District 9 (Presented by Peter Jackson)

[GeneD]

Haha, poor aliens landed in SA, sucks for them. After watching the trailers, I'm actually pretty interested.

[ClosetOtaku]

Saw this Friday evening.

Overall, not the sort of thing you take kids or squeamish people to.

Otherwise, I think it is worth the price of admission. Certainly a film that can be understood on several levels.

[Cognitive Gear]

Saw it on Friday night. I really enjoyed this movie. It's been a long time since I've seen a movie that didn't hold the audiences hand and explain every last little thing to them, and this one reminded me of how good that can be when done right.

[xblack_x_rosesx]

Saw it Saturday morning.

I LOVED it. I haven't cried at a movie like that in a while.
Very unique. Very different. Exceptionally done.

Not for everyone though. I met up with my bf's stepdad outside the theatre, as I was going in, and he said he HATED it, NOT worth watching.
But I watched it anyway and adored it.

Worth watching. Definitely.

[JapanAni]

I've watched this movie this past weekend and honestly I didn't enjoy the movie. I went in thinking it would be a fantastic movie, but I feel that this movie has been hyped too much. There were some parts in the movie that made me want to look away a couple of times. not for the weak of heart.

[~darkelfgirl~]

I really want to see this movie. I saw the trailer a few months ago and was excited about the themes and concepts. Looks like it has something to think about, you know? ^^

I agree, for a movie that's making waves, there wasn't a lot of hype. I know my sister saw a billboard on the highway a few months ago similar to those signs. She was like, "Wuh?" =D

Haha, poor aliens landed in SA, sucks for them. After watching the trailers, I'm actually pretty interested.

...

[WhiteMage212]

Oh, I so want to see this movie, but With the rating saying "strong language", I'm not that sure if I will be able to watch it.

[Nate]

Saw this last night. First of all, I loved it. It was a great movie, done very well, and was really interesting overall. Now that I've established that, let me say everything I disliked about this movie because I like complaining.

First, I couldn't sympathize with the main character, and the way he was written was very contradictory. At the beginning we see him telling the military they're carrying too much live ammo, meaning he at least cares for these aliens somewhat. Then later he jokes and laughs about how the baby Prawns he's burning alive are popping like popcorn. Hold on movie, either he cares about the aliens or he doesn't care about them, you can't have it both ways. Because of this I found it really difficult to have anything but contempt for him.

They also missed the opportunity for the main character to have a life-changing moment about how Prawns live and how poorly they're treated, since now he basically has to live like one. And I'm sure that happens after the movie considering how it ended, but they didn't show it, which makes it difficult for me to care about him.

Second. I find it difficult, maybe even impossible to appreciate the message this movie is trying to send when they portrayed Nigerians the way they did. Okay, I admit. I don't live in Africa, so I've never really seen Nigerians. Maybe they ARE all violent cannibalistic criminals who act like thugs. I'm willing to admit that. But if they're NOT all like that then it's hard to take the movie's "Hey racism is bad and look at how people were treated historically just because of their race!" when they're stereotyping a group of people themselves.

Or maybe that was the point, that racism is so prevalent that it exists even in a movie decrying it? I have no idea but it was a bit distracting.

Finally, a part of the movie that really made no sense to me. I'll put it in spoilers.
[SPOILER]Wikas gets told by Christopher he won't be able to be cured for three years. Wikas is obviously very upset by this, and knocks Christopher unconscious, then gets in the ship.

Okay. HOW DID THIS MAKE ANYTHING RESEMBLING SENSE? First of all, Wikas has knocked out and possibly could have had killed the ONE PRAWN who could have helped him. In other words he very nearly lost the ability to be cured at all. Second, where was he planning to go in the ship? He wasn't cured, so he couldn't have been trying to go home, and if he'd gotten up to the mothership what would he have done? He didn't know how to fly it, he didn't know how to get to the alien homeworld, and he couldn't have been cured because he would have left behind the only one who could have done it.

