District 9 (2009)

20101031:
This movie starts slowly and introduces the events in the style of a documentary and found footage.

Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley) prepares to chop off his arm.

The design of the aliens, known by the humans as "Prawns," immediately captured my interest. When the movie begins to move away from the documentary-style presentation, I began to take more interest. In particular, I enjoyed the action sequences.

In regards to the ending, while I wouldn't have minded a vague ending, one in which we don't exactly know the fate of the protagonist, I was unsatisfied with the way the movie ended.

Overall, it was a great movie.

Comparison:
Personally, I like both Avatar (2009) and Star Trek (2009) better than District 9.

Christopher Johnson (Jason Cope)

Star Trek has more action than District 9. Avatar, though has about as much action has District 9, has a lot more going on and has an epic battle scene. Coincidentally, all three movies were released in 2009 (I didn't realize until after comparing them).

[20101031 Assumed Post Date][20181221 Edit]

---

20181221, 20181223:
Watching the movie again today, I felt differently about the beginning of the movie than implied by my notes above. I suppose, however, that I benefited from knowing the protagonist's fate, and was able to enjoy the movie from the beginning. In particular, I paid attention to his personality and attitudes at the start of the film, noticed how he got infected (30 minute mark), and was keen on the intensity and suspense surrounding his transformation (especially 31 to 37 minute mark) .

For years, a "Prawn" spaceship hovers above Johannesburg, South Africa.

Overall, District 9 is a better movie than I led myself to believe from my notes alone.

Netflix determined the movie for me as a 98% match. I decided to give the movie neither a thumbs up nor a thumbs down.

---

Instant Comments:
2a: Lol. Why would he be so stupid to play around with it. [Although this essentially goes back to earlier where he advised the new guy not to wear a mask.]
2a: This scene where he tugs at his fingernails... My mind flashes to similar scenes in other movies: Black Swan and Ex Machina.
2a: I paused the movie at the 37 minute mark.
2b: Wow. Their treatment of him and of "Prawns" is terrible. In particular, I feel like their experiments should have concluded with shooting dead carcasses. Why was it necessary to have Wikus shoot a "Prawn"?

Wikus is captured and put under a series of experiments, including usage of proprietary "Prawn" weaponry.

2b: Hehe. This guy's phone.
2b: It's a little silly. Their inability to track him seems laughable.
2b: Yikes. A finger.
2b: "I thought you said not to kill anyone." "He shot at me."
2b: That car just has a key in it? Lol.
2b: Huh. I don't remember this part. (Wikus knocks Christopher out and gets shot down)
2b: I feel like Christopher should have told a white lie.
2b: I wonder why Wikus didn't fight back earlier.
2b: Nice catch.
2a=20181221, 2b=20181223

Wikus, inside a "Prawn" mech suit, looks over to his right at the spaceship in the sky.

---

Watched 20101031 (Netflix, Instant)
Watched the first third 20181221 (Netflix, Instant)
Watched the remaining two-thirds 20181223 (Netflix, Instant)
District 9 (2009) Neill Blomkamp. 112 min. [adapted from the short film Alive in Joburg (2005) by Neill Blomkamp]

Relevant Links:
District 9 (IMDb.com)
District 9 (Wikipedia.org)
District 9 (RottenTomatoes.com)

---

HISHE (How It Should Have Ended):

[20111021]