Prawns and Sloppy Joes

Last week I saw 2 movies that couldn’t have been more different. One was inventive, well scripted, and fun while the other was ridiculous, stupid, and just a waste of time. I saw District 9 and G.I. Joe.

I saw District 9 on Wednesday night. I know I should have posted about it on Friday but that day was…complicated. I was stuck training a new person cuz someone got up and quit and there was a big hoopla. So I just didn’t have time. I know that is disappointing but that is what happens when life, annoying, frustrating, mean, hard life, interrupts fun. But enough about that, back to the movie. It was great. I was surprised I liked it so much and utterly relieved.

Right from the start the movie had 2 things going for it, 1) it wasn’t a Hollywood movie and 2) there were no big names attached to it. Yeah it was presented by Peter Jackson but he doesn’t count as a big name. He doesn’t randomly slap his name on stuff and unless you are actually into movies there is a chance you don’t know who he is.

District 9 was different. It tried something new and made it work. It presented itself as a documentary of an actual even that happens in 2010 with file footage, witness recounts and expert testimonies. But within in this documentary are some regular movie moments. Just like any other film. The thing that makes this great is that the 2 styles are seamlessly intertwined together. There are no swipes or fade outs it just goes back and forth.

The movie follows Wikus van der Merwe. He is given the job of heading a task force to move 1.8 million aliens that have been stranded on earth for the past 20 years. These aliens, who are derogatorily called “prawns”, have been living in a militarized area in Johannesburg South Africa called “District 9”. I don’t think I should say more than that about the plot because I wouldn’t want to give anything away. The movie doesn’t stay on one line though. Through Wikus’ movements things are uncovered and revealed, he changes and grows, and even the interviewees become different.

The acting in District 9 is great. You believe what is happening, you are drawn into the story immediately and it just captures your interest. The way the movie is presented makes it almost believable. Yes at points it gets a little extra but for the most part it has a specific mythology that it follows to the letter. There are few plot holes and everything is covered. The depth the filmmakers put into this is astounding. And I think their eye for detail is what really makes this film work. Detail in the storytelling, costumes and sets, and the graphics. The aliens actually looked real, like they were actually there. Just awesome.

Then on Friday I had to go and do something stupid. The only movies that came out were The Final Destination and Halloween II both of which I had no interest in seeing. Funny thing is I probably wouldn’t have been able to see any one of them anyways cuz all the tickets were sold out. My only question about that is, why? Moviegoers apparently like torturing themselves. So my other choices were to see The Goods or G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. I picked the latter cuz I thought I would at least be entertained by things blowing up but I was so wrong. Apparently I like torturing myself too.

The thing is going into this movie I knew it was going to be bad and I did it anyways. This is what boredom does to a person. I didn`t want to go home and not have seen something new so I walked in prepared but apparently not prepared enough cuz this movie was just awful.

Everything about it was bad, the story, the acting, the effects. Just horrid. I guess that is what happens when your movie headliners are Channing Tatum and Marlon Wayans. I am not spending a lot of time talking about this movie cuz it is a waste of time. It is just bad.

You know what makes it bad the sloppiness of the whole things. With a movie like this you can get over the bad acting and the bad story. There are cool weapons, explosions and chase scenes to keep you occupied but all the effects associated with this stuff was so haphazardly put together it looks ridiculous, cheap, and simply stupid.

And one other thing pissed me off. Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He puts out a movie like 500 Days of Summer, I haven`t seen it yet and am dying to and have heard good things about, and then he comes out with this crap. He seems to do that a lot. He will do a good indie pic so he can build a respectable career and then he does some big budget nonsense. I know sometimes you have to do what you don`t like for the big bucks but this is just wrong.

Anyways, see District 9 and run as far away as possible from G.I. Joe. I guess this week could have been worse, I could have wasted time and money on 2 bad movies so I guess it balances out. But I still would have preferred to see 2 good ones.

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