You could chalk it up to him being irrational or upset but really I just can't wrap my head around this, especially when later he runs away from Christopher as they're about to kill him, and once AGAIN I'd like to point out this is the only Prawn that could have helped him, and his response is "Run away, let them kill it!" Yes, he DID eventually come back but if the antagonists in this movie hadn't pulled the "Let's talk too much and take too much time setting up the gun in just the right fashion before we shoot this guy to give ample time for us to be stopped" then his one ticket back to humanity would be dead.

All of that was basically my biggest complaint overall with the movie.[/SPOILER]
But again, I'd like to restate that I liked it a lot, thought it was a great movie, and definitely worth seeing. Definitely better than all the other summer "blockbusters" this year.

[Whitefang]

Haha, poor aliens landed in SA, sucks for them. After watching the trailers, I'm actually pretty interested.

Knowledge of South Africa's history would probably help. (It's called apartheid).

Nate, I agree 100%, that moment made 0 sense and I was angry for a while. A lot of the characters made decisions that made me angry, but I think that was the goal of the film.

[Nate]

Knowledge of South Africa's history would probably help. (It's called apartheid).

Consdering GeneD actually LIVES in South Africa I'd say she probably knows it better than most people here. :p

Oh yeah, I was reminded last night of another scene that made absolutely no sense...
[SPOILER]So the government decides they're going to harvest Wikas's body for parts, and to get his heart first. To do this they...strap him down onto a table while still conscious and try to cut open his chest, and of course he breaks free.

So...gee...hmm...WHY DIDN'T YOU TRANQUILIZE HIM? Give him some sleeping gas, give him a shot to knock him out, come ON. These are supposed to be medical professionals and they don't even render him unconscious before trying to cut him open? Even if they didn't know his new strength would allow him to break the restraints, they should have known "Gee, he's not exactly going to sit still while we cut him open, and he might accidentally cause us to damage the parts we want while he struggles."

Seriously, that was really REALLY stupid, there's no reason why they would have left him fully conscious while they were going to cut his heart out. And unlike Wikas's little fit where he knocks out Christopher, this can't be attributed to craziness or not thinking straight.[/SPOILER]
That is just absolutely poor writing that there is no excuse for, it's actually lowered my opinion of the movie slightly because it's really that bad. Still a good movie, but I'm really disappointed because I know they COULD have written it better but didn't for whatever reason.

Oh yeah, and where was the scene from the trailer where the one guy was talking to the alien asking how their weapons work and the alien said "We just want to go home"? That wasn't anywhere to be seen in the movie, I think that would've been a really interesting scene that would've added a lot.

[Fantasy Dreamer]

[SPOILER]So the government decides they're going to harvest Wikas's body for parts, and to get his heart first. To do this they...strap him down onto a table while still conscious and try to cut open his chest, and of course he breaks free.

So...gee...hmm...WHY DIDN'T YOU TRANQUILIZE HIM? Give him some sleeping gas, give him a shot to knock him out, come ON. These are supposed to be medical professionals and they don't even render him unconscious before trying to cut him open? Even if they didn't know his new strength would allow him to break the restraints, they should have known "Gee, he's not exactly going to sit still while we cut him open, and he might accidentally cause us to damage the parts we want while he struggles."

Seriously, that was really REALLY stupid, there's no reason why they would have left him fully conscious while they were going to cut his heart out. And unlike Wikas's little fit where he knocks out Christopher, this can't be attributed to craziness or not thinking straight.[/SPOILER]

Yes, but Nate, a little before that (before they decided to harvest his organs) when they were trying to 'help' him and figure out what exactly was happening to him, they said they were not going to administer pain meds or anything like that because they didn't know what kind of reaction it would have with the changes happening to his body. So, perhaps it was supposed to be implied and carried over as the same sort of things. Tranquilizers and gas could have done the same unknown reaction on him that they were afraid of.

