Dune/Dune: Part One (2021) - Villeneuve revitalizes another SF boulder

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Stars assembled in a restrained color palette make up most of this poster for Denis Villeneuve's Dune

Paul Atreides is the heir in the House of Atreides, sent to rule the planet Arrakis, where the spice harvest is vital for space travel in the universe. But he and his mother soon find that they may have been set up to fail...

 

Dune is written by Jon Spaiths (The Darkest Hour (2011)), Eric Roth (Suspect (1987)) and Canadian master filmmaker, co-writer/co-producer/director Denis Villeneuve (August 32nd on Earth/Un 32 Août sur Terre (1998)), adapting Frank Herbert's (The Dragon in the Sea (1955-56)) same-titled 1965 novel.

Herbert's sci-fi classic has been adapted before (without much luck) by David Lynch as Dune (1984); and Chilean-French Alexander Jodorowsky's major Dune adaptation fell to pieces in the 1970s, chronicled in documentary Jodorowsky's Dune (2013). Now the novel is 56 years old and hardly modern anymore. It takes place about 8,000 years into the future but its widely spanning plot and universe feels more like a viking saga than a realistic situation we will actually find ourselves in far into the future.

Villeneuve has gathered a large, fine cast with the transfixing Timothée Chalamet (One and Two (2015)) in front as Paul Atreides. Stellan Skarsgård (The Railway Man (2013)) is made out as a giant fat villain as Harkonnen, and Jason Momoa (Pipeline (2007)) is enjoyable as the film's alpha warrior with the fitting name Duncan Idaho. His fight scenes are among the film's most exciting moments, along with flight in the Dune world's peculiar insect-like helicopters and one sandworm monster attack.

The dichotomy of harsh militaristic evil with greedy-capitalistic characteristics set against a people 'of the earth' with simple survival and fighting skills and no major power structure (here the so-called Fremen tribe which Paul goes to meet) is familiar SF fantasy territory to say the least, and there's no alleviating humor, romance or sex in Dune, which is very serious throughout its elaborate but easily followed story, most of which takes place on a desert planet, (so also no exotic lush worlds but a deliciously crackling sound design.) - As an experience it may therefore leave you feeling parched.

Despite the fascinating production design, costumes and engaged stars, Dune suffers from some of the same malaise that hindered Villeneuve's preceding film Blade Runner 2049 (2017) from really scoring; it is very long and serious, and it made me zone out and doze off once or twice, despite its respectable credentials. I predict it highly doubtful that Villeneuve's announced 2nd and 3rd Dune movies will ever see the light of day.

 

Related posts:

Denis Villeneuve: 2017 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Blade Runner 2049 (2017) - Villeneuve's speculative sci-fi sequel is fascinating but flawed 

2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 
2016 in films - according to Film Excess
Arrival (2016) - Villeneuve, Heisserer and Adams head sensational sci-fi wonder
Incendies (2010) - Villeneuve's dreary and depressing, wildly overrated drama 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 165 mil. $

Box office: 103.9 mil. $ and counting

= Too early to say

[Dune premiered 3 September (Venice Film Festival) and runs 155 minutes. Peter Berg was initially hired to direct the film for Paramount. Villeneuve had read the book as a teenager and said, "Dune is my world." Shooting took place from March - July 2019 in Austria, Slovakia, Norway, Jordan, Budapest, Hungary and in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Hans Zimmer elected to drop scoring Christopher Nolan's Tenet in order to score Dune, a favorite novel of his. Despite protests from Villeneuve, Dune will release in North America simultaneously theatrically and VoD at HBO Max for its first month, as is the case with all Warner Bros. 2021 titles due to the China Virus pandemic. The film's release has been pushed out almost a year due to the pandemic, and the release strategy's effect on the possibility for Villeneuve's planned Dune trilogy is yet unknown. The film has released to solid numbers in several mostly European markets yet, but has several major markets left to open in, including North America and China. A traditional theatrical evaluation requires the film to pass 412.5 mil. $ in gross to become profitable, however the streaming strategy is making the evaluation murky. IMDb users have rated the film in at #107 on the site's Top 250, sitting between Dangal (2016) and The Father (2020). Villeneuve is scheduled to return with The Son (miniseries). Chalamet returns in Don't Look Up (2021, VoD). Dune is fresh at 90 % with a 7.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Dune?

