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District 9 Rises From the Ashes of Halo
JohnSmedley sent in a story about what might be the last SciFi film worth caring about this summer. He writes "Wired has an interesting piece up on the upcoming District 9 release. District 9 rose from the ashes of a failed Halo movie and expands on 'Alive in Jo'Burg' which is a South African short film by Blomkamp. Both the short and full feature films expand and explore a premise in which aliens in space are treated as badly as illegal immigrants and the underclass. The story begins as a damaged alien craft lands in Africa. The foreign race is quarantined in a remote area called District 9, and from there are subjected to xenophobia, and the desire of a multi-national conglomerate to steal their technology. The film is an exploration of what would happen in terms of segregation between an alien race and humans, subjecting the stranded visitors to the very human condition of greed, fear, and exploitation. District 9 will be in theatres on August 14'th, and you can view the trailers from the viewpoint of Multi-National United."
At least these aliens are slightly more alien, but they're still bipedal oxygen breathers with bilateral symmetry. I look forward to the District 9 TV series, but not to the romantic relationship between Detective Matt Sikes and (what is now) a giant bug living in the apartment next door.
As a legal immigrant in the States, I can state that (although I'm paying just as much tax as anyone else) : I have no vote, no free healthcare and no constitutional rights (let alone a TV show).
But then you're obviously a troll, aren't you?
You're either not a citizen, or a troll, or uninformed. Your taxes do not pay for constitutional rights, either--they pay for the benefits that you DO reap (law enforcement, road upkeep, sewage, fire protection, emergency care even if you cannot pay, etc). Also, I'm a citizen and do not have this free healthcare I keep hearing mentioned-- it is one of my employment benefits. Are you sure that you are referring to the right country?
To suggest that District 9 rose from the ashes of a failed attempt at Halo is disingenuous at best. First off, yet another movie based on a video game is a bad idea anyway. District 9 is more directly an expansion of the short film which can be seen on YouTube. However, an attempt to link it to Halo is most likely a cheap advertising gimmick to get fanboys out to the cinema.
Same could be said about "V for Vendetta" and "Equilibrium". Bah, just go read or watch "1984".
However, watching or reading 1984 just flat drains the soul. The other two movies are more entertaining, have a happier ending, yet still deliver the core of the same message as 1984. Does it soften the message? Somewhat. However, they reach far more people, and those that watch it don't usually kill themselves during the closing credits.
Respect the originals, yet keep refreshing it to new audiences. Often, those that like the new versions end up hungry to read about the original source material.
Grammer Nazis - I mod you "troll" unless you actually add something on-topic. Yes, I know I have mispellings in my sig.
I think the biggest thing about Moon is that it is the first hard science fiction film in a long time that has gained even the meager attention it has. Hard Sci-Fi is a dying breed, as far as I can tell from the last decade or so.
Maybe Moon didn't introduce any new ideas. But it did present those ideas in a medium where it is easier to evoke an emotional response, if it's done correctly. Moon did it very well, at least in my opinion, and it reached a wider audience than most sci-fi.
If Moon is playing near you, I highly recommend you see it.
I'm still hoping that this movie will actually be a good, cerebral Science Fiction story; rather than just another disposable alien-action movie built on what would otherwise be a great plot to explore.
Still crossing my fingers.
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Fantastic? Meh. It was a rehash of a lot of ideas we've seen done in films and books over the past 20-30 years, with nothing particularly new added. Go re-watch 2001, Bladerunner and re-read some early John Varley instead.
I'm getting so tired of this nonsense. Bladerunner was a film noir set in the future with robots. It wasn't new. Asimov did androids struggling with their (lack of) humanity in the 50s, and all Dick added was his drug addicted sense of a decaying reality to which Scott added a very provincially 1980s aesthetic. Go watch Metropolis and the Maltese Falcon. There, see how easy it is to throw stones at a good and viewing-worthy film?
Fact of the matter is that premise doesn't matter. Every premise has been done. Every idea has been pushed through the salad-tosser that is the writer's pen. What remains is the actual writing, and in the case of film acting and directing. Moon is, as I've heard (and I really do want to go see it), well written, acted and directed. If the idea is also compelling, that's great, but do we go to see a murder-mystery because we've never seen a detective confront the suspects before? Do we go to see space opera because we've never seen ships shooting at each other before? No, we go because we, as humans, enjoy the act of story-telling. It's an art, and good art is good art, even when the subject has been painted/drawn/written about/sculpted or filmed before.
You could consider investing in more reliable cellulose-based storage media. You'll find that a lot of popular ebooks have been translated into this "paper" format over the last, oh, 500 years and there's a good chance that your city even has one or more brick-and-mortar retailers who specialize in them.
Get 'em before the fad passes.
Does it soften the message? Somewhat. However, they reach far more people, and those that watch it don't usually kill themselves during the closing credits. Respect the originals, yet keep refreshing it to new audiences. Often, those that like the new versions end up hungry to read about the original source material.
That's, of course, assuming that the first exploration of a theme is the best. I would venture that while 1984, V for Vendetta, and Equilibrium explore the same space, they do it in unique ways. None are, what I would consider, a definitive work; neither are the newer movies a simple rehash of 1984.
In 1984, the 'resistance' comes from within the government and is a trap, while Equilibrium has the government using its own agent who defects, yet V for Vendetta is a resistance of an outsider. These are unique explorations, and it would be disappointing if anyone thought that any single piece was a sufficient exploration of the theme. Taken as a whole, however, the reader/viewer can make their own, deeper connections.
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I don't have an opinion one way or another but the burden of proof is always upon those making a claim. In other words, put up or shut up.
I agree, watching 1984 is a painful experience. I think the book is less so, since you're not forced to consume it all at once like a movie.
And your point about "An Inconvenient Truth" is a good one, "The Day After Tomorrow" is the entertaining version of it. I think there are some people that would have never watched "Truth" without first seeing "Tomorrow" and getting a spark of intrest that allows them to sit through the bland power point.
Grammer Nazis - I mod you "troll" unless you actually add something on-topic. Yes, I know I have mispellings in my sig.
The whole point of 1984 is to make you feel like shit. If you were uplifted by a hollywood type happy ending, it would lose much of its power. Why is it that many people think a movie that makes you feel bad is a bad movie ?
The two movies you mentioned are the typical hollywood stuff ... entertainment and almost nothing else. Not bad for blowing a couple hours, but nothing that will change the way you look at the world like 1984 has done for many people.
The Day After Tomorrow was not entertaining. I'd rather watch a 2 hour presentation by Al Gore.
I agree with your first paragraph. However, many people, including one of the posters in this thread, have turned off 1984 after a short time because they don't want to feel like shit. I have a feeling that some of them, not all, may go and try 1984 again someday if they watch a "lite" version of it in one of the remakes then hear how the underlying theme is based on 1984.
You can't change the way someone looks at the world if they won't listen to you. You need to get their attention first.
Grammer Nazis - I mod you "troll" unless you actually add something on-topic. Yes, I know I have mispellings in my sig.
This movie is about South Africa. I know it's difficult sometimes, but try to remember that there are countries on this planet other than the United States of America.