I haven’t had sympathy for an alien like this since E.T.…

I know it doesn’t show it too much in the trailer, but the emotional portrayal of the aliens in District 9 is as engrossing as the action is. I’m sure you’ll be hearing much, much more about this film in the next few months.

District 9, a film written and directed by Neill Blomkamp (yes that Neill B. from HALO film fame), is a guaranteed “sleeper hit” for 2009. Blomkamp has almost crafted a new genre in the industry, “docu-action” films. The movie starts as almost a straight up documentary and then seamlessly moves into an action/adventure/sci-fi. The young film maker worked hard under the wing of Peter Jackson throughout the whole process. Peter Jackson felt bad that Neill was unable to get the HALO feature film on its feet so he helped back him in a new venture. (Peter Jackson’s WETA DIGITAL helped in the production of the HALO short films.) While looking through Neill’s older short films (a recommended viewing for sure), he and Mr. Jackson both agreed “Alive in Joburg” (watch before seeing District 9 to see the inspiration) was the strongest and lent itself to a rich universe for storytelling.

District 9 takes place in present day South Africa. Aliens have been living in amongst humans for about 20 years. Over the years the aliens have developed a small community known to the public as, “District 9.” Illegal acts and general hatred towards the “prawns” have surrounded the area.

Once the government decides to move the aliens to a new area outside of Johannesburg, chaos ensues.

I won’t tell much more, for fear of ruining the film for you. If you hate spoilers as much as I do, you’ll appreciate me keeping my mouth shut. The beauty of District 9 is its ability to show just enough for you to enjoy the film. It doesn’t explain the full back stories of the aliens, it doesn’t explain much of the technology, it doesn’t even explain what happens to some of the characters at the end of the film. The great thing is, I don’t think it needs to. The digital effects and story line are woven together so well it’s believable without having to over explain itself. All you know is that these alien creatures, who once had a purpose, are now misguided, confused, and stuck on Earth. There are so many little nuggets of goodness in District 9. The movie is well made in almost every way. The story is well written, the directing is great, the digital and sound effects are amazing, the acting is believable (rare for such an effects heavy film), and the little sprinkles of humor are a delight. There are moments where you actually feel sad for the aliens in their persecution from the humans. Look at the aliens themselves. The locals in Johannesburg give the nickname “prawn” to the insect/crustacean race. “Prawn” is almost a play off the word, “pawn.” Pawns are useless without their king or queen in chess. These aliens are mindless without their leader on Earth. Genius writing!

You would think, “Well, if Peter Jackson if helping produce this then it must be big budget, and it HAS to be good.” Wrong. This film could of been as lame as any of the other independent sci-fi films out there. D-9 was made with a virtually unknown director, a small time actor in a lead role, and only a $30 million budget. (Peanuts my friend, peanuts for Hollywood sci-fi films.) To put it into perspective, Transformers 2 was said to have been made on a budget of over $150 million budget, and all the eye candy of a cast on Gossip Girl. Some of the special effects in D-9 rivaled Transformers 2, I think. The creature effects were fluid and the action never felt like watching a video game.

There really isn’t much more to say except that if you like: Sci-fi’s, documentaries, special effects, Peter Jackson, alien technology, South Africa, “sweeties,” mech’s, pig launching, vomit, baby aliens, or just GOOD MOVIES… GO SEE DISTRICT 9!! Support good indy films and an upcoming director (Neill Blomkamp) and actor (Sharlto Copley)!

-“Ash”

Some sites to check out:

http://www.district9movie.com/
http://www.multinationalunited.com/training/
http://www.d-9.com/
http://www.multinationalunited.com/
http://www.mnuspreadslies.com/
http://www.mathsfromouterspace.com/

P.S. August 21st is AVATAR DAY! Don’t forget to go check out a sneak peak (in glorious IMAX 3D) of one of the most anticipated films from James Cameron since T2!!

