DISTRICT 9 Review
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.
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
The Time Traveler’s Wife Review
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.
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
POLTERGEIST remake gets release date
Shock Till You Drop is reporting that the remake of Tobe Hooper’s classic 1982 film, Poltergeist, has set a release date of November 24th, 2010, Thanksgiving weekend. Although there hasn’t been a casting announcement yet, it’s now evident that MGM is clearly moving forward with this ill-conceived project.
I concur with Jeff Goldblum’s character in Jurassic Park 2 when he uttered the line “This is the worst idea in the long sad history of bad ideas”. Poltergeist is just one of those pitch perfect films that doesn’t need a remake or even a re-imagine in any way, shape, or form. While I’ve never been opposed to the idea of remakes, and am a big fan of Zach Snyder’s re-imagining of Dawn of the Dead and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, this is just one of those films that cannot be done any better. I also don’t think you can veer off its core story and re-imagine it in any effective manner. It’s just not that type of concept.
The original Poltergeist was directed by Hooper and co-written, produced and overseen by Steven Spielberg. Many claim Spielberg actually took over the directorial reins from Hooper somewhere during the production. Amazingly Poltergeist came out a week before Spielberg’s E.T. hit theaters that summer.
The original film is about a family who are haunted in their own home. They are unaware that the Indian burial ground originally on their land was not moved and are attacked by ghosts that end up “kidnapping” the young daughter of the family. The film starred Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams and the late Heather O’Rourke (Carol Anne Freeling). It also featured a terrific score by Jerry Goldsmith. Poltergeist spawned two lesser quality sequels. While watchable they never equaled the greatness of the original.
Vadim Perelman (House of Sand and Fog) has already been tapped to direct the remake with Juliet Snowden and Stiles White (Boogeyman, Knowing) reportedly on-board to write the screenplay.
G.I Joe Rise of the Cobra Review
There’s little doubt that G.I Joe Rise of the Cobra has been one of the biggest stories in the industry this year. Very few films I can remember have had the type of cancerous pre-release buzz as this one. It’s evident that certain people went out of their way trying to sabotage the film before even seeing it as rumors were rampant that director Stephen Sommers (The Mummy) and the studio fought over creative control a few months before the movies release. Amazingly Paramount has survived, at least so far, as the film took in $100 million in its first weekend at the box-office worldwide.
While reaction is all over the board I must say I enjoyed it. It had a sense of fun that Michael Bay’s Transformer’s sequel did not. While it’s somewhat over the top I dug the action sequences and liked most of the cast.
The basic plot is simple. An elite group of military men and women known as G.I Joes band together to save the world from the baddest elements on earth. The film has an array of characters, many of them very appealing. I particularly enjoyed Sienna Miller (Factory Girl) as Baroness. She seemed to be having a blast doing the bad girl thing and she literally lights up the screen with her good looks. I was surprised how much I liked her here. Rachel Nichols does a good job as Scarlett and her fight sequence with Miller’s character is one of the movie’s highlights. While the jury’s still out on her overall acting ability, she has a unique presence and is very likeable. I must admit I’ve been a fan ever since seeing her in the horror film P2. Marlon Wayons is solid as 
Ripcord, giving the film an injection of humor. He’s very comfortable here and clearly in on the fun. Ray Park (The Phantom Menace) is terrific as the silent but deadly Snake Eyes and Dennis Quaid brings a solid presence as General Hawk. While I won’t give away Joseph Gordon Levitt’s (500 Days of Summer) storyline I really enjoyed him in this film, even when his character totally goes over the top in the films last act. Channing Tatum (Fighting) playing Duke, who is technically the film’s lead, is pretty stiff but for what is required of him he fits in fine.
Overall G.I Joe Rise of the Cobra is well paced and the flashback scenes that are used to give backstory really helped flesh out character motivations and are well placed and executed. While I’m not always a big fan of flashbacks they really worked well in telling the story. The extended action sequence where the good guys are on the trail of the bad guys as they try to stop a major terrorist havoc on the Eiffel Tower is well done and exciting. This is the sequence shown in the first trailer that has Duke and Ripcord in their accelerator suits jumping over cars and crashing through buses. While it did look cheesy in that trailer, in plays pretty well in the context of the overall film and is really is a lot of fun to watch. I honestly can’t say how this film will hold up upon repeat viewings but I had a good time watching it. The movie also sets itself up nicely for a sequel, which the studio has already announced is being developed. 3.5 zombies out of 5.
