Sharlto Copley in "District 9"
courtesy of Sony Home Entertainment
“Sci Fi Stupor”

“District 9” is one of those movies that came to the screen out of the blue with no name actors and no real appeal except in this case it is produced by Peter Jackson. That alone seems to be enough to throw certain people into a frenzy and have them proclaiming the movie to be the best sci fi movie ever made. I disagree. Now that it is out on DVD you all can judge it for yourselves.

The film takes place in Johannesburg, South Africa where a huge space ship has parked itself above the city. Nothing happens for a long time so finally the humans go up and take a look. They find a group of starving aliens on board. They bring them back to earth and take care of them but eventually tire of them. Finally they round them up and place them in a holding camp called District 9.

Now they want to move them again to District 10 but they have to evict them to do this. Wilkus Van De Merwe (Sharito Copley) is chosen to head up this action. He and several armed policemen go to the settlement to get this started but while trying to evict an alien Wilkus gets sprayed with something that begins to turn him into an alien. What happens to him makes up the core of the movie.

Copley plays Wilkus as an everyman forced into being more heroic than he is. When his own people turn on him he has to rely on the aliens for assistance. The growth of his acceptance of these creatures is interesting to a minor degree.

The aliens themselves look like creatures from the black lagoon, or fugitives from “Pirates of the Caribbean.” There’s nothing very inventive in how they look or how they act. The special effects are okay but nothing to bowl you over.

There is of course the underlying comparison to Apartheid but that point is made quickly and loses its effectiveness. The fight between the humans and the aliens goes on and on and on with Wilkus caught in the middle. It all just gets boring.

At times the film is comedic and at other times it is very dramatic which leaves the audience not knowing whether to laugh out loud or just absorb it all. Maybe there is some hidden meaning that escaped me and some hidden entertainment I never saw.

Overall I found the film to be only passable entertainment. Copley is a pretty good actor and he makes you believe his character is actually turning into an alien, but it sure does take a long time.

Others seem to find more enjoyment here than I did. I was bored for most of the time I was viewing it. Still with the DVD I could pause it and actually watch it in increments.

Another movie now out on DVD that critics went bananas over is “500 Days of Summer.” Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Emily Deschanel co-star in the this film. It is a story about love but not a love story. Watch the DVD and you will understand that description. Since it involves a romantic young man and a girl who says she doesn’t want a serious relationship, their story is sure to create conversations between the sexes as to who is right and who is wrong.

The focus of the film is on a five hundred day period of Tom (Gordon-Levitt) and Summer’s (Deschanel) relationship. The film actually skips around in time more than “The Time Traveler’s Wife.” Why it couldn’t just be a linear telling is something I don’t understand.

Tom is enthralled with Summer from the first time they meet. They are co-workers at the same greeting card office. She is a new hire but he has been there a while. Actually he had studied to be an architect but those plans got waylaid. Summer urges him to pursue his dream.

Though they hit it off and are totally at ease with each other Summer keeps telling Tom that she doesn’t want a serious relationship. Hope of course springs eternal in Tom and he keeps thinking he can change her mind.

The movie is sweetly romantic with most of the audience pulling for Tom all the way. There is one particularly inventive scene that occurs after Tom has spent the night with Summer. He exits his apartment building and bursts into dance with all the people on the street joining him. It is an unexpected number and a bright spot of the film.

Gordon-Levitt graduates to leading man status with this role. He is totally into the part and makes you feel Tom’s every exhilaration and every heartbreak. Deschanel is also good and she has the more difficult part. Tom is written to be liked while Summer is more controversial. Deschanel has the look and the breezy airiness that Summer has to possess.

With less flip-flopping in time and a little more depth to the exploration of the characters the movie could have been greater. As is, it entertains but leaves a somewhat sour taste in your mouth when it is over. And oh those discussions between men and women as to who was right and who was wrong.

