District 9

I wasn't really sure when I saw the trailer for this film, it looked weird and confusing, but I thought that some of the best films I've seen are a bit odd, so why not give it a go. I'm glad I did as I do believe it's one of the best films I've seen this year.

When the orignial film based on the Halo video game series fell through, Peter Jackson gave director Neill Blomkamp $30 million to do with as he wished. The end result was District 9. This is a film about aliens yes, but it doesn't have that usual sci-fi feel to it. Alternating between standard third person camera work to documentary style gave this a very real and believable feel. Not once did I find myself thinking, oh this would never happen, because it felt like if aliens did come to earth, it would probably play out like this.

If you saw the trailer for this film, you might have noticed an alien talking about how he/she wasn't allowed to leave. But why? This becomes the general enigma and therefore backbone to this story. The aliens arrived in a spaceship and landed just above Johannesburg in South Africa in 1990. The MNU (Multi-National United) put the aliens into an area away from the main city, called district 9, but when things become tense between the people of Johannesburg and the aliens 20 years later, the MNU set up a scheme to move the aliens far away from any human civilisation. This is where the main character, Wikus (Sharlto Copley) makes his appearence, as the man in 'control' of moving the aliens. I was really suprised that this was his first acting role as he played the part perfectly. He really got you to empathise with his character and provided the comedy also.

But don't be fooled, this isn't for the lighthearted. It's full of explosions of buildings and people, finding my eyes covered for a lot of it. But nevertheless, through the cracks in my fingers I could tell this was an original, suspense filled film. With so many films out now, it's inspiring that people are still thinking of original and captivating storylines for us all to enjoy.

And if you want to know why the aliens aren't allowed to leave...then go and see the film!