District 9

For my first review, I want to talk about one of the Oscar nominees for 'Movie of the Year', "District 9". More importantly, what I want to talk about is how it absolutely SHOULD NOT be nominated for this award.

The idea behind this film is actually a very good one. This film successfully humanizes aliens and gives you a first hand look at what their culture is like, rather then just seeing them as invaders. I also like how they broke the fourth wall for the first half of the movie. The direct interaction with the characters allowed them to develop easier.


However, mediocre acting, a poor portrayal of Nigerians, and a lack of connection with some important characters made the video hard for me to sit through, let alone enjoy. I've heard great reviews about the performance of Sharlto Copley, the main character who becomes infected and slowly begins to become an alien. I, however, thought it laughable at times. I found it very hard to buy into his character and the dilemma that he was facing. Following the release of the movie, anger was expressed by many Nigerians for the way their culture was displayed in the film. They showed Nigerians eating aliens, having sex with them, and as being overall corrupt. When the aliens were rounded up, the Nigerians saw it as a way to exploit them and provide them with prostitutes, food, and weapons. There was also a scene in which they planned to sacrifice the main character so they could eat him. On top of all those problems, I found myself not knowing enough about certain characters that I felt were vital to the story, such as Sharlto's wife. The whole reason he's trying to cure himself is so that he can be with the woman he loves. Aside from meeting her a couple of times and finding out she has an overprotective father, why the hell does he like her so much? I have trouble buying into why he wants to win her back so badly.

Bottom line, this sounds like a great idea for movie that went south very quickly. Lets just hope there isn't a sequel.