16 August 2009

Prawn like me

District 9

Crit
Reminiscent of 28 Days Later in that it takes a familiar genre and deconstructs it, subverting many of the expectations associated with the genre. Outer space aliens arrive--parking the mother ship over Johannesburg, which should have been an early indication of disorientation--and instead of threatening life on Earth, they become victims of same.

Clichés of redemption, heroism, and escape are all floated, but each time the rug is pulled out from under the cliché, en route to a satisfyingly unsettling conclusion. Only unfortunate element is the nod to Transformers near the end. And then of course there's the question whether the aliens were just arriving early for World Cup 2010.

Gake no ue no Ponyo (Ponyo)

Crit
Boy meets fish, boy loses fish, fish turns into girl, boy gets girl, kinda like Splash, only with delightful Japanese cartoon logic and an absolutely gorgeous look that has nothing to do with the hint of Daryl Hannah naked. If Yellow Submarine is insufficiently trippy for your small child, give this a look.
Trailers
Interesting: all creepout-flick trailers before District 9, all Disney stuff before Ponyo.

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