Movie: District-9

[quote]eic wrote:
jtrinsey wrote:
eic wrote:
Anyone else notice that the overall quality of movies started to decline as Hollywood got more and more politically vocal? Wish they would STFU and go back to making some decent flicks.

I dunno man; just in the past year:

Dark Knight
Tropic Thunder
Pineapple Express
Vicky Christina
Hancock
Zach and Miri
Role Models
Quantum of Solace
Gran Torino
The Wrestler
7 Pounds
Valkyrie
Benjamin Button
The Unborn
Underworld 3
Taken
Watchmen
Last House on the Left
The Soloist
Star Trek
Angels and Demons
Terminator: Salvation
The Girlfriend Experience
Taking of Pelham 123
Transformers 2
District 9

All movies that to me ranged somewhere from decent to excellent. So in about 12 months, that’s 26 movies that were, in my opinion, worthy of a trip to the movies for. A few of these I didn’t see in theaters but there’s a few other ones that other people liked that I didn’t see yet, so it balances. Just take Dark Knight, Gran Torino, 7 Pounds, Taken, Watchmen, Angels and Demons and District 9. That’s 7 movies in the past year that the vast majority of people I know loved. So, essentially every two months you’re getting 3 decent movies plus one excellent one. I think that’s pretty good.

[/highjack]

You’re just proving my point. Our standards are so low now that “The Unborn,” “Zach and Miri,” “Hancock,” etc. are considered “decent” to “excellent.” We’ve become totally desensitized to absolute shit, so that anything with even a whiff of quality seems like the greatest thing ever.

From your list, the only movies that I would consider better than mediocre are:

Dark Knight
Gran Torino
The Wrestler
Valkyrie
Benjamin Button

Of those, only The Wrestler, Valkyrie, and Benjamin Button could be considered excellent. The rest of the movies you listed range from total garbage to “meh.” Think back to the 90s when they were churing out fewer movies, but of much higher quality: Pulp Fiction, The Big Lebowski, Falling Down, My Cousin Vinny, The Fugitive . . . Now those were movies! Today it’s all about special effects, shock factor, and putting in a big-name actor. Fucking ridiculous. [/quote]

seriously, you didn’t like Watchmen? that movie was fucking epic dude. waaaaaaay better than The Wrestler.

it was also the same length as Dark Knight, without the boring parts.

[quote]jtrinsey wrote:
I thought the movie was awesome. I thought the actor who played the main character did a great job. I think the point is that you aren’t supposed to really like him, he’s a little silly and he’s kind of forced into this immense role and is forced to grow up on the spot. Kind of like a more dynamic version of Prez from The Wire in some ways.

Very different from what I was expecting, but excellent nonetheless and I would have no problem seeing it again.[/quote]

The very very first thought I had when I saw the Main char was “Is that the guy from The Office?!” When I realized it wasn’t I knew he was gonna be a jerkoff cause he looks like the ‘standard middle management asshole’ so portrayed by that guy above.

[quote]eic wrote:
crod266 wrote:
eic wrote:
The commercials (and previews) made this look like one of the most retarded movies ever made. I may have to rethink after this thread, though there really isn’t much competition at the box office right now.

Anyone else notice that the overall quality of movies started to decline as Hollywood got more and more politically vocal? Wish they would STFU and go back to making some decent flicks.

what exactly do you mean by that?

That it seems like the quality of product from Hollywood is inversely proportional to the amount of vocal, political activity that Hollywood personalities are engaging in. With few exceptions, it seems like Hollywood went to complete shit circa 2002-2003. That’s not to say that some good movies haven’t come out since then, because they have. But there seems to be a lot more chaff and a lot less wheat, if you catch my drift. [/quote]

Maybe you need to stick to watching 70’s and 80’s movies only. I’m sure Police Academy part 3 will fulfill your needs.

[quote]jtrinsey wrote:
I thought the movie was awesome. I thought the actor who played the main character did a great job. I think the point is that you aren’t supposed to really like him, he’s a little silly and he’s kind of forced into this immense role and is forced to grow up on the spot. Kind of like a more dynamic version of Prez from The Wire in some ways.

Very different from what I was expecting, but excellent nonetheless and I would have no problem seeing it again.[/quote]

x2

[quote]jtrinsey wrote:
I thought the movie was awesome. I thought the actor who played the main character did a great job. I think the point is that you aren’t supposed to really like him, he’s a little silly and he’s kind of forced into this immense role and is forced to grow up on the spot. Kind of like a more dynamic version of Prez from The Wire in some ways.

Very different from what I was expecting, but excellent nonetheless and I would have no problem seeing it again.[/quote]

x2

District 9 is unlike any other movie Ive ever seen, completely new experience.

Highly recommended!

I watched it last night. The boyfriend dragged me, but I ended up liking it even more than he did.

Would have liked to know more about how the Prawns came to be in the state they were: ship barely functional, low mental function (most of them), cultural disorganization. Chris and his boy seemed to be the only ones with any sense of what the fuck was going on.

[quote]BluePfaltz wrote:
Go see it. Im no Ebert or whoever the fuck but it was was fucking awesome movie. REALLY good.

The main char is a bit of a douchebag whom really doesn’t grow on you by any means, but the effects are spectacular AND there is a fucking awesome story to back it up, something you don’t see in too many movies anymore.

Weapons = Pwnage.

Mechwarrior suit = Das Shit.

