Inside Out

Remember that one really great time in your life? No seriously. Think about it. Close your eyes smile and let that warm clean gooey feeling rush over you. Laughing so hard you can’t see straight, the tears blurring your vision, and your abs hurting worse than any P90X seems to be able to rip at them. The moment you stop laughing you look at your friend you start to giggle again and then boom, the encore begins. Best encore ever. Now take a break. Reset your emotional palate. Think of grocery store whole-wheat toast. Good. Now think of a moment where you were really anxious, nervous and worried. Blech, I can see them all looking at me. I don’t know exactly what to say. They didn’t laugh at my joke the way other people usually do, my minds racing. I don’t know where to go, what to do.


It’s amazing how powerful our memories and emotions are. Have you ever stopped to think what goes on behind all of it? Well, director Pete Doctor did in the innovative movie Inside Out.
The movie primarily focuses on 5 emotions inside 11-year-old, goofy, family oriented, hockey loving Riley. Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), and Sadness (Phyllis Smith). They operate out of Headquarters, powering Riley’s responses to life, creating memories and interacting to help Riley out in different situations. Riley’s Minnesotan¹ life is pretty good. Filled with lots of happy memories, including all of her 5 core memories, which power her different personality islands (Hockey Island, Goofball Island, Friendship Island, Honesty Island and Family Island).


But life throws a curve ball when Riley’s Father² has to move the family to San Francisco for a new tech start up. Things get more complicated when Sadness touches a previously happy memory and turns it sad, causing Riley to cry in front of her new classmates and Riley’s once totally happy life begins to take a turn with the production of her first sad core memory. The story further complicates when Joy and Sadness are sucked down a neural tube into Long Term Memory land along with Riley’s 5 core happy memories, shutting down her personality islands and leaving Anger, Fear and Disgust to run the show. Meanwhile Sadness and Joy must journey through the rest of


Riley’s brain to get back to Headquarters as quickly as possible so that Joy can bring happiness back to Riley.
Inside Out eloquently explores the perils of growing up with a unique perspective. Doctor focuses on Riley’s emotional maturing as the conflict rather than inserting a villain to push and challenge her. The overarching message is quite remarkable and one that I don’t think a lot of kids, let alone adults, hear enough: there’s a season and moment for everything. Growing, changing, and maturing aren’t just about being happy all the time. And sometimes life sucks³, but growth can still occur despite sadness, fear, anger, or disgust.

Pixar once again flexes their animation muscles combining fantastic art, story and enjoyable voice acting⁴ to create another classic in the realm of the Toy Story franchise, The Incredibles, and Up⁵. Inside Out is a must see and well worth the time, money and tears⁶.

Rating: 9/10

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1 Shout out to Minnesota!

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2Who does have nice sweater game.

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3Especially when you’re moving away from MN.

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4Keeping true to form with fun cameos and the classic John Ratzenberger.

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5Really I guess most of their movies could be listed here and it might have been easier to just list the ones that are phenomenal.

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6Because there probably will be tears a few times—plus it’s ok to be sad, guys!

Black Swan

In an entertainment industry filled with terrible thrillers directed by M Night and movies that entirely focus on the jumpiness to put you on edge Black Swan provides a guiding light for all in this forlorn thriller genre. Focusing on a young up and coming ballerina, Nina Sayers (portrayed by the always beautiful Natalie Portman), who is striving for prominence in her dance studio, especially in the new production of Swan Lake where the lead needs to portray the innocent white swan but also the seductive, evil black swan. Nina ends up the first choice by the Director, Thomas (played perfectly by Vincent Cassel), who reiterates her perfection in the innocent white swan but lack of ability to portray the seductive black swan. Thomas points to newcomer Lily (Mila Kunis) and the way she carries herself on the dance floor as inspiration for Nina. As Nina battles with her attempt to fit into the darker role of the black swan a quirky relationship is formed with her competition, Lily. Nina continues throughout battling to keep the transformation as vocation as possible, keeping it from seeping into and destroying her personal life.


