District 9 – A Movie Review

The best part of Cronenberg’s The Fly is the scene where the protagonist bites his fingernail and it squirts and flakes off.  The makers of District 9 have obviously studied the masters, blending as it does the best of the biological nastiness of Cronenberg, the suspense of mindless blockbuster action flicks, the grit of television crime dramas, the ridiculousness of the objective point of view in Attenborough’s Life series, and of course the prerequisite “all men are created equal” moral mantra that is necessary to get a film sold and distributed across the civilized world.

Aliens have arrived on Earth and are living in squalor in refugee camps outside of town.  Derogatorily known as “prawns”, these creatures spend most of their time prowling piles of refuse looking for any remnants of discarded cat food to eat. They wear trashy clothing, are querulous in their disregard for private property, and so ignorant they are easily exploited by Nigerian warlords who deliver them overpriced cat food and prostitutes in exchange for anything they might have of value.

And that’s just the beginning.  This movie has all the things missing from Philip Glass’s ex-wife’s miserable rendition of Bacchae, including a multi-touch alien interface.  Go see it.