Apartment Tour

No, this doesn't really have anything to do with movies. Take it up with my lawyers. For those of you who care, here's a brief tour of my new place.

I'm Moving to LA!

The rumors are true. For readers who aren't personal friends and aren't aware, I'm moving from Florida to Los Angeles tomorrow morning. The site will be update-less for a few days until I get out there and get my internet hooked up, so until then you can be wracking your brains for suggestions for future reviews. I'm not guaranteeing anything, but the District 9 review came into existence for the sole reason that a reader requested it. Think about it - movies new and old alike are fair game - and comment if you're interested. Also, if you'd like to submit a guest review of your own, my e-mail inbox is always open. Hit me up at benpears85@gmail.com and see if you've got what it takes. I'll see you all on the other side. Until next time...

District 9

I wasn't going to write anything about this movie, but I had a specific request from a reader and decided to indulge him, albeit briefly. I saw District 9 a few weeks ago and I feel like everything that can be said about it has already been said elsewhere, but I'll throw my thoughts into the ring. The very short version? If you dig sci-fi at all, you owe it to yourself to see this movie. If you're not a huge sci-fi person, I'd still recommend it because it works on many levels other than pure science fiction.

District 9
Co-Writer/Director: Neill Blomkamp
Starring: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope


Let me run down the behind-the-scenes stuff for you before I get into what I thought of the movie. Back in 2005, director Neill Blomkamp put together a short film called Alive in Joburg (watch it here) that is, in essence, a short prequel to District 9. Blomkamp is from South Africa, and wanted to make a science fiction movie in that setting because it had never been done before. Before he directed Alive in Joburg (short for "Johannesburg," the South African city in which both films take place), Blomkamp worked for various television shows like "Dark Angel" and "Smallville" as a 3D animator. He took that technical background and personally created the special effects for Alive in Joburg. The short film made an impression on Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) and his team, who a few years later were looking for an up-and-coming director to take on a Halo movie based on the popular XBox video game. After working for six or seven months on the project, Blomkamp turned in this amazing footage, but the film fell apart in the pre-production phase and hasn't been picked up since. Jackson recognized Blomkamp's talent, and his partner Fran Walsh asked Neill if he wanted to turn Alive in Joburg into a feature. So here we are, and District 9 is Neill Blomkamp's directorial debut in the feature film category. Did I mention the guy isn't even thirty years old yet? Incredible.

I'll try to avoid spoilers in case you haven't seen it, but I'd highly recommend checking this movie out in theaters. The film was made for only $30 million (a tiny sum for a summer action movie) and looked much more convincing than the other bloated CGI-based films to come out this summer. You've all seen the trailers, at least - the shot with the helicopters flying up to the hovering ship above the city took my breath away on a big screen. I'm not going to provide a plot summary because you're better off knowing as little about the movie as possible going in. Yes, I realize the inherent irony in saying that when I've barely started my review.


Blomkamp employs a documentary style that today's audiences have gotten used to over the past few years due to oversaturation, but District 9 doesn't feel gimmicky and doesn't come close to the nauseating result of The Bourne Supremacy. Personally, I think the film works because it's not all Cloverfield-esque where every scene in the movie is filmed in handheld mode: the movie starts as a documentary being made about the main character (including the occasional interview and nice touches like shots from security cameras) and, when it benefits the film, changes perspective away from that doc structure and shows the audience events that the "documentary crew" doesn't see. I can't remember ever seeing this type of filmmaking before: generally, you either stick with the whole thing being doc-style or none of it. Blomkamp's decision to utilize both does the movie a great service without being distracting or off-putting.


The themes tackled in District 9 are very well-handled: contemplations on what it means to be human, relationship struggles during trying times, allegories to the apartheid system, race relations, and corporate tyranny are all addressed with intelligence and competence. The script is great, and that's a huge reason this movie succeeds. Story is of paramount importance to these filmmakers, not just a thinly-reasoned game of connect the dots to the next action scene.


And deliver action, it does. I was expecting an almost-entirely intellectual movie when I sat down in the theater, but when I walked out I was blown away by how freaking awesome the action scenes were executed. Again, I'll stay spoiler free - but I will say that there are scenes involving alien weaponry that are unlike anything I've seen on film before. When I walked out, I was shaking my head imagining how amazing a Halo movie would have been if Blomkamp had directed it.


Sharlto Copley, who plays Wikus van de Merwe, is a first time actor and does a terrific job with his performance. This is one of those films that definitely benefits from using unknown actors instead of plugging big name actors into the roles, and this will undoubtedly serve as a launchpad for Copley should he choose to further pursue acting. His character draws comparisons to Michael Scott from "The Office," due partly to the similarity in filming style and partly because they are both kind of boneheaded characters, but suffice it to say that this guy is not your typical sci-fi lead.