This has been a good year for Sandra Bullock. She has scored well with “The Proposal” and “The Blind Side.” But she had to have one movie that was less successful and that is the new to DVD film “All About Steve.” Bullock is an actress who can make a good movie great (“Miss Congeniality”) and a mediocre movie good (“The Proposal”). She certainly adds to the appeal of her latest film “All About Steve.”

In “All About Steve” Bullock plays Mary Horowitz, an overly intelligent woman who creates crossword puzzles for her local newspaper. Mary lives at home with her parents (Howard Hesseman and Beth Grant) and leads a fairly lonely life. She is reduced to accepting blind dates arranged for her by her parents. Her latest is with a TV cameraman named Steve (Bradley Cooper).

Steve is a nice enough guy but he quickly sees Mary as some sort of nut case and tries to avoid her. His career requires him to follow news stories around the country and he uses this as a means of escape. But Mary follows him, and follows him, and follows him. She is encouraged by his on air guy Hartman (Thomas Haden Church). Just to aggravate Steve, he tells Mary that Steve really likes her and is just acting defensively.

The first half of the film is devoted to showing just how annoying Mary can be. The second half begins trying to redeem the character and this is where the appeal of Bullock comes in to play. You may never be completely won over by this woman but at least you are rooting for her a tad more at the end.

There are some funny moments in the movie. Some of the side comments are just hilarious and some of the visual gags are so bad they are amusing. The problem is the film is never funny enough to overcome the awkwardness of the script.

Bullock throws herself into the obnoxious requirements of the role completely. From her laugh to her jumping up and down show of excitement she is like nails on a chalkboard. You can certainly understand Steve’s fear of her. But as Steve, Cooper shows nothing of the talent he has exhibited in previous roles. Steve is a bland object with his niceness being the main attraction for the lonely Mary.

Church seems to be having tons of fun with his role. Hartman is at times smarmy and stupid, but at others smart and endearing. He is all about himself and doesn’t apologize for it. Sometimes some genuine goodness shows through but it is always on the spur of the moment.

“All About Steve” is definitely not one of Sandra Bullock’s best movies but it is one in which she makes a heroic effort to make it better than it is. That she almost succeeds says something about her talent.

Finally, watching the new Mike Judge film “Extract” is like watching an animated comedy on Fox or MTV and seeing the cartoon characters come to life. None of the people in the film seem to be real. They are all too dumb, too obnoxious or just too crazy. Jason Bateman leads the cast of real actors who go through the paces of the script but even his charm can’t garner a lot of enthusiasm for the movie.

Bateman plays Joel, the owner/operator of an extract manufacturing company. He is a self made man who conceived the product, manufactured it and now operates the company that produces it. He has a small group of employees who work for him and they are a varied bunch. All in all life is good – except on the home front.

Joel and his wife Suzie (Kristen Wiig) have drifted apart, so much so that Joel is thinking about having an affair with a new temp he hired at the plant. Her name is Cindy (Mila Kunis) and she has flirted with Joel. 

Joel is encouraged to have the affair by his friend Dean (Ben Affleck) who thinks it will be good for him. He even helps Joel justify it by coming up with the idea of hiring a guy he knows named Brad (Dustin Milligan) to have an affair with Suzie. Brad is a living “Butthead.”

The film seeps along its way with no major events livening up the action. It finally reaches a conclusion and fades away. It will probably make a better cult film like “Office Space” than a major box office success. There will surely be a select group who think it is amazingly clever and entertaining.

Bateman is the best thing in the movie. He plays “everyman” to perfection. Wiig is also good as Suzie. She looks the best she has in years and has a droll comic touch that fits the film. Kunis is okay in her role but doesn’t stand out in the cast, and Affleck is just plain boring.

Mike Judge is an acquired taste. Many have loved his animated series such as “King of the Hill,” “The Goode Family” and “Beavis and Butthead.” But then there are many others who just aren’t in on his jokes or his style of humor.

‘Extract” is am amusing film but it doesn’t induce major laughing. It just is what it is and no more. For some that will be enough but for the majority it won’t be.
 

 

 

 

 

©2009 Jackie K. Cooper

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