Alien movies aren't all weird.

Honestly, I hadn't heard about the Neill Blomkamp-directed, Peter Jackson-produced flick until I saw it advertised on Comcast's annoying On Demand breakdown. And then when I saw the ad, I can't say I was particularly intrigued-- that is, until I was scanning through my favorite film critic, James Berardinelli's Top 10 of 2009 and saw the movie listed as one of his favorites from last year.

My interest now piqued and having nothing better to do tonight, I convinced a friend of mine to rent District 9 and watch it with me. Upon it's beginning, my heart sank. I believed that this movie experience would transpire like most other science fiction flicks-- with unnecessary gore, gross aliens*, and the development an undeserved cult following of intense comic book weirdos.

And let me tell you, I was so wrong. As it happens, District 9 is not really a weird alien movie-- it's a deeply moving psychological examination of human nature. More specifically, it's a compelling allegorical portrait of, on the small scale, South Africa's gruesome Apartheid movement and, on the large scale, most humanitarian crises in recorded history.

This said, let me give you some viewing tips. First, this is not an easy movie to watch. It takes about 40-50 minutes to get fully invested, and if you give up before the very end, I can't imagine that you'd leave with much hope for our kind. Second, don't watch it alone. It's graphic and disturbing and you'll want a buddy there so you have someone besides yourself to hold through the last half of the flick. And finally, it is imperative that you watch the whole movie. I have to say that several times throughout my viewing, I wanted to leave. I'm glad I didn't. The ending is perfect-- neither happy nor sad, but somehow extremely satisfying despite the bleak subject matter. At the same time, I can't see how you could be so satisfied by the film's end without having endured the first 100 minutes.

Here is the movie's excellent website, and here is James Berardinelli's excellent review-- he says it better than I can. If I've convinced you, or even if I've alerted the mildest of interests**, order District 9 On Demand, throw it on your NetFlix or iTunes wishlist, or, if you're feeling old school, go out to a Blockbuster and rent the physical DVD. It's worth the watch. I don't lie about these things


*Generally speaking, I find aliens-- especially disgusting crusty ones-- to be super-lame. Perhaps I'll elaborate on why at a later date but for right now, I'm pretty sure that letting you all know that I hate them*** is quite enough to get my point across. 

** Which, by the way, I should have.

***Come to think of it, I might have to reevaluate my position on aliens. Not only did I really like District 9... I really, really liked Avatar.