[Uncle Skeleton]

Originally Posted by downinflames68 

When people are being "selfless", they are doing so for selfish reasons.

Right like the endorphins they feel from helping others? Pure semantics.

Regardless, the character's turn was forced on him, so it wasn't representative of any character development.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton 

I read him as entirely self-serving. There was no altruism in his actions, he simply chose the only path left to him.

You didn't pay attention. He sacrificed himself when it was clear that he would never make it. He did it just for the prawn leader and his kid.

-t

[Uncle Skeleton]

I thought his only hope was for the alien to cure him. I saw no indication he cared about the alien's welfare beyond that goal. And apparently he didn't sacrifice himself because he survived to the end of the movie.

[mdc]

Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton 

Regardless, the character's turn was forced on him, so it wasn't representative of any character development.

I don't agree with this.
The transformation was forced on Wikus but he did everything he could think of to fight it. When Christopher told him that he could turn him back he decided that he would work with him, but after Christopher saw what the humans were doing to alien test subjects he decided that Wikus' transformation would have to wait until he could do whatever he could for his people. When Wikus heard it'd take three years he attacked Christopher and left him for dead with Koobus.

Wikus gets into the mech and yet again leaves Christopher with the cowboys. Over the sound system in the mech he hears the order to kill Christopher and, in my opinion, at that moment he changes everything and fights for Christopher and his child.

Wikus would've died saving the two of them if it were not for the other prawns which killed Koobus.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton 

I thought his only hope was for the alien to cure him. I saw no indication he cared about the alien's welfare beyond that goal. And apparently he didn't sacrifice himself because he survived to the end of the movie.

It wasn't clear at all that he would survive that final fight. Actually, the way he fought didn't show that he intended to survive it.

The hope that the aliens would come back 30 years later and bring a cure was purely hypothetical. It doesn't seem to me that he really gave that a great chance of happening.

-t

[Eug]

Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton 

That's not my point at all, my point is that when harsh realities are victimless, or the only victims are ones who made their own bed, I really don't care anymore. No one ever claimed that humankind was all unicorns that piss marshmallows, the optimistic view of us is simply that we know how to channel our destruction away from the innocent and towards those who deserve it. Making the aliens despicable takes any sting out of the harshness of the humans. IMO.

Heh. I think that was one big point of the movie. Does a uneducated people's savageness justify our crimes against them?

BTW, not all of the aliens were savages anyway. The educated Christopher Johnson wasn't.

What I meant was 1/10th the budget for 1/10th the screen time is nothing notable. Every awful made-for-Syfy monster movie does the same thing.

Well, IMO these were amongst the most realistic looking CG aliens in movie history. Avatar's Navi didn't actually look real. They looked very cool, but not real.

[Uncle Skeleton]

Originally Posted by mdc 

I don't agree with this.
The transformation was forced on Wikus but he did everything he could think of to fight it. When Christopher told him that he could turn him back he decided that he would work with him, but after Christopher saw what the humans were doing to alien test subjects he decided that Wikus' transformation would have to wait until he could do whatever he could for his people. When Wikus heard it'd take three years he attacked Christopher and left him for dead with Koobus.

Wikus gets into the mech and yet again leaves Christopher with the cowboys. Over the sound system in the mech he hears the order to kill Christopher and, in my opinion, at that moment he changes everything and fights for Christopher and his child.

Wikus would've died saving the two of them if it were not for the other prawns which killed Koobus.

Sounds like two bads and a good, and I don't remember the good. I'll review it when I get a chance.

Originally Posted by turtle777 

It wasn't clear at all that he would survive that final fight. Actually, the way he fought didn't show that he intended to survive it.

The way I remember it, the odds from fighting were slim, but the odds of any alternatives were slimmer. And he seemed to be lashing out at everyone, like a temper tantrum muted only by his injuries. But maybe you're right, I'll review it when I get a chance.

Originally Posted by Eug 

Heh. I think that was one big point of the movie. Does a uneducated people's savageness justify our crimes against them?

Until the end of the movie, there was no indication the problem was their education. For all we knew they were animals (dangerous ones), and that's how they were treated. Should we stop caging (earth) animals on the chance that they are simply uneducated?

What makes this an interesting question is that usually it's asked about people we know are like us, human. The novelty of this movie (that the outsiders are aliens) is what detracts from the question, precisely because they were aliens; we had no way of knowing they were intelligent. In other words, we judge others based on their actions combined with what else we know about them. For other humans, what we know about them is from centuries of experience with other humans. With the aliens, we know zero about them, so all we can judge them on is their actions. It makes the issue less interesting, IMO, not more.

