Directed by: Neill Blomkamp
The Skinny: Thirty years ago, an alien spaceship appeared in the skies above Johannesburg, South Africa. Now, the aimless, insect-like inhabitants live in ghetto slums outside the city. When a pencil-pushing bureaucrat (Sharlto Copley) is forced to go in and get the residents of "D9" to sign eviction papers, he stumbles into a hell of a lot more.
The Good: At the tail end of a summer filled with bloated disappointments (seriously, look at this year's crop of movie compared to even last year's. Did Hollywood blow its wad in '08 and had nothing left?) comes a left-field entry that just nails everything it's setting out to accomplish. Refreshingly not based on a comic book or TV series, District 9 is an original product that balances grit, humor, heart, gore, and "holy shitness" in equal measure. And like a lot of great sci-fi, it wears its social and political commentary on its sleeve. Newcomer Copley may not have been a professional actor before, but the dude should be now. This is like Aliens meets The Fly meets Scarface meets Blood Diamond meets Murray from Flight of the Conchords. And people asplode. Awesome stuff.
The Bad: Nitpickers ay find the wonky Africaans accent a bit daunting at times, but if you walk out of this movie not satisfied that you got what you signed up for, we'd be really surprised.
Prep Work: To catch a glimpse of what's in store, skip the theatrical trailer and instead watch Blomkamp's original short film "Alive in Joburg" upon which District 9 is based.
Arbitrary Critic Rating: I give this five Eberts.