ZOMBIELAND red band trailer
It appears that the zombie movie will never truly die. If Zombieland is half as good as this great trailer it appears the dead shall walk the earth for many years to come at the movies. While I’ll always feel that George Romero’s first three Living Dead movies (Night, Dawn and Day of the) are the pinnacle of this genre, there have been others that I consider fantastic such as Return of the Living Dead, Shaun of the Dead and Zach Synder’s terrific re-imagining of Dawn of the Dead which I would love to see a sequel to. If you like this genre it’s hard not to get excited about Zombieland. Take a LOOK
REST IN PEACE JOHN HUGHES
As both a director and producer John Hughes body of work was pretty legendary in the 80s. The voice of that generation, his film’s included Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Weird Science, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Pretty in Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful, National Lampoon’s Vacation, The Great Outdoors, Mr. Mom and mega blockbuster Home Alone in 1990.
My personal favorites are Weird Science (what a crazy premise), Some Kind of Wonderful (loved Mary Stuart Masterson) Trains, Planes and Automobiles (Steve Martin and John Candy were at the top of their game), Only the Lonely a 1991 film (John Candy’s best performance in a loose retelling of Marty) and Home Alone (A true classic). While Hughes dropped out of directing in 1991 and the business completely in 1998, his films remain very popular to this day and the focus on teen anguish in much of his work has been the influence for many directors working today with industry leaders like Judd Apatow, Kevin Smith, Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller tipping their hat to his vision. Hughes, who passed away of a heart attack, was way too young to go at just 59 years old.
Paramount will not screen G.I Joe Rise of the Cobra in advance for critics
Paramount has decided to not screen G.I Joe Rise of the Cobra for the majority of critics in advance of its release on Friday. Personally I think this is the wrong strategy and is a perplexing move considering the studio hand picked about a dozen or so internet critics including Aintitcool, Chud and Joblo to view the film already. The majority gave glowing reviews over the past two weeks and the studio achieved the impossible by turning incredibly negative internet buzz around 180 degrees when these positive reviews started to show up.
I could be wrong but I just don’t see all these sites being in Paramount’s back pocket since it’s more than just Harry Knowles who really liked it. Also the latest trailers have also looked much better than the original one that was released back in February –the one that started an avalanche of negativity including erroneous reports that director Stephen Sommers was fired and locked out of the editing room. In the internet age this type of buzz is hard to reverse.
Clearly Paramount has much riding on G.I Joe as, according to the La Times, the film had a production budget of $175 million and a marketing budget of $150 million. That is a huge investment in a property that the studio wants to turn into a long running franchise. This film has to have a big opening or all those plans go out the window.
One could argue that this strategy of hiding it from critics will get people talking about the film once again but I don’t see that as a positive. In many ways that’s the way I am looking at it. While many horror films don’t get advance critic screenings (you will never see a Saw sequel screened in advance) it’s rare with a summer film with the budget of G.I Joe Rise of the Cobra. Off the top of my head I remember Steve Martin’s My Blue Heaven and Steven Segal’s Under Siege 2 Dark Territory not getting screened in advance. Although in many cases the studio knows it has a bad product and these films usually get panned and do a quick fade from theaters, I wound up enjoying both of those movies. Unfortunately it does attach a stigma to the film that really never goes away.
If Paramount can somehow get a big opening (anything over $50 mil) they could own the month of August since G.I Joe is the only mega budget action film coming up. Hopefully for the studio Jeffery Wells over at Hollywood-elsewhere is wrong when he says that his sources are tracking the film to open in the $20-$25 million range. That would be a disaster on all fronts. It will be interesting to see how all this plays out as it been one of the more interesting stories this year. I’ll be there this weekend to share my opinion.
The Blindside Trailer starring Sandra Bullock
Hot once again off the box-office success of The Proposal, Sandra Bullock continues to chug along in the minority of women in Hollywood who still has clout in front and behind the camera. While she’s made more than her fair share of mediocre movies, she remains a likable presence that the movie going public has always embraced. This newest film titled The Blindside feels like a cross between Erin Brockovich and the sports film Radio. It’s based on a true story. Take a LOOK
About
Chuck’s World: it’s a strange and mysterious place filled with the laughter of small children, the Poseidon Adventure running on a continuous loop and a vast collection of zombie movies. Chuck’s movie commentary has been heard on nationally syndicated talk radio program, Doug Stephan’s Good Day, every weekday morning at 8:50am EST since 1994. EMAIL Chuck@EntertainmentTodayandBeyond.com
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Entertainment Today and Beyond Radio Show- ETB Radio Reviews District 9 and The Time Traveler's Wife September 5, 2009Michael Cooper and Chuck Curry review District 9 and The Time Traveler's Wife [with a splash of British perspective]. Let us know what you want to hear about!
