Eye Candy #75 - "District 9"

District 9: Caught an advance screening of this one. 20 years ago, a giant spaceship appeared in the skies over Johannesburg, South Africa, carrying over a million impoverished insectoid aliens derisively called “prawns”. Confined to a ghetto specifically for their race (the “District 9” in the title), what was once a gigantic charity operation has now turned into a nuisance. In charge of alien welfare is Multinational United, a business conglomerate charged with policing the alien population, while providing for their well being (an act they barely do). MNU also has vested interest in alien weaponry, which humans cannot operate, so currently the alien weapons just make really large paperweights. During an eviction raid, one MNU staffer, Wikus van der Merwe, a loutish pencil pusher thrust into a leadership role by his father-in-law, finds himself exposed to alien technology and very quickly hip deep in what is actually going on with the aliens and MNU. This is the first major film from director Neil Blomkamp. There are rookie directors who wish their film was 1/10th as good as “District 9”. It’s a sci-fi-y thriller that’s not heavy on explanations, with strong historical overtones to the treatment of Blacks in South Africa in the real District 6 (itself the victim of a mass eviction in the 1970s). In addition, it has a very black humor streak running through it with some truly gross-out violence (alien weaponry that make people explode by big blood-filled water balloons means this isn’t for kiddies). The special effects are great, particularly involving the aliens, and it’s shot in a pseudo-documentary style with brisk pacing. Peter Jackson of LOTR fame produced this one, and he was spot on about this being worth it. Me likey. Woodchuck sez, “Check it out.”