Category Archives: Film Reviews

Reviews of District Nine

To prepare  for your writing assessment you need to read the material I have prepared for you but also look elsewhere for a discussion on the film. District Nine has received a great deal of attention and there are a large number of reviews out there, many of them positive.

At Rotten Tomatoes 94% of critics gave the film a positive review, writing that the film is, “Technically brilliant and emotionally wrenching, District 9 has action, imagination, and all the elements of a thoroughly entertaining science-fiction classic.”At Metacritic, the film has received a score of 81 based on 36 reviews, indicating “Universal Acclaim”. Sara Vilkomerson of The New York Observer writes, “District 9 is the most exciting science fiction movie to come along in ages; definitely the most thrilling film of the summer; and quite possibly the best film I’ve seen all year.” Christy Lemire from the Associated Press was impressed by the plot and thematic content, claiming that “District 9 has the aesthetic trappings of science fiction but it’s really more of a character drama, an examination of how a man responds when he’s forced to confront his identity during extraordinary circumstances.” Entertainment Weekly‘s Lisa Schwarzbaum described it as “… madly original, cheekily political, [and] altogether exciting …”

From Wikipedia.

District Nine – Spot the Reference

If you want to find out more about District Nine and some of the films that influenced director Neill Blomkamp check this out. Here’s an extract:

We live in an era of cut-and-paste, mix-and-match, sample-and-recontextualize pop culture. Just because a movie is blazingly original doesn’t mean that it has to be shy about what it borrows from the past. Quentin Tarantino is the unapologetic king of recombinant pop — the auteur as mix-master. And in District 9, the aliens-as-dispossessed-refugees sci-fi thriller that has already struck a huge chord with audiences, director Neill Blomkamp wears his influences lightly but proudly. What makes the movie mean something is that, like Kill Bill or The Matrix, it doesn’t feel like the sources it recalls; it doesn’t feel like any other movie you’ve seen. That said, when you watch District 9, it’s almost impossible to resist playing Spot the Reference/Influence/Allusion/Homage. I’ve listed half a dozen of the obvious ones. How many more can you find?

All hail the Slumdog Millionaire of sci-fi.

That’s the title of the New Zealand Herald review of ‘District Nine’ – they gave it 5 stars. Here’s a taste:

It might be set somewhere you don’t usually see in the movies – the slums of South Africa. And it might star nobody you’ve heard of – the producer guy who has his name at the top of the poster is its only marquee drawcard. And it might have only cost a fraction of any of this year’s other dumb and derivative blockbusters. But there is still much familiar about District 9, a thrilling smart-thinking spin on the alien invasion movie.

Read the rest here.

The Vulture’s Critics’ Poll – Worst movies of 2009

Get ready for writing a film review by looking at the Vulture Critics’ Poll. The poll is the definitive survey of terribleness in film, with ballots and commentary from 43 of America’s most prominent critics. Here is their list of the ten worst movies of 2009.

Find out who hated what films and why they did. Critic Joe Morgenstern gives his view on his worst film of last year below – he certainly keeps it short and to the point. Read the rest here.

Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal

Transformers, hands down.

Writing Style

“. . . a prose style is like a haircut; we can ignore our hair or cut it off completely, but we can’t choose not to have a hairstyle at all.” – Peter Richardson

“Style is a very simple matter; it is all rhythm. Once you get that, you can’t use the wrong words”. – Virginia Woolf:

We have talked a great deal about writing style this year and we need to continue to focus on it. Many of you know that you need to be improving your skill as a writer. For so many this means improving your skills with editing.

Take heed of these words from poet Ezra Pound  (he’s the guy in the photo) –

‘Good writers are those who keep the language efficient. That is to say, keep it accurate, keep it clear”.

Year 12 students will need this advice when they start on their film reviews next term!

Children of Men Film Review

Next term Year 12 students are going to be writing film reviews. I have added a link to one on Children of Men to start you thinking about the task. The review is by Chris Bellamy and it is posted on Orson Scott’s Inter-Galatic Medicine Show. The title of the review is Dystopian Messiah and it has an interesting discussion of genre. Here is an extract:

People are already referring to it as “the scene.” Without giving anything away, it takes place in the middle of a chaotic and violent war zone. It is one unbroken shot, lasting six-and-a-half minutes, that follows our reluctant hero from one pivotal plot point to another. We are literally put right in the middle of the war zone, as director Alfonso Cuarón weaves us through it in one of the most impressive feats of technical virtuosity ever committed to film. The scene – brilliantly effective in drawing us into the urgency of the moment – is among the most gripping cinematic moments I’ve ever experienced. I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything quite like it . . . and how often can you say that anymore?

Cuarón’s real-time strategy is not only a technical feat in and of itself, but it capitalizes as a dramatic and emotional payoff. The scene itself, and the much quieter scene that comes just a few moments later, clinches Children of Men as the best film of 2006, a genuine masterpiece from a director who is rapidly becoming one of the best in the field.

Even before we get to that key sequence, the film has already separated itself from the rest of the end-of-the-year rush – and from its own genre. Great films can be found in all forms and in all genres, but the best are usually those that transcend that genre. They take the mechanics of the formula to a whole new level, or they reject the formula altogether and find a new way to tell the story. Children of Men certainly has a formula, but in the dystopian thriller subgenre, one would be hard-pressed to find anything so fully realized. The “future” in the film is London circa 2027, but it is more concerned with humanity than with differing cultures and nationalities (though those play a role as well). Humans have become infertile, and no one can explain why. Society has crumbled, deteriorated into hopeless and aimless violence that reflects humans’ sudden desperation and insignificance and fear at the prospect of no longer being. It is the near future, but our existence is bleak.

Read the rest here.

Avatar

The much anticipated Avatar directed by James Cameron is expected to be the hit of the summer, but is it any good? Reviewers are describing the film as visually extraordinary but they seem to be less moved by the story. The Guardian critic said, “James Cameron just got slack” and that “The Titanic director’s monstrously-hyped creation does look fantastic but, in trying to cover all the bases with militarist sci-fi, vacuous eco-waffle and an intra-species love story, it’s too baggy.”

Four Word Film Review

Earlier in the year we wrote six-word memoirs and I thought that you might like to see some more mini-lit in the form of four-word film reviews. I have put a few examples below but there is a catch – you have to guess the titles. The first correct answers posted will win a prize. And yes the picture is a clue.

  1. Icy dead people.
  2. Schindler’s Lizst.
  3. Room With A Spew.
  4. A month of sundaes.
  5. Said he’d be back.
  6. Who’s eating? Gilbert’s mom!
  7. Ded Zeppelin.
  8. Brother gets own bedroom.
  9. High-sea dead people.
  10. Resistance is feudal.

… So much for making a comment – the answers were given to me verbally by Year 12 and the prizes won so I have added the film names below for those of you who are interested.

  1. Titanic
  2. The Pianist
  3. The Exorcist
  4. Supersize Me
  5. Terminator 2
  6. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
  7. The Hindenberg
  8. Saving Private Ryan
  9. Pirates of the Caribbean 2
  10. Braveheart

I was surprised at how quickly you got them – we have some real film buffs amongst us!