Well, IMO these were amongst the most realistic looking CG aliens in movie history.

Which like I said is not surprising when you can spend a whole movie's budget on 10 minutes of footage.

[ThinkInsane]

Originally Posted by downinflames68 

Weird that the guy who's that interesting can't spell "brakes" correctly.

I would think it was probably the IO9 interviewer that typed up the interview and posted it that used breaks incorrectly, not Blomkamp himself.

[Sealobo]

Originally Posted by downinflames68 

Right, but you said it was in your top 10. Which is hilarious. Thus... your opinion of movies is completely laughable.

why are you constantly attacking me whenever possible? You need to grow up.

what's the relevance of me placing a movie in my top-10, which apparently is a subjective matter, has anything to do with you adding my opinion on movie being "laughable"? I wouldn't call your top-10 hilarious even though they might be a pile of **** from my view. It's the basic concept of showing respect even to a stranger.

Also, you always selectively respond to the others. You have nothing to say about me calling you rude and arrogant?

Over the years, it is clear that you have demonstrated an unusual sense of superiority in all matters. But it doesn't really mean that you're; have you ever considered that it's only in your head? Maybe you should try to learn being a little bit more humble?

[downinflames68]

Originally Posted by Sealobo 

why are you constantly attacking me whenever possible?

I don't. I think you're a pretty cool person with generally good taste, especially in automobiles, which is why it sticks out like a sore thumb when you say that Avatar was in the top ten movies EVER, even when you own "700+" dvds. Again, you are cool, but your choice of "avatar" as something remarkable enough to be in the top 10 is hilarious. Either you have very poor taste, or I'm very confused as to why someone would think a movie that has the same old story line of "white people are bad corporations are bad military is bad native population is the right way crawl back towards nature fall in love with native fight original military side that you were on for the freedom of the natives" makes a top 10 film. You've seen this story before. Many many MANY times.

[downinflames68]

Originally Posted by ThinkInsane 

I would think it was probably the IO9 interviewer that typed up the interview and posted it that used breaks incorrectly, not Blomkamp himself.

That makes sense.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Nope. Doing it yourself almost always looks better than the iTunes SD version. SD on iTunes really isn't very good. Apple optimizes for space savings, not quality.

There's no way I'm gonna pay $20 for a SD disc or iTunes download anyway, when I have the Blu-ray.

This is exactly why I like the iTunes digital copy which I think looks fantastic on an iPhone/iPod an good on a Laptop.

When you buy a BR disk with a digital copy it takes these steps.

1) Put disk in computer
2) Enter code

That's all. It makes a nice cover, chapters put's it in itunes.

Time: 3 minutes.

Vs..

Spending $30 on a BR disk with no digital copy.

1) Search for torrent
2) download 5 gigish BR rip
3) Re-encode the entire thing
4) manually add chapters (not likely)
5) Manually add cover art
6) import into iTunes
7) change ID tags

Time: Personal time, 15-30+ min. Computer time... MANY hours/days.
Try explaining that to the normal consumer.

I'll pay slightly extra to avoid all that. 98% of consumers will too.

[ThinkInsane]

Originally Posted by downinflames68 

...same old story line of "white people are bad corporations are bad military is bad native population is the right way crawl back towards nature fall in love with native fight original military side that you were on for the freedom of the natives" makes a top 10 film. You've seen this story before. Many many MANY times.

I would point out that pretty much the same could be said about D9 as well.

[downinflames68]

Completely and totally disagree. Respectfully.

[Hawkeye_a]

Originally Posted by ThinkInsane 

I would point out that pretty much the same could be said about D9 as well.

Could you provide some examples ?

I guess on some level D9 and Avatar had a similar story arch....D9 didnt have the cheesy love story and for once an alien movie wasnt dominated by american accents(no offense to Americans, but im kinda bored with it), and maybe thats why i ended up liking it. There was enough new in it imo, whereas Avatar immediately reminded me of the Atlantis(Disney), down to the color pallet of the "foreign" world.... And the characters were....cliche' in a very annoying stereotypical way, unlike D9.

[ThinkInsane]

Don't misunderstand, I haven't seen Avatar, but I'd be hard pressed to think it's a better movie than D9, with the exception of the visuals. I'm just saying the formula Cash posted isn't all that different from D9, in a vague sort of way.