Going into Black Swan I had heard a lot of hype surrounding it (which is partially why I justified spending over $5 on it) and the hype was without a doubt backed 100%. There was not a weak link in the cast’s chain as everyone performed well and played their part to a T involving the viewer’s emotions and opinions throughout their performance. Even though I found Black Swan slightly predictable I was very impressed with how advancements were carried out and absolutely adored the score, which utilized slight alterations to the already flawless Tchaikovsky masterpiece intertwining it with the movie perfectly. But the best part maybe the undertones the movie provides allowing for discussion as well entertainment (something every good movie should contain). To top it all off the cinematography and visual effects of this movie really benefit the thriller aspect, making it not just a jump fest (although there were moments). Bringing back the psych part to the psychological thriller, culminating thoughts and ideas racing through your mind as the plot expands and reveals more. Black Swan didn’t disappoint me and I don’t think it will disappoint many others either, proving a trip to the theaters will not be in vein.


Overall Rating: 9 out of 10

Dinner For Schmucks

What do you get when you mix Paul Rudd, Steve Carrell with a little timely sprinkle of Zach Galifianakis? You end up with a man attempting to move up the totem pole of his dog-eat-dog job; in order to solidify his position he must compete with other higher up coworkers in finding and bringing the best schmuck to dinner so they can all laugh at them. His man of choice is a socially and ultimately just flat out awkward taxidermist (Carrell) enthusiast who is particularly fond of mice, dead ones. He then decorates them and sets them up in different dioramas (which are all rather clever, but you obviously can tell why he’s chosen for the schmuck dinner) all this as a hobby. Rudd’s long time girlfriend strongly disagrees with this idea and as he attempts to decide what to do with the dinner and his schmuck of choice his schmuck of choice and him end up in a heap of trouble; mainly caused by Carrell’s amazingly uncanny ability to screw things up character. A relationship almost ends, audits are handed out, crazy ex mistakes reappear, mind control (and brain control) is witnessed and lots of dead mice are dressed and stuffed.



Dinner for Schmucks scored big time for me, I found myself laughing at almost every joke that was thrown to the audience. Carrell’s awkwardness is priceless and different; although you can somewhat see Michael Scott in this character, which is why I think he plays this part so well. Paul Rudd plays much of a similar role as that in “I Love You, Man”, a man on a quest who also contains some very awkward moments that leave you laughing but embarrassed at the same time (slightly like the man kiss scene in I Love You, Man). This all works flawlessly as I saw no problem with any of the acting or writing and Zach Galifianakis’ cameo is quite funny clashing pleasantly well with Carrell’s character. A few “Flight of the Conchords” characters also make appearances as well, which all blend well together in this hilarious summer comedy. What’s also nice is that among the hilarity there is some seriousness mixed in where you feel an emotion other than happiness or giddiness adding attachment to the movie not just making it all about the humor. This movie is definitely worth going to in theaters especially if you’re looking for something to cheer you up or are just in the mood to laugh.





Over All Rating: 8 out of 10

Inception

Forget everything you know about dreams if you plan on seeing this summer blockbuster, clear your minds and prepare to see digital effects take yet another step forward in cinema. Although “Inception” is not just completely held up by CG (unlike some movies…) solid acting performances—especially by DiCaprio, again—are held together by feasible chemistry and interaction between an array of actors (some well known, others not as much), they make you feel like a more perfect group could not have been assembled. Christopher Nolan continues his amazing writing in yet another movie keeping you on the edge of your seat guessing what is going to happen next. All this is done at a pace that keeps you trying to remember and keep up, although this is fun and entertaining it doesn’t let some of the story develop much, but it works because the pace rarely slows.



The movie follows Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) a heist man who steals information—with the help of Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) a close friend who doesn’t have much else described about him—from people through entering their dreams and stealing the desired information from the vaults within their subconscious (that are stored in the persons dream). But in order to get back to his family he has one last job. Instead of stealing information he and his team of people (an architect—who creates the dream’s landscape—Ariadne (Ellen Paige), a chemist—who helps develop sedatives to allow deeper sleep for dream contortion—Yusuf (Dileep Rao), a forger—who imitates others—Eames (Tom Hardy) and a funder—who is the man behind the whole thing promising Cobb’s his family life back—Saito (Ken Watanabe)) must plant an idea and let that inception grow, becoming that persons own.



