"District 9" and "Avatar": The Future (?) of Sci-Fi Film

I am not the only one thinking about this, but I certainly have my own opinions on it. Google "District 9" with "Avatar" and a ton of other things pop up. This blog begins long ago, when James Cameron became a mega-super-director with first "Aliens", then "Terminator", and most fully with "Titanic". I love the man, I think he is genius and I think he represents 'the' director of the 90's, and is certainly an important figure in film history in terms of movie scales and technology, and especially with Sci-Fi films.


So, you can imagine I have been eagerly awaiting his next project since I saw "Titanic" in theaters 3 times. I found out about "Avatar" and was waiting patiently for trailers/photos etc.

Slowly, and over many months, I slowly became aware of a little film called "District 9". I heard Peter Jackson was producing, a good sign, and I knew it was doing some crazy guerrilla marketing, like a bus stop sign that said 'For Humans Only' and had a creepy looking alien on it near my work, and so was aware of it before I had even seen a trailer.

And then came Comic-Con. Both films exploded there. One panel featured both James Cameron and Peter Jackson (for "District 9"), and it seemed that here were two films about to explode onto the sci-fi world. Cameron was quoted as saying "Avatar" would 'fuck your eyeballs' it would be so 'game changing' for the film industry. I got REALLY excited for "Avatar". Cameron announced an 'avatar day' where footage of the movie would be screened for free across the country if you got a ticket, coinciding with the FIRST trailer for "Avatar" being released.

Well friends, first the website to get tickets for 'Avatar day' crashed moments after opening. Then the trailer was released and it looked like indescribable crap. My disappointment, frustration and anger at Cameron is so great that I will leave description of the trailer up to you to watch the trailer and others to criticize:

www.apple.com/trailers/fox/avatar/
http://img.denihilation.com/delgovatar.html
http://blog.spout.com/2009/08/20/10-movies-avatar-unfortunately-resembles/
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/42188 (exactly how I felt).

I pretty much lost all hope in film for a few moments (well, I also had just gotten my wisdom teeth out, that might have played a part). But don't despair, because then I saw "District 9".

"District 9" was an amazing sci-fi film that is going to be around for a long time. It was well plotted, had GREAT special effects, kept a somewhat upbeat tone, had deep current political undertones that established it very firmly in a time and place, and was just awesome. I can't remember the last time I saw a movie like this that was so tight, strong, and left you thinking about it FOR DAYS!

So, back to the title of my post. James Cameron, and I'm sure the studios behind him, sincerely hoped that "Avatar" would be the next wave in the future of sci fi film. "Terminator" and "Aliens" certainly made me think so, and "Titanic" changed things in its own way. But it won't be. We don't need special effects. We don't need environmental mumbo-jumbo stories that 'say something'. We don't need an epic.

Sci fi needs "District 9". It cost $30 million, a small budget for an FX heavy film, but it delivered SO MUCH more than what "Avatar" looks like it will with its $245 million budget (See this article http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/the-campaign-for-change-and-district-9-is-my-candidate) Money can make a film pretty ("Titanic"), but can't fix it if the story is broke. People were attracted to the STORY of "District 9", and didn't care about the money or who was in it. So why is Cameron giving us the money/technology angle ( especially since that angle seems to be pure BS) when he should focus on the STORY. The trailer revealed nothing about the characters or plot whatsoever. The best sci-fi films of this decade are not going to be Michael Bay epics with no plot, they are going to be ones that get to the things we are worried/scared/confused about in this age. The game changing "Alien" was not awesome because it looked cool, its because it was f-ing scary and got at something that hadn't been expressed before!

"District 9" did exactly what it should have to become a classic. It was topical, it knew its market, it got people excited for a film, and it was something new. No one wants to see a bloated, video game rip off of a film during a depression when a movie ticket costs as much as a meal. So "District 9", I look forward to hearing about you for a long time to come, and I am prepared for the mental breakdown of James Cameron when "Avatar" crumbles in december.

Summer 2009

After a prolonged summer absence, I have decided to return to the blogosphere. I really truly enjoyed writing about movies all last semester, and I think it was good for me. We'll see how this goes, but hopefully I will continue blogging for a while.

This kind of gap in the blogging requires at least a brief overview of the films of the summer. Here are the highs and lows of the movie theater events of Summer 2009.

Highs:
- UP: What a positively delightful, hilarious, heartfelt film. I haven't seen it again (and i truly believe that real love of a film can only happen after a second viewing), but right now I'll say its my favorite Pixar film. The story wasn't as momentous as "Wall-E", but the characters were just so darn cute, and the dogs were utter genius, and the look of the film was beautiful. Loved it.
- The Hangover: I laughed the whole time. It was clever, it set things up way in advance and only came back to them once you had forgotten them, and was a really well plotted comedy romp. I've unfortunately already seen an ad for a rip-off ("I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell"), but thats what genius breeds. Also, my uncle is on the soundtrack!
- Inglorious Basterds: Best Tarantino ever. Amazing costumes ( I call an Oscar nod for that). Good story. The past year has seen a lot of Nazi movies ("Defiance", "Valkyrie", "Boy in Striped Pajamas" etc.), but this one trumps them for feeling real darn good. And, surprisingly, not as gory/violent as most Tarantino films.
- District 9: This deserves its own post, really, so I'll only say that this should be seen by everyone. It is an instant Sci-Fi classic and is hopefully the beginning of a new sci-fi renaissance.

Lows:
-Transformers 2: While the first one was glorious popcorn fun with the right amount of sarcasm and ridiculousness, this one took itself seriously and forgot about the spirit of the first. A very muddled plot (I was even confused while watching it), too much ill-clothed Megan Fox, and some seriously awkwardly racist robots made this a terrible terrible blockbuster. Such is the nature of Michael Bay though. For every "Armageddon", there is a "Pearl Harbor"
- Bruno: Yes, "Borat" was crude, rude and offensive, but it was funny, and so I enjoyed it. This was crude, rude, offensive and featured an astounding amount of penises, but Sacha Baron Cohen really lost it. I can't say what wasn't right, but i rarely laughed, and I have no desire to quote any part of this film. Who knows if he's lost his American audience but Cohen may want to stay in Britain for a while.
- Julie and Julia: Meryl Streep was adorable, no doubt, but this film fell down. It was a souffle that deflated before served. The Julie story was just barely saved from moral depravity by Amy Adams' adorableness and I practically recognized the Paris streets from the Universal Studios backlot tour. I was expecting a biography of Julia Child but instead got pithy and adorable moments and quotes from her life that added up to a coffee table book, and not a deeper understanding.