H2: Halloween II (2009) Review

SYNOPSIS:

It's that time of year again, and Michael Myers has returned home to sleepy Haddonfield, Illinois to take care of some unfinished family business. Unleashing a trail of terror that only horror master Rob Zombie can, Myers will stop at nothing to bring closure to the secrets of his twisted past. But the town’s got an unlikely new hero, if they can only stay alive long enough to stop the unstoppable.

IRS auditors and repo men have encountered cheerier faces than those seen leaving a screening of Rob Zombie’s latest magnum opus. Where is Michael Myers, and what has Zombie done with him? Instead of a horror icon, we’re given a shambling hulk who looks like a homeless man with a pituitary problem.

“Halloween II” picks up just after Laurie Strode blasted Myers point blank in the face. Found covering in blood and wandering dazed on the road, she’s taken to the hospital. In a reverent nod to the original sequel, Michael Myers reappears to wreck bloody havoc upon the nursing staff–then on the parking lot attendant when he runs out of nurses. But in a flash it turns out to be only one of Laurie’s nightmares; two years have elapsed and she’s gone from being a good girl to looking like she buys her outfits from vendors at rock concerts. She’s in therapy, haunted by Myers and the death of her parents; her therapist must have been working wonders since she works at a beatnik bookstore and has a mouth an ocean of Scope wouldn’t wash out.

Michael Myers has been busy as well. Despite being presumed dead, he’s apparently taken advice from Henry David Thoreau and living in an abandon farm in the woods. Now sporting a mountain man beard and doing God could only guess what to occupy his time, he gets a call to action. It seems ever since his mother died, she’s appeared in visions leading a white horse imploring him to kill Laurie so the family can be reunited. The past two years have now been kind to Dr. Loomis, he’s turned into a media whore in order to promote his new book on Myers no matter whose wounds are reopened.

The inevitable happens and Michael Myers is back in action, intent on slaying Laurie and warming up by leaving a gory trail in his wake. Laurie reads Dr. Loomis’ book, and learns something that she could really do without knowing; meanwhile said author finally comes to the realization his behavior has been, to put it kindly, wretched. All three paths are on a collision course that will end in a deserted shack. Only one will walk out, but will never be the same.

If there are any therapistist looking for some high profile pro bono work, Rob Zombie would be an ideal candidate. His insane fixation with white trash culture was tolerable in his first two films and his “Halloween” remake, but now its’ simply become tiresome and at times repellant. A scene in which two ambulance drivers discuss necrophillia goes on way too long, as if Zombie was trying to convince eHarmony to add a new dating category. With any Rob Zombie film there’s the requisite past their prime players showing up for one last film that’ll get theatrical release, a Felliniesque parade of faded stars from the 70s and 80s there to snag a paycheck even though they serve no purpose to the film. Weird Al Yankovic, Margot Kidder, Howard Hesseman….they’re all in the this film for roughly 3 or 4 minutes. Naturally, you can’t have a Rob Zombie film without Sheri Moon-Zombie, once again playing Michael’s mother. Since’s she died in the previous film, she appears now as an apparition leading the Lone Ranger’s horse around and imploring Myers to kill a sibling. While she tries to look cold but etherally beautiful, she only succeeds in looking like the understudy to the White witch from “Chronicles of Narnia”.

While Rob Zombie may have failed as a writer, there’s a chance that he could succeed as a director. Those hope are dashed pretty quickly, while he can stage a few well crafted scenes, on the large he make the leap from helming a five minute sequence to being responsible for a full length feature film. With this being Zombie’s fourth film this is bordering on inexcusable. With him planning on remaking “The Blob”, it verges on criminal.

But what is even worse is Zombie’s treatment of Myers. For practically all of Michael Myer’s return to Haddonfield, he shambles around wearing an old parka with the hood up. Since his mask is mainly obscured, the killer ceases to be the iconic Michael Myers; this is a massive problem since everyone in the theater came to see Michael Myers. If we wanted to see a big guy in a hooded parka, we could go to the park after dark and see one for free–or at least for a dollar if he asked for one. Hasn’t anyone learned from the debacle of 1998’s “Godzilla”, that you don’t re-imagine an icon? It’s bad enough we’ll have to suffer the sight of Dwayne Johnson as “The Tooth Fairy”, this this keeps up there’ll be a run on tranquilizers.