Overall this movie works pretty well, although trying to entirely explain and critique this movie is slightly difficult after one viewing (I will probably end up seeing it again). “Inception” is a movie that although there is vast amounts of entertainment in it could have gone deeper with character development (besides Cobb) and their relationships, although the story works, it could have been enhanced and dwelled upon more. This being said, the movie is enthralling and I enjoyed it very much, it works the way it is now, actions scenes are intense and well choreographed and cinematography is amazing. Altogether this movie is still worth the price to see in theaters, but be prepared to be confused and possibly a second trip back if you want to get your mind wrapped around the whole thing, this movie is not for the weak minded and easily distracted.



Overall rating: 8.5 out of 10

Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3
Previous to Toy Story 3 Pixar has opened the box office as the #1 movie every (10 of them). This streak has to come to an end and Pixar has to produce a “bad” movie sooner or later and Toy Story 3 had me a little worried, to be honest. I love Pixar movies especially the Toy Story series so I approached Toy Story 3 tentatively. I was concerned that Toy Story 3 would not live up to the quality or entertainment level of the previous 2 and it would tarnish the trilogy completely.

Thankfully all my worries were washed away very quickly upon the opening of the movie. The movie shortly follows the toys life with Andy as he grows up until he is college aged and moving out. With Andy’s cleaning out of his room before his move to college, his old toys end up donated at Sunnybrook and in the Caterpillar room with the younger, destructive kids at the daycare. After a few days of rough treatment and beatings they are finally convinced that Woody was right and they need to get back to Andy.

The movie keeps much of the old crew (even Slinky, whose voiced actor passed away in 2000—they found a replacement that fits very well) and introduces some new very funny characters that end up adding a ton to the story and fun. The movie provoked many emotions and had the same feel as later 2. I left the theater 100% satisfied and wanting to watch it again ASAP. This is a definite don’t miss and will hopefully close out the Toy Story saga with a bang (baring they don’t make a Toy Story 4; but they are working on a Toy Story short film that will be released with Cars 2).

Overall Rating: 9 out of 10

Get Him to the Greek

Apatow production strikes again with their release of the newest comedy, Get Him to the Greek, which continues Forgetting Sarah Marshall’s story line of rock star Aldous Snow (played by Russell Brand). Jonah Hill (playing Aaron Green) also stars in Get Him to the Greek but picking up as a character that works in the music business under his boss Sergio (played by Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs). The movie uses the same type of humor that are seen in all previous Apatow movies, but keeps it interesting with the new story line but with a few familiar characters.
Aldous Snow is the only person who plays the same role finds himself in the downward fall of his career after producing a racist album leading to his divorce of his wife, return to alcoholism and drugs and finally his fall from stardom. Upon Sergio deciding that a 10th anniversary concert of Aldous live at the Greek theater in LA would boost revenue Aaron Green is then sent to pick him up and bring him the Greek. Then enters pandemonium, which may remind you of the Hangover slightly. Ultimately the movie highlights Aaron Green and Aldous Snow’s growing relationship from fan/rocker to friends.
I found myself laughing frequently at most jokes with few exceptions. P. Diddy provided a hilarious twist to the cast surprising me with his comic ability and Brand did what he does best, act crazy but being a riot at the same time. To top it all of I actually found Jonah Hill funny at times, not annoying or stupid (although he was annoying and stupid sometimes, just not throughout the whole movie), which was a pleasant surprise. All in all this entire movie was pretty funny and had some memorable moments that will surely cause you to leave the theater talking and laughing about.


Overall Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Avatar

With all the hype around “Avatar”, I’m here to set the record straight. Expectations have run high because of “Avatar’s” record-breaking $300 million plus budget and the likes of a big name director James Cameron who was involved in “Titanic”, “Aliens” and “Terminator,” all highly touted science fiction movies.

