Sci-Fi

DISTRICT 9 (2009)

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When this came out in 2009 it was with great anticipation and excitement.

Neill Blomkamp had previously directed a few short films Tetra Vaal, Yellow and Alive in Joburg.
The story goes that Peter Jackson had seen Blomkamp’s shorts including the wonderful Alive in Jo’Burg and ended up producing this very interesting sci-fi

The brilliant short film ‘Alive in Jo’Burg’ was a direct inspiration for D9 and came to the attention of Peter Jackson, who went on to produce this intelligent sci-fi film with a distinctly new take on the townships problems and making the residents literal aliens . He used real interviews with residents in the short film, asking them how they felt about Nigerians and Zimbabweans. This gave him the idea of replacing the humans with aliens as an allegory.

 

Watching Alive in Jo’Burg you can see the director’s strengths, the shaky cam making the effects much more believable. It is a brilliant short that was a fantastic calling card for Blomkamp.

Here, he elaborates on his short by creating a film that comments on racism in South Africa and putting the aliens into the townships, out of sight of the human residents.

In 1982 a massive alien craft comes to a standstill over Johannesburg and we find out that the aliens inside are starving and have no way of flying away, so, stranded, they are transported off the ship and relocated to a refugee camp that over the years becomes a militarized ghetto.

Wikkus Van De Merwe, brilliantly played by Sharlto Copley, works for MNU (Multi-National United), a weapons corporation, and, as he is married to the boss’s daughter, he is given the task of evicting the aliens to a concentration camp outside the city. This makes for some brilliantly realistic scenes of interaction between the aliens (all played by Jason Cope) all of which were predominantly improvised by Copley and Cope.

Wikkus is exposed to an alien formula that he has confiscated making his life very difficult as the effects of this become clear. Copley shows his range here throughout his journey and we see a character that is building and growing as he goes through his transformation.

If you haven’t seen this, I highly recommend it for a piece of innovative film-making and a welcome addition to the sci-fi world.

4/5

BUY THE FILM ON BLU RAY DVD HERE

DOWNLOAD THE FILM ON iTUNES HERE

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2014)

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The law of diminishing artistic returns.

A sequel to a reboot of a very successful franchise from the 60’s/70’s was always going to be an uphill struggle.

When Rupert Wyatt had finished Rise of the Planet of the Apes he began work on the sequel but, when the May 2014 release date had been announced by the studio, he felt there wasn’t enough time to make the sequel properly so was quickly replaced by Cloverfield director, Matt Reeves.

Here, Reeves does a decent enough job building on the story and, as it’s set 10 years after the end of Rise, there is a whole new generation of apes to contend with.
The Simian flu virus has all but destroyed humanity and with the apes and a handful of humans immune to the virus we are thrust into a dystopic world which makes for a great visual backdrop.

Caesar (the brilliant Andy Serkis) is still in charge of the ape colony and now has a son, Alexander (Kodi Smit-McPhee). When a group of humans enters their domain seeking access to the dam in order to generate power for the humans still living in San Francisco, order is upset. Koba, now played by, the always interesting English actor, Toby Kebbell, has his mind set on destroying the humans, having been tortured and experimented on by them in the first film. Here lies the drama, the liberal understanding of the goodness that exists in humans from Caesar and the relentless hate that Koba has for them.

Can ape and human live together in harmony? Not if Dreyfus (Gary Oldman) has anything to do with it. He brings gravitas to a poorly written stereotypical role. Jason Clarke plays our main human protagonist, Malcolm, who sympathises and has empathy for the apes. Kirk Acevedo (Oz) plays Carver, the human trouble-maker.

It’s an age old story of fear and the difference that lives within us that many times creates wars and dis-harmony.

Dawn is a good effort, falling short of being brilliant by some muddy composition.

3/5

BUY THE FILM ON BLU RAY DVD HERE

DOWNLOAD THE FILM ON iTUNES HERE