"white people (well, white and black in D9) are bad- I would say that is a factor in the story of District 9

corporations are bad military is bad- I would say that corporations and military (MNU) are portrayed as a negative in regards to the Prawns. The seem to be willing to go to great lengths to get working pig cannons and people splodin' guns

native population is the right way crawl back towards nature- Although the Prawns aren't native, they certainly are getting the short end of the stick

fall in love with native- I wouldn't say Wikus falls in love with Christopher Johnson,

fight original military side that you were on for the freedom of the natives"- Wikus in the mech

My point was more it's not the formula that matters, but what you do with it.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

I'd say they BOTH have bad stories as they both recycle plenty of parts from other movies from the characters to the art direction.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by ThinkInsane 

My point was more it's not the formula that matters, but what you do with it.

Another post "quoted for utter, legendary, ultimate truth."

Many of Shakespear's stories were quite ancient, but he dressed them up for his audiences. So when the same "basic" stories have been reused (Kiss me Kate, West Side Story, Forbidden Planet) the "use of Shakespear" has been actually sort of incidental. The way D9 was built was somewhat formulaic, but only in that you could see a few setups (the "I love to watch prawns die" dude, for example). But why did each character choose the path he took? Why were other characters and situations in conflict with each other and the lead characters? What caused the conflicts? Those questions are the real meat of any story, and D9 was extremely well built in that respect.

[Eug]

'District 9' tops Blu-ray rentals | HD-Report

For the week ending Dec. 27, 2009, the top rented Blu-ray Disc at Blockbuster was District 9 (as well as being number one in standard-definition DVD rentals).

1. District 9
2. The Hangover
3. Inglourious Basterds
4. Terminator Salvation
5. Star Trek
6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
7. Public Enemies
8. Angels & Demons
9. Four Christmases
10. All About Steve

[ajprice]

Just watched the Blu ray of this, and I did like it a lot. The aliens and the effects looked great. Are we still spoiler tagging what happens in the film?

 

I thought there was a progression in Wilkus, From a desk bound wimpy office worker (yes he was a bit Mr Bean/Borat) through to not wanting to fire the guns in the test lab, to getting the illegal guns, to the mech suit and going to save Christopher from the military guy. No it wasn't a straight progression, being 'promoted' into the role by his father in law, initially knocking out Christoper before going back for him. People do change their mind, and they do make odd decisions under pressure. Flip it around to Christopher the alien's point of view, you're in a hostile environment, verging on war, you pick up a hitchhiker to help them and find out that people are doing all sorts of bad stuff to your kind - Option 1 "Hey ho, nevermind eh, lets get your arm sorted out right away now shall we?" Option 2 - I'll sort you out later, first I've got to know why this has happened to my mates, and sort the b*****ds out."

[Eug]

^^ Well, I thought Christopher was unusually good natured about the whole thing, and the kid was a little bit too sweet. So, there were some inconsistencies in Christopher's reaction to everything happening around him which detracted from the plot a bit.

But yeah, there was definitely a progression in Wikus, even though much of that was kickstarted by several things beyond his control.

Originally Posted by ThinkInsane 

Don't misunderstand, I haven't seen Avatar, but I'd be hard pressed to think it's a better movie than D9, with the exception of the visuals. I'm just saying the formula Cash posted isn't all that different from D9, in a vague sort of way.

"white people (well, white and black in D9) are bad- I would say that is a factor in the story of District 9

corporations are bad military is bad- I would say that corporations and military (MNU) are portrayed as a negative in regards to the Prawns. The seem to be willing to go to great lengths to get working pig cannons and people splodin' guns

native population is the right way crawl back towards nature- Although the Prawns aren't native, they certainly are getting the short end of the stick

fall in love with native- I wouldn't say Wikus falls in love with Christopher Johnson,

fight original military side that you were on for the freedom of the natives"- Wikus in the mech

My point was more it's not the formula that matters, but what you do with it.

I agree with your last point the most. As for your other points:

I came out of the movie thinking yeah corporations were bad, but they were doing the will of the people... At best, the people were ambivalent about the whole thing, wanting to present a face of caring a bit, but also really not wanting to deal with the horrible low-life prawns. Most were in fact in full support of the "evil" corporation moving the prawns - NIMBYism at its best, and out of sight, out of mind. And you know what? It's probably a very accurate representation of human nature. I will fully admit that I would want low-life crackhead criminals out of my neighbourhood, and would rather just see them go elsewhere than try to integrate them in my local area. So yeah, this D9 corporation is bad, but this corporation is just a reflection of the will of the humans. The "evil" here is ultimately not the corporation, but it is within all of us... or at least 99.9% of us.

