gore in this is gut wrenching. My mouth was agape most of the film, I was surprised how ruthless it was, but loved. Really, truly fucking loved it.

brockly · August 23, 2009, 11:24:22 PM

i love when this happens - go see a movie i know nothing about by a director i've never heard of and being completely blown away. this was awesome! i can't believe it was made for only $30 mill!!?! fuck james cameron. fuck avatar. fuck hype. this movie fucked shit up.

socketlevel · August 23, 2009, 11:57:50 PM

saw it today, and wow what a great film. the sensibility is right where a lot of action flicks need to be.

the lead guy reminds me of spike jonze.

socketlevel · August 24, 2009, 12:03:57 AM

here is the original short film, might have been posted before, so mac might pwn me in a sec:

Pas · August 24, 2009, 08:31:23 AM

My two main problems with the story in this movie that I loooved.

1) How come it isn't the UN managing this thing instead of some ridiculous guy that reminded me of Bennett in Commando (the movie with Arnold). How come SOUTH AFRICA has absolute power and authority over such an important matter, you know? But that's not too bad.
2) Instead of selling their kickass Ironman armor for 100 cat food cans, why not get in it and blast all the nigerians to hell and take all the cat food.

RegularKarate · August 24, 2009, 01:06:10 PM

I finally got to see this and have to pile on the praise. What a great fucking movie.

Great escalation. Grounding you so that you accept the reality before the more formulaic stuff comes into play (and by the time it does, it's wanted). Pushing you to the point where the last 30 minutes are spent in complete awe.

The few weaknesses are so made up for that this thing is near perfect.

I think it's my favorite of the year so far.

Avatar has pretty much already lost.

socketlevel · August 25, 2009, 03:06:00 PM

Quote from: Pas Rap on August 24, 2009, 08:31:23 AM
My two main problems with the story in this movie that I loooved.

1) How come it isn't the UN managing this thing instead of some ridiculous guy that reminded me of Bennett in Commando (the movie with Arnold). How come SOUTH AFRICA has absolute power and authority over such an important matter, you know? But that's not too bad.
2) Instead of selling their kickass Ironman armor for 100 cat food cans, why not get in it and blast all the nigerians to hell and take all the cat food.

forget about the UN, America would make it their business to micromanage that entire organization even if they didn't have the authority to. with the weaponry and potential technological insight, you better believe it would be a nations war there. it wouldn't be disregarded as south africa's problem because America likes to see itself as the moral police, and opportunism.

diggler · August 25, 2009, 10:07:38 PM

reactions to this movie are so strange. when i went to see it everyone was leaving the theater beaming, talking about how it was "the best sci fi in a long time" and blah blah blah. then today i go into my office and a bunch of my co workers had seen it and were all talking about how it was one of the worst movies they had ever seen (to the point where they were laughing hysterically while discussing it). these are all intelligent people who generally have good taste in movies too. did i miss something? (i really liked it)

Pas · August 26, 2009, 01:21:20 AM

Quote from: ddiggler on August 25, 2009, 10:07:38 PM
reactions to this movie are so strange. when i went to see it everyone was leaving the theater beaming, talking about how it was "the best sci fi in a long time" and blah blah blah. then today i go into my office and a bunch of my co workers had seen it and were all talking about how it was one of the worst movies they had ever seen (to the point where they were laughing hysterically while discussing it). these are all intelligent people who generally have good taste in movies too. did i miss something? (i really liked it)

haha yeah I've had this too from a chick at work. She likes sci-fi etc so I advised her to see this and she comes back : ''what kind of crap did you make me see, was that a prank?''

I think some people don't like movies that have many genres in them, because people like to know what to expect. You will notice in movies tagged as ''comedies'' people will laugh at ANYTHING (like whatever the character does it will get laughs, even if it's sometimes very dramatic (see Punch Drunk Love)) and in ''dramas'' people will not laugh when the funniest shit is happening.

New Feeling · August 26, 2009, 01:41:54 AM

saw this tonight and thought it was a piece of shit.

it was interesting for a while but degenerated into the worst summer action nonsense. Wasn't ever for a moment close to being great..

RegularKarate · August 26, 2009, 12:33:21 PM

Quote from: New Feeling on August 26, 2009, 01:41:54 AM
the worst summer action nonsense

how so? I mean I know it got formulaic, but that's part of the charm of the movie. The way it's made you want it to head that direction and it earns that.

Also, have you SEEN a "summer action" movie lately? This is so anti-that.

Gamblour. · August 26, 2009, 01:09:50 PM

Quote from: RegularKarate on August 26, 2009, 12:33:21 PM
This is so anti-that.

Marquee.

Anyway, I've had a similar experience with people strangely not liking this movie. I know one guy who thought the aliens were silly-looking, and that is the exact opposite of what I thought. I guess people aren't used to drier comedy mixed with action, but I dunno. Hard to say.