BLU-RAY
REVIEW: DISTRICT 9
12/20/09
OVERVIEW: From executive producer Peter Jackson (King Kong, The Lord of the Rings trilogy) comes the critically-acclaimed sci-fi thriller District 9, debuting on Blu-ray™ and 2-Disc DVD December 22 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Director Neill Blomkamp (Crossing the Line, Tempbot) enlists a cast of relative newcomers, including Sharlto Copley and Jason Cope (Doomsday), and groundbreaking special effects for the enthralling allegorical story of aliens stranded in South Africa.
SYNOPSIS: From producer Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy) and director Neill Blomkamp comes a startlingly original science fiction thriller that "soars on the imagination of its creators" (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone). With stunning special effects and gritty realism, the film plunges us into a world where the aliens have landed... only to be exiled to a slum on the fringes of Johannesburg. Now, one lone human discovers the mysterious secret of the extraterrestrial weapon technology. Hunted and hounded through the bizarre back alleys of an alien shantytown, he will discover what it means to be the ultimate outsider on your own planet.
REVIEW: In a summer
where the most impressive movies have been comedies, spin
offs of iconic comic characters, poor sequels (composed more
by impressive displays of special effects than an actual
decent story) of successful and impressive blockbusters, a
descent gangster movie, and a conversion of a great book
series into just a magical chick flick, I was seriously
loosing my hope to find an impressive movie this summer.
Seriously, after watching Star Trek back in May, my only
hopes left to watch a blowing mind, original movie were
between GI Joe, 9, and The Time Traveler’s wife, and none
of those really seem as good as any of the already released
fiascos. Fortunately for me, I was overestimated what seem
to be in my opinion the number one movie this Summer, or at
least a descent adversary to Star Trek: District 9 .
Producer Peter Jackson and of course director Neill Blomkamp
did their homework, they understood and created a movie that
translates just to one thing: A Real Mind Blowing Summer
Blockbuster.
District 9 is a movie that takes place in Johannesburg,
South Africa in an office where we meet a man name Wikus Van
Der Merwe. Wikus is apart of a team called MNU
(Multi-National United), which is a private company that is
not interested in the welfare of the aliens. The company's
main achievement is to use alien weaponry, which has failed
to make them work for humans. Even though the people of the
Johannesburg, South Africa does not want anything to do with
the alien, they wish for them to return back to their
homeland and stop taking over their land. As the company
because more eager to learn how to work the alien weaponry
they decided to nominate Wikus as captain of the team for
MNU to go out to District 9 and deliver information about a
new relocation to the aliens that have come twenty years or
so ago. As Wikus is going door to door explaining to the
aliens their rights and what's going on something strange
captures his eye, when retrieving a piece of evidences he
think may should be confiscated from the aliens, he will
soon discover that his life will be in grave danger.
District 9 that will completely change his life and way of
thinking forever. It will be up to Wilkus to help uncover
the truth behind District 9 his life will depend on learning
the truth from an species that is not as different from
ours.
I was skeptical about this movie because to me it looked
kind of like a better version of controversial sci fi
classic Cloverfield combined with Independence Day. Well, it
is nothing like it, as a matter of fact, this alien /
monster movie is as different to any alien movie as Alien is
to ET. The movie is mind blowing from beginning to end. It
actually has a perfect combination of story, setting,
characters, and visual effects. Mr. Blomkamp took a great
risk introducing the alien race since the beginning, without
hiding them in shadows, or fancy technological equipment ,
and it paid off. They seem as real, menacing as any alien
could look, but it also added a more sensitive and sympathy
to the characters, and as the movie develops the audience
understand that the movie is just not centered around this
creatures. As matter of fact what I like the most about the
movie is that the most scary stuff does not look like it is
out of this world. The movie magnificently displays and
critiques some of the scariest realities seen in humankind.
The documentary/ first person style combined with a runaway
movie used by the director in this film might upset many
viewers, but in my opinion it actually improves it, as we
watch the movie from the perspective of the main character,
the audience could not help to bond to him and feel his
emotions. It also added some kind of realism to the story,
as well as excitement. The cast, although I know little
about them, added extreme realism performing each of their
characters, specially Sharlto Copley, which performance
gives depth and emotion to a character who although looks
simple an ordinary at simple sight, it is full of complexity
and contradiction. The setting is also great, taking place
somewhere different than the states makes the movie even
more realism, this plus adding the actual political and
social condition of the country to the story also creates
the perfect stage for the movie.