As for Wikus, he's not really a classic hero either. At best he's a reluctant hero, but one that is also doing it in large part for his own benefit. IMO, there is much more depth to Wikus's character than most Disneyified characters like in Avatar. My main beef is that I think Sharlto Copley overdid The Office type persona just a little bit, so that at the beginning it was in danger of becoming a caricature.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Some things I didn't get about the story.

1) Why did rocket fuel that they collected from electronics turn people into aliens on contact?
2) Why did they spend 20 years collecting "exactly enough" (up to the last 24 hours in camp too luckily) gas to fly to the mothership yet when half of it ended up on dudes face did they still have enough gas to carry out the plan?
3) Why can't they just use a cut off alien hand or some living tissue to fire the guns?
4) If they could just fire off that tractor beam and float up to begin with why did they bother spending 20 years for gas to fly there.
5) Why did the control ship drop to begin with? Seems like they were smart enough and have the ability to fly home from the start.
6) How the hell do you get high off catfood? If that's possible, I wanna turn into an alien.

My friend who is totally NOT into scifi watched it and spent the first 20 min laughing because she thought it was supposed to be a dark comedy. I think she thought it was Borat at a Star Wars convention or something.

[downinflames68]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

Some things I didn't get about the story.

1) Why did rocket fuel that they collected from electronics turn people into aliens on contact?
2) Why did they spend 20 years collecting "exactly enough" (up to the last 24 hours in camp too luckily) gas to fly to the mothership yet when half of it ended up on dudes face did they still have enough gas to carry out the plan?
3) Why can't they just use a cut off alien hand or some living tissue to fire the guns?
4) If they could just fire off that tractor beam and float up to begin with why did they bother spending 20 years for gas to fly there.
5) Why did the control ship drop to begin with? Seems like they were smart enough and have the ability to fly home from the start.
6) How the hell do you get high off catfood? If that's possible, I wanna turn into an alien.

My friend who is totally NOT into scifi watched it and spent the first 20 min laughing because she thought it was supposed to be a dark comedy. I think she thought it was Borat at a Star Wars convention or something.

1. It's ALIEN rocketfuel, silly.
2. The last part they collected was quite a bit, and it was MORE than enough. But finally, enough.
3. No idea. Probably needs to interface with the tissue, and that tissue will know if it's alive or not.
4. I got nothin.
5. Cheese.
7. Antlers.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

Some things I didn't get about the story.

1) Why did rocket fuel that they collected from electronics turn people into aliens on contact?
2) Why did they spend 20 years collecting "exactly enough" (up to the last 24 hours in camp too luckily) gas to fly to the mothership yet when half of it ended up on dudes face did they still have enough gas to carry out the plan?
3) Why can't they just use a cut off alien hand or some living tissue to fire the guns?
4) If they could just fire off that tractor beam and float up to begin with why did they bother spending 20 years for gas to fly there.
5) Why did the control ship drop to begin with? Seems like they were smart enough and have the ability to fly home from the start.
6) How the hell do you get high off catfood? If that's possible, I wanna turn into an alien.

1 and 2 - are we sure that the stuff that sprayed on his face was the fuel, or was it something else?

4. I thought that the mothership's movement and tractor beam were controlled by the control ship, which didn't have any fuel

5. Did the control ship fly down or drop down?

[Eug]

The two things I thought were the most stupid:

a) The alien spray.
b) The inability of the humans to find the ship that dropped down, despite its not having any sort of cloaking device.

For #3, I'd assume the guns need live tissue to shoot.

For #6, that actually makes some sense. Probably very specific types of mixtures can get them high without killing them. Sort of like magic mushrooms for humans.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by Eug 

The two things I thought were the most stupid:

a) The alien spray.
b) The inability of the humans to find the ship that dropped down, despite its not having any sort of cloaking device.

If the house was moved or immediately built on top of the crater the ship made when it hit the ground, humans wouldn't be able to see it, no? Would they go through each of the several hundred thousand residences looking for hidden trap doors?

[Eug]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

If the house was moved or immediately built on top of the crater the ship made when it hit the ground, humans wouldn't be able to see it, no? Would they go through each of the several hundred thousand residences looking for hidden trap doors?

For a possible alien ship? Most definitely.

Plus, I'm sure some other technology, either at ground level or aerial could detect a great big mass of metal.