Just a thought... but anyway, my mom and I saw it last night and it was very interesting. Aside from the unnecessarily excessive use of the "F" bomb, the plot was intriguing, and I found myself disgusted with the humans and rooting for the aliens (Christopher in particular). However, it was different from what I expected... in a good way I guess.

[Nate]

Yes, but Nate, a little before that (before they decided to harvest his organs) when they were trying to 'help' him and figure out what exactly was happening to him, they said they were not going to administer pain meds or anything like that because they didn't know what kind of reaction it would have with the changes happening to his body. So, perhaps it was supposed to be implied and carried over as the same sort of things. Tranquilizers and gas could have done the same unknown reaction on him that they were afraid of.

Okay but then that makes even LESS sense. So then why didn't they just kill him?

They were about to cut out his heart. It was going to kill him anyway, and they should have known he would struggle if he wasn't sedated or dead. If he was struggling too much they might have accidentally cut his heart in the struggle and damaged other key body parts they wanted.

If they wanted the body parts "fresh" they could have just slit his throat or something two seconds before they cut out his heart. The difference in his being dead for a minute before cutting out his heart would be absolutely none.

So that scene doesn't make sense either way. They should have killed or sedated Wikas, but they didn't.

Again, like I said, this movie was so good that for the hand-waving to be this absolutely massively noticeable is really shameful, the excuse "It's just a movie" only goes so far. Aliens living with humans? I can believe that, but not sedating or killing a specimen to harvest his organs, that's too far beyond the suspension of disbelief.

[Whitefang]

Consdering GeneD actually LIVES in South Africa I'd say she probably knows it better than most people here. :p

Ah. I didn't read that properly, then. Stupid internets. Sorry GeneD.

[Fantasy Dreamer]

Okay but then that makes even LESS sense. So then why didn't they just kill him?

They were about to cut out his heart. It was going to kill him anyway, and they should have known he would struggle if he wasn't sedated or dead. If he was struggling too much they might have accidentally cut his heart in the struggle and damaged other key body parts they wanted.

If they wanted the body parts "fresh" they could have just slit his throat or something two seconds before they cut out his heart. The difference in his being dead for a minute before cutting out his heart would be absolutely none.

So that scene doesn't make sense either way. They should have killed or sedated Wikas, but they didn't.

Again, like I said, this movie was so good that for the hand-waving to be this absolutely massively noticeable is really shameful, the excuse "It's just a movie" only goes so far. Aliens living with humans? I can believe that, but not sedating or killing a specimen to harvest his organs, that's too far beyond the suspension of disbelief.

XD Nate, you're just impossible! But you do have a good point. They should have known he wasn't just going to lay down and die/let them kill him for 'research sake'. Especially since he loved his wife and in his opinion had so much to live for.

Still, it was a good movie...

[~darkelfgirl~]

I thought it was a great movie too (saw it today). Yeh, there were the frequent f-bombs. And some parts were strangely amusing--awkward because these scenes weren't supposed to be funny. And there is gore--not excruciatingly specific, but it's there. I think the 'fingernails' part got me.

Yet still during the movie, the negative side of human nature tends to slip in. You feel sympathetic towards the 'Prawns', but you're still grossed out by their appearance and eating habits.

And I do agree with the Nigerians thought (and the plot 'whats?' you mentioned), Nate. That was pretty contradictory with the idea they were trying to present. I thought that it may be due to perspective, but I'm still uneasy.

But overall, it was great.

[GeneD]

Consdering GeneD actually LIVES in South Africa I'd say she probably knows it better than most people here. :p

The above means that 1. I'm allowed to rip and 2. it did, in fact, suck for them. XD

Seriously though, I'm going to see this next week and am super, super stoked!

[~darkelfgirl~]

The above means that 1. I'm allowed to rip and 2. it did, in fact, suck for them. XD

Seriously though, I'm going to see this next week and am super, super stoked!

