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‘Distrcit 9’ Blu-Ray Review
Full disclosure: When I saw District 9, I walked out of the theater like a giddy 10-year-old boy. District 9 was one of the biggest surprises of the year, and I personally hadn’t had that much sci-fi-movie fun since I was 6 and had first seen The Empire Strikes Back – so receiving the District 9 Blu-ray for review was like an early Christmas present or a ninth night of Hanukkah. And unlike a lot of movies that seem like a fun ride the first time through, D9 doesn’t suffer from diminishing returns.
Rookie director Neill Blomkamp succeeded on so many levels with this film that it’s hard to know where to start waxing poetic. The direction, characters, special effects and overall integrity of the film…a fanboy could go on and on. When you factor in the budget of only $30 million, you begin to wonder just what everyone else is doing with the other $70M-plus (not you, James Cameron). But the most important thing is that District 9 works because it’s multi-layered and it works on nearly all layers.
At its core, D9 tells a xenophobic story of racism in South Africa, where Blomkamp grew up during the apartheid era. This time, it’s visiting aliens who are stuck in the country after their ship has stalled. Locals have grown tired of the new alien slums, and the government has contracted a mercenary organization to relocate the aliens. Of course, the organization is more concerned with profits than the welfare of the aliens and when our main character, Wikus Van De Merwe, has an accident with alien technology, he becomes a target of those looking to capitilize on his new unfortunate situation. That’s when Distrtict 9 becomes a Hollywood action film, except the movie retains its tone, intelligence (eat your heart out, Michael Bay) and integrity.
The Blu-ray experience here is fantastic all around – and it truly is an “experience.” This isn’t just deleted scenes and some audio commentary, though that’s there too. There are features like Metamorphosis: The Transformation of Wikus, a fascinating look at what it took to get Sharlto Copley in and out of his makeup and prosthetics; totally worth the watch. Another great addition is the mini-documentary The Alien Agenda: A Filmmaker’s Log, which follows Neill Blomkamp from the beginnings of the Halo movie with Peter Jackson up through the shooting of D9. It’s a great look at this new filmmaker’s process and one that will breed confidence in his abilities and excitement in his future projects. There are also features on creating the alien world, BD-Live and even a God of War II demo. This Blu-ray is chock-full of extras, and they’re worth digging into.
It’s hard not to gush over this film and the package that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has put together with District 9, so to put it simply: Run, don’t walk for this one. District 9 hits stores today, Dec. 22.
Buy it, Rent it, Forget it? – BUY IT!
‘Extract’ Blu-ray Review
Extract isn’t a bad movie per se, it’s just not much of an entertaining one. A Mike Judge feature about the morose and mundane world of the working class sounded promising at the onset, and the addition of Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, a daisy-dukes wearing Mila Kunis and cameos by the likes of Gene Simmons had me excited for Extract. Unfortunately, all of these elements are wasted in this film as none of the promise is delivered on.
Bateman stars as Joel, the creator and owner of an extract plant. He’s married, seemingly successful and ostensibly dying of boredom. When one of his employees suffers a “mid-body” accident (the words “balls” and “testicle” are uttered at least 50 times) while on duty at the factory, Joel is forced to deal with an ever growing number of personal and professional disasters. Some of his issues, like his cheating wife (Wiig, whose talents really aren’t explored) are self-inflicted, and others are at the hands of a local con-artist (Kunis) in a sub-plot that doesn’t seem to serve much purpose in propelling the storyline.
The cast members seem to be enjoying themselves, but none of it really comes across on-screen. While there are a few cute moments here and there, they don’t resonate for very long. Kiss frontman Simmons, as an ambulance-chasing local lawyer, could have been a gem, but it turns out to be a pointless cameo with no teeth and nothing clever to add. The sub-plot with Kunis is never fully explored and it’s unclear as to how her character fits into the plot. And that’s really the problem here: Everything feels sort of half-thought-out and -executed.
Extract works as a 30-second elevator pitch – a Mike Judge film that explores the monotony of working-class life. Sounds like a cool companion piece to his cult classic, Office Space. Now subtract the humor, the characters to root for and against, and something at stake (friendships, the heist, Milton’s stapler), and what you have is the essence of Extract.
The extras on the Blu-ray version aren’t must-see: One deleted scene, an extended scene and a Mike Judge featurette aren’t worth the price of admission. Rent or catch this one on cable but don’t expect too much. Extract hits stores today, Dec. 22.
Buy it, Rent it, Forget it? – Rent it
