District 9

Venue - GSC Tropicana City

Just for this year, think back to when was the last time you went to the movies and really felt awesome after it? For me there were only a few to pick from. I can’t say that movies this year have been terrible but expectations levels have just not reach its usual blistering high. Up next is a film by Neill Bloomkap and produced Peter Jackson entitled District 9 which tells the tale of an alien society stranded here on Earth.

Age. Sex. Location please.

The movie starts out with a mock documentary style and follows the life of Wikus van de Merwe who works at Multinational United (MNU), a private military contractor that police the aliens. He is in charge of the relocation of all the aliens (which they call prawns) in District 9. Basically these aliens have been stranded on earth for the last 20 years and now the citizens of Johannesburg (yup they are stuck in South Africa) want them out. He has to get all the aliens within District 9 to agree to move to the new refugee place by signing agreement forms on the relocation plan. However, not everything as you can guess goes to plan and Wikus gets a bit more than what he hoped for.

Guns don't kill people. Alien guns do.

When I first saw ads for this film, I have to admit that I wasn’t exactly sure if it was worth watching. There were a few promos here and there but everything seemed to be pointing to the likely event of this movie being on HBO in a few months time. Needless to say, I was dead wrong. This film is absolutely worth the watch! I might be a bit bias since I had zero expectations and emerged with high fives all around once the movie concluded but this movie is a catch. Okay so maybe when it first starts off, you get this eerie feeling that this might be leaning towards B-grade cheapo movie but the storyline is strong enough to keep you in tune straight till the end. I have to warn you that the strong point for this movie is the storyline and if you’re expecting wham bam ala Independence Day shoot-em-up then you will be deeply disappointed. The character development is also another factor to keep your taste bud going. I would like to give a special shoutout to Sharlto Copley who plays Wikus van de Merwe for some pretty kickass acting.

You thought your job sucks..

Also worth noting is that the film is inspired by historical events that took place in District Six, an inner-city residential area in Cape Town in South Africa under apartheid. In 1966, District 6 was declared a "whites only" area by the apartheid government and for the next several decades, 60,000 people were forcibly removed and relocated to Cape Flats, 25 kilometres away.

So on a final note guys, watch it. I have a feeling however that some girls might not really enjoy this film since its lacking any leading male (sorry no Ryan Reynolds here ladies) or even a feel good factor. Think this film will be a cult classic and should definitely be there with your other dvd collection.

Rating – 4/5 Stars

I would like to have – A Prawn Vindaloo