“Avatar’s” plot is nothing special, original, or anything to get excited about. Imagine a twisted “Pocahontas”/”Fern Gully” with a paraplegic man, Jake Sully, who controls a body of a Na'vi (the natives to the planet), created by scientists called Avatars, to infiltrate the Na'vi clan and get them to leave so the precious metals at the base of it can be harvested. But along the way Sully falls in love with the Na'vi’s way of life and coincidentally, the chief’s daughter. Then, when diplomacy fails and the human military gets involved, Sully needs to take up a side and decides who matters the most to him.

Cameron’s “Avatar” has very impressive CG, much like that of “District 9” but this is expected when $300 million is put into it. The plot is weak and the 3D effects weren’t necessary and didn’t add much; I’d rather have seen it in 2D. Also, the movie runs 2½ hours and dragged at times, not moving the plot forward much at all, although the plot wasn’t completely awful - but I could have been much better. The character’s half CG-ed, half-live acting was without a doubt the strongest point of the movie, intermixing and functioning very well together. A close second to the CG was the cinematography, which at times, was breathtaking. This winter blockbuster failed to live up to all the hype and attention paid to it. Although it was a solid movie, I expected more and because it’s only in 3D, be prepared to spend and extra $3-4 for the glasses.


Overall Rating: 7.5 out of 10

This Is It

June 25, 2009 the world was shocked as Michael Jackson passed away from a cardiac arrest, leaving the world with Michael Jackson fever. Leading up to MJ’s “This Is It” last string of 50 concerts hundreds of hours of practice and prep was recorded, piece it together and you have “This Is It”. The movie gives you a look behind the scene at Michael Jackson, his back up dancers and singers and a close to perfect view of what MJ had in store for all of his fans. A set that has never been seen before, with tons of special effects and glitz and glamour all cooked up and micro managed my Mr. Jackson himself. This view of Michael Jackson is a very special one, him saving his voice and not singing his heart out, him not entirely dancing an entire scene out and leaving his entire heart on the stage, but still putting it out there. This movie shows all that Michael put into his profession of entertainment, all he put into his work for his fans, wanting to give them the best they’d ever seen. Entirely making sure this was it. Even if you aren’t the biggest MJ fan in the world (unless you absolutely hate him), this is a movie you should consider viewing to see Michael’s amazing talent put into practice and all the hard work and ideas he used and how he effected others with his amazing gifts. “This Is It” is a definite view, without a doubt.





Over All Rating: 8 out of 10

Where the Wild Things Are

We’ve seen book to movie adaptations all the time in Hollywood, some good (“Lord of the Rings”), some not so good (“The Cat in the Hat”). The only thing about “Where the Wild Things Are” is that it isn’t a 500+ page book where you have to figure out what should be cut, no, “Where the Wild Things Are” consists of 48 pages (less than half of those containing writing) so the plot for the movie had to be tweaked and twisted, for this I was rather impressed with the story that the writers came up with (Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers; Jonze also directed). In the book Max, a single kid (as far as we know) puts on his wolf outfit and raises a ruckus, his mom then sends him to his room with no supper. From his room a forest grows until his entire room is engulfed and a personal boat for him appears where he travels for years on the sea to the land of the wild things. There he uses his magic trick by staring at them in their eyes and telling them, “BE STILL” he is then crowned king. His first decree is for a rumpus to occur and after that he decides he misses home and those who love him. He leaves for food and love from his mother.