[ajprice]

The level of their detection technology was trucks, helicopters and Wilkus going door to door, making inspections.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Eug 

b) The inability of the humans to find the ship that dropped down, despite its not having any sort of cloaking device.

Dude, it was under 2 feed of sandy dirt AND they built a house of top of it. PLUS I bet the ship itself was made out of tinfoil and therefor reflected and radar/etc. Duh.

I don't get the catfood thing though. The difference with mushrooms and catfood is that mushrooms have poisons in them, catfood shouldn't.

In alien nation they got high of sour milk which at least made more sense.

[Eug]

Different species get poisoned by different things. Things that humans can eat, pets can't. Things that certain wild animals can eat, humans can't.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Different species get poisoned by different things. Things that humans can eat, pets can't. Things that certain wild animals can eat, humans can't.

Well I get that silly I mean what is the difference between regular cow, or dog food compared to cat food. They could probably get high off hotdogs in that case as it's all the same thing.

[ghporter]

Cat food, especially canned cat food, is very high in protein and is very meaty. The two go together in the movie, I think.

[ort888]

I finally saw this, and while overall I found it enjoyable and refreshing... it had to many glaring problems for me to consider it a classic...

I just couldn't buy the lead being turned into an alien with one little spray in the face. It just feels completely implausible in every conceivable way... but I get that it's the whole premise for the story, so lets just move on from that...

I cannot for a second believe that every government on the planet wouldn't have scoured and picked over every square inch of District 9 and the mothership. There is no way in hell any alien weapons would just be lying around in a camp or that any Nigerian gangsters would have any of them. Especially in the middle of a city full of almost 2 million aliens who could use the weapons. And 20 years after they landed.

Which brings me to the "piece" that fell off, or the control ship or whatever the heck it was... are we to really believe that it would not have been found by anyone in 20 years? Really? Like... really?

Really?

And, then we have this fuel... are we to also believe that the only thing stopping that massive ship from moving was a coke cans worth of black fluid? Really?

Really?

Also, I wish they had made this movie more of a sci-fi movie and less of an action movie. The last action sequence was pretty freaking cool, but the one where they break into the lab was pretty freaking stupid.

I think this movie tried to be too big. I would have much rather have seen them just have it be about what it would be like to have 1.7 million crazy bug aliens living in South Africa and less about secret fuel, crazy weapons and turning into aliens after getting sprayed in the face.

Still, despite these problems, the movie looked amazing, had a great "tone", good pacing and was very captivating. I still give it a solid thumbs up...

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

Cat food, especially canned cat food, is very high in protein and is very meaty.

Sounds like someone has had a 9Lives Casserole or two.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by ort888 

I cannot for a second believe that every government on the planet wouldn't have scoured and picked over every square inch of District 9 and the mothership.

Pretty much every government or superpower would have bought the whole city or invaded it just for all those lovely bits of technology.

[Doc HM]

Just saw it. And (for the first time in years) I'm actually quite keen to watch it again. Plenty of refreshing differences from the usual and the setting in SA maed a real difference. The actual culture of SA and the people had a direct effect on the story, making the setting an important part of the whole film, not simply something that could be transplanted to LA or London.

Yes there were holes. I can't imagine the US, China or Russia allowing the South Africans any sort of autonomy over the ship or the prawns but hey, it's really just an analogy anyway.

I actually liked Wikus. Yes he was a tit. It's said right up front he only got the job through his father in law, but he does change. Yes, he's self serving, but only up to the end. The way I saw it, once Christopher says "three years" he realises that its over for him. Once he's in the battle suit he's doing it for Christopher and his son.

I didn't have a real problem with the whole getting into the lab thing. South Africa is pretty much just like that, chaotic, underfunded and strangly low tech, so it could well have been just that easy to get in. The Nigerians were good too. Half my family still live in JoBurgh so I know just how pervasive the Nigerian drug gangs have become. It's a real problem.

Perhaps it did all go a little too "Transformers" at the end but I can live with that. I'd still give it a solid 8/10. I haven't seen Avatar so I can't comment on the relative merits but the last hollywood block buster sci-fi's I saw were Transformers 2 (2/10) and Terminator, which got a solid 1/10 for me so I don't have high hopes for it.

[Eug]

Nominated for the Best Picture Oscar.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Nominated for the Best Picture Oscar.

Weird, knowing that somehow made me think the story sucked less.