Malcolm McDowell and Brad Dourif give fine performances with the material they have, which isn’t much. Tyler Mane has little to do under a mask and hidden under a hood, but does have a spectacular moment near the film’s climax. Face to face with Laurie, both with knives, he gives her a pleading look to release him from an existence of constant butchery. The monster has a soul, and Mane finds it despite all Zombie does to hide it.

No doubt, Zombie will release a “director’s cut” on dvd, and everyone will suddenly have enormous respect for whoever responsible for the cutting. In the meanwhile, it has been announced that next summer will bring “Halloween 3D”. Hopefully, it’ll undo all Zombie’s damage, and do it right in your lap.

HALLOWEEN II (2009)

Starring: Scout Taylor-Compton, Tyler Mane, Malcolm McDowell, Daeg Faerch, Sheri Moon, Danielle Harris, Ezra Buzzington, Chris Hardwick, Richard Brake, Howard Hessman, Bill Fagerbakke, Bill Moseley, Margot Kidder

Director: Rob Zombie

Studio: Dimension Films

Genre: Horror

Rating: R (For strong brutal bloody violence throughout, terror, disturbing graphic images, language, and some crude sexual content and nudity.)

Release Date: August 28, 2009

Official Site: http://www.halloween2-movie.com

Sorority Row (2009) Review

SYNOPSIS:

When five sorority girls inadvertently cause the murder of one of their sisters in a prank gone wrong, they agree to keep the matter to themselves and never speak of it again, so they can get on with their lives. This proves easier said than done, when after graduation a mysterious killer goes after the five of them and anyone who knows their secret.

There comes a time in every girl’s life when she is confronted with the challenges of young adulthood. She receives pressures from school, her family, and maybe even from boys. But despite whatever troubles come her way, she knows that she can rely on her friends, who will stick by her no matter what. Maybe she will even be lucky enough to meet these lifelong mates at college, where upon they can share the load and help each other through various hardships.


Through these tight knit friendships, such as those forged in Sorority Row, these young women can encourage each other to spread their wings and together embark on life’s journey.


Or maybe the girl will meet a bunch of alcoholic skanks instead, who appear to own less pairs of full length pants between them as they do brain cells, and spend their time making out with their identical boyfriends and planning parties. Welcome friends, to the sorority girls of Theta Pi.


Meet Jessica, the ambitious blonde leader of the pack. She is the mastermind behind the prank that accidently kills fellow sorority sister Megan. She basically hates everyone that is not her boyfriend, but is obsessed with the idea of Theta Pi. She says things like “What happened to the tenants of sisterhood??”.

Cassidy is the good girl of the group, who feels that her friends were wrong in dumping Megan’s body down an abandoned mine shaft, but is still nevertheless hunted later on by a murderer craving vengeance on Theta Pi. She is comparatively less slutty.

Claire likes to get naked. In the jacuzzi. In the shower. In the opening scene of the movie, when she yells “Danny, give me back my shirt!” She is Asian American, which as Jessica points out, makes Theta Pi more “multicultural”.

Chugs (yes, that is not a misprint) likes to drink and sleep with anonymous freshmen (and her psychologist), much to the mirth of her friends. As her nickname suggests, she always has a drink in her hand and as one of her many companions divulges, tastes like vomit. Safe to say, she is the first to go.

Last but certainly not least, is Ellie (played by a ‘look-at-my-range’ Rumer Willis) who is the clever one of the group, conveyed by that fact that she wears glasses. She seems to carry the most remorse for killing Megan, but not enough remorse to actually do anything about it. Hence she spends most of the movie crying, or gasping for air. Jessica claims that she is “borderline retarded”.


As you can see, Stewart Hendler’s Sorority Row (roughly based on the 1983 B Grade gore fest The House on Sorority Row) borrows from a long line of high school/college horror flicks such as Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer; both in general murder/revenge/ murder plot and in the prolonged scenes of nudity.

