Christopher Webster [Celluloid 05.08.09] movie news scifi action dystopic



Blomkamp's large scale version of his own short, Alive in Joburg, finally has trailerage and, honestly, it looks amazing. It is easily one of the most realistic scifi depictions of what human/alien co-habitations might look like (next to Alien Nation maybe), particularly in light of our inherent distrust of all things "different" or potentially cost prohibitive.

Synopsis:
The film depicts a fictional world where extraterrestrials have become refugees in South Africa. Wikus (Sharlto Copley) is a Multi-National United agent who becomes infected by alien biotechnology. He must go on the run from the oppressive government into District 9, a internment camp where “non-humans” have been forced to live since landing on Earth nearly 30 years ago.

Some, perhaps unenlightened individuals, may cry Colverfield foul at the film's use of documentary style but, in my mind, Blomkamp reserves the right to use the technique as he was there before rampaging monsters were even a twinkle in Matt Reeves' eyes.

Low-fi youtube version after the break. Nice big HD version here.

UPDATE: Thanks to empire we've now got the first official poster. Also, after the break is the new "uncensored" trailer that appeared online a few days back.

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Jeff (11 years ago) Reply

This looks good. I always wondered what spambots looked like.

Hot Fuzz (11 years ago) Reply

My only complaint is that the aliens seems more insect-like than in the original short. Maybe it's the CGI, but in the original they seemed more amphibious and fleshy. More vulnerable to the elements.

Either way this film is gonna be something special.

Jonas (11 years ago) Reply

Bookah! Finally some original serious sci-fi. I've been dying to see some footage of this full-lenght version and it does not dissapoint.

dubqnp (11 years ago) Reply

This looks great! I'm really looking forward to seeing this.

Bob Doto (11 years ago) Reply

Oh, I'm so looking forward to this. And set in JB nonetheless. Wonderful. The short has some amazing footage. Looking forward to the new, longer version. My one concern is that this will be another film "where one man blah blah blah..." I like it when they just get rid of that alpha subject and get into the situation at hand. What I do like is how the overt parallel between apartheid and what's going on In District 9 seems to work. There's a real immediacy because this stuff is really still on the surface in SA. Most of the time the stories I watch are form such a distance commenting on something that's happened in the past and it's like "Gee, wish we could've done something different..." But with this... situation in SA is still insane.

sonaboy (11 years ago) Reply

"someone," and I ain't sayin' who, seems to be telegraphing their absolute disgust at Cloverfield through other unrelated movies.
tsk tsk.
:)

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