If there ever was a weekend to take in a movie, this is it. There's literally something for everyone in theaters beginning this Friday, with tween pics like Bandslam, romantic dramas like The Time Traveler's Wife, raunchy comedies like The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, animation for the kiddies like Ponyo and my personal pic of the week: the imaginative, low-budgeted sci-fi flick District 9.
Produced by Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) and directed by the talented up-and-comer Neill Blomkamp (in his debut), District 9 won't revolutionize the genre, but it's a small, intelligent movie with big ideas and lots of eye candy. If Transformers: Revenge of theFallen was this summer's unsatisfying all-you-can-eat buffet, then District 9 is the special dinner you save up for once or twice a year. It's the kind best paired with a delicious glass of wine as the flavor of the food literally explodes in your mouth with each bite.
This is perfect late-summer entertainment – the sort of film that gets your brain working again in time for the big fall thinkers, but still maintains the summer spectacle by serving you a futuristic, out-of-this-world experience. But don't just go on my opinion alone; here's what some others are saying about District 9:
"District 9 fuses science fiction mayhem and biting social commentary as well as any film since Starship Troopers. It's the rare alien invasion story that has the aliens running scared." – AV Club
"District 9 does a lot of things right, including giving us aliens to remind us not everyone who comes in a spaceship need be angelic, octopod or stainless steel." – Roger Ebert
"A great example of how fresh science fiction can be when it's not just handed over to the special effects team and then the marketing division. District 9 is far from perfect, but every frame in it drips with ambition, energy and vision." -- MSN
"District 9 proves that there's intelligent alien life in the movie universe this summer." – Entertainment Weekly
Erik is a leading movie commentator who has worked for outlets such as AOL Moviefone and Movies.com.
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