As a fan of the series, I was extremely looking forward to this, especially as the screening I saw was in 3D. I was not disappointed.
First of all, viewers must remember that since the second movie, it has become less important to recreate the dark tone and moodiness of the first film, and more important to thrill audiences with the best rube-goldberg death scenes and generally create a fun film. On these grounds the film is certaintly a success. It is a very gimmicky movie, but it knows it is. There are a number of moments where the film lampoons itself. Death scenes are probably the best of the series, save for the Highway Pile-up of FD2; in my opinion one of the greatest action scenes comitted to film. There is a great sense that people are in no doubt that there will be a gory death iminently, and the makers have played with this, offering numerous possibilities as to how the character will meet their demise, slowly eliminating each possibility until something takes you by surprise. It this tension created by this, and the fantastic timing that make the success of the film. Back to the gimmicks of the film, when offered 3D, this film has taken it and ran as far as possible; there is no concept of subtlety evident in this film. It makes the death scenes so much more exciting, with body parts flying over the audience, and I believe this film may have earned the award for first stereoscopic 3D sex scene, also a crowning achievement.
Acting from the main group of teenagers is on par; they are scared, upset, and die acceptably. However, many supporting characters are acted poorly; with a monologue from the security guard sounding like he is struggling to read off of cue-cards.
At the end of the day, I went not to see a future classic of film, or an artistic statement. I went to have a great time. I did, and therefore am greatly pleased with this film. 7/10.
Monday 7 September 2009
District 9.
After all the viral marketing, phoneboxes, cinemas, etc marked "Humans only", District 9 has arrived (I managed to avoid using the word landed).But is it worth the hype it has garnered over the summer?
Easily.
As many will already know, this film breaks sci-fi convention by featuring an alien craft landing in South Africa as opposed to a bustling American metropolis. Many other conventions are broken throughout the film; some of the aliens are main characters; there is no large scale action; and most importantly, plot and character are far more important than the effects. The plot is relatively low-scale; there's no threat to mankind, it starts off as a mockumentary recounting the arrival of aliens in 1982; 28 years before the film's setting of 2010. It carries on as a mockumentary for a good half of the film, following a government unit, MNU, in the process of evicting all aliens from their shanty-town of Distric 9 to newer units in District 10. This is a clear allegory to mass evictions in countries such as South Africa, along with obvious allusions to racism and xenophobia with the humans (of all races), referring to aliens as "prawns", and in interviews making derogatory statements regarding them. These themes are not overplayed in an attempt to make a righteous message, but at the same time, a message is very easy to pick out. To explain the rest of the plot beyond the basic set-up would create spoilers to the many twists that are taken. Due to the unconventional premise, very little of the film is predictable.
Effects are at times excellent, and at times good. Much more so the former, and no scenes have glaring errors that detract from the experience. As this was shot on a small budget (in terms of a two-hour sci-fi movie), the effects are far better than they ought to be, with full CGI aliens featuring in at least 80% of shots, displaying a range of emotions and interacting with real-life objects and people. Close-up shots of the aliens' faces are particularly good, allowing you to truly connect with the two main aliens features in the plot.
The acting from the main human character is excellent, with the rest of the cast really being supporting character, but all doing an excellent job nonetheless. Right down to brief interviews, everyone is believable. I think that is what makes the film so good; it is all believable.
Overall, my only real problem is the odd sub-par efects shot, but that cannot distract me from a truly original film that is pulled off excellently, marking the first feature film from Neill Blomkamp. 10/10.
Easily.
As many will already know, this film breaks sci-fi convention by featuring an alien craft landing in South Africa as opposed to a bustling American metropolis. Many other conventions are broken throughout the film; some of the aliens are main characters; there is no large scale action; and most importantly, plot and character are far more important than the effects. The plot is relatively low-scale; there's no threat to mankind, it starts off as a mockumentary recounting the arrival of aliens in 1982; 28 years before the film's setting of 2010. It carries on as a mockumentary for a good half of the film, following a government unit, MNU, in the process of evicting all aliens from their shanty-town of Distric 9 to newer units in District 10. This is a clear allegory to mass evictions in countries such as South Africa, along with obvious allusions to racism and xenophobia with the humans (of all races), referring to aliens as "prawns", and in interviews making derogatory statements regarding them. These themes are not overplayed in an attempt to make a righteous message, but at the same time, a message is very easy to pick out. To explain the rest of the plot beyond the basic set-up would create spoilers to the many twists that are taken. Due to the unconventional premise, very little of the film is predictable.
