District 9

Whether it’s a low-budget indie flick, most likely starring Micheal Cera, or a low-budget sci-fi flick starring vomit-inducing unsteady cam, there’s always at least one movie that “sneaks up” on audiences and delivers the “surprise hit of the” fill-in-the-season. Last year, you had Cloverfield come out to some decent reviews. You had Juno and Waitress and stuff like excite the critics to uneasy proportions. This year, we get an Independence Day meets Halo meets political allegory to keep us entertained through the hot August nights. Quick hit: quite entertaining.

District 9 is the brainchild of one Neil Blomkamp. Who’s Neil Blomkamp? One rich mother now who’s laughing over his bitterly cold platter of sweet revenge. You see, Peter Jackson, yes Lord of the Rings Peter Jackson, had signed on to produce a Halo flick. He tapped Blomkamp to helm the hundred-million dollar movie even though Mr. Blomkamp had all the experience of an assistant gaffer. That’s when the studios said, um, no. That’s when Peter Jackson said, fine, go take a long jump off a short pier, sticking to his man Blomkamp and telling Blomkamp to make a full-length feature off of the short he had previously developed, Alive in Joberg.

And that’s where District 9 came from: a tale of a spaceship, shanty towns, and shrimp-like looking aliens. The interesting thing? Critics loved that it takes up a higher cause, drawing parallels to apartheid in South Africa. In the District 9 universe, a giant alien spaceship arrives and proceeds to hover. Turns out the aliens have no one in command, leaving the humans to theorize that all we have left are the “worker” bees of this alien hive. So, doing as humans do, they drag those aliens down to the surface, set-up a big old refugee area, and sorta run it with military authority.

Yet, the whole political allegory thing takes up around 20 minutes of this flick. Yes, we get to the how the area, District 9, has evolved into a massive slum. We see how the aliens are treated with annoyed disdain, pandered to with little effort and thrown the scraps of humanity. We see how the aliens adjust and make due, becoming a teeming mess of scavenging, poverty-stricken prisoners. It’s not a pretty sight, and it’s not really meant to be. Bad humans, bad!

However, most of District 9 becomes a simple, guerrilla-style sci-fi thriller. Focusing on Wikus Van De Merwe, and goofy, mostly-prejudiced, but largely unintimidating MNU officer, District 9 follows the same beats that you would expect any entertaining movie to do. Tasked as the head of an eviction force, Wikus hams it up for the cameras as he leads the charge to “legally” evict the aliens from District 9 and move them to the more remote, even less humane District 10. As Wikus mentions at one point, it’s not a better place, it’s more like a prisoner camp.
Ah, but what would a sci-fi flick be without conflict? Wikus falls prey to some alien technology and suddenly becomes a victim, a valuable commodity, and a fugitive all at the same time. Moving into the realm of The Fly-meets-The Fugutive, Wikus must escape from the now “evil” humans, survive amongst the aliens he disdainfully condemns, and find an impossible solution to his predicament. This means, good times!

Presented partly as a pseudo-documentary, District 9 offers personal testimonials interspersed with “actual” field footage, security cameras, gun-mounted cameras, and news footage to present a off-kilter, reality-version movie. And largely, it succeeds, with little vomit-inducing shakiness, but lots of extreme close-up-in-the-face of anxiety-inducing reality for all those involved. There’s some fun action sequences, especially once we get to see the alien technology come into play. It’s like a great live-version of a video game, with chain guns, plasma rifles, sonic rays, and all the other good stuff that you would want to power-up on to get past the next box. Even the wonky Mech Warrior battlesuit is fun to watch, because low budgets often mean creative ways to make fake things look cool.

Overall, District 9 is a fun ride, but apparently not for everyone. Is this your completely brain-dead, look at the shiny robots, Transformers-level drivel? No, not at all, it actually has some poignant scenes and allows one to think, even if just a tiny, tiny bit about bad things done by you and me. But really, it’s not a deep movie, it’s not what the critics are touting as socially conscious dressed up in sci-fi. It’s just well-written sci-fi that you should see. It’s sad when a simple, but interesting idea is held up as the pinnacle of innovation and creativeness; however, it is great that we got to see it in the first place. Out of 1.8 million refugee aliens, District 9 staves off eviction with 1.26 miillion alien “prawns” leading the charge. A solid flick to check out!

Inglourious Basterds

Review by Loc

I’m surprised this didn’t get released as The 5th Film From Quentin Tarantino. Seriously, when Kill Bill was released, that was the big tagline. And strangely, or no so strangely, Tarantino stood by that tagline with boastful pride. He said it reflected his growth as a filmmaker and it made sense to tout his fourth outing as a director...I guess? I mean, four films, is that a lot? Is that something to hang your hat on? I guess quality over quantity, huh? So, what does that make the 5th film? Quick hit: actually, it makes it a damn good flick.