The movie takes some liberties as it goes into more detail as to how he gets to the land of the wild things, the stories of the wild things and they’re background (more in depth; as they have names in the movie and are just known as the wild things in the book). Along with this more of the landscape is shown theatrically and most importantly what Max does with the Wild Things once in control is expanded in a different but in a fun way; much in a way you would assume a boy of Max’s age would want to do with the power he has. The cinematography was a beautiful throughout the vast regions of the world of the Wild Things, from the desert to the forest the world that Max explores and encounters throughout his stay making it one of the strongest aspects of this feature. The vibe and way he interacts with the Wild Things is perfect; the main positive aspect of this is that I felt the main theme of the book coming through in the movie as well. But the movie wasn’t all-good I found the movie overly depressing to be classified a “family/children’s movie” (this fact has been much discussed), the movie was very dark as Max doesn’t live a very happy home life and in the land of the Wild Things I found it over all very strange the way some of the movie was carried out, such as how the movie transitioned from one part of the plot to the next (granted they were going off little from the book) and the way the movie ends doesn’t give closer to how the family ends up. I left the movie theater very confused as to whether or not I enjoyed this movie, I knew for sure it wasn’t what I was expecting when I entered the theater but that was okay. Over all I thought the movies positives out weighed the negatives as a whole and was fairly entertained. But definitely would not recommend taking young children to view this or anyone looking to see a mainstream movie. This movie is worth a matinee viewing and maybe full price weekend viewing if you’re interested enough, but don’t expect too much out of this movie.






Over all Rating: 7 out of 10

Zombieland

Zombie apocalypse, human population plummeting and undead rising, the basic premise of every zombie movie not a big surprise “Zombieland” followed suit as well. But unlike other zombie movies before it, “Zombieland” takes a more humorous look 4 people trying to make it through everyday life, enjoying the little things while they’re at it. This action-comedy contains the talents of Tallahassee-Woody Harrelson (“Cheers”), Columbus-Jesse Eisenburg (“Adventureland”), Wichita-Emma Stone (“Superbad”) and Little Rock-Abigail Breslin (“Little Miss Sunshine”)-each being named after where they came from. Tallahassee and Columbus start off in Texas, traveling together. The duo, of Harrelson and Eisenburg, work very well together playing off each other’s personality and balancing the other out perfectly. Harrelson’s character being the crazy shoot ‘em up and Eisenburg the more apprehensive but can still, barely, get the job done way of surviving, added to a decent dose of clumsiness. Columbus working to get back home to see if his family has survived and Tallahassee who is just in search of an ever-elusive Twinkie. They are later joined by Wichita and Little Rock who are trying to make their way to a theme park in Cali. The four-some fight, disagree, laugh, travel and most importantly kill zombies together, all while enjoying the little things.
The comedy that runs throughout the movie is something that has not yet been seen mixed with zombies using American comedy (the closest thing to it being “Shaun of the Dead” which uses British humor). The actors and the characters that they play all tie in very well together allowing for humorous interaction and a revival of Harrelson’s career, showing the movie world that he still has funny left in him. Along with rising comedy younglings Eisenburg and Stone have weird interaction with the gender roles almost flipped in the way that they act. Judging from previews you wouldn’t think much of this movie but it’s definitely worth a watch and I guarantee that going into this movie with an open mind you will find yourself laughing, remember you got to enjoy the little things.



Over all rating: 7 out of 10

3Deeeeeeeeeeeeee

I’m sure we’ve all seen Toy Story (1 and 2), Pixar’s first full-length megahit movie. Well Buzz, Woody and the gang are all back in theaters for 2 weeks (1 week left) but now in 3-D! If you have seen a 3-D movie before Toy Story you may not be super impressed since Toy Story was not originally made for 3-D but still looks pretty solid. The movie itself is not changed and remains the classic it was in ’95 when first released. So even if you’ve seen Toy Story 1 and 2 even if recently it’s well worth your money (price of one ticket for two movies) along with your first look at Toy Story 3 (set to be released 6/18/10). With the same solid movie--being one of Pixar’s best, if not the best--in 3-D and is only around for one more week (although may be released on DVD in 3-D). So get there while you can, take the kids, go with a date or just go by yourself and enjoy one of Pixar’s best in 3-D.


Overall Rating: 9 out of 10
3-D Rating: 8 out of 10

Basterds of the inglorious type

“Inglorious Basterds” takes place throughout WWII (1941-44 in Nazi France) following a group of American-Jewish soldiers—coined “The Basterds” —with one mission. Kill lots of Nazis…as brutally as possible. But seeing as this is Tarantino it just can’t be that simple, a few other stories exist as well (they are broken into 5 different chapters as the movie goes along and later intertwine). The Basterds receive a mission to help in the assassination of all of the German high command, which is attending a German movie premiere at a French theater owned by a French-Jewish girl, Shosanna Dreyfus; who years earlier barely escaped with her life as her family was executed but SS men. With the perfect chance, opportunity lays in the lap of The Basterds and Shosanna with the ability to end the war, if all goes as planned.

