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the reel deal
by Sean O’Connell
This has been a banner year for science fiction.
J.J. Abrams’ rollicking “Star Trek” rejuvenated
the age-old franchise as it kicked off
the summer season. Duncan Jones’ fantastic
feature-film debut, “Moon,” transported audiences
to an isolated lunar outpost and pitted
lonely astronaut Sam Rockwell against a familiar
adversary. Even the kid-friendly “Monsters
vs. Aliens” provided grown-up chaperones with
an entertaining animated throwback to 1950s
paranoia thrillers. And we’re just months away
from the December release of James Cameron’s
space epic “ Avatar,” the director’s highly anticipated
return to genre filmmaking that reportedly
advances three-dimensional technology
beyond the next level.
Until then, we have Neill Blomkamp’s spectacular
“District 9” to tide us over, and it more
than gets the job done. The unknown filmmaker’s
feature-length debut is a relentless aliensamong-us
thriller that operates at two speeds:
fast and finished. It even dispenses vital plot
information in a swift, efficient fashion.
In Blomkamp’s alternate universe, reptilian
alien creatures made first contact with
our planet in 1982 when their ship came to a
stop over the South African city of Johannesburg.
Their arrival – and refusal to leave – has
bred hostility and contempt. Humans respond
with the creation of government agencies (the
Department of Alien Affairs), military-enforcement
teams (the aggressive Multi-National
Grade: HHH1/2 out of 4
MPAA Rating: R for bloody violence and
pervasive language.
Cast: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope
Genre: Sci-Fi/Thriller
Studio: TriStar Pictures
Page 16 • University City Weekly • Aug. 14-20, 2009
United, or MNU) and, eventually, a slum district
that currently houses one million “prawns”
– the derogatory term for the aliens based on
their squidlike appearance.
“District 9” starts strong and continues to
gain momentum once it introduces Wikus Van
De Merwe (Sharlto Copley), a faceless stooge
tapped to lead the government’s initiative to
move (evict, actually) the prawns to a camp far
outside city limits. It’s during this mission that
Wikus is exposed to something inside District
9 that makes him extremely valuable to the
MNU, the African criminals who’re infesting
the decrepit camp, and the aliens – who are
trying their best to leave our planet.
And that’s all you’ll get from me in terms of
plot, for Blomkamp weaves plenty of surprises
through his film that should not be ruined in
a review.
What I can tell you is that “District 9”
announces Blomkamp as a talent to watch.
‘The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard’
In “The Goods,” Jeremy Piven smears his
egotistical, condescending yet strangely motivational
comedic personality all over the character
of Don Ready, a car salesman – in his mind, the
Jeremy Piven
car salesman – who agrees to help beleaguered
Ben Selleck (James Brolin) move a lot full of
automobiles over the July 4 weekend.
I’ll be in the minority on this, but I found
‘District 9’
Sharlto Copley
He applies the documentary-style tactics of
Christopher Guest’s comedies to the real-time
urgency of “Cloverfield.” His environments
look familiar yet slightly askew. He successfully
creates a nervous society that has coexisted
with aliens for two decades, then deliberately
strips that world down to its core.
The totality of Blomkamp’s vicious slums
reminded me of Alfonso Cuaron’s amazing
“Children of Men.” And while “District 9”
recalls other pictures at times, it is its own
unique animal. It jolts with disturbing plot
twists, disgusts with gory kills, showcases
awesome and inventive alien technology, comments
on inhumane medical experimentation
and criticizes unchecked military might,
but always remains in service of a nail-biting
story. Blomkamp’s team raises the bar on sci-fi
effects, particularly when creating the amphibious
prawns and a robotic suit that shames anything
Michael Bay or McG regurgitated onto a
“The Goods” funnier than this summer’s smash
hit, “The Hangover.” Director Neal Brennan
slaps together a raucous comedy that adheres
to the one-joke-pony structure that fueled bigscreen
“Saturday Night Live” projects in the
past – think “The Ladies Man” or “A Night
at the Roxbury.” Except the talent Brennan
attracts is stronger, and the jokes his screenwriters
attempt are more obscure.
If anything, “Goods” is more closely related
to “Anchorman,” recruiting a proficient roster
of bawdy comedians and encouraging them
to behave badly as they toss one-liners against
the locker room wall in hopes that something
sticks. There’s a reason for that creative connection.
Will Ferrell and his “Anchorman” director,
Adam McKay, executive produce “The Goods,”
which explains inspired gags about a mature
10-year-old with a flawed pituitary gland (Rob
Riggle), uncomfortable man-on-man flirtations
between Brolin and David Koechner, and
“Hangover” star Ed Helms’ involvement in the
movie screen this summer.
As good as “District 9” is, I’m most impressed
by its pedigree – or lack thereof. Yes, “Lord of
the Rings” director Peter Jackson agreed to put
his name above the “District 9” title to help
attract curious onlookers. But it’s the vision of
a first-time director and the contributions of
his relatively unknown star that make the film
a must-see.
I say relatively because Copley’s already
drawing heat – he’s on the cover of the most
recent Entertainment Weekly under the headline,
“Why ‘District 9’ Will Blow Your Mind.”
And it will. But the film’s best “effect” is its
human protagonist, who gives a harrowing performance
that runs the full range of emotions
without tipping into hysterics. The Academy
would never consider a bloody, effects-heavy
genre exercise from a first-time filmmaker when
compiling Oscar nominations, but Copley’s
turn, without question, is award worthy. q
bogus boy band Big Ups. (Their claim to fame
is opening for O-Town once.)
This is a strange criticism, but “Goods” tries
too hard to maintain its thin plot. Brennan
needs Ready’s redemption story, predictable as
it is, to Scotch tape his absurd scenes together.
But “Goods” is better when it’s goofing its way
off the page, as when Piven convinces a stewardess
why he should be able to smoke on an
airplane or Ferrell – in a typically over-the-top
cameo role – accompanies Gospel-singing
angels who swear in harmony and tell Ready
when (and how) he’s going to die. As the “The
Hangover” already proved, that kind of boisterous
humor sells tickets by the boatload. q
Grade: HH1/2 out of 4
MPAA Rating: R for sexual content, nudity,
pervasive language and some drug material.
Cast: Jeremy Piven, Ed Helms, James Brolin
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Paramount Vantage
Tune in to WBTV News 3 every Friday morning during the 5 o’clock hour for O’Connell’s weekly movie review segment and read his reviews at www.universitycityweekly.com.
www.universitycityweekly.com