District 9 Review

District 9: Once in a great while a movie comes around that is so original and so different, that it is hard to categorize. District 9 is one of those movies. It breathes much needed fresh air into the Sci-Fi/Alien genre. The movie opens with a documentary type of feel, with many experts from various fields catching us up on what has transpired over the past two decades. Twenty years ago a huge alien spacecraft came to a haulting stop hovering over the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. Instead of the typical "destroy the earth" scenario, the ship just hovered there with absolutely no activity taking place. Three months went by and finally humans decided to cut into the ship to see if they could make contact. What they discovered on the inoperable ship was a million malnourished and sick aliens. They decided to bring the aliens down to Earth and put them into a militarized camp named District 9. From here the film uses the unusual scenario to comment on everything from racism, slavery, concentration camps, slums, military experiments, and so forth. Our main character is a man by the name of Wikus who is in charge of moving the now 1.8 million aliens (known as prawns) to a new camp located outside of the city. This is thought to help clean up the city from all the crime happening in and around District 9. While Wikus is inside the District he becomes exposed to an alien fluid which changes his DNA. It was so refreshing to sit in the theater and have no idea where the story was going to lead. I will say there is plenty of action, some disgusting moments, and even a love story thrown in as the movie reaches its climax. As for the look of the film - the prawns look very realistic as does their interaction within the environment. It only takes about 20 minutes to get past the weird aspect of aliens and humans living together. It then becomes "Harry and the Hendersons" believable. The end result is a very original and a very entertaining film. In fact, it is one of the best Sci-Fi films that I have seen in a long time!!

Ry's Rating B +

If this movie had parents they would be: E.T. & Amistad

With a runtime of 111 minutes

This film is rated R

In The Loop

In The Loop: A very witty, satirical comedy about the politics between the U.S. and Britain leading up to the Iraq war. The best way to sum up the style of the movie is to imagine a political satire filmed like the television show The Office. The funny business begins when Simon Foster, British Secretary of State for International Development is interviewed on a prime-time newscast. Although he is anti-war, he accidentally gives the impression that he is pro-war by stating that "war is unforeseeable". This draws the attention of Britain's foul-mouthed Communications Chief, Malcolm Tucker who ridicules Simon for such a statement. Meanwhile, a few American politicians take an interest in Simon for his outward statement which buys Simon and his new aide tickets to Washington D.C. to further discuss the matter. While in America, they meet politicians who are for and against the war, their young ladder climbing aides, and even a General (James Gandolfini) who opposes the idea of going to war. The film's clever writing reduces the important issues at hand into immature silliness, all the while making a very loud statement. If you like witty humor, hysterical one liners, and political goofiness with a flavor of The Office, check this one out because it has it all!
Ry's Rating B+

If this movie had parents they would be: Dr. Strangleove & The Office

With a runtime of 104 minutes

This film is rated R

Harry Potter 6

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: This is the darkest, most mature Potter film that we have ever seen. At the same time it also manages to be the funniest film of the series. The gang is back for their sixth year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry - all of them another year older, all of them entering adolescence. The innocent feelings of first love supply a lot of the humor. More importantly, these feelings cast an emotional shadow on the characters that was not prevalent in the past. This helps us relate to them on a new level. Each Potter film seems to hit the jackpot when it comes to introducing a new character to the series. Professor Slughorn played by the brilliant Jim Broadbent is no exception. In fact, I would say he steals the screen for the first two-thirds of the movie. The special effects that bring this magical world to life are done so effortlessly, that in a way, you don't even notice them. From start to finish, the movie is just beautiful to look at. The one thing that hinders this chapter is that the storyline is primarily used to "set-up" the final film. Although Harry, Ron, and Hermione spend plenty of time together, the final quest of the movie detours from the series theme of "teamwork" and focuses only on Harry (and Dumbledore). This final quest also seemed to just pop-up and did not relate enough to the rest of the movie. Ultimately, the film does succeed with its goal - anticipation for movie # 7 - I can't wait!!!

Ry's Rating: B

If this movie had parents they would be: The Empire Strikes Back & Harry Potter 1-5

With a runtime of 156 minutes

This film is rated PG

Public Enemies: Johnny Depp and Christian Bale star in the cool looking, not-so-interesting story of John Dillinger. The casting of Depp as Dillinger is perfect. He brought a flamboyancy to the character that must have been present in Dillinger himself, thus leading to his legendary status. I also really appreciated Bale's performance as Melvin Purvis the FBI agent who was in charge of hunting down John Dillinger. The downside of the movie is the rather weak story. For being one of the most famous bank robbers of all time, Dillinger's life was a rather bore. The film tries hard, but fails to get the audience to care about his relationship with his girlfriend Billie (played by Marion Cotillard). This is supposed to be the emotional side of the story, but I don't think they gave us enough reason to care about either character. The film is brought to us from acclaimed director Michael Mann (Heat, Miami Vice) - this ensures us of one thing.....some awesome looking shootout scenes. I like gunfire on the silver screen as much as anyone, but these scenes came to us with no suspense and seemed to go on for too long. I wanted to be so engaged with the movie that when I walked out of the theater I would be afraid of being shot just like Dillinger was. Instead, I walked out of the theater feeling like I was robbed.
Ry's Rating = C+

If this movie had parents they would be: Road to Perdition & Wisdom

With a runtime of 132 minutes

This film is rated PG-13