War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) - Reeves and Co. astonish with truly spectacular film that finishes the Ape circle

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+ Best Sci-Fi Movie of the Year

Without giving much away, this poster for Matt Reeves' War for the Planet of the Apes indicates the seriousness that marks the film

War for the Planet of the Apes is the 9th movie in the Apes franchise, following the 5 in the original series (1968-73), Tim Burton's unsuccessful reboot of the original film, Planet of the Apes (2001) and the two previous entries in the new 'trilogy', (which may not be a trilogy because more chapters could manifest depending on the performance of War), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. It is written by Mark Bomback (Live Free or Die Hard (2007)) and New-Yorker master co-writer/director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield (2008)), who also directed the previous film, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

When ape leader Caesar's wife and oldest son are killed by an evil human colonel and his forces, he leaves his group on a quest for revenge that takes huge tolls and teaches him more about himself and the colonel.

It seems just plain unlikely that War is as good as it is. Following the somewhat disappointing Rise of the Planet of the Apes, I missed Dawn and have yet to watch it. War for the Planet of the Apes is the only Apes sequel or reboot to reach the height of the very first film, which broke new grounds for science fiction in terms of scope and technical elements (effects, costumes, makeup and prosthetics) and showed its possibilities with a thought-provoking - and much copied - story of humans, exploration and apes with deeper, underlying, very timely themes of racism, segregation, democracy, science, religion and man-created (nuclear) doom.
In War for the Planet of the Apes, we meet a perverted, militarized, fascism-resembling army gathered around a colonel who has sacrificed his own humanity in a quest to save the human species. - The type of wrong decision that makes a leader dangerous. Elements of the story are as universal as they are thematically timeless: War and destruction; fight for survival against the stranger, the other kind or race and its progeny vs. peaceful co-existence and a respect for earth and the universe and the sufferings and losses of others.
The powerful narrative is told in a cinematography (by Michael Seresin (Foxes (1980))) with a delicious kind of texture and depth to it, combined with a sound universe and with a great, grand score (by Michael Giacchino (Star Trek Into Darkness (2013))) that seem to have a direct line to the original classic film. War doesn't have a single showy camera tracking or an unnecessary cut; it is fixed, most of the time, on the faces of the apes and humans involved in the scene, and its relaxed pace feels assured in the strength of these faces, lines spoken and the underlying narrative. There is something a bit old-fashioned about this, but in the best way possible: It takes its time to tell its compelling story in its own pace, and again and again scenes astonish and show real depth that would have been lost with any other, faster, flashier, more 'current' approach.
Of course a primary part of the spectacle that this huge film also contains lies in these very faces, especially in the faces of the apes, which in War actually seem to have more humanity and relatable emotion to them than the faces of the humans, who are for the most part unwise brutes. It is impossible to overstate the brilliance of the visual effects accomplishments in War for the Planet of the Apes, especially in creating the faces of the ape characters, which are modeled using acting performances from a talented cast. It is inevitably impossible to ascertain for an outsider, just how much of the greatly affecting performance onscreen is thanks to the actor involved and how much to the team of visual effects wizards who crafted the ape, but Andy Serkis (Wild Bill (2011)), who has made it into his personal specialty to give life to later animated characters in this way, (he was Gollum, King Kong and Captain Haddock, among others), is certainly deeply felt in his truly great lead performance as Caesar, a portrayal that is as dramatic as they come, simply, and deserves great recognition. The other ape performances that go over and beyond what I have ever seen before and truly touch audiences include Steve Zahn (A Perfect Getaway (2009)) as Bad Ape, Judy Greer (Californication (2007-12)) as Cornelia and especially Karin Konoval (The Quality of Life (2008), TV movie) as Maurice. War also has a terrific child performance from Amiah Miller (Lights Out (2016)) as Nova and Woody Harrelson (Play It to the Bone (1999)) a magnetic lump of muscle and mean determination as the Colonel, a character with clear linkage to Marlon Brando's Colonel Kurtz character in Apocalypse Now (1979).
For those familiar with the original film, War ties neat strings that lead up to the universe that meets Charlton Heston's astronaut Taylor in the first film, which must be some 20-25 years after the events of this film.
War for the Planet of the Apes is a rare science-fiction film that is both compelling, breathtaking, deeply moving and meaningful. Furthermore, you are guaranteed to regret it, if you miss seeing this in a cinema, so make sure that you don't!

