District 9 - The movie.

Hollywood has been churning out abysmal movies one after another. Harry Potter, Transfomers 2, Terminator 2, etc. It's just more and more computer graphics, with less and less acting and storyline. But 'district 9' is a re-fresher. This is by far the best movie I've ever watched for the past 2 years at least. (although the 'movie' of the cow head protest and Dato Hishamuddin's defence of the 'cow herds' are quite interesting as well)

Although district 9 is produced in Hollywood, I guarantee you it ISN'T THE TYPICAL Hollywood sci-fi action movie. If you like transformers 2, where there's no plot, no story, no acting no nothing, but just loads of computer graphics (CG) and a lots of scenes showing megan fox's 'clashes of peaks' then THIS IS NOT FOR YOU. Go away! Shooo! But instead, if you are looking for a good movie - one with good acting, story line and a good blend of sci fi and action then PLEASE GO AND WATCH DISTRICT 9 NOW!

Don't be fooled by it's abysmal trailer and posters. The producer (Peter Jackson) probably did not have much funds for post-production promotions. Also, many of you, like me, may be put off by the 'cloverfield' or 'blair witch project' type of camera handling in this movie. But please don't, because this will only be a small part of the movie and the camera handling is much better compared to 'blair witch project' that the 'shaking' of the camera was just nice to create the effect of realism, not dizziness.

At the beginning of the movie, many may feel it was a let down because the colour of the movie is slightly 'dull' and not as colourful or vivid as the typical Hollywood movie. It gives the impression that this is a B grade movie. But there is a purpose in that - the director tries to make the movie like a documentary, with key witnesses and analyst recalling the key events that took place during the entire incident. From the animation of the aliens and, later, from the animation of the alien weapons you can see that the movie is capable of making excellent CG.

The story was adapted from a short movie about apartheid in the South Africa. In fact, there was a district 6 during the Apartheid days. And fittingly, this entire movie was shot in Johannesburg. Instead of about the segregation of whites and the blacks, this movie is about the segregation between the human race and the aliens. The aliens are refugees who are severely malnourished when they arrived in Earth. A district was setup for the aliens to camp on our planet and receive aid. But soon, this district was abandoned and turned into a slum. Just like humans, the aliens soon become victims of social problems in the district. But this, is just the beginning of the story...the real story begins when you found out that the aliens were intentionally prohibited from leaving Earth because someone wanted to get hold of their awesome alien weaponry. You will follow the story through a unlikely 'hero', Wikus, who is in charge of evicting the aliens to a new district. (Don't worry so far there's no spoiler. I haven't reveal anything beyond what is shown in the trailers.)

A good movie connects with the audience. In order to do that and to develop the story properly, the movie must lay down the complex background story and the make you understand the main characters of the movie in the shortest time possible. So the first 10 minutes is just the setting of the plot. But the plot slowly unravels in a very nice pace as the movie goes on. Have some patience, and I guarantee you that the movie is worth your time. The events that could be confusing at first, will make sense towards the end.

This is a very good movie, and I highly recommend it. Three thumbs up!