Current Tunes: Baroness – Steel That Sleeps the Eye
I watched “Moon” last night, an interesting little sci-fi feature by newcomer Duncan Jones. I found out after a brief bit of digging that Mr. Jones is actually the son of David Bowie. Crazy no? What a legacy to have to live up to…
Anyway, I wanted to talk about moon to more specifically talk about another movie. “Moon” was good enough for what it was. An interesting little character study, of sorts. I had high hopes for this film; the hype was at just the right level for me to be excited, but not to a brimming-over point, like I might get with mindless fan-fare like your everyday comic book movie. I gotta say though, I’m quite let down by “Moon.” I guess why I’m let down by it is because it wasn’t the new age masterpiece that plenty of people were calling it.
I had been so excited by all the buzz surrounding it “2001” influence, but what I saw looked less like influence and more like unadulterated plagiarism. Which happens, in film these days anyway. I had a hard time identifying with the main characters, and I would explain why, but it’d require spoiling a major, major plot point that’s best kept secret. It just got flat out dull at moments too, and that’s never a good sign.
But getting to the point, the positive outcome of seeing “Moon” was it gave me a newer appreciation of not just how overwhelmingly good “District 9” is, but how powerfully vital it will be in the coming decades. I’m going to go ahead and proclaim “District 9” the best sci-fi film made since “2001.” Shock and amazement, I know… It’s true though. I challenge you to find me a movie made in the genre since 1968 that is 1) technically masterful 2) wholly original 3) pertinent to world affairs and 4) all and out purely entertaining as “District 9” is. Plenty of sci-fi films have had a few of these elements, but I can’t think of many that contain all four. Even my beloved “The Matrix” can at best lay claim to three of these criteria, in my opinion.
Looking back through the years, I confidently feel “District 9” stacks up to any film made in the genre (and to plenty outside of it). That’s why (as a little preview to my end-of-the-year lists) I’m going to go ahead spoil you folks on my best film of 2009 and tell you that its undoubtedly “District 9.” And this is without even seeing the work of my hero and idol, Terry Gilliam. That should let you know how heavy I am on this film. If you haven’t seen it, go out and get it next week when it hits DVD.
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Personally, it was a little overwrought for my taste. I think it would be interesting to contrast this D9 with Avatar. Why the whole humans turning alien narrative in both? One dark, one bioluminescent... anyway. I've never been big into sci-fi. If I was I would say this was the best film of the year too, probably. Since I'm not, I think it was Hurt Locker.
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