In fact Sorority Row is probably rated R more because of the boob fest than the actual violence, which in comparison to most action movies is quite tame. Despite the dastardly premise of a killer punishing sorority girl’s for their evil deeds and Hendler’s obvious love of the jump cut, Sorority Row cannot really be described as a true horror film. It ultimately spends too much time trying to distinguish the girls from each other, and not enough building tension, resulting in the subsequent deaths being anticlimactic (and trust me, I am horrible with scary movies, it doesn’t take much have me cowering in my pop corn).


And yet it isn’t a total waste. To make a film where one of the main character’s names is ‘Chugs’ is to suggests a certain humour about the genre. Like a lot of '90s horror, it appears to parody itself continually, particularly through the character of Jessica who remarks in a deadpan voice “Oh no. Don’t go out there,” and unconcernedly rationalises one of the victim's grisly murders with “maybe he was a dick”.

The manner in which most of the girls die (I won’t wreck it but it’s preeeeetty suggestive) makes it clear that maybe Sorority Row is too self aware to take itself seriously. Not to mention that the sorority ‘mom’ is Carrie Fisher, who totes a shotgun and growls at the killer “Stay the fuck away from my girls!”

SORORITY ROW (2009)

Starring: Briana Evigan, Rumer Willis, Jamie Chung, Carrie Fisher, Leah Pipes, Audrina Patridge, Matt O'Leary

Director: Stewart Hendler

Studio: Summit Entertainment

Genre: Thriller / Drama

Rating: R (For strong bloody violence, language, some sexuality/nudity and partying.)

Release Date: September 11, 2009

Official Site: http://www.sororityrow-themovie.com

Fianl Destination 4 (2009) Review

SYNOPSIS:

On what should have been a fun-filled day at the races, Nick O'Bannon has a horrific premonition in which a bizarre sequence of events causes multiple race cars to crash, sending flaming debris into the stands, brutally killing his friends and causing the upper deck of the stands to collapse on him. When he comes out of this grisly nightmare Nick panics, persuading his girlfriend, Lori, and their friends, Janet and Hunt, to leave... escaping seconds before Nick's frightening vision becomes a terrible reality. Thinking they've cheated death, the group has a new lease on life, but unfortunately for Nick and Lori, it is only the beginning. As his premonitions continue and the crash survivors begin to die one-byone -- in increasingly gruesome ways -- Nick must figure out how to cheat death once and for all before he, too, reaches his final destination. The film marks the latest in the highly popular "Final Destination" series, and its first 3D installment, giving horror fans an especially visceral thrill ride.

The absolutism of the title tells us we shouldn't expect any more of the death defying gore the Final Destination franchise has offered audiences since the first film debuted in 2000 and more than doubled its production budget at the box-office. From that point on every three years has seen a new installment in theaters, but after nine years I would say it is finally time to put the nail in the coffin on this one as not even the fun 3-D effects can distract an audience enough to realize this just isn't fresh or interesting anymore.

Anyone that has seen a trailer for this film already knows we begin this premonition of death at a cheap-o looking hillbilly car race, which may be the first time I have actually seen the use of 3-D make a film look even cheaper as tiny stands filled with 30 or so on-lookers looks like they aren't even part of the action. I mention this only because I thoroughly enjoyed the opening to Final Destination 2 and with David Ellis back in the director's chair for this one, I had hopes for an opening that would rival that log-rolling face-crusher. Instead, CG takes over and bores the audience with each kill looking no different than the last. The best part of the whole thing is a headless dummy mold twitching and spurting blood in the segment's final moments. Sure, it looks fake, but it looks gruesomely fake. After all, I hope they didn't think we thought any of this was real in the first place.

After our lead characters escape certain death, including a role given to Mykelti Williamson as an ex-alcoholic racetrack security guard, we follow this group of goofballs as they try to fool death and escape its plan to finish what it started. It's the last in the franchise, is it possible they finally cheat death and declare check mate?

