DISTRICT 9 *

Neill Blomkamp wrote and directed this Sci-Fi/Drama which features: Sharlto Copley, David James. Rated R for bloody violence and pervasive language. Running time is one hour and 52 minutes.

28 years ago, aliens made first contact with Earth. Humans waited for the hostile attack, or the giant advances in technology. Neither came. Set up in a makeshift home in South Africa's "District 9", control over the aliens has been contracted out to a private company more interested in making the aliens' awesome weaponry work than in the aliens' welfare. So far, they have failed; activation of the weaponry requires alien DNA. Then one of their field operative (Copley) contracts a mysterious virus that begins changing his DNA.

There's been a lot of buzz about this film, mainly because it's being "presented" by Peter Jackson, whatever that means. It's a film critics are raving about, but unless I miss my guess, the average film-goer will not be happy. For one thing, this has a very meager plot. It's all been summed up in the paragraph above. This simple plot has then been stretched to fit almost two hours, utilizing a cast you've probably never seen before and are unlikely to see again. And, there are big enough holes in the plot to fit a Class M Starcruiser. Finally, it's presented as if it were a cable new story, and you know how stullifying those are. I get the allegory about race relations and immigration problems, but I'll bet this isn't what you expect or want when you go to an Aliens vs. Humans pic. If you absolutely insist on going, pick a seat on the back row and start counting the people who start leaving almost at once. That at least may provide a smidgen of entertainment. The big screen doesn't add much to this so feel free to wait for the DVD.