District 9 Brilliant!

[Jaqhama]

Lin and I just finished watching District 9...what can I say?...brilliant movie on many levels.

I'm not going to write a synopsis that would just spoil it.

Just watch it.
The aliens are so realistic.
The lead character plays his part to perfection.

Best SF movie of 2009, without a doubt.

[John M. Whalen]

Thanks, Jaq. Just received my copy in the mail from Netflix. I'll check it out.

[John M. Whalen]

Shockingly original. Good entertainment, though I'm a captive audience with two feet of snow outside. Hope to dig out tomorrow.

[woundwort]

My wife and I watched it last week and were blown away by it. I had wanted to see it in the theater and never got the chance. The funny thing is, I really didn't know what it was about. I had an idea in my head that was mostly off the mark. Anyway, with all of the crap that gets produced nowadays, it was nice to see something that interested me the way movies did fifteen years ago.

[Jared Evers]

In one sense, I was disappointed with the movie. And that's only because it wasn't about what I thought it was going to be about. That's the fault of my own expectation, though, and not the movie itself. I would have preferred to see it go in a slightly different direction, but I'm absolutely pleased with the direction it DID go in. I think it was a brilliant decision to have the actors improvise most of their lines. The beginning of the movie, especially, felt incredibly authentic. I'll second the nomination for best SF movie of '09.

Oh, and I agree about the lead character. I think he was my favorite part of the whole thing.

[ScrewMoonshine]

Watched it a week or so ago and was similarly blown away. I honestly think in a few years we'll be calling this one of the great science fiction films of our time.

What really amazes me is how well they handled the documentary segments, and in particular the way they alternated between those and conventional storytelling. That could have easily felt like an artificial trick to dump info on the viewer. Instead, it all felt very natural. It actually makes me worry that filmmakers who don't understand how they made this technique work will emulate it.

Brilliant acting and incredibly realistic presentation, wrapped around a story that is thought-provoking without being preachy or sacrificing that key value of being entertaining and captivating. Really how a sci-fi movie should be done.

Robert Orme