[Eug]

I'm both shocked and elated that District 9 got nominated for Best Picture. It doesn't have a chance in hell of winning though, and I'll note that it Blomkamp didn't get a nomination for best director (which isn't surprising since that category only has five slots).

I'm also glad The Hangover didn't get nominated. That movie was OK, but quite honestly I enjoyed movies like Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle more than that one.

I'm also not surprised that Star Trek didn't get nominated.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by Eug 

I'm also glad The Hangover didn't get nominated. That movie was OK, but quite honestly I enjoyed movies like Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle more than that one.

Oh boy. I'd say The Hangover was 1000x better than either H&K movie.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Eug 

I'm both shocked and elated that District 9 got nominated for Best Picture. It doesn't have a chance in hell of winning though, and I'll note that it Blomkamp didn't get a nomination for best director (which isn't surprising since that category only has five slots).

I'm also glad The Hangover didn't get nominated. That movie was OK, but quite honestly I enjoyed movies like Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle more than that one.

I'm also not surprised that Star Trek didn't get nominated.

Star Trek deserves something for sure.

Hangover I turned off 30 minutes into it.

[Eug]

Star Trek got nominated for:

Sound Mixing
Sound Editing
Makeup <-- I suspect it will win here
Visual Effects

[downinflames68]

I watched the hangover while "enhanced", and I don't think I've laughed harder at a movie. Ever. By the end my sides hurt and my face was sore from laughing.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by downinflames68 

I watched the hangover while "enhanced", and I don't think I've laughed harder at a movie. Ever. By the end my sides hurt and my face was sore from laughing.

I watched it "enhanced" too and it still seemed lame. Perhaps because I watched "Fear and Loathing" the night before and nothing can beat their similar situation.

[downinflames68]

Two totally different genres IMHO. Fear and loathing has some funny situations, but isn't really a comedy. Seems like more of a fantasty/trip or something.

[Buckaroo]

I finally rented it from RedBox for a buck.

It was okay, but not worth much more than a buck.

[paul w]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

Oh boy. I'd say The Hangover was 1000x better than either H&K movie.

The second maybe, but the first had far more original humor than the Hangover. Both were a bit overhyped, and neither was better sober.

But I just don't see how District 9 deserves a best picture nomination.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by Buckaroo 

I finally rented it from RedBox for a buck.

It was okay, but not worth much more than a buck.

Weeks after its release on DVD, I was still having trouble finding a RedBox nearby that had it in.

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by paul w 

But I just don't see how District 9 deserves a best picture nomination.

I liked the review from the SF Gate: "...and "District 9" tells us that some voters could only think of nine nominees and, for the 10th, just wrote down anything."

[Eug]

Populist fare Blind Side,' District 9,' Up' make Oscar final cut - Movies AP - MiamiHerald.com

Neill Blomkamp, who directed and co-wrote (with Terri Tatchell) "District 9," said he was astounded his apartheid allegory was nominated for the town's top honor, "even with the fact that they're trying to reach a larger audience. If someone had said to me while I was shooting the film in some shack in a township that it would have been nominated for best picture, I would have just laughed. It's absurd."



It would seem that the District 9 writers (Terri Tatchell and Blomkamp) are already saying their thank yous, knowing they have no chance of winning the big prize. Still, a Best Picture nomination is pretty good for n00bs.

District 9 Oscar nominations: statements from Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell

Blomkamp issued this statement in response to his nomination for best adapted screenplay: "Every aspiring filmmaker dreams of being nominated by the Academy, but when we began making District 9, none of us dared to think that our small film, shot in South Africa, with no well-known actors, could be Oscar nominated. And honestly, if it weren't for Peter Jackson’s belief in the film, we wouldn't be here today. I'm extremely gratified, excited, and humbled, and I'm also grateful to the Academy for recognizing so many of the talented people who helped make it a reality."

Tatchell made this statement: "I can’t begin to express the gratitude I feel for the many people responsible for making District 9 a film that the Academy members deemed worthy of this honour. Surrounded by the brilliant talents as I was, one can’t help but be raised higher and there is no doubt about it, this is as high as it gets! So I am forever indebted and grateful to Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson for being so very generous in sharing their genius for story with us. Thank you to the unbelievably talented Sharlto Copley who took our script and literally became Wikus, taking him to places far exceeding anything existing on the page. Thank you to Image Engine, The Embassy, Weta Digital and Weta Workshop for bringing the story to life with such incredible creativity and frightening realism. And thank you to my brilliant co-writer and director Neill Blomkamp, whose vision and brilliance never ceases to raise the bar higher than I dare dream."