- Entertainment Today and Beyond Radio Show - Star Trek May 13, 2009ETB Radio: Star Trek review plus top 5 Star Trek movies and classic TV episodes. Visit EntertainmentTodayandBeyond.com for daily movie and TV news.
- ETB Radio - Bad remakes, DeVito's Crazy Eddie & Stephen King's IT and other classics March 17, 2009Race to Witch Mountain and other remakes panned, Devito/Depp do Crazy Eddie, Stephen King's IT to hit the big screen along with a look at King's best movie fare.
- Entertainment Today and Beyond Radio Show: Knowing, Duplicity, Time Travel March 15, 2009ETB Radio – Duplicity & Knowing Movie Reviews plus top time travel movies. Visit EntertainmentTodayandBeyond.com for daily movie and TV news.
- ETB Radio - Watchmen Review - MUST SEE Cable Shows March 14, 2009Chuck and Michael loved the Watchmen - Find our why - plus, if you're tired of paint by the numbers network programming - try these edgy cable choices...
- ETB Radio Show Podcast: Oscar night February 25, 2009Chuck and Michael review Oscar night with clips and highlights
- ETB Radio - Who the Oscars should be handed out to February 19, 2009Coop and Curry hold their own award show in advance of the Oscars
- ETB Radio Show Podcast: 2009 Sci-Fi and Superhero flicks plus the Top Movie Franchises of all time February 14, 2009Movie News, including upcoming Star Trek and superhero films, a record box-office for Clint Eastwood, and a look at the top 5 Movie Franchises of all time
- ETB Radio Show Podcast: Oscar News and the Top Animated Movies of all time January 31, 2009Oscar News - The Dark Knight shut out! Plus the Top Animated Movies of all time
- ETB Radio Show Podcast: PUSH, Paul Bart: Mall Cop and Must See DVD's January 24, 2009The big media PUSH for PUSH, the movie... February is always a month of box-office surprises. Paul Bart: Mall Cop and Must See DVD's out right now.
- ETB Radio Show - Movie News, Clint Eastwood's Best and 2008's Worst January 17, 2009Chuck and Mike talk Gran Torino along with other Clint Eastwood favorites and a look at the 2008 films that would best be forgotten.
- ETB Radio Show - Movie News and 2009 Must-See Movies January 3, 2009There's lots of new releases this year - Here are the 2009 Must-See Movies so far.
- ETB Radio Show - Movie News and the Top Movies of 2008 December 27, 2008Chuck and Mike at the Movies - The Best of 2008
- ETB Radio Show - Movie News and the Top 5 Sci-Fi Movies of All Time December 22, 2008What's at the movies plus Chuck and Michael's Top Sci-Fi Movies. Happy Holidays everyone!
- ETB Radio Show - Movie News and the Top 5 TV Shows of 2008 December 15, 2008What were you hooked on this past year? Chuck and Michael review the best TV had to offer this season and a look at what's coming up in 2009
- ETB Radio Show - Movie News and the Top 5 Christmas Movies of All Time December 8, 2008Chuck and Michael get into the spirit with can't miss Christmas from today and yesterday. Visit EntertainmentTodayandBeyond.com for your Movie and TV news.
- ETB Radio Show - Movie News and the Top 5 Westerns of All Time November 30, 2008Movies in the news: Twilight vs Harry Potter, Star Trek and Tom Cruise in Valkyrie. Chuck and Michael Top 5 Westerns. Visit EntertainmentTodayandBeyond.com for your Movie and TV news.
- ETB Radio Show - Movie News and the Top 5 War Movies of All Time November 23, 2008Chuck and Michael take a look at Australia, Gran Torino, Seven Pounds, Milk and the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Plus their Top 5 War Movies of all time. Visit EntertainmentTodayandBeyond.com for your Movie and TV news.
- ETB Radio Show - Movie News and the Top 5 Action Movies of All Time November 16, 2008Movie News - Quantum of Solace, the Bond legacy and Top 5 Action-Adventure movies of all time. Visit EntertainmentTodayandBeyond.com for your Movie and TV news.
- ETB Radio Show - Movie News and the Top 5 Comedy Movies of All Time November 9, 2008Movie News and the Top 5 Comedy Movies of All Time. Visit EntertainmentTodayandBeyond.com for your Movie and TV news.
- ETB Radio Reviews District 9 and The Time Traveler's Wife September 5, 2009
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