I Wonder Where The First Eight Districts Are

Believe it or not, I went out to the movies this afternoon. At this rate, I might as well make this the "Sutton at the Movies" blog. But anyway, I headed out early this afternoon to check out District 9, the new science fiction movie produced by Peter Jackson. I don't want to go too much into detail about the movie out of fear of spoiling anything, but District 9 felt like an art house movie if it had a 30 million dollar budget and played in mainstream theaters. It's a different kind of movie, but what makes it different is part of what makes it so darn good.

When you see a movie about aliens arriving on Earth, they're here to either conquer or offer peace. But District 9's are stuck here and want to go home, and end up being the victim of anti-alien racism. It's kinda like that movie Alien Nation if it were set in South Africa. It's almost refreshing to see a movie about extraterrestrial visitors that doesn't really follow the usual tropes. The hybrid of pseudo-documentary style and traditional filmmaking used by director Neill Blomkamp is really neat (though it can take a little time to get used to), and I thought that lead actor Sharlo Copley put forth a very good performance. The only really negative aspects of the movie that I could find are that Copley's character comes off as being unsympathetic at times, and that the ending could have been a little tighter.

But other than that, I really enjoyed District 9. It was a brave movie in an era where it's easy to let science fiction be driven by effects and action. And personally, I'd almost be willing to call it something of a successor to David Cronenberg's remake of The Fly. My final score: three and a half stars out of five, and a thumbs up. Go check it out, folks.