Expectations for what The Final Destination delivers should be muted. Even if you already know the kills will be ludicrous and the series of events leading up to them improbable, there is still that little something in your head that says, "Oh come on!" even though what follows may be gruesomely delightful. Echoes of "That's stupid," could be heard amongst my midnight viewing audience all while they had a laugh at the slaughter. Hell, if these are your kinds of movies you would be hard-pressed not to enjoy a little of what you see on screen, but only to a certain point.

When bottles of hairspray begin floating in pools of condensation you laugh a little, but roll with it. However, when a fan blows a cart full of liquid explosives across a room later on you can't help but think, "Didn't I see something like this only a few minutes ago?" The answer is yes and at that point tedium set in long ago, even though watching a racist hillbilly meet a gloriously comical demise was rather enjoyable.

Of course, thinking in this kind of a film is frowned upon. You are supposed to sit back, wait for the next person to find their fate at the hands of death's vicious blow and bask in the blood-soaked carnage. The only question is whether you are able to do that entirely. I can't. I love the imaginary kills, but have grown tired of the nonsense in-between. And on top of all that, with this being the final film in this franchise you would think they wouldn't end it with CGI skeletons and not an all out gorefest. It's an ultimate insult to an audience that is supporting this film despite the fact the third one was running on fumes and showed little room to go, but still managed to be far more fun than this one.

FINAL DESTINATION 4 (2009)

Starring: Shantel VanSanten, Bobby Campo, Hayley Webb, Nick Zano, Krista Allen, Andrew Fiscella, Mykelti Williamson, Richard T. Jones

Director: David Ellis

Studio: New Line Cinema

Genre: Thriller

Rating: R (For strong violent/gruesome accidents, language and a scene of sexuality.)

Release Date: August 28, 2009

Official Site: http://www.thefinaldestinationmovie.com/

Ong Bak 2 (2009) Review

SYNOPSIS:

Martial arts superstar Tony Jaa stars in and directs this epic tale of revenge set hundreds of years in the past. Featuring a huge cast and hordes of elephants, this prequel takes Jaa’s skills to the next level, showcasing him as a master of a wide range of martial arts styles - while proving him to be a promising director as well.

A few years ago, the original Ong Bak set out to turn back the clock on action movies, moving away from overcomplicated plotlines and focusing on delivering as much action as possible. Ong Bak 2 promises much of the same, but falters by offering up a tale that needed meatier plotting. To add insult to injury, a baffling local PG-13 mucks up the flow of Tony Jaa’s action scenes, leaving local audiences with a messy, incomplete version of an already troubled film.

Tien (Tony Jaa) is the son of a commander in the royal army. His parents were killed in a coup that placed a greedy prince on the throne. Tien is left orphaned and is soon picked up by slavers. But he is rescued by a group of thieves and martial artists whose leader sees something special in Tien, and raises him as one of his own. Tien grows up to be a fearsome warrior, and quickly comes to lead the thieves in their raids. He is next in line to king of the bandits, but the memory of his parents has not left him, and he cannot move on without exacting his revenge.

The plot is pretty thin as it is, but the script pushes it even thinner. The movie waits far too long to introduce the story elements of the film, perhaps too confident in the effectiveness of its action. And the action is indeed quite great, but the lack of context makes it feel like a blur. And when things ought to have been moving, the movie sticks us with momentum breaking flashbacks, making the entire second act feel pretty tedious. The movie actually has a somewhat interesting story, with a couple of twists that could’ve been dramatically devastating, but the script doesn’t do justice to its own ideas.

But let’s accept that nobody went into Ong Bak 2 hoping for a narrative masterpiece. This is all about the action, and for the most part, it delivers. There are a few camera issues, but all in all, action and martial arts aficionados should find little to complain about in this movie. Once again, Tony Jaa eschews wirework and CG and concentrates on filming people hitting each other. In many ways, everything here is far more impressive than what can be found in the modern Chinese martial arts epics. It’s just too bad that this movie is rated PG-13, and has some of its violence cut. I’m not particularly bloodthirsty, but the cuts ruin the flow of the action scenes, at times completely breaking the logic of the scene. It’s an absolutely baffling choice.