Interesting location too, really different alien movie in most every respect. [/quote]

Left after 20 minutes…stinkbomb. Went over to GI Joe, almost as bad…stinkbomb.

I will have to watch Shawshank Redemption or Inherit the Wind now, just to balance the books.

[quote]StonesAreFun wrote:
Would have liked to know more about how the Prawns came to be in the state they were: ship barely functional, low mental function (most of them), cultural disorganization. Chris and his boy seemed to be the only ones with any sense of what the fuck was going on. [/quote]

It briefly mentioned that the majority of the leadership was wiped out due to disease and that’s what messed most of them up. Didn’t really explain it too much though. Jackson seems to like the sequels, but I’m not sure there is going to be one here.

[quote]Headhunter wrote:
BluePfaltz wrote:
Go see it. Im no Ebert or whoever the fuck but it was was fucking awesome movie. REALLY good.

The main char is a bit of a douchebag whom really doesn’t grow on you by any means, but the effects are spectacular AND there is a fucking awesome story to back it up, something you don’t see in too many movies anymore.

Weapons = Pwnage.

Mechwarrior suit = Das Shit.

Interesting location too, really different alien movie in most every respect.

Left after 20 minutes…stinkbomb. Went over to GI Joe, almost as bad…stinkbomb.

I will have to watch Shawshank Redemption or Inherit the Wind now, just to balance the books.

[/quote]

Contrarybot is contrary.

What didn’t you like about it?

One of the best movies I’ve seen in the theater in a long time. Very different than a lot of the garbage that gets put out these days.

P.S. A lot of movies on that big list you made sucked donkey dick.

[quote]Headhunter wrote:

Left after 20 minutes…stinkbomb. Went over to GI Joe, almost as bad…stinkbomb.

I will have to watch Shawshank Redemption or Inherit the Wind now, just to balance the books.

[/quote]

I don’t see how you can leave after 20 minutes of a movie. I can understand like half way through, but you didn’t even give it a chance.

On another note, I liked the movie. I was struggling in the beginning with the documentary style because of the shaky camera. It was giving me a major headache so i had to keep looking away. The ending was pretty good.

I liked it. Disagree with what the OP said about the main character. I felt he was an awesome actor and did a good job with the documentary style script.

I would have liked more backstory, that which was presented was really fast and chopped through the documentary style way they shot it. By the time my dumbass was adjusted to the format I’d missed some of the story.

The main character played the douchebag role pretty well, just another mid level management tool thrust into a high profile position way over his head. There really wasn’t a point where I felt bad for the guy or found myself emotionally attached to his saga. But then again I didn’t really feel anything for the Prawns either, until the weapons test (those who’ve seen it will know what I mean.)

It was gross, dirty, grimy, and uncomfortable in a lot of ways. That yellow/green hue that occurs with too much sunlight and not enough contrast always makes me shift around in my chair much like the mexico scenes in Traffic.

That along with the security camera shots made me wonder why they didn’t want to make it easier to watch. But when you think back to it, it definitely helps move the story along. Like the security camera that overlooked the fast food place gave you an idea of where they were, as well as where they ended up when Christopher blew the hole in the wall to get into the parking garage. Cutting to the security cameras ended up being a cool tactic to keep it on pace.

I left the theater yesterday thinking “what the hell did I just see” But now that I’ve had time to consider it it’s really an interesting/compelling story. I don’t think anyone has taken the stance of “What if Aliens come here and they’re all messed up and become a thorn in our side” rather than another Alien domination story. I think the movie concluded by saying very brazenly that there will be a sequel and more to the story.

So, will I watch D-9 again? Probably not. Will I see the sequel? Yeah, definitely.

Enjoyed reading your guys reviews of this, I’ve been looking forward to seeing it and I’m definitely going to have to now.

[quote]StonesAreFun wrote:
Would have liked to know more about how the Prawns came to be in the state they were: ship barely functional, low mental function (most of them), cultural disorganization. Chris and his boy seemed to be the only ones with any sense of what the fuck was going on. [/quote]

If you look at the prawns with the mentality of a “hive” where there are very few leaders, a few skilled laborers (chris and his son and their buddy - and the ones making weapons), but with a majority of works / drones that really have no motivation unless given it by upper command it makes a lot more sense… It took me a while to catch on to that…

I really liked the way it ended up, it was not at all what I thought it would be and the parts with the nigerians eating kept making me laugh…

Also, mech suit FTW !!

I saw it Saturday night. I haven’t watched any television over the summer and had never heard of it. I felt like seeing a movie and my friend wanted to see it so I went in cold, with no expectations at all.

It was extraordinarily uncomfortable to watch and I loved it. I liked that the lead character is an idiot and a reluctant hero in the end. Most of humanity barely approach even that level of nobility. I suspect most people would fall closer in character to either the Nigerians or the mercenaries who kill because they can.

I think it was a good look at who we really are; barely a step above savages.

While I was watching the movie, I couldn’t help thinking how cool it would be to play as a first person shooter on xbox or something. Pretty sure that’s what Peter Jackson had in mind all along with this one. Just wait, a couple more months and there’ll be a District 9: The Beginning video game. Followed by the announcement of District 10. I’ll happily shell out $$$ for this franchise, though. Awesome movie. I recommend it to everyone.

One of the most original and engrossing films I’ve seen in years. I kind of hope they don’t make a sequel, if only to keep it apart from the current Hollywood sequel-churning machine.