That about wraps it up for now. I might revisit District 9 and compare it to James Cameron's Avatar when that comes out in December, or perhaps delve a little further into the film upon further viewings post-DVD release. I hope this review was enough to convince you to see the movie, even if you wait for the DVD yourself. It's definitely worth watching, and probably the most original sci-fi action movie we've seen in a couple years. Until next time...

The Time Traveler's Wife

The Time Traveler’s Wife

Director: Robert Schwentke

Starring: Eric Bana, Rachel McAdams

Guest Review by Becki Pearson

So, let’s get down to brass tacks. Henry DeTamble (Bana) is a time traveling librarian that falls in love with Claire Abshire, a young and strong willed artist (McAdams). This film corners the battles of their unstable relationship and their determination to successfully continue their marriage. Although I feel like there are a lot of unanswered questions about the film, I still walked out of the theater next to 45 year old women, all with slappy smiles on our faces.

It is kind of hard to review this film without revealing most of the story. I will try my best to put spoiler alerts beforehand, but if you don’t want it to be ruined, I suggest not reading this at all.

So, Henry has a genetic disorder that causes him to time travel. One of the biggest problems that I had with the movie was the fact that they never really say from where this genetic problem generated. They don’t mention a father or elderly relative that involuntarily disappeared and woke up nude in a different time. It only started to happen to Henry when he was six years old after a major car crash that killed his mother. Besides that event being the opening scene to the film, we, as an audience, simply come to the conclusion that the car crash is somehow related to his newfound ability. But if his disorder is a genetic problem, then he would have been able to travel before the car crash occurred. They mention in the movie that TV’s and alcohol can “set him off”… and that’s it. They never explain why those things make him travel more frequently. They also quickly mention that stress can be a factor that effects ability, but then they show a montage of him time traveling, some that have nothing to do with stress related activities. For example, Henry and Claire were setting their kitchen table for dinner and when she turned around, all the plates were smashed on the floor and all that was there of him were his clothes. I seriously doubt that at that time of setting the supper table, Henry was stressed so high to the point of making himself travel to another time.

Another thing- Henry never traveled anywhere cool. It doesn’t make sense that he wouldn’t spontaneously arrive in Medieval Times or during the Renaissance. Instead, he traveled to the back of alleyways and to the middle of fields. They weren’t even places that he had been before, which would make a little more sense.

Let me just say this- I think Eric Bana is adorable. I’m under the impression that he is a very talented and versatile actor, however I am not familiar enough with his work to have a strong opinion about him. Besides spending half the movie naked after time traveling (Because, ya know, clothes can’t time travel but humans can) I thought he did a pretty good job dealing with his character. Because of the nature of the film, it was already confusing trying to figure out where (or when) Henry was and the limited changes to his appearance didn’t help. The only thing they did to make him look a different age was add some gray to his hair or add 2 inches to the length. I have a feeling that any other actor could have preformed this role with equal or superior talent.

Instead, the hair stylists spent all of their time with Rachel McAdams during this film. She had an estimated 5423 different hair styles throughout the film and it became a game to see what her hair would look like the next rather than caring about her feelings as the wife of a time traveler. I think she did a pretty awesome job with her role, but then again, I think she’s awesome at everything she does.

SPOILER ALERT!

So, alright. They, by the power of time traveling, have a daughter which they decide to name Alba. (Let me just quickly mention that they never explain why they named their daughter Alba. Only that Henry traveled to the future and heard her name being said. But... no real reason.) Of course, the daughter turns out to be a time traveler as well. Once again, this fact only supports my questioning that the disorder is in fact “a genetic problem” because the daughter travels when she is 4 years old. If it truly is a genetic disorder, Henry would have been able to travel early too, just like his daughter. Another thing- Why is it that the little 4 year old girl learns to control her traveling, but the 37 year old man can’t? That’s just stupid.

They mention in the story that Henry could not change the future; that destiny would always occur. He couldn’t go back to the night of the car crash and save his mother, but he could somehow cheat at the lottery and win his wife 5 million dollars. And here is my biggest problem with the film- If he didn’t go back and meet Claire when she was a little girl (aka change the future), she would not have loved him her whole life. If he hadn’t gone back, their love wouldn’t exist. That in itself is a HUGE contradiction. If he can’t change what’s going to happen, why could he go back and stalk this little 8 year old until she falls in love with him, but can’t go back and save his mother from dying? If he can’t change what is going to happen, then why can his daughter, who shares the same genetic ability, do it on a wim? At one point in the film, Claire looks out the window and sees her 4 year old daughter talking to her 9 year old daughter in the yard, which clearly changes the life of the 4 year old. Just imagine having a conversation with your future self. (Imagine if Marty had, in fact, run into himself?) It doesn’t make sense that he “can’t change what’s going to happen," when the entire movie revolves around him doing just that.

On the Becki Scale, I give it a solid 3. And that's just because Eric Bana is cute.

Thanks to Ben for letting his little sister add some "chick-flicks" to the blogsite. <3