–Click here to return to Semantink.com–

Cosplay, for those of you who don’t know, is “short for “costume play”, a type of performance art whose participants outfit themselves, with often-elaborate costumes and accessories, as a specific character. Characters are usually sourced in various media, including manga, anime, tokusatsu, comic books, graphic novels, video games, and fantasy movies.”  Now when it comes to a beautiful young woman dressing up as a character I’ve grown to love, I’m all for it.  I’m even okay with a gym-mongrel who has spent the better part of his life working out in order to mask himself as his favorite character from whatever realm he chooses.  What I am not cool with, is an unattractive person dressing up in anything aside from sweatpants or a tarp, and going out in public screaming for attention, especially in an area where we, the innocent masses, can’t help but see them.  This should help clear things up:

Now, some of you may be thinking, “but Mr. Wolff, that’s not so bad!”  Okay.  Fine.  The large man in the Sailor Moon outfit, could be construed as funny and not to offensive.  I can see why you’d think that.  But have you any ideas what it leads to?  Let me show you…

Don’t worry, women are just as bad, if not worse, than men:

I hope you can understand now.  Do you see what not-so-offensive-fat-sailor-moon man can lead us to?!  Sure, we laugh and chuckle at the obvious irony, but there are those who don’t!  There are humans among us who leave their homes thinking abominable arrangements of cloth that vaguely represent their heroes in color and placement upon the body is enough!  It is not enough!  Cosplay is NOT for everyone!  It is a commitment to the character involving training and shapeliness where appropriate!  You don’t get to wake up one day and say, “Gee, I think today I’m Wonder Woman!”  NO!  She’s an AMAZONIAN GODDESS YOU FOOL!  Are YOU in shape like an AMAZOINAN GODDESS?!  I DIDN’T THINK SO!!

As I write this, my heart is racing and I feel an urgency at the tips of my fingers as if somewhere, an overweight, under-sunned,  gap-toothed, overly-hairy, cankled beast dressed as Super Girl has just killed a child by merely making itself visible.  Damn you poorly-costumed villain.  Damn you to Cosplay Hell…

I’m sorry.

Fear not my friends.  All is not lost.  There are those among us who stay true to character and refuse to compromise the improbable figures of ficticious characters.  Villainess or superhero, these players represent what is good for all of us — and now that you’ve tasted the bitter, you may sip of the sweet:

Well that’s it for today.  I know my words were few and my pics were many, but sometimes, that’s you can’t explain evil to people — you have to show them.

Mr. Wolff

Check out the rest, here.

Hello my internet peoples!

I am pleased to introduce my weekly section here at Semantink.com, “Cinegasm.”  I’m stoked that Ben invited me to help contribute to his already amazing blog and website.  Semantink Publishing has some awesome things in store this fall, so stay tuned!

So, I’m sure you are all wondering, “What the hell is/are ‘Cinegasms?’”  Cinegasm will be my weekly indulgence in the world of cinema and all things rad.  I love movies.  I’ve been watching awesome movies since I was a fetus.  My palette has a wide range, so don’t fret.  I’ll be covering new and upcoming films, old films, comic related films, films I think you should see before you die, and an occasional DVD review as well.  Over the years I have begun to notice the convergence of art.  Everything from graphic design and technology, to toy design and graffiti art.  To me, art is art.  Comics, movies, video games, etc. are all art to me.  Recently, comics and movies have become pretty good friends again.  I haven’t seen a surge of comic based movies like this since the 90’s, so attending Comic Con was as good as ever.  I grew up a child of the 80’s.  I’ve always loved science and computers (I’m the resident MacTard in my circle of friends) so Tron, to me, has always been one of the definitive Sci-Fi films of its time.  I know what you’re thinking, “You went to Comic Con? Did you see the Tron Guy?!?”

“Wanna toss my disc of Tron?”

Unfortunately, I did not have the pleasure of being blessed with the presence of Jay Maynard in tight spandex.  I actually can’t even say I got the opportunity to see the new trailer for Tron Legacy in 3D.  :(  Take a look at the classic Tron trailer to reboot your memories of the film:

Now bask in the glory of the logo for the new, Tron Legacy!

Sooo gloooowy…

Luckily, Disney has released the trailer online in glorious and crisp HD. Here’s a quick look at it if you don’t have the bandwith/computer to handle HD (If you do, I highly recommend the HD version.)
Tron Legacy Trailer

I took the liberty of making some desktop pics
out of the HD trailer for you to download:

(Click to the thumbnails to embiggen.)

Enjoy!

-“Ash”

P.S.  My favorite French Robot DJ’s, Daft Punk, are confirmed to be working on the Tron Legacy soundtrack!  Check out the first leaked track:
Daft Punk — Tron Legacy Theme

–Click here to return to Semantink.com–