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District 9 : The Review
Well…I just got back from seeing District nine, and I must say it’s the best film I’ve seen all year, perhaps more than that. I found the film very emotionally arresting, much more so than you’d think given the previews and such they’ve been showing on TV. The biggest surprise of the movie was the lead characters performance, which I felt was one of the strongest on-screen performances I have seen in a while. Sharlto Copley is an unknown actor, with virtually no credits at all…but nobody in the theater cared. His performance was really good, and while others were laughing at certain moments of the film (for whatever reason), I felt nothing but compassion for this man and his situation. The same goes for the aliens. It’s odd to start feeling sympathy for something you know is absolutely fake. Everything an alien was mistreated, shot, beat up, etc. I found myself wincing in my seat, angry at their attackers.
The documentary style of the film was a great way to add realism. It felt like a real event, unfolding slowly but at a pace you put up with because of the nature of the way it’s shot. You discover things right along with the characters, and even though there is cutting back and forth between different segments, interviews, etc. for some reason you never feel like you leave the main character of Wikus.
Almost every part of the film to me felt serious, real, complex, and powerful. I chuckled maybe once in the film, even though I realized the more humorous bits when they came along. I really found myself feeling sad and concerned in what was going on. The idea of being thrown out of society, treated like an animal, fearing for your life, doing whatever you can to survive, having people that you thought loved you reject you instead, etc. It was all very relatable and heart wrenching if you really gave it some thought. I think they left a lot up to you to feel and didn’t throw it in your face which made a big difference.
In terms of gore and language, the film is very R-rated. There was a lot of F bombs and more exploding bodies and blood than a typical zombie movie. I was surprised at the violence and gore but it had it’s purpose and filled it. I would be lying if I said waking up and having alien anatomy forming on me, and being unable to stop it would result in anything but an F-bomb. The brutal nature of the film really made the story and emotional connection that much stronger. We’re really one crappy species, humans. We can be so dang evil and wicked and careless. This film felt like Amistad for Sci-Fi fans.
The special effects of the film were all over the place from great, to bad. A lot of the opening shots of the film with aliens in it felt very video game and pasted in there while other shots up close to an alien felt very real. I think it was the lighting on them more often than not. This film is a motion trackers nightmare, much like Cloverfield was. The amount of time to do the tracking in this film must have been insane.
The ending of the film was one of the greatest setups for a sequel I’ve ever seen. I’m not talking about the story really, because it’s easy to leave people with a cliffhanger, but in this case they really leave you emotionally invested. They were careful not to leave closure where you can leave not wanting anything else. I can’t wait for the next one.
I’m extremely impressed with how this film delivered and I hope it gets the recognition it deserves.
4 / 5
Time Changer | Review
Time Changer, is one of the first Christian films I had ever seen. It was way back in 2002, and everyone had been excited to sit in church and watch a film that we could all be sure would be clean and uplifting. The film is a quirky little movie, with some laughs, some goofy physical and visual comedy, and a few profound theological scenes.
That said, the story is a good “idea,” but its presentation could have been a little better. I found myself really wanting to like Russell Carlyle but in the end just couldn’t do it. There was too many lines and portions of the performance that we’re bad to weigh out the good. Granted there isn’t anything wrong with his character but the way in which he was played was over the top. He comes off as a bit of a bafoon, even in his own culture and time in the film. I think what did it was the constant surprise about everything that was said or that he saw. There isn’t anything wrong with that, but sometimes I think surprised was used when he should have been more seriously confused (and not in a comedic way). The message of the story is clear however and that part of the film does come through in the end. Some of the portions of the film meant to be funny were, a few little jokes here and there that relate to our “normal” society. The moments of the film that stick out the most are the ones that are distant from the fast paced, quirky, funny music underlaid scenes. The film is most interesting when the characters sit down and talk (something that is honestly, very rare in a film of this kind). Almost everything in modern culture is shown in the film as “unusual.” Things we are now used to seeing are shown for really what they are in the eyes of God. People “playing church,” the things on TV, teenager rebellion, promiscuous dress, the fact that everyone is in such a hurry now and has lack of patience, etc. All this is well and good but I’m wondering how the film would have been if just a few of these things was centered on, and not trying to hit every target possible.
Still the film is worth the watch and good for whenever your sick and tired of the garbage the world puts out. Even with its shortcomings, it’s a breath of fresh air when I need it.
The Widow’s Might | Review
The Widows Might, a family film with tremendous heart.
Read our Interview with John Moore here.
When the lights went down at The San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival, it was a packed house. It was the last major showing of the festival, and The Widows Might was due to play in the big theater projected in HD. Tech geeks (like myself) were very excited to see a feature shot on the RED camera projected in all its glory with a 1080HD signal pumping through, and man did it deliver. The film looked fantastic on the screen. That isn’t the only place the film delivered, it knocked the audience out of their chair and got them to stand up more than 3 times after the film was over. I have NEVER seen such a response from an audience, the noise was ear busting. The film fit like a glove to the intended audience, it was perfect.
Now lets move on to the film itself. The film is at heart a family film, made for people of any age. Kids will no doubt eat up the film, all the elements in it are tailor made to appeal to children, especially the western sequences. The music in the film is excellent, probably one of my favorite parts of the film. I’m not sure anything of this sort has been done in a
“Christian” film before, and if it has, I doubt it has been done to this quality level. The acting is decent and sometimes very good, but the quirkiness of the entire project itself makes a lot of the acting in my opinion fit just right, regardless of whatever mistakes might be there. The story itself is crafted very well and has enough going on to keep you interested, you care about what is going on, and cheer when the good guys win and when the bad guys lose. The comedic moments are definitely the most well crafted parts of the story. Everything worked perfect with the audience, including the homeschool jokes which caused clapping throughout the viewers. Timing is everything in comedy, as are the cuts in the edit to create the beats, all of which was done very well. The look of the film is excellent, although not my cup of tea. None the less the film
looks great, not even like 35mm but like something else entirely. It’s its own look, and has a very Disney like quality to it. The colors are saturated and pop very easily, and the camera work during the musical sequences is especially well done. James Burgess has done a fine job throughout, I look forward to what he does in the future.
Overall this film was wonderful, and the audience it played to and will be sold to absolutely loved it. John Moore has done something really special here, let this be a lesson to all of you. If you create a good story idea, make sure you can sell it, and make sure you know WHO you are selling it to. All your decisions should revolve around that, this film is only one of many that prove that point. Know your audience, and know them well. This film doesn’t include the gospel, but it wasn’t made for the non-Christian. This film was made to be clean, family viewable entertainment for the Christian household. It fits the bill, and fits it well.
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