District 9

In District 9 director and co-screen writer Neill Blomkamp adapts his earlier short film, Alive in Joburg, into a barmy feature length movie concerning an Alien race forced to live in slum-like conditions in Johannesburg. In the movie we follow Wikus Van De Merwe (played by Sharlto Copley), the leader of a human task force who’s job it is to move over a million of the aliens (known as “prawns” in the film) out of their slum (District 9) into new, and supposedly better, living conditions. The film is shot as part faux documentary and part movie. At times this doesn’t work all that well, especially in some of the earlier scenes with Copley’s weak improvising a stark contrast when compared to his assured “movie” performance later on (in terms of acting he has to carry virtually the whole film on his shoulders). The good news is that in terms of the negative stuff, that’s about it. Some people may find the obvious apartheid allegory a touch trite, but this film can be enjoyed on many levels and is all the better for it. It scores heavily in many areas, but the main highlights are a clever screenplay and some truly stunning special effects. I won’t go into what happens, but even as a genre this is difficult to pigeon hole. Conspiracy thriller? Horror? Allegorical Drama? Shoot em-up? Comedy? All of the above and more are thrown in. All this, and the greatest gag about shooting a pig to ever grace the screen. What more do you want?

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
A bonkers, but smart and entertaining story that can be enjoyed by cinephiles and blockbuster lovers alike. Michael Bay can only dream of producing something like this. Rating: 8/10.