District 9 (2009)
Combining the very best of the postwar sci-fi movies with their trenchant political undertones and pulse-pounding dynamism and contemporary movie technology that can blend aliens seamlessly into a realistic human world of urban and moral decay, "District 9" flirts with greatness. This science fiction film from South African-born Canadian Neill Blomkamp, a protege of Peter Jackson, who produced the film, stumbles in a few crucial areas but even so it's a helluva movie. No true fan of science fiction -- or, for that matter, cinema -- can help but thrill to the action, high stakes and suspense built around a very original chase movie.
By choosing to film in the city of his youth, Johannesburg, Blomkamp situates his story in a very real place off the beaten path for science fiction. The accents, townships, barbed-wire enclosures and harsh, dusty environment all give "District 9" a gritty sense of place.
The Final Destination (2009)
When the decision was made to produce a fourth Final Destination movie, there must have been conversations about whether the same formula would work without any reconfiguring. Audiences were pretty familiar with it by now: someone has a premonition that saves a bunch of people's lives; then Death comes back around to kill everyone anyway, in the order they'd have died in if they hadn't gotten away the first time. Someone must have asked, "Should we tweak the formula a little? Offer some kind of new angle or a surprising twist we haven't used before?"
That person, if he existed, was outvoted. The new film, senselessly called The Final Destination, follows the formula to the letter, without deviation. You might just as well stay home and watch one of the other three, where at least there will be some devilish wit and ironic humor in evidence. You'll get none of that here.
This time we're at a racetrack when Nick (Bobby Campo), a young man with no defining personality traits, has a vivid daydream about a horrific accident that kills him, his friends, and 50 others. Spooked, he gets out of there just before the real thing happens, saving his own life and the lives of his girlfriend, Lori (Shantel VanSanten), her best friend, Janet (Haley Webb), and Janet's preppy d-bag boyfriend Hunt (Nick Zano). A security guard (Mykelti Williamson) is also spared, along with a few tag-alongs.
What was the source of Nick's premonition? Not explained, or even really wondered about. Why does he continue to have premonitions detailing how the survivors will die, one by one? Also not an issue.
What's important is that they do indeed die, and in the bizarre, elaborate ways that have been this franchise's hallmarks. The gimmick this time is that director David R. Ellis (Final Destination 2, Snakes on a Plane) shot it in 3D and takes every opportunity to fling gore and viscera at us. But the writer, Eric Bress (a co-writer onFD2), evidently took this as an excuse to get lazy with the screenplay. After all, why waste effort on imaginative deathtraps when the whole thing can be spiced up with 3D? There are no humorous exchanges or amusing characters. The central figures apparently don't have families, jobs, or other friends, existing only as cardboard cutouts to be run through the paces of the story.
That person, if he existed, was outvoted. The new film, senselessly called The Final Destination, follows the formula to the letter, without deviation. You might just as well stay home and watch one of the other three, where at least there will be some devilish wit and ironic humor in evidence. You'll get none of that here.
This time we're at a racetrack when Nick (Bobby Campo), a young man with no defining personality traits, has a vivid daydream about a horrific accident that kills him, his friends, and 50 others. Spooked, he gets out of there just before the real thing happens, saving his own life and the lives of his girlfriend, Lori (Shantel VanSanten), her best friend, Janet (Haley Webb), and Janet's preppy d-bag boyfriend Hunt (Nick Zano). A security guard (Mykelti Williamson) is also spared, along with a few tag-alongs.
What was the source of Nick's premonition? Not explained, or even really wondered about. Why does he continue to have premonitions detailing how the survivors will die, one by one? Also not an issue.
What's important is that they do indeed die, and in the bizarre, elaborate ways that have been this franchise's hallmarks. The gimmick this time is that director David R. Ellis (Final Destination 2, Snakes on a Plane) shot it in 3D and takes every opportunity to fling gore and viscera at us. But the writer, Eric Bress (a co-writer onFD2), evidently took this as an excuse to get lazy with the screenplay. After all, why waste effort on imaginative deathtraps when the whole thing can be spiced up with 3D? There are no humorous exchanges or amusing characters. The central figures apparently don't have families, jobs, or other friends, existing only as cardboard cutouts to be run through the paces of the story.
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