Tag Archives: District 9

“Monsters” leaves audiences in shock and awe

When you start watching films for a living, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'” becomes the haunting muzak filling the background of your consciousness.  Films quickly pile up in the mediocre category, with few hitting genius, or even atrocious levels.  When Monsters finished, however, I was covered with goose bumps and wanted nothing more than to sit quietly in the dark to mull it over. It is a film so powerful, fascinating and personal that it is a celluloid definition of why we go to the cinema.

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District 9: Not the same white guilt/Not racist against Nigerians

Back in December I published a review of/essay on Avatar which received attention as viewers discussed the racial and power dynamic subtexts to the film.  One article from io9, entitled “When Will White People Stop Making Movies Like Avatar,” took a slightly different direction than my reading. The article’s discussion of films and white guilt mentions several films, including District 9.  But they missed an important piece of the film. Continue reading

The Oscars: What You Need to Know

Just so you know, the Oscars are not a good gauge for “Best Film” or “Best Director” since people who have no experience with a certain category weigh in on that craft (actors can vote for best set design; writers on directors).  You also can’t join just by paying dues, but have to be voted in by other Oscar voters.

And of course, Oscar doesn’t like to give high marks to films coming from animation (other than slipping them into the “Best Animated Film” ghetto so they don’t usually get to compete for “Best Picture”), sci-fi, foreign, or horror.

Basically, it’s a giant publicity event where producers and distributors try to make some money in ticket and DVD sales before the summer blockbusters hit. Continue reading