Visually, I could not be more satisfied, it is not an
extraordinary mind blowing visual film like the producer’s
previous films, but it is as good as it could be. They added
realism, even the aliens, their instruments and technology
looked very combining, their physiology matched their
function. The language were well thought and creative, and
their way of thinking is way more advanced than ours. I am
pretty sure that District 9 is not going to break any
meaningless opening record or would have extensive lines at
midnight, I can only hope for people not to let this one
pass away. This is a great example that shows what summer
movies are all about, it does not only have top notch visual
effects but its story is strong and original from beginning
to end. Congratulation Mr. Jackson, and Mr. Blomkamp! You
have just save the Summer with this one.
BLU-RAY:
The film is
presented in 1080P widescreen in a 1.85:1 aspect ration
preserving its theatrical format. The picture is just flawless,
bringing to perfection special effects of the film. This is one
of those films that deserve to be watch in high definition. Not only the picture looks great in this
release, also the sound it is good, a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio in
English and French that provides a good
complement to the picture. It also includes English SDH, French and
Hindi.
In terms of Special Features,
the Blu-ray is loaded. It include commentary with Director/Co-Writer Neill Blomkamp, deleted scenes and the three-part documentary “The Alien Agenda: A Filmmaker's Log.” The first part of the documentary explores the pre-production process and creation of the world of District 9, Peter Jackson’s role in producing the film, and the unorthodox approach to using South Africa as the setting for this film. The second part delves into the shooting style of the film utilizing small handheld cameras to tell the tale, the difficulties of shooting in Johannesburg, the challenges of shooting scenes that would include visual effects later in the process, and the overall challenges encountered during the production process. The third chapter of the documentary investigates the task of designing and editing the film's sound effects, and the general challenges encountered during the editing process.
The Blu-ray versions also exclusively feature four featurettes: “Metamorphosis: The Transformation of Wikus” looks at the practical effects employed by filmmaker Blomkamp and the artists at WETA to create Wikus’s metamorphosis into an alien; “Innovation: The Acting and Improvisation of District 9” shows Blomkamp’s direction of the actors, his encouragement of improvisation, and the actors’ process for working together under these guidelines; “Conception and Design: Creating the World of District 9” depicts the amazing design and theory behind the world of District 9, including Alien Design, Alien Technology, Space Travel, MNU and The First Reaction Force Battalion; and “Alien Generation: The Visual Effects of District 9” offers an in-depth look at the process of shooting visual effects scenes and incorporating CGI aliens realistically into the scenes in post-production.
Finally the Blu-ray Disc include a playable game demo of the PlayStation®3 system (PS3™) exclusive, God of War® III,
as well as a Digital Copy of the film for PC, PSP®, Mac or iPod®, and the Interactive Map feature “Joburg from Above: Satellite and Schematics of the World of District 9,” that allows users to explore alien technology and weaponry, MNU mercenary armory, and more from the film through a series of satellite maps, schematics and photo-real files.
The PSP Digital Copy file will be included on the Blu-ray Disc for transfer to the PSP via PlayStation®3. The Blu-ray Disc also features movieIQ—which allows viewers to immediately access continuously updated information on the cast & crew and explore relevant trivia such as production facts, music and soundtrack information all tied to scenes within the movie via BD-Live™—and cinechat, where viewers can send on-screen instant messages to their friends while watching the movie.
VIDEO:
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1 aspect ratio) 1080P
AUDIO:
English and French 5.1 DTS HD/Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English, French and Hindi
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Filmmaker's Commentary
Deleted Scenes
The Alien Agenda: A Filmmaker's Log – Three-Part Documentary
Featurette: “Metamorphosis: The Transformation of
Wikus”
Featurette: “Innovation: The Acting and Improvisation of District 9”
Featurette: “Conception and Design: Creating the World of District 9”
Featurette: “Alien Generation: The Visual Effects of District 9”
Playable “God of War® III” game demo for PlayStation®3, with exclusive unlockable “making of the game” featurette
“Joburg from Above: Satellite and Schematics of the World of District 9” – Interactive Map
Digital Copy of the film for PC, PSP®, Mac or iPod®
cinechat
movieIQ
RATING BREAK DOWN:
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