2009 August 17 « Entertainment Today and Beyond

DISTRICT 9 Review

district-9-pic 2 With District 9’s $37,000,000 opening weekend at the box-office a few things appear apparent. Good reviews still matter, people are looking for something a bit different at the movies and you don’t have to spend $150 million to make a very good film.

The one thing I recommend doing before you see this film is to not read extensive reviews or ask people what to expect because the real surprise of this film is that it’s not exactly what you think it might be. At least that was my reaction and the story really played out very much differently than what I expected – and I say that in a very good way.

Shot on a reported budget of just $30 million, first time director Neill Blomkamp gives the film both a documentary and real world look so everything feels very authentic. Mixing in news reports, interviews and handheld camera footage, Blomkamp’s film feels nothing like a Hollywood product. This film is interesting, well crafted, and intense with seamless special effects so well done that you never think for a second that the aliens are not real. In a summer of one bloated Hollywood movie after another District 9 is a refreshing change and something to really appreciate.

District 9-1 The movie opens up with the shot of a huge spacecraft over the sky in Johannesburg, South Africa. After a three month wait expecting the Aliens (eventually called Prawns) to emerge, the government cuts their way into the craft only to discover a dying breed of extraterrestrial. These strange creatures are then set up in a makeshift facility in South Africa called District 9 until the world’s nations can figure out what will become of them.

Over the span of these twenty years these aliens miss home, are discriminated against, are forced to live in horrendous over-crowded conditions and, like any desperate intelligent life-form, are reduced to acts of violence and criminal activity which results in the general populace losing patience with them. They become an unwanted underclass with no value in the eyes of humans on this planet.

Like any quality film this movie features a solid lead character that we can follow throughout. That character is Wikus Van Merwe (a terrific performance by newcomer Sharlto Copley) who is a hapless middle manager in a Johannesburg security corporation. Initially seen as a straightforward company man with a cold approach to his task at hand, Wilkus’ life takes a strange turn when something unusual happens to him when processing an eviction notice to one of the Prawns. This occurrence forces him to reevaluate the way he looks at these aliens and himself. It’s what gets him to that point that you do not want to know about going in (I’m not going to give this away). It really took me by surprise as there was nothing in the trailers about this event which puts Wilkus’ very interesting journey in motion.

While there is clearly a message about apartheid and other rights issues here (director Blomkamp was born and lived in South Africa for 20 years), the movie never tries to hit you over the head with it but, like all good science fiction, it gives much to mentally chew on. There’s also a subplot about an evil corporation that might be considered standard fare but really helps set up the third act where all the action kicks in. As for the special effects, they are terrific with CGI breaking new ground.

While the film has a very original feel to it, it does borrow ideas and concepts from David Cronenberg’s The Fly and James Cameron’s Aliens. At the end of the day, though, this is a refreshing change of pace and I’m quite sure we’ll be seeing District 10 down the road. It is a thoughtful character study of human nature and, as it turns out, alien nature, with a very believable sequence of cause and effect. Thank you Mr. Blomkamp for delivering intelligence back to the world of summer movies. 4.25 out of 5 Zombies

August 17, 2009 Posted by Entertainment Today & Beyond | Reviews | 1 Comment

The Time Traveler’s Wife Review

timetravelers wife This feature film adaptation of a best selling novel by Audrey Niffenegger reportedly had its fair share of production problems having undergone numerous re-shoots and release date changes before hitting the big screen this weekend. In many ways when the film started (sans any opening credits) it felt like I walked into the theater late as it almost seemed like the front section of the movie was hacked off in the editing room. I was a little bit confused right from the get go and that’s never a good thing when trying to get into a movie. A normal structure of a beginning, middle and end just felt out of whack here as I felt fairly detached from the story for the first 30 minutes or so.

As for the story, Eric Bana (Funny People) plays Henry, a guy who has a disorder that makes him disappear into thin air without his control, emerging into the past, present or future while leaving his clothes behind in a pile on the floor. As a boy, Henry (Alex Ferris) escaped death through time travel. His mother (Michelle Nolden), an opera singer, was not so fortunate; she died in the same automobile accident. Now Henry is a librarian who occasionally visits his father (Arliss Howard), a violin teacher.

time travelers wife 1 During one of his time travel episodes Henry meets the future love of his unusual life, Clare (Brooklynn Proulx), when she is a six-year-old. They talk and establish a bond, and then he mysteriously vanishes.Since he has no control over this ability there is no way to guarantee which version of himself will return; the same one who left or a younger or slightly older version of himself.

When grown up Clare (Rachel McAdams) shows up in his life, Henry is swept away by her enthusiasm. Since she has loved him since she was a young girl, Clare is used to his sudden disappearances. Once they eventually marry, they clash over whether or not to bring a child into the world with this bizarre genetic dysfunction known as Chrono-impairment. This is as deep this material gets.

Any juice the film has is supplied by the likebility of its leads, Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana. I have been championing McAdams ever since The NoteBook and feel she should be a household name at this point and blame her agent that she’s not. Her passing up the Pepper Potts role in Iron Man was a big career mistake and disappering from mainstream work for two years hasn’t helped her cause either. Actually I get the same feeling watching her as I did with Julia Roberts and Charlize Theron when they first stated to light up the big screen in films like Sleeping with the Enemy and Might Joe Young. Whatever it is that makes the camera love you she has in spades. As for Bana,while his character isn’t fleshed out all that well he makes the most of his screen time with his easy going manner.

Robert Schwentke (Flight Plan) directs this romantic drama in a fairly laid back fashion and its choppy pacing, especially in the film’s first half, doesn’t exactly overwhelm. It’s not until the last act that the movie hits its stride and you really start to care about this couple in love. The addition of their daughter when she’s ten years old also gives the story some needed spark. The film also relys on the gimmick of having Henry arrive in another time nude. It goes on a few times too many with him constantly stealing clothes when he reappears.

While I haven’t read the novel this film is based on, I understand the original story is pretty complex. This film’s screenplay by Bruce Joel Rubin (Ghost) is not. It’s a pretty straight forward effort without much surprise or depth and, especially at the story’s beginning, is quite confusing. While there was a few genunine moments of real emotion in “The Time Traveler’s Wife” there aren’t enough to make this anything other than a watchable OK film that will probably play better on cable than it does in a movie theater. I can only hope that McAdams eventually gets that one role that makes her the movie star she deserves to be. Unfortunetly The Time Traveler’s Wife isn’t it. 2.5 zombies out of 5

August 17, 2009 Posted by Entertainment Today & Beyond | Reviews | The Time Traveler’s Wife Review | Leave a Comment