Now I’ve got to admit, I can see why people like Blu-Ray …
You know how Saturday night’s is usually Movie Night is — usually — at my place?
Usually at my place … !!
Adrian, Allison and I actually all ended up at Kevin and Sarah’s, last night … !
And ended up watching — on Blu-Ray, as Kevin fancied showing off the capabilities of his PS3 — the Peter Jackson produced, Neill Blomkamp directed, South African indie that is District 9.
Which, despite it’s science fiction story, docu-drama format, is loosely based on the District 6 evictions in Apartheid era South Africa.
And, Blu-Ray* or otherwise, it’s a very impressive film.
One that sees the lead character, Wikus van de Merwe, played by Sharlto Copley, ordered into the District 9 of the film’s title.
The district is a slum area occupied by an alien speciesº who arrived some twenty years earlier as starving refugees.
Which is where it get’s … twisty …
Because, during the course of one eviction, Wikus gets exposed to a fluid.
Which slowly starts to cause some changes.
Which is well the well thought out background starts to kick in, because the aliens have access to all sorts of weaponry that only they can use.
You can imagine, can’t you … ?
°°°°°
So on the whole … ?
District 9 a good, well thought out, written and acted film.
And I think that I’m going to recommend that you catch it.
•••••
* Hmmm … Actually, for meself, the actual fact we watched District 9 in Blu-ray didn’t make too much difference, although the picture quality is definitely eye catching. Which probably makes it worth investing in, although not a big priority for me at the mo.
º Derogatorily nicknamed ‘prawns’.
Asides from the style, I liked the fact that it harked back to sci-fi films of the 80's. Granted it does borrow heavily from sci-fi from that era (satire and violence of Robocop, the storyline has similarities with Alien Nation), but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Think of it as a greatest hits package, if you will. The thing I'm most impressed with is that it's Neill Blomkamp's feature debut and Sharlto Copley had virtually no acting experience beforehand and they have created a quite believable sci-fi from an outlandish premise that has obviously been influenced by Apartheid era South Africa.
ReplyDeleteHere's the link for Blomkamp's original short, Alive In Joberg, that served as the basis for District 9.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNReejO7Zu8