Related posts:

The Apes franchise: Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) or, Ape 3.1: Mad Apes!
Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) or, The Final Ape!  
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) or, The Ape Uprising   
Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) - The enjoyable if farfetched second Apes sequel
Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) - Decent follow-up to the SF milestone  
Matt Reeves: Top 10: Best franchise movies

2017 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2017 in films - according to Film Excess
Cloverfield (2008) or, It Tore Her Head Off!

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 150 mil. $
Box office: 186.4 mil. $ and counting
= Too early to say
[War for the Planet of the Apes premiered 11 July (UK and Ireland) and runs 140 minutes. Bomback and Reeves were given a longer period to write the script for War than they had been given for Dawn, and they saw and were inspired by countless classic movies, including all the Apes films, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, Ben-Hur, The Ten Commandments, Bridge on the River Kwai, The Great Escape, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Apocalypse Now and others. Shooting took place in British Columbia, Canada, including Vancouver, from October 2015 - March 2016. The film opened #1 to a 56.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, significantly lower than Dawn's 72.6 mil. $ debut, and took a sharp 62.9 % drop in its second week, dropping to #4. The film has yet to open in several major markets, including Germany, France, Japan and South Korea, but it has not gotten a Chinese release, a major problem for such an expensive film, which is suffering an underwhelming performance in North America. Reeves and Bomback are already booked to write and direct The Batman, starring Ben Affleck, Jeremy Irons, J.K. Simmons and Joe Manganiello, which should shoot in spring 2018. War for the Planet of the Apes is certified fresh at 94 % with an 8.1/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of War for the Planet of the Apes?

Passengers (2016) - Pratt and Lawrence shimmer in high-quality sci-fi entertainer

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+ Best Space Movie of the Year

The two superstars are the one and only attraction on this poster for Morten Tyldum's Passengers

Some time in the future, space ship Avalon is transporting 5,000 passengers to a colony on another planet when a mass of comets interfere with its technology, resulting in the awakening of two passengers 90 years ahead of time.

The actuality of what happens is more complicated but shouldn't be revealed here.
Passengers, written by Jon Spaihts (Doctor Strange (2016)) and directed by Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game (2014)), is a huge star vehicle that works; it is extremely entertaining and beautifully done, both in terms of its prop and set designs, - the Avalon is a very cool spaceship! - CG effects, photography, by Rodrigo Prieto (Argo (2012)), and fine score by Thomas Newman (Mad City (1997)).
Chris Pratt (Jurassic World (2015)) and Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook (2012)) are both very easy on the eyes and adept at playing both the fun, romance and drama that fill out their parts here, which tackles basic human needs, resources and weaknesses. Passengers may look somewhat like another Gravity (2013), - two major Hollywood stars are all alone in trouble in space, - but this is another beast, a more intimate, dramatic (and romantic) and less suspense-driven story. Michael Sheen (Kill the Messenger (2014)) is good as the droid bartender, and Laurence Fishburne (Apocalypse Now (1979)) is equally well cast as a crewman.
Sure there are things in the movie that might seem a bit stretched in hindsight, but, pivotally, it all seems to go down without issue during the journey. And Passengers takes us on an entertaining journey with its fair share of wow moments and a pair of lovely lead stars, SPOILER and affords us an uplifting and lovely happy ending that I cherished.

Related posts:

Morten Tyldum: 2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
The Imitation Game (2014) - Great Cumberbatch, good movie  
Headhunters/Hodejegerne (2011) - Norwegian craftsman Tyldum's thriller springboard

Watch an official trailer for the film here

Cost: 110 mil. $
Box office: 237.1 mil. $ and counting
= Too early to say
[Passengers premiered in the Fox Theatre, Westwood, LA December 14 and runs 116 minutes. The script was written in 2007, and Emily Blunt and Keanu Reeves were previously in talks to star. In an interesting gender divide - which doesn't cause enraged headlines or nervous chatter - Lawrence was reportedly paid 20 mil. $ and 30 % of the profit if the film breaks even, whereas Pratt reportedly 'only' netted 12 mil. $. Filming took place from September 2015 - February 2016 with additional shooting in September 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. The film opened very soft to #3, behind holdover hit Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and fellow newcomer Sing, and 14.8 mil. $ in North America, where it remained in #3 for 4 consecutive weeks before leaving the top 5 and has to date grossed 90 mil. $. Passengers has just opened #1 in China, which will prove a crucial market for it. Passengers is rotten at 31 % with a 5 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Passengers?