Good thing! I was about to give you an e-smack xD!


My Nigerian buddy saw it and she is excited about the whole thing, hehe. So I'm guessing that it isn't really insulting by her reaction, but then again, that's just one person's reaction.

I wonder if there will be a sequel (prays that if there is, it will be equally or greater awesome than this one). That was kind of a 'to-be-continued' ending, don't you think?

[GeneD]

So while I doubt they’ll be half as insightful as I would like them to be, these are my thoughts on District 9, which I saw today. I must say I enjoyed the first part of the film the most (even though some of the more disturbing scenes are situated here) mainly due to the local flavour that comes through for me. I did not enjoy the graphic nature of the violence and felt that to the end there somebody fired the writers and the dialog dissolves almost completely into very bad language. That said, I think the movie is pretty realistic, both is the fact that it looks real and that if aliens ever came to Earth under the given conditions I wouldn’t be surprised if things go down the same way as what’s shown in the movie.

First, I couldn't sympathize with the main character, and the way he was written was very contradictory. At the beginning we see him telling the military they're carrying too much live ammo, meaning he at least cares for these aliens somewhat. Then later he jokes and laughs about how the baby Prawns he's burning alive are popping like popcorn. Hold on movie, either he cares about the aliens or he doesn't care about them, you can't have it both ways. Because of this I found it really difficult to have anything but contempt for him.

While I was rooting for the aliens more than the humans, I sort of equate Wikus' attitude to the following type of thing]Oh yeah, I was reminded last night of another scene that made absolutely no sense...
[SPOILER]So the government decides they're going to harvest Wikas's body for parts, and to get his heart first. To do this they...strap him down onto a table while still conscious and try to cut open his chest, and of course he breaks free.

So...gee...hmm...WHY DIDN'T YOU TRANQUILIZE HIM? Give him some sleeping gas, give him a shot to knock him out, come ON. These are supposed to be medical professionals and they don't even render him unconscious before trying to cut him open? Even if they didn't know his new strength would allow him to break the restraints, they should have known "Gee, he's not exactly going to sit still while we cut him open, and he might accidentally cause us to damage the parts we want while he struggles."

Seriously, that was really REALLY stupid, there's no reason why they would have left him fully conscious while they were going to cut his heart out. And unlike Wikas's little fit where he knocks out Christopher, this can't be attributed to craziness or not thinking straight.[/SPOILER]
That is just absolutely poor writing that there is no excuse for, it's actually lowered my opinion of the movie slightly because it's really that bad. Still a good movie, but I'm really disappointed because I know they COULD have written it better but didn't for whatever reason.
[/QUOTE]

This also confused me. I believe they were trying to get a gas mask on him, but it would have been more logical to sedate him properly beforehand, I mean, they don't even have to be close to him if my use a tranquilizer dart or something. This part of the movie also seemed pretty rushed to me and maybe they just wanted to do anything, plausible or not, to get Wikus on his journey as a fugitive as quickly as possible.

For those that don't know, the preposterous (and kinda funny) naming of the alien Christopher Johnson also alludes to the giving of so called "Christian" names to mostly black South Africans during apartheid.

Lastly, his son was cute and I don't really think they should make a sequel. I think the ending was fine (better than I thought it would be) and don't see how it could be as thought provoking anyway.

[Radical Dreamer]

Lastly, his son was cute and I don't really think they should make a sequel. I think the ending was fine (better than I thought it would be) and don't see how it could be as thought provoking anyway.

This. All of it. Firstly because YES I thought his son was adorableeee, and secondly because making a sequel to this movie would turn it into "just another Hollywood gimmick," which would be ridiculous. I think the ending was meant to be vague, and making a sequel would...just...not be a very good idea. XD

[Mister Frodo]

First, I couldn't sympathize with the main character, and the way he was written was very contradictory. At the beginning we see him telling the military they're carrying too much live ammo, meaning he at least cares for these aliens somewhat. Then later he jokes and laughs about how the baby Prawns he's burning alive are popping like popcorn. Hold on movie, either he cares about the aliens or he doesn't care about them, you can't have it both ways. Because of this I found it really difficult to have anything but contempt for him.