Effects are at times excellent, and at times good. Much more so the former, and no scenes have glaring errors that detract from the experience. As this was shot on a small budget (in terms of a two-hour sci-fi movie), the effects are far better than they ought to be, with full CGI aliens featuring in at least 80% of shots, displaying a range of emotions and interacting with real-life objects and people. Close-up shots of the aliens' faces are particularly good, allowing you to truly connect with the two main aliens features in the plot.
The acting from the main human character is excellent, with the rest of the cast really being supporting character, but all doing an excellent job nonetheless. Right down to brief interviews, everyone is believable. I think that is what makes the film so good; it is all believable.
Overall, my only real problem is the odd sub-par efects shot, but that cannot distract me from a truly original film that is pulled off excellently, marking the first feature film from Neill Blomkamp. 10/10.
A clockwork orange
Finally I have got round to watching this film. For years I have heard it revered as one of the most shocking and greatest films ever made. Upon watching it, I feel that both these claims are grossly overstated, but it is in itself a good film.
My reasons for not regarding it as one of the best film ever made are more than niggling points; they are in my opinion quite serious problems with the film. One point is the fact that I found the first 20-30 minutes of the film almost quite amateur; with a terrible, wooden fight scene in a theatre as a particular point of reference. At this point, I was having fun, with the bizzare language used by the main characters, but was not by any means blown away by anything. However, once this chapter finally ends, a heavier plot is introduced, and the fun element is almost completely removed, only cropping up in the odd comedy relief moment. This change in tone lead the film to explore some controversial topics whilst continuing to tell the story of the main character. This chapter takes up a large portion of the film, and creates an arc in the main character. It is this part that is technically very well done, but is the least enjoyable part of the film. The final chapter is where everything gets very confused; it tries to retain the depressed tone, perhaps even build on it, but also features situations that excel the comedy value of the light first chapter. This makes the film very hard to follow in the sense that you aren't sure whether to laugh at or feel sorry for the main character. Turning points towards the end where characters meet up again all feel very contrived, and when we see the main character meet with an old victim, it is done in a very lazy way; as though the writers became stuck as how to make them meet again. The final scenes once again pick up, making the tone more comprehensible, and the plot more believable
Acting is all fine, with main characters played excellently, and all supporting cast at least doing the job.
The overall look of the film is very interesting as well, with the "futuristic" look of the early '70's, and the odd costumes the "droogs" wear.
Although this may read as a bad review, I give this film 8/10. I have chosen to dwell on my personal gripes with the film, as any and almost every review will point out the over-mentioned good points to the film, overlooking any flaws, as happens with so many films regarded as classics. At the end of the day, all films have flaws.
My reasons for not regarding it as one of the best film ever made are more than niggling points; they are in my opinion quite serious problems with the film. One point is the fact that I found the first 20-30 minutes of the film almost quite amateur; with a terrible, wooden fight scene in a theatre as a particular point of reference. At this point, I was having fun, with the bizzare language used by the main characters, but was not by any means blown away by anything. However, once this chapter finally ends, a heavier plot is introduced, and the fun element is almost completely removed, only cropping up in the odd comedy relief moment. This change in tone lead the film to explore some controversial topics whilst continuing to tell the story of the main character. This chapter takes up a large portion of the film, and creates an arc in the main character. It is this part that is technically very well done, but is the least enjoyable part of the film. The final chapter is where everything gets very confused; it tries to retain the depressed tone, perhaps even build on it, but also features situations that excel the comedy value of the light first chapter. This makes the film very hard to follow in the sense that you aren't sure whether to laugh at or feel sorry for the main character. Turning points towards the end where characters meet up again all feel very contrived, and when we see the main character meet with an old victim, it is done in a very lazy way; as though the writers became stuck as how to make them meet again. The final scenes once again pick up, making the tone more comprehensible, and the plot more believable
Acting is all fine, with main characters played excellently, and all supporting cast at least doing the job.
The overall look of the film is very interesting as well, with the "futuristic" look of the early '70's, and the odd costumes the "droogs" wear.
Although this may read as a bad review, I give this film 8/10. I have chosen to dwell on my personal gripes with the film, as any and almost every review will point out the over-mentioned good points to the film, overlooking any flaws, as happens with so many films regarded as classics. At the end of the day, all films have flaws.
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