Inglourious Basterds sticks to a couple Tarantino staples: seemingly unconnected stories and characters intertwining in eventual payoff story threads, and a film literally broken up by chapter breaks and titles. For a basic summary, let’s just say there are lots of people out to even the score against WWII Germany. However, seeing as how Germany was powerful enough to occupy France and aim for world domination, just because one wants to get even doesn’t mean they can get even.

A little more detail? One subplot involves Brad Pitt as Aldo Raine, the hick from Tennessee who’s out to invoke harmful damage to the enemy. He puts together a “band of brothers” and their mission is simple: hunt, kill, and scalp until the Germans bow in fear and terror. A second subplot actually opens the film, as family of Jews hides from the infamous Colonel Hans Landa. And if one survives the hunting German, where does that leave them four years later?

Ah, but what ties the story together is the aforementioned Landa, played by Christopher Waltz. In the most chillingly dynamic performance of the year, Waltz is the absolute embodiment of vile charm possible. He’s an educated linguist, he’s a brilliant tactician, and he’s an intimidating interrogator. There isn’t a scene he doesn’t steal and it’s because of him that you’re drawn to this flick over the course of two-and-a-half hours. Without him, and Tarantino has said as much, this flick doesn’t even exist.

Beyond that, Tarantino surprises with his self-proclaimed opus. And yet, that’s not boastful rapping about his newest project. Tarantino worked over a decade to develop this film, committed, backed out, recommitted, held off on pushing forward until he found the perfect Landa, and delivered his most entertaining film yet. Yes, more enjoyable than even Pulp Fiction. Tarantino’s legend was built largely off of Pulp Fiction, and while every one of his films has distinct voices, they all speak in the same tongue: Tarantino-laced dialogue, over-the-top violence, and self-referential to the point where it sometimes crosses the line of “I’m cool cause I know I’m trying to be cool and I know you know that I’m trying to be cool.” Inglourious Basterds actually exhibits none of the last point, which is extremely refreshing for a Tarantino film. The violence is there, but it’s not “I’m gonna shock you into thinking this is awesome”. And the dialogue, while very good, doesn’t stray too far into “I’m a great writer, see watch this” territory.

In fact, this is Tarantino’s homage to a couple different genres and he doesn’t weigh it down in excess. This is the band of rebel misfits out on death missions flick. This is the Casablanca-we’re in the middle of a war and making movies to lift the spirits of our country flick. This is caper-esque-we’re doing the impossible and it’ll take all of us to do it flick, if less so than the others. Yes, this is all that, rolled into one nice, albeit long, package.

Overall, Tarantino delivers his first general audience flick. Meaning, you don’t have to be a fan of his style to “appreciate” the nuances of the filmmaking. Nope, this is your whoop ass, lets riff on the WWII backdrop while offering some over-the-top action. In short, this is the opus he was hoping to deliver. Out of 100 enemy scalps, Inglourious Basterds takes no prisoners with 80. It’s a violent, but enjoyable ride the whole way through.

Fanboys

Review by Loc

To the uninitiated, the term fanboys generally refers to the comic/sci-fi culture. Often semi-derogatory, fanboys is used to describe your stereotypical “geek”: prime example being Comic Book Guy in The Simpsons. However, like many groups, fanboys have adopted the term to empower their own agendas, and calling someone a fanboy isn’t as bad as it was before. Yet make no mistake, if you’re a fanboy, that means you’re attending the San Diego Comic Con…for the fifth year in a row, you’re buying comics…and toys…and more comics. You sometimes dress up as comic characters or superheroes…even when it’s not Halloween. Yes, these are the burdens you’ll be assigned when referred to as a fanboy…and I too, will admit to being a fanboy. But not too often. So how’s a small-time flick centered around this pop-sub-culture? Quick hit: mildly endearing.

Fanboys could just as easily be named Star Wars Geeks, but maybe that was too confining. Centered around a group of young adults in Ohio, we see how some fanboys embrace their geekdom to extreme levels. There are three in the group, the weird looking kid from Tropic Thunder, the weird looking dude from Balls of Fury, and the wannabe movie producer in The Girl Next Door. Together, they’ve graduated high school and achieved nothing. However, when they show up at a Halloween party, they do show up in style, as Darth Vader and two Stormtroopers. Strangely enough, they’re not overly ostracized or made the butt of jokes, they’re simply some of the geekier folks there.

Then there’s the one who grew up, Jimmy Olsen from Superman Returns. Once close to the other three, he’s now a working man, a salesman at his dad’s car dealership, and one who shuns his past. He arrives at the party and awkwardness ensues.

Let’s cut to the chase, Jimmy Olsen claims to be proud that he’s outgrown his friends, even though it cost him his best friend for life, the Girl Next Door dude. Well, being a movie that requires conflict and purpose, Jimmy finds out that his friend is dying from cancer. That, coupled with the fact that this flick is set in 1999 right before the new Star Wars movies were first released, lead to a buddy-guys-out road trip. In an attempt to patch their friendship and spur everyone to better things, the group decides to carry out a plan they had from their youth: storm George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch, now with the intent on seeing an early cut of what would become Star Wars: Episode 1.

