District 9 (2009)

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Director:

Neill Blomkamp

Writers:

Neill Blomkamp (screenplay) &
Terri Tatchell (screenplay)

Release Date:

14 August 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

You are not welcome here.

Plot:

An extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly finds a kindred spirit in a government agent who is exposed to their biotechnology.

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Prawn | Government | Johannesburg South Africa | Refugee Camp

US Showtimes:

Culver Plaza Theatres

2:40pm | 7:30

(personalize)

Cast

Sharlto Copley	...	Wikus Van De Merwe
Jason Cope	...	Grey Bradnam - UKNR Chief Correspondent
Nathalie Boltt	...	Sarah Livingstone - Sociologist
Sylvaine Strike	...	Dr Katrina McKenzie
Elizabeth Mkandawie	...	Interviewee
John Sumner	...	Les Feldman - MIL Engineer
William Allen Young	...	Dirk Michaels
Greg Melvill-Smith	...	Interviewer
Nick Blake	...	Francois Moraneu - CIV Engineer Team
Morena Busa Sesatsa	...	Interviewee
Themba Nkosi	...	Interviewee
Mzwandile Nqoba	...	Interviewee
Barry Strydom	...	Interviewee
Jed Brophy	...	James Hope - Police Officer
Louis Minnaar	...	Piet Smit

MPAA:

Rated R for bloody violence and pervasive language.

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA | New Zealand

Language:

English | Nyanja | Afrikaans

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #45478) | UK:15 | New Zealand:R16 | Ireland:15A | Australia:MA (2009) | Australia:MA | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | South Korea:18 | Canada:18A (British Columbia) | Finland:K-15 | Singapore:M18 (cut) | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) (cut) | India:A | Germany:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Sweden:15 | Iceland:16 | Mexico:B15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Argentina:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 | Brazil:14

Filming Locations:

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

Company:

TriStar Pictures

Trivia:

Star Sharlto Copley had not acted before and had no intention of pursuing an acting career. He stumbled into the leading role as Neill Blomkamp placed him on-camera during the short film.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Everyone has modern mobile phones. However, the movie is not actually set in the 1980s. This is the date of the aliens' arrival. The events of the film are approximately 20+ years later, and on-screen date stamps put the movie explicitly in the year 2010.

Quotes:

Wikus Van De Merwe: [picks up to examine and fiddle with silver canister] Well, huh, this has got the markings of - so it's definitely alien but it's uh, not a weapon... but I don't trust it, ya know, I don't trust any-a the...
[sprayed in face with the Alien fuel]

Movie Connections:

References The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)

Soundtrack:

Zingu 7

The first science fiction masterpiece in years

I do not give out ratings of 10 lightly, but here it is - the first film in years that has been deserving of the rating.

Neill Blomkamp brings to screens a fantastic, gritty, realistic piece of science fiction with District 9. Not since Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner", John Carpenter's "The Thing", or James Cameron's "Aliens" have we seen a science fiction film with a vision of this caliber. After viewing District 9, it will be clear to one and all why Peter Jackson put so much faith in Blomkamp and took him under his wing as protégé.

Abandoning the usual settings of Hollywood sci-fi and placing us in the harsh slums of South Africa, we are given an original piece of work which takes risks in the way it tells its story. Not only does it go against the expectations of audiences who have been trained to expect mediocrity from their sci-fi, it goes above and beyond the call of duty to provide us with spectacle as well as something to ponder after we've downed our popcorn.

There is, thankfully not an overused, overexposed celebrity in sight, and every unknown face in the film gives a solid performance. The aliens themselves, brilliantly realized with top notch CGI even manage to make us feel something, only rivaled by Gollum from "Lord of the Rings".

District 9 has so much to like. It's spectacular, darkly funny, entertaining and thoughtful all at the same time, and it's all done on a meager $30m budget. There is true talent on show here. If only there were more films like this, the world of cinema would be a more interesting place.