As there isn’t a lot of plot, there isn’t really a lot of acting in this movie. Tony Jaa mostly lets his body do the talking, his fists and feet enunciating his emotion better than his words. But Jaa also has an expressive face, and though he doesn’t really get to stretch his face much, it works well enough for the film. The supporting cast doesn’t really get to do much either, though there’s some real talent in there. Sorapong Chatree is pretty fun to watch overall. Sarayu Wongkrachang goes a bit overboard, but he makes it work.

For the life of me, I will never understand why the distributors pushed to get a PG-13 rating for this movie. The one thing Ong Bak 2 had going for it was its action scenes, where the visceral violence could somewhat make up for the movie’s general lack of plot. But the rating makes the action scenes incoherent, the fight logic thrown out the window as we skip over vital seconds of movement. I might be able to recommend Ong Bak 2 to die hard fans of fighting, but not in this form.

ONG BAK 2 (2009)

Starring: Tony Jaa

Director: Tony Jaa

Studio: Magnolia Pictures

Genre: Action

Rating: R (For sequences of violence.)

Release Date: September 25, 2009

Official Site: http://www.ongbaktwo.com/

Whiteout (2009) Review

SYNOPSIS:

After two years stationed at Antarctica's South Pole research base, lone U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko (Kate Beckinsale) is as anxious as anyone to be going home. She's turned in her resignation and is counting the hours and minutes to the last plane out. But three days before departure, a body turns up on the ice and Carrie is immediately thrust into Antarctica's first murder investigation. As the death toll mounts, the mystery deepens with shifting loyalties, deadly whiteouts, and a relentless killer who will stop at nothing to protect a secret buried for over sixty years. Now with everyone around her packing up and getting out, Carrie must solve the crime before Antarctica is plunged into six months of darkness and she is stranded with the killer on a land where nothing comes in and no one gets out.

You ever hear of this place called Antarctica? Of course you have, it's the place with all the cute little penguins from that documentary you saw four years ago.

However, did you know it is the coldest, most isolated landmass on the planet? Okay, you probably knew that too, just not in such threatening terms. But you better get ready, because the blistering cold and lonely continent is about to bore you stiff in a film that isn't as much awful as it is just plain dumb.

Whiteout has been delayed for as long as I can remember after first seeing footage from it back at the 2007 Comic Con, again at Comic Con 2008 and it finally arrives in theaters in 2009. Typically when a film is delayed this long it's for a reason and Whiteout doesn't disappoint in living up to the rules set forth by film history.

Kate Beckinsale stars as U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko who is first introduced stripping off five layers of clothing and then hopping into the shower -- all without saying a word. I can hardly complain considering Beckinsale is absolutely gorgeous, but as the camera pans up and down her body I didn't know we were actually watching the best action sequences this film had to offer in its 101 minute running time. Without the help of fast cars, neon lights, 30 computer screens and a Paul Oakenfold soundtrack it seems director Dominic Sena has no clue what to do as this film doesn't even live up to the level of stupid fun offered by Sena's Swordfish and Gone in 60 Seconds, and it's not like that's asking for much.

The story is something of a "C.S.I. in the snow" as news of the first murder in the history of Antarctica hits the wire and Carrie's retirement plans are put on hold. Harboring a creepy crush on John Fury, a geriatric doctor with a rock star name played by Tom Skerritt, and not trusting anyone due to a silly back-story serving as a story distraction and runtime space filler, Carrie must go about solving the crime before a massive storm hits, which would leave her stranded in Antarctica for the next six months. I guess if that happens she could at least go find those dancing penguins from that animated movie three years ago.

Plot holes, flashbacks, flashbacks of flashbacks, flashbacks of what happened five minutes ago and just plain dumb action sequences turn Whiteout into an all out bore. This should have been a commercial for Blistex as temperatures reaching 65 degrees below zero will apparently freeze your fingers in seconds all while the lips of our leads remain unfazed. Several chase sequences are slowed down due to the characters' need to use guide ropes as winds push them around and they must hook, unhook and hook again a carabiner before they can run from the crazy killer with an ice axe. This monotony alleviates all tension and once all is said and done you will be left to discuss the myriad of problems this film has and wondering why you just wasted your time watching it.