Going into this movie my expectations where high. How could this movie not be great? Starring Brad Pitt, Lt. Aldo Raine, an American-Jewish soldier from the south who loves to kill him “some Natzis" leads The Basterds; with a solid actor like this not a bad start, right? The movie even "guest stars" (as introduced in the title) Ryan (B.J. Novak) from the hit NBC show “The Office”. But this all fell short of what I had presumed, “Inglorious Basterds” plot was shaky at times, wasting their time developing The Basterds and then going no where with them later in the movie. This was really upsetting because it would have added interest to the movie to see where these different characters went throughout the movie; but the movie goes a different direction keeping the characters of the Basterds they developed in very minor roles, besides Aldo; who we don’t know much about at all consequently. One thing that did not fall short was Tarantino’s reputation for his obsession with violence, on many occasions the Nazis are killed gruesomely (the worst so being possibly being with a baseball bat) and then scalped by the Basterds (which they show from time to time). So if you’re going to the movie purely for the shoot ‘em up massacre of Nazis you wont be disappointed; just don’t expect anything on the lines of “Saving Private Ryan” or any more accurate WWII era movie. But at times the movie dragged on (overall run time ended up 152 minutes) and the plot slowed down, making you want to get back to the action of the movie because of the lack of interest in the slow moving plot (a bad sign in a movie that tries to develop the plot and not just be another action movie). Over all the movie provided entertainment (although not for those weak of stomach and when I say weak I don’t mean a little blood, I mean defacement) and laughs from time to time provided by Aldo in his almost “Ernest goes to…” acting and comments. Saying this the movie turned out to be just another action movie, this one involving the killing of Nazis surrounded by solid acting a shaky plot. Seeing it once is enough for me. But if you’re looking for a rainy day movie and want to see Nazis being obliterated it’s worth the $5 matinee viewing.

Overall Rating: 7 out of 10

Not so romantic, comedy

Don’t get the wrong idea that just because this movie is a guy like girl that it’s like every other romantic comedy, “(500) Days of Summer” takes a different-and interesting-look at a relationship between Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel) and how they each grow from it. The movie, which flips between the 500 days spent with Summer (in a non-chronological order), starts setting the president for the two’s view on love; Summer taking her parents divorce as to show that life always gets in the way of love, whereas Tom has the view that ones life is not the best until that special person is in ones life. The two meet at work where Summer has just started, moving from Michigan, and then begin their relationship shortly after taking them on a whirlwind of a relationship. Tom believing she’s the one and Summer strictly having fun. Tom looks to his friends and mostly his little sister who not only brings great questions to the table for Tom, but great laughs for the audience. Tom must then figure out what Summer is worth and how to act on all this looking back at it all.

“(500) Days of Summer” surprised me with its great comedy and chemistry between the actors. I found it hard not too laugh one second and then feel bad for Tom the next, the movie does exactly what it tries to, make you invest in the characters. Even though this is a “romantic comedy” it takes a different perspective focusing on the male instead of looking at it from the girls perspective which I found to be interesting and made the movie much more interesting. Over all I actually enjoyed this movie much more than I had expected and although probably not chose to see it again, still thought it was a solid movie.