Star Trek Beyond (2016) - Lin's adventurous, foundation-honoring entry

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One of the beautiful, strong-colored posters for Justin Lin's Star Trek Beyond

Star Trek Beyond is the 3rd film in the rebooted Star Trek film franchise and the 13th Star Trek film overall. It is written by Doug Jung (Banshee (2014), TV-series) and Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz (2007)), who also returns as Scotty, based on Gene Roddenberry's (West Point (1956-57)) original 1966-86 series, and directed by Justin Lin (Fast & Furious 6 (2013)).

The spaceship Enterprise is three years into its 5-year mission, and Captain Kirk is having doubts as to the point of the exploration of space. A search for an allegedly stranded ship on a strange planet turns deadly, as the Enterprise gets shot down by a malicious army led by the bitter leader Krall.

Beyond keeps the pedal to the metal in terms of keeping the high quality of the two previous chapters in the new film series, despite the cast beginning to look older and less energetic. Chris Pine (This Means War (2012)) is still an ideal Kirk, who communicates knowingly with involuntarily funny Spock (Zachary Quinto (I Am Michael (2015)), who shares quite a lot of pleasant banter with earthbound, skeptic Doc Bones (Karl Urban (The Price of Milk (2000))) in the new film.
SPOILER Many headlines have been spun on the controversy regarding John Cho's (That Burning Feeling (2013)) character Sulu's very discreet coming out as gay in Beyond, mostly because George Takei, who used to play Sulu and has since come out as a gay LGBT rights activist, has opposed the turn. In reality the element is very small in the film. It is there, but underplayed (don't expect a kiss) so as to not alienate potentially important, LGBT-hostile markets.

Anton Yelchin (Burying the Ex (2014)) is back as Chekov in one of the actor's last performances following his tragic, accidental death earlier this year, and the film is appropriately dedicated to both him and Leonard Nimoy, (who played Spock through most of the franchise's now 50 year history), who also passed away recently.
Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)) is new as the tough, likable Jaylah, and Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation (2015)) adds yet another villain credit to his name as Krall. - He is unrecognizable, (and is he even really, in fact, under there, under that heavy mask?), for much of the film, which I think is a shame, SPOILER because the character grows immensely more interesting once we get to see the recognizable Elba and know the character's backstory. As an ex-soldier who is too dedicated to fighting and a permanent combat-reality, Krall has got quite a strong resonance with some of the problems we see in our actual world today, which is only a strength and nicely in line with the villain of the previous film, Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), whose terrorist agenda was also potent. This is one clear mark of good sci-fi.
The film plays much like an adventure story with strong visuals both on the mysterious planet and especially on the Starbase Yorktown, which is an amazingly detailed, fascinating place. There's fun, (SPOILER including something of a Deux ex machina moment of true silliness, as Beastie Boys' Sabotage turns out to be a formidable weapon against the 'bee' army), excitement and a firm foundation in the original Star Trek universe: Strangely recognizable sounds from the series are used, (only fans will notice), and the feeling throughout is very much in line with Roddenberry's visionary show. Shohreh Aghdashloo (Twenty Bucks (1993)) with her distinctive, raspy voice and natural integrity gives a fine performance that's a neat bookend to the film, which rounds off with a nice quotation from all the regular cast members of the legendary intro speech of the show. It is a great, exciting end, - before a stunning end credit animation sequence that will make you keep your 3D glasses on for a while longer. Beyond relishes in the celebration of diversity, humanity and exploratory thrill that is the heart of Star Trek.

Related posts:

Anton Yelchin, 1989-2016: A tribute
Star Trek franchise: Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) or, Star Trek It Before You Wreck It  
Justin Lin: Fast & Furious 5/Fast Five/Fast & Furious 5: Rio Heist (2011) - Dwayne Johnson refuels the world's probably most ridiculous franchise

Watch the final trailer for the film here

Cost: 185 mil. $
Box office: Unknown yet
= Unknown yet
[Star Trek Beyond premiered July 7 (Sydney) and runs 122 minutes. Producer Robert Orci was replaced as director in 2014, before Lin was chosen. Filming took place in Vancouver, British Columbia, LA, Seoul and Dubai from June - October 2015 with reshoots in March 2016, including Aghdashloo's scenes. The film is getting great reviews, and audiences love it, but it is regrettably projected to make less money than the two previous installments. Star Trek Beyond is certified fresh at 88 % with a 7 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Star Trek Beyond?

