District 9

Among other things this weekend, including the sublime Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, I actually got to see a current film, this one being District 9, which is a parable of apartheid told with aliens in South Africa and also a fun action film. About 20 years ago some aliens showed up on our doorstep above Johannesburg. They landed, tried to make friends and got shoved into camps and ghettos and formed their own little community while the rest of the world just wants to be rid of them and Nigerians try to scam the hell out of them for cat food. On the day of evicting the residents of District 9 to move them to a different and worse land, the lead agent in the relocation, Wicus, gets sprayed with a strange fluid and suddenly the man who is trying to get rid of the aliens finds himself needing their help.

The film was based on a shorter film by the director, which got him noticed and funded to make this flick. I'm glad he did. It's an action film with a bit of a political subtext but full of thrills and alien weaponry that never overstays its welcome. It's interesting to watch as the lead starts to understand the creatures that everyone reviles and how he helps them in the end. The actors are good, though nobody I recognize, and I look forward to the dvd so I can understand what the hell the South Africans are saying--Wicus in particular--as they have some heavy accents.

The special effects are great and never detract from the film and the idea itself feels like a more fun and brutal Alien Nation, which also dealt with aliens looking for a new home, though they merge a bit better with our society thanks to James Caan. But I digress. District 9 is a fun film and really shouldn't be missed, a breath of fresh alien air on a scene that seems to be catering to bad vampire movies and remakes lately. Check it out.

Star Trek 2009

As we were on vacation, Jen and I thought it was only fair that we take in a movie while we had some time to ourselves. Of course this meant whatever was on the hotel network as we were pretty tired. I wanted Drag Me to Hell. We watched Star Trek instead, and it wasn't bad.

This film covers the story before and leading up to Kirk's captaincy of the Enterprise, spanning years as an enemy from the future shows up in the past looking for Kirk's oldest friend that he hasn't even met yet. Shit goes down, the Federation is in danger and one by one we meet the new versions of the classic series crew as they all team up to save the day and revitalize a sagging franchise, which they succeed in doing. The story is a little wonky at times but fairly solid and despite events in it, won't upset those who consider original films and series canon. The new cast is quite good, particularly Zachary Quinto as Spock, Karl Urban as McCoy and Simon Pegg as Scottie. That's not to say everyone else is nothing to shake a stick at, but those were my favorites. Kirk is played well by Chris Pine and Harold makes a great Sulu and Chekov and Uhura are good too. Even the villains are good at what they do and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves, save for Winona Ryder, who looks like she's scoping out something to steal.

I'm looking forward to the future adventures of this crew, as even with a two hour runtime, it felt like we needed more time with them all once everything go cracking. Well worth checking out on hotel tv or dvd or wherever you can see it. My only caveat is that Laura Hofferman made a better green alien than the one they have and I'll leave it at that.