Overall Rating: 8 out of 10

District 9

Hearing all the rave reviews that “District 9” was getting (although I haven’t read any myself), I was slightly surprised when I didn’t think as highly of the movie than I had heard. Sure, the movie was amazingly entertaining with lots of awesome alien weapons, but where it lacked for me was the plot. I felt that it could have definitely been developed more, especially Wikus’ relationship with his wife. One other downside, mainly for the younger kids who see this, is the pervasive language - they aren’t kidding when they say that under the rating, this movie is laced with profanity. Mainly F-bombs, but a few other swear words snuck in there. This said the movie still had major upsides. With only a $30 million production budget, the movie had some of the best special effects and CG that I have ever seen. Teaming up with Weta, who Peter Jackson has seemed to favor (working with them on “Lord of the Rings”, “King Kong” and the upcoming two “Hobbit” movies). The weapons - which were almost Halo reminiscent (some of which could possibly have been used for the movie “Halo” before it was shut down) - and the aliens - which were the best CG I’ve ever seen in a movie, were both prime examples of the amazing special effects. I found myself caring about the CG-ed alien, Christopher, in which the aliens became actors themselves.

Overall, I think this movie is great, just not as fantastic as everyone makes it out to be. I still would recommend this movie to anyone who likes science fiction or action movies. But even if you’re not into these, I’d still recommend this movie if nothing more than to just see how amazing the CG aliens work with the movie. This movie is worth going to in theaters and worth your money.

Overall Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Aparthieds rebirth

My next new movie release reviewed will be "District 9". The new Science Fiction movie to be released this Friday (August 14th).
District 9 in the movie is an alien ghetto, where the alien race much different than humans are restricted to. They landed over Johannesburg 28 years ago and are now kept there. The aliens move much like M. Night those in Shyamalan's "Signs" but posses Halo like weapons (which only work when the alien DNA is in contact with it); which a government linked weapon manufacturing company (MNU, aka Multi-National United) would like to get it's hands on. A MNU agent goes to delve a litter deeper in the ghetto and ends up getting some of the alien genetics imbedded in himself through a virus. He is then chased by MNU for research and forced to hide himself in District 9.
This new Sci-Fi thriller should be one of the best this summer in it's category and has been highly recomended. Directed by rookie Neill Blokamp and stars his close friend Sharlto Copley. My review will come soon of the movie so stay posted!

Best Movie so Far this Summer

Seems like so far this summer the highly anticipated movies that have been released have not proven worthy of all the hype; although the box office revenues may disagree. From the recreations of once cartoon shows: "G.I Joe" and "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" (which also has a hold of the top box office so far this summer) many of the summer movies have consisted of action movies or shoot 'em ups, not proving much more than flashing bangs a “sweet fight scenes”, but lacking greatly in plot, development and overall thoughtfulness.

This said the best movie isn't "Transformers", "Public Enemies", or "Terminator Salvation". And, hey, sorry Potter fanatics, the best movie of the summer doesn't go to "The Half Blood Prince"; which actually turned out to be quiet a disappointment. This summer’s best movie so far goes to a kid’s movie, sorry not "G-Force", which shouldn't even be considered a movie, good grief. The best movie of the summer so far goes out to, Disney Pixar's "Up".

"Up" directed by Pete Docter (the man who directed the earlier Pixar great "Monsters, Inc.” follows an old man Carl Fredricksen, who's lived most of his life in the cities. After his wife, Ellie, passes away Carl decides to take the adventure he'd always promised his wife to South America when he accidently hits a construction worker whose business is encroaching upon his property trying to consume it and take everything he has left. With the help of thousands upon thousands of balloons, Carl and an unexpected stowaway, Russell, in pursuit of his final badge (helping the elderly), fly, with his house to the adventure Carl has always dreamed of doing with Ellie.

"Up" combines humor for both kids and adults (as most Pixar movies have a history of doing) allowing for all age ranges to sit and enjoy this movie, with every joke doing what it's supposed to, make us laugh, "Up" clearly puts itself in a different league than all other movies released this summer, getting laughs without raunchy jokes or laced with profanity. Introducing hilarious characters, combined with a great plot that rivals the best of all Pixar movies created. You find yourself attaching a relating the characters because of the great development generated, you end up caring till the credits role. The movie has no let downs and allows for the movie to be desired to be watched again and again, "Up" not only a cutsey family film, makes you think and leave the theater or your TV room (release date set in November 2009) satisfied knowing that you got not just your moneys worth, but something on a different level than most movies do these days. It gives you a sense of real entertainment, something that should be felt coming out of all good movies.
Overall Rating: 9 out of 10