I just got back from a special screening of District 9. It is, in a word, awesome.

Go see it.

The pacing, structure, story, character development, direction, acting, is all top notch. I could probably sum it up like this: take Alien Nation, Schindler’s List and The Fly, mix up all the best parts together and you have District 9. I enjoy science fiction quite a bit and this is pure sci-fi. It’s all about exploring the human condition through an “alien” point of view. In this case: racism, apartheid, segregation. And of course, humanity in all forms. District 9 is at both times exciting and moving, carefully balancing an epic (but personal) action-thriller with carefully structured drama. A lot of love and attention went into District 9, and it absolutely shows.

The documentary of the film serves to create background and context within an interesting bookend to the epic story that the traditional movie tells. The ending is beautiful and appropriate. Several members of the audience applauded over the end credits. Weta’s effects are awesome to the point that you don’t care that it’s CGI, much like their work on Gollum from The Lord of The Rings. The work done by Weta in District 9 looks effortless.

To the Transformers crowd: it starts slow but packs a punch as it roars toward the end.

I loved every minute of the movie. Nothing felt ridiculous or ham-handed. Nothing superfluous. Just carefully paced, epic storytelling that moves you emotionally. District 9 feels real, and it touches you in the same way Children of Men does. You see the horror capable in man, and the humanity capable in beasts. It was hard for me to find a human character in the film to root for until very near the end. Selfishness and greed rule the day in District 9.

The people sitting next to me in the theater were shaking their heads, disgusted at the humans. There was a moment in the story where it looked like things were going to work out and suddenly, it all comes crashing down, and a woman sitting next to me was visibly upset. And as the movie picks up speed toward the end, it knocked me off my feet. There were cheers coming from the audience.

Hopefully District 9 will do well financially and will open the doors for producer Peter Jackson and director Neill Blomkamp to finally realize their swan song: Halo.

G.I. Joe? G.I. Blow.

I give it a D+. Snake Eyes saves it from being an F and the boobies give it the extra credit. The only casting I agree with is Ray Park and Dennis Quaid. I pretty much didn’t like anything else. The effects work swayed from good to bad to often. The ending was stupid; it practically dares the writers to come up with a sequel. I could taste Star Wars references everywhere: from the Death Star’s floor plans to the Battle of Endor, the duel of the fates and even the canyon chase in the asteroid belt. The villains weren’t scary. The love stories were lame and forced. Pros: Marlon Wayans was surprisingly not unfunny, though, and The PIT was cool for about three seconds. The Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow flashbacks started off alright, but wound up being lame.

Basically, G.I. Joe tries too hard to be cool. It hurts to watch sometimes, like a virgin nerd trying to score. But, it IS watchable…in a completely sucky way. It’s good that I got to see it for free (a radio station gave away tickets), but I still feel like I want my money back.

But, I hear it’s better than Transformers.

Contains spoilers.

I saw Star Trek last night and although it was great fun it was certainly not the best of the franchise. However, the guy who does Lost and the guys who wrote Transformers did do something very intelligent. This Star Trek is not a reboot in a Batman Begins sense. It’s a reboot in a Back to the Future alternate timeline, Biff Tannen-in charge sense.

There were quite a few moments in the movie where I was completely ready to call “bullshit”, but the movie’s one saving grace appears: Leonard Nimoy as Spock. And he’s not J. J. Abrams’ Spock. This is Gene Roddenberry’s Spock from the future; the same future timeline as the original series, movies and The Next Generation era. In that timeline everything we know and love about the established Trek universe is still going on. But some shit goes down and the bad guy and Spock are thrust back in time where the bad guy kills Kirk’s dad, among many others: an event not supposed to happen, and thereby changes the Trek timeline at least 25 years before the events in the original series. That’s ample time for production design to change.

Once Leonard Nimoy’s Spock tells young Kirk that all the shit happening in this movie never actually happened in his timeline and it’s all a completely alternate universe where now anything can happen (including newly reimagined encounters with Khan, the Borg or a new Federation-Klingon war), Abrams and company have a fresh, clean slate to do ANYTHING they want and it’s ok to the die hard Trekkies and Trekkers who, like me, would have called this film an abomanation — Star Trek 90210, for instance — because it’s an alternate timeline. And if Tasha Yar can come back in an alternate timeline and give us Sela in the established timeline, then why not an alternate universe where Spock gets to flesh meld Uhura?

After that explanation, I could totally buy Abrams’ Star Trek, but I couldn’t get over how EVERY scene had to be filled with action. Not only are we about to be destroyed by an alien vessel but my wife’s gonna give birth. Not only do I have to walk through the snow for 18 miles to call for a taxi but I have to be chased by carnivorous alien creatures. And even a mellow exposition scene like like two dudes chatting in a bar has to be shot with nervous energy; like they handed the camera to a starving Ethiopian.

Still, even this grotesquely overly epic little movie pays homage to Roddenberry’s Trek like red shirts being inexplicably dispatched in the first two seconds of an away mission, Scotty being taken for granted and Sulu being a gay fencer. Because fencing is gay. Unless you’re Rob Roy.

Also, I really enjoyed the few moments where Kirk got his Shatner on: the head bobbing and casual, badass delivery. I think the movie tried too hard to be cute for teen audiences like Kirk eating an apple during the Kobiashi Maru test, the Scotty in the “why is this here?!” dangerous water chopping thing scene, Kirk being tongue-numbingly, hand-bloatingly sick scene and others. Felt like a loud teen comedy, J. J. But hey, they’re alternately young so of course they won’t act EXACTLY like the established and mature crew we all know and love…yet.

With a wisely manufactured alternate timeline, this “not really a reboot” reboot can deliver something fresh and exciting for today’s Michael Bay-loving audience while still not completely flipping off the original fans. A smart move from J. J. “I like Star Wars more” Abrams.