I have rarely seen a cooler preview than the trailer for District 9.  A military officer interrogates an alien, peppering it with questions about why they are on our planet, if they mean us harm, and how their weapons work.  The alien simply says that they didn’t mean to land on Earth, we’re holding them here, and they just want  to go home.  It’s a novel idea: aliens come to Earth and want absolutely nothing to do with us.

The film is shown mostly  through news footage, security clips, and home videos.  So yes, that translates into shaky camera for those of you with weak stomachs.  Basically, the film centers around a slum in which the aliens (given the derogatory term “prawns”) have resided for the past twenty years.  After landing in Johannesburg, the humans in town have grown tired of dealing with the aliens and have convinced the local government to relocate the slums far outside of the city.

Through interviews with various historians, economists, and journalists, you get a foreshadowing of horrible events to come.  Sharlto Copley is Wikus Van Der Werwe, the agent placed in charge of the relocation operation, who watches his plan spin quickly out of control.  The aliens have endured years of terrible treatment and though most happily sign their eviction papers, there are still a few aliens (including Christopher and his son) who are intent on going home and have been trying to do so for two decades

This movie was so shocking in it’s stark brutality.  Made as a statement on apartheid, the elements of hate and ignorance are amplified and combine with the violence shown throughout made the film a bit hard to watch.  There were touching moments, just not enough of them for this ever to be a happy movie.  All the same, I really liked this movie.  I enjoyed the ending, leaving just enough questions unanswered to keep you wondering.

Rating:  

Submit this

Hide Sites

I first heard of this movie in a commercial.  It wasn’t even a trailer; it was literally a commercial that lasted 15 seconds and ended with the announcer declaring, “There’s a twist ending you won’t believe!”  So I had to go see the full trailer for myself, and couldn’t see what the big deal could possibly be.  There are three couples featured prominently in the trailer.  How difficult can it be to figure it out?

The movie stars Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich as newlyweds Cliff and Cydney on their Hawaiin honeymoon.  They plan to spend a portion of their honeymoon hiking an island trail to a hidden beach on an isolated portion of the island.  Early on the trail they meet up with Nick and Gina (Timothy Olyphant and Kiele Sanchez) and the two couples start to hike the  trail together.  Along the way they discover that there is a manhunt underway for a man and woman who are stalking, torturing,  and killing hikers on the islands.

This movie seems pretty straightforward.  I had a very hard time coming to a final opinion on this film.  All I can say is that you will think of every possible twist.  The correct answer will occur to you, it is impossible for it not to.  Now, to completely contradict myself, there is no possible way for you to figure out what the twist ending will be.  I know that makes no sense, but isn’t that a perfect reason to see the movie?  The only way for you to understand what I mean is to see it for yourself.

Rating:  

Submit this

Hide Sites

I was actually excited to see this movie.  The previews looked cute, and I love Gerard Butler (still haven’t seen 300, but Phantom? Hello, ladies?). I knew not to  expect more than the typical romantic comedy, with the plot plainly laid out in a two and a half minute trailer.  Butler’s misogynistic Mike is going to help  uptight Abby (Katherine Heigl) land the man of her dreams by teaching her how to play the dating game.

Abby is the producer of a morning news show, co-anchored by a married couple, and slipping in the ratings.  Her boss makes the highly unlikely decision to hire Mike, a man with a local cable access program that tells “The Ugly Truth” about the relationships between men and women.  Hired for a weekly segment to boost ratings, his antics quickly become an attention grabber and he appears on Abby’s show daily.  As Mike helps Abby loosen up and manipulate her handsome new neighbor into a relationship with her, Mike realizes he’s been falling for her the whole time.

My problem with this film is not its predictability.  If you go into it know what to expect, it can be comforting to know there will be a happily ever after.  What I found highly disappointing was the lack of cleverness.  The jokes fell flat, the “shocking” behavior was crude, not funny.  This could have been a better movie, but how many people really expected it to be?

Rating:  

Submit this

Hide Sites

I didn’t give a lot of thought towards this movie when I heard about it. “Ah, just another romantic comedy with the chick from Grey’s Anatomy”. My wife wants to see it, so whatever, and we go. It was actually good. I enjoyed the movie the whole way through. Katherine Heigl handles comedy very well and Gerard Butler did a great job of pulling off the “typical male” role.

The movie is about Abby (Katherine Heigl), a producer of a morning television show that is torn between good ratings or good content. Abby is against going to new lows to get the viewers and tries hard to keep things tasteful. When the ratings plummet the boss brings in Mike (Gerard Butler), the host of a public access show titled The Ugly Truth. These two characters clash from the beginning but Abby finds that Mike may have the knowledge she needs to land the dream guy.

Typical story, the two hate each other then they become friends while she pursues another guy and then they find out they really like each other. LAME! Not really, they keep it interesting with Abby and Mike’s one liners and crude humor. They take it to the edge but don’t take it too far to where it is uncomfortable, well… there was that one time.

Not a lot to this movie, simple story, lots of humor, and worth the watch. Can’t say go see it in theaters unless you need a date movie. I consider it a rental (Netflix) or something for HBO.

Rating:  

Submit this

Hide Sites