I didn't see him as contradictory. I thought that his telling the military that they're bringing too much ammo was more of him trying to be a stickler to the rules (which seems to fit with his character) and not him caring for the aliens. Obviously, he didn't care for them much, considering his attitude and actions toward them during the entire eviction sequence. I did sympathize with him at the beginning of the film, though as the eviction went on, I found him liking him less and less (which I think was intentional). Still, overall I liked his character, and I thought the actor did a great job capturing the fact that he was really just a guy in way over his head.

As for my personal opinion of the film, I thought it was awesome, though definitely gross in parts. I'm really impressed with Neill Blomkamp's direction, though I'm iffy on the idea of a sequel. The fairly ambiguous ending is probably the best way to leave it. At the same time, it amazes me that apparently District 9 was made for $30 million, while Transformers 2 cost $250 million. (Not sure if those numbers are fact, but I think it's in that ballpark.) I mean, you could make eight District 9's for the cost of Transformers 2. Obviously, there is something wrong with that.

However, I did have a complaint about the film:

[spoiler] Why exactly couldn't Christopher just take Wikus with him to the mothership? I mean, he says he'll come back in three years, but... why can't he just take Wikus with him on the ship and "fix" him there, and then head back to his planet? Maybe humans can't survive the space travel to the alien planet? Now, I understand that Christopher wanted to get back to his planet as soon as possible after seeing the experiments MNU was doing, and I also understand that the ending was about Wikus sacrificing his chance at being human in order to save Christopher, but... still, that didn't really make sense to me. I might just be misunderstanding all of this.[/spoiler]

[Cap'n Nick]

Also, real human beings are never contradictory.

[~darkelfgirl~]

EDIT (for the sake of not double-posting):

If your thoughts weren't provoked, you probably need to look into the film a bit more ...

[spoiler]So the government decides they're going to harvest Wikas's body for parts, and to get his heart first. To do this they...strap him down onto a table while still conscious and try to cut open his chest, and of course he breaks free.

So...gee...hmm...WHY DIDN'T YOU TRANQUILIZE HIM? Give him some sleeping gas, give him a shot to knock him out, come ON. These are supposed to be medical professionals and they don't even render him unconscious before trying to cut him open? Even if they didn't know his new strength would allow him to break the restraints, they should have known "Gee, he's not exactly going to sit still while we cut him open, and he might accidentally cause us to damage the parts we want while he struggles."

Seriously, that was really REALLY stupid, there's no reason why they would have left him fully conscious while they were going to cut his heart out. And unlike Wikas's little fit where he knocks out Christopher, this can't be attributed to craziness or not thinking straight. [/spoiler]

That is just absolutely poor writing that there is no excuse for, it's actually lowered my opinion of the movie slightly because it's really that bad. Still a good movie, but I'm really disappointed because I know they COULD have written it better but didn't for whatever reason.

My friend and I just had a discussion about this (she's also Nigerian ]

Lastly, his son was cute and I don't really think they should make a sequel. I think the ending was fine (better than I thought it would be) and don't see how it could be as thought provoking anyway.[/quote]

*shrug* A cliff-hanger close is great in itself, since it leaves speculation (well, if you are an analytical person like myself. I like analyzing films).

At the same time, it amazes me that apparently District 9 was made for $30 million, while Transformers 2 cost $250 million. (Not sure if those numbers are fact, but I think it's in that ballpark.) I mean, you could make eight District 9's for the cost of Transformers 2. Obviously, there is something wrong with that.

I know ...

[GrubbTheFragger]

This is most likely my movie of the year