So, we get to see some amusing stuff. Their vehicle of choice is the obligatory black van decorated like the Millennium Falcon. There are random hijinks, like the stop in Las Vegas, the showdown with Trekkers, and whatnot. There’s funny cameos from the likes of William Shatner, Billy Dee Williams, and Carrie Fisher. All in all, its pretty harmless fun, something like a vulgar road trip movie without the vulgarity.

Yet, to take it to the next level, Fanboys tries to introduce some points of earnest compassion. The entire cancer subplot plays the biggest role, but additional things like Kristin Bell playing the geeky tomboy who is more than that also inserts itself. Unfortunately, these attempts to add high-level value to the movie fall a little flat and remain a little underdeveloped. Granted, this isn’t a film striving to be an Oscar contender, but the attempts at weightiness are a little…light. Hehehe.

Overall, Fanboys is a fun flick. Just a brief history lesson, this was actually scheduled to be released in the fall of 2007. However, the budget was increased that allowed for reshoots, which pushed the release back to early 2008. Then all hell broke loose, directors were replaced, cancer subplots were removed, release dates were pushed to summer of 2008. Then directors were brought back, new cuts were made in 36 hours, and a screening finally happened at Comic Con 2008. The release was scheduled for November 2008, but that didn’t happen either. Eventually, it hit a small release in February of 2009, and died away to video. And I finally caught it last night, August of 2009, nearly two years after its intended release. It’s a shame because with proper backing, this film could have been a small success. And if anything, the style of this movie embraces the underdog attitude, something the film itself found as it struggled to be released. Out of 100 fanboys sitting in line for Star Wars, Fanboys manages to keep pace with 60 geeks in costume. Not a bad, small flick.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Review by Loc

Five movies in and there hasn’t been one majestic offering. Sure, some were good flicks, some were even very good, but there hasn’t been one that was astounding. You’d think with so many shots at it, they would nail one and just blow you away. Maybe sixth time’s a charm? Quick hit: nope.

Rather than provide a recap, I’ll leave that to you, the book, and Wikipedia. Instead, let us focus on the deficiencies that actually made this movie painful to watch. Starting with, boredom! This is almost a two-and-a-half hour long movie and it seems like the first two hours is obsessed with boring teenage romance. Don’t get me wrong, teenage love stories aren’t inherently boring, just look at all the flicks that succeed at delivering the goods: Sixteen Candles, 10 Things I Hate About You, even Superbad. You can have fun with the awkwardness, the goofiness, the apprehensive first kisses, all that stuff can be fun. In Harry Potter 6, it’s not fun, it’s not engaging, it’s just boring. And it’s the only thing you see for two hours!

In trying to appeal to the Twilight crowd, we follow Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny through various love triangles. And they all suck. In the novel, maybe it works because you actually weaved that together with the overarching story and battle against the rising Voldemort. Here, you get nothing. It’s a bore. BORE!

Then you get a half hour of good stuff. Action, plot, story advancement, you know, the movie you came to watch. You begin to realize how the final installments of the Harry Potter flicks will be delivering some major goods. So then why wait until the end of the movie to do that? I don’t know, it’s probably one of those decisions of “staying true to the novel” while “adapting for the big screen”. I’ll never understand why filmmakers have such a hard time with this contradiction. If you’re going to adapt anything, then you’re no longer staying true to the book. And if you’re no longer staying true, then make a damn movie, not a step-by-step recreation of the pages that omit major pieces of the story.

For example, who’s the Half Blood Prince? Well, you get a two-line explanation at the climax of the film and poof, you’re done with that mystery. It’s in the damn title of the flick, shouldn’t there be some focus on it? Nope, because that backstory would have been too much to cram in. Uh, you mean you couldn’t shorten the stupid teen romance bits to fit in an actual plot? Horrible.

In the end, this was a glaring example of filler-movie. It provided so little substance, it grew the characters a tiny amount, and then slammed you with a couple biggies at the end and said, see you next fall. It was an extremely weak effort that provided near nothing to the Harry Potter mythos and continues to grow in disappointment as I think about it. When you end up buying the eight movie set in a couple years, this will be one of the discs that you never play, that’s how inconsequential it is.

Overall, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince offered little substance despite its efforts to become Harry Potter and the Raging Hormones. It’s weird because every Harry Potter effort has been modestly good at best, and frighteningly mundane at its worst. I wonder when someone takes a shot at remaking these, if they’ll go all out and make it their own. Until then, we’re left with some good, some bad, and this crapfest. Out of 7 horcruxes, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is cursed to 3 disembodied soul fragments. Blah, I needed a potronum spell to fend off my boredom.