Whiteout is simply a film you should avoid. It isn't so stupid you will actively hate it, but you do run the risk of becoming a little dumber just for seeing it. And after all that, there isn't one penguin. What a rip-off.

WHITEOUT (2009)

Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Gabriel Macht, Tom Skerritt, Columbus Short, Nicolas Wright, Alex O'Loughlin

Director: Dominic Sena

Studio: Warner Bros.

Genre: Action / Thriller

Rating: R (For violence, grisly images, brief strong language and some nudity.)

Release Date: September 11, 2009

Official Site: http://www.whiteoutmovie.com/

The Grudge 3 (2009) Review

SYNOPSIS:

A young Japanese woman hears about a mysterious curse that claimed several people as victims. She thinks she knows how to end the grudge, and travels to Chicago to the apartment building where the curse was first recorded, hoping to end it once and for all.

It is widely acknowledged by fans and critics alike that The Grudge 2 sent the fledgling American version of the franchise spiraling off into the wrong direction, reducing its Asian horror roots in a fractured narrative that would drag the story kicking and screaming all the way to America. The Grudge 3 - The Final Scare starts out pretty much where the last one left off, and keeps walking down that same ugly path, this time without director Shimizu Takashi, and with the added bonus of it being a direct to video feature shot in Eastern Europe. The Grudge 3 takes an already struggling franchise and pushes its head underwater.

The movie starts by updating us on the status of Jake, the kid who was the sole survivor of vengeful ghost Kayako’s haunting of a Chicago apartment. He’s been committed to a psychiatric facility, and the moment he’s alone, Kayako exacts her punishment on him. Meanwhile, back in the apartment building where all of that took place, Max (Gil McKinney), the landlord, is struggling to keep things together and take care of his family as tenants leave and the building owner breathes down his neck. Things get worse when the hauntings continue, once again causing people to die in mysterious ways. But Naoko (Emi Ikehata) has just arrived in Chicago, and she may have a way to rid the world of Kayako once and for all.

The movie forgoes the fractured storytelling of the franchise and features a more straightforward narrative. In theory, that ought to simplify things, but this story seems even more broken than the previous movies, the plot points feeling barely cobbled together. One would One of the shakiest aspects of the movie is the character of Naoko, who we learn has a history with Kayako, and has always held the knowledge on how to defeat her. But of course, despite Kayako killing people for years in Japan, it takes the death of a random boy from Chicago to make her decide that she must finally step up and prevent these killings. That’s the sort of narrative logic we’re dealing with, every possible road towards towards contrivance taken in order to move pieces into convenient places. And strange, despite the more traditional setup, we don’t really get to know the characters very well, everyone given the bare minimum of characterization before being shuffled off to face Kayako’s killing hand. Without Shimizu at the helm, the filmmaking has taken a hit as well. The movie feels like a pale imitation of his style, working off lame shocks and relying on added gore to provide chills that the stale atmosphere cannot.

The Grudge series has become somewhat notorious for wasting the talent that it gets in the acting department, using capable stars and giving them pretty much nothing to do. This movie goes in the opposite direction, taking bad actors and giving them stuff that they obviously can’t handle. Take Gil McKinney, who turns the genuine burdens of his character and turns them into whiny rants. Or Johanna Braddy, whose petulant performance makes it difficult to sympathize with her character. Also, the role of boy ghost Toshio is terribly miscast.

The Grudge 3 ranks high in the list of unnecessary sequels. There’s just no reason to follow up on the events of The Grudge 2, which itself was an unnecessary and much despised sequel. And yet, here we are, stuck with another terrible direct to video horror sequel in our theaters, while we miss out on many of the more original cinematic offerings that the world has to offer. To me, that’s a far scarier curse than what Kayako can ever bring.

THE GRUDGE 3 (2009)

Main Cast:

Beau Mirchoff, Emi Ikehata, Johanna Braddy, Matthew Knight, Shawnee Smith

Supporting Cast:

Aiko Horiuchi, Mike Straub, Shimba Tsuchiya, Takatsuna Mukai

Director:

Toby Wilkins

Writer:

Brad Keene

Release Year:

2009

Released By:

Viva

Website:

The Grudge 3

MTRCB Rating:

PG-13

District 9 (2009) Review

SYNOPSIS:

DISTRICT 9 depicts a fictional world where extraterrestrials have become refugees in South Africa.

District 9 is a hodgepodge of science fiction, action and politics set in Johannesburg, South Africa dealing with the oppression of a stranded alien race whose mothership is incapable of leaving Earth's orbit. As a result of fear and misunderstanding, human's have wrangled up the surviving aliens and given them their own slum, dubbed "District 9," just outside of the city.

It is in District 9 the refugee aliens trade weaponry with local Nigerian voodoo militants in exchange for cat food, are derogatorily referred to as "prawns" and are now being rounded up and moved to an even less impressive fenced in environment one would be hard-pressed not to call a concentration camp. To say the film's political setting and subject matter mirrors the Apartheid in South Africa is such a "no duh" statement it hardly bears mentioning, but when it comes down to it District 9's real world parallels help greatly with the story's intrigue. This isn't to say it's all roses as the second act gets quite boring and the plot is filled with several holes, but the film's third act is likely to have audiences walking out raving as it makes up for any moments of tedium in-between.

Why do the aliens trade weapons instead of using them? How does the mothership hover over Earth if it has no power? Why are human weapons at all effective against superior alien weaponry? Don't worry about it, is the message I got, but they are all valid questions as this film dwells in reality with an opening reflecting a documentary approach to the story and extraordinary CGI proving $30 million can go a long way if used effectively.

At the center of the story is Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley), a likable employee placed in charge of the alien relocation. Copley, like writer/director Neill Blomkamp, is new to the world of feature films with District 9 serving as his first as an actor just as this is Blomkamp's first feature film as a director based on his 2005 short Alive in Joburg. My complaints about plot holes aside, Blomkamp does show talent as an action director considering once things get started they really get started. A break-in sequence midway through the film and the entire climax is outstanding. Among the only distractions are the previously mentioned Nigerian gangsters and the clichéd head of military that snarls his way through the entire feature.

Copley's performance as Wikus is an interesting one, and draws your attention and scrutiny scene after scene. He comes off as an innocent and caring family man until he sets out to evict the aliens. He serves the eviction notices without compassion, refers to them as "prawns" without a second thought and even when he's witness to all the secrets to District 9 his motivations are ultimately self-centered until there is no other choice. Audiences will find themselves torn as to whom to cheer for as the film shifts from one scene to the next, which comes as a result of an excellent performance by Copley as well as quality alien special effects, with particular attention paid to the eyes of the main alien protagonist.

An emotional connection to the aliens is imperative to the story, just as is the insensitive buffoonery of Wikus, but the development of each serve as the most boring part of the story. Blomkamp dedicates far too much time to the oppression of the aliens long after the audience is in on the details, but fortunately he makes up for it with action sequences filled with alien technology and exploding human beings that will have you walking away satisfied.

District 9, for what it's worth, is a breath of fresh air. It's an intriguing science fiction with originality and thought behind it, but not as entirely unique as it may first appear. While it does utilize spectacular effects, it does it on a minimal budget and it doesn't rely solely on said effects to tell its story. The story itself isn't altogether perfect, but it shows thought, which is more than I can say for other films of its sort. When it comes to big budget summer films, it's interesting to see the one that carried a modest $30 million price tag showing the greatest effort to tell an actual story. Now if we could just get the $250 million films to follow suit.

DISTRICT 9 (2009)

Starring: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, David James, Mandla Gaduka, William Allen Young

Director: Neill Blomkamp

Studio: Screen Gems

Rating: R (For bloody violence and pervasive language.)

Genre: Sci-Fi / Action

Release Date: August 14, 2009

Official Site: http://district9movie.com/