Destroy All Planets/Gamera vs. Viras/Gamera Vs. Space Monster Viras/ガメラ対宇宙怪獣バイラス (Gamera tai uchū Kaijū Bairasu) (1968) - Unmitigated kaiju trash

ZERO

An information-packed Japanese poster for Noriaki Yuasa's Destroy All Planets

QUICK REVIEW:

Destroy All Planets is another entry in the Japanese Gamera kaiju (giant creature) franchise, written by Niisan Takahashi (Super Monster/Uchu kaijû Gamera (1980)) and directed by Noriaki Yuasa (Gammera the Invincible (1966)). Gamera is, for those who don't know it, a giant flying turtle.

The plot is something about two Boy Scouts, who go to space, and seemingly endless fights between poorly constructed giant monsters.

There's nothing mitigating about Destroy All Planets, a piece of trash which, for a film-lover, is painful to have to categorize as a film. The title Destroy All Planets, which was the US release title, was chosen not because it has anything to do with the film at all, but only because it resembled the title for Destroy All Monsters/Kaijû Sôshingeki (1968), which had just been successful.
Exposing children to Destroy All Planets, whom it is squarely targeted at, is likely to do one of two things, I reckon: (1) Harm them mentally, or, (2) put them to sleep.

Related review:

Noriaki Yuasa: Attack of the Monsters (1969) or, Gamera Saves Imperiled Kids!

Here's a short trailer for the film

Cost: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Unknown
[Destroy All Planets was released March 20 (Japan) and runs 90 minutes. The film was made on a very small budget. To cut expenses, Destroy All Planets incorporates, as the first Gamera movie, footage from previous films in the series, which here makes up around 15 minutes of the film. It is not possible to rank its theatrical performance without any numbers, obviously, but it is likely that the film made money, because Gamera movies continued to be made after it. 1,727 Rotten Tomatoes users have given Destroy All Planets an average rating of 2.8/5.]

What do you think of Destroy All Planets?

The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) - Unduly bashed sci-fi drama

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+ Best Remake of the Year + Best Science Fiction Movie of the Year

Keanu Reeves plays the emotionally vacant Klaatu in Scott Derrickson's The Day the Earth Stood Still

QUICK REVIEW:

Something strange lands on Manhattan, which turns out to be the exterminator of an alien civilization. Our harmful exploitation of Earth, it turns out, has put us on an erase list.

SPOILER Jennifer Connelly (Phenomena (1985)) and Jaden Smith (The Karate Kid (2010)) manage, with their charm and inherent humanity, to convince Keanu Reeve's (Knock Knock (2015)) version of the alien exterminator Klaatu that we can change and that we're worth saving, in spite of everything.
The Day the Earth Stood Still is a remake of the 1951 movie of the same name, both based on the sci-fi short story Farewell to the Master (1940) by Harry Bates (The Slave Ship from Space (1931)). The basic idea is terrifically exciting, and here in the second adaptation of the story great stars like John Cleese (A Fish Called Wanda (1988)) and Kathy Bates (Misery (1990)) help the exciting core sustain itself into a good film, - despite the fact that the beginning and the end of the film are weaker than its middle.
Scott Derrickson (Sinister (2012)) directed, and David Scarpa (The Last Castle (2001)) wrote the screenplay.

Related posts:

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]  

2008 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2008 in films - according to Film Excess

Watch the trailer for the movie here

Cost: 80 mil. $
Box office: 233.1 mil. $
= Box office success
[The idea for a Reeves-led remake of the film originated way back in 1994. Global changes since the first film made the change to a more environmentally focused premise happen. Scarpa reportedly wrote 40 drafts of the script before shooting. The film was shot in December 2007 - March 2008 in Vancouver, mostly on sets. Its release was moved from May to December for post production and scheduling reasons. It opened to a 30.4 mil. $ first weekend in North America, with 12 % coming from IMAX screens, the reportedly highest IMAX share for a two-dimensional title at the time. The film only stayed in the top 10 domestically for 4 weeks, grossing 79.3 mil. $ (34 % of the total gross) there. The international markets were crucial for the success of the film: The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Japan with 26.2 mil. $ (11.2 %) and the UK with 10.9 mil. $ (4.7 %). The film got nominated for the Razzie award for Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel, but 'lost' to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The Day the Earth Stood Still is rotten at 21 % with a 4.1 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Day the Earth Stood Still?
Compare it to the original, if you've seen it

The Hunger Games (2012) - A global, teen-centered sci-fi smash

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Jennifer Lawrence dyed her hair dark brown to portray Katniss Everdeen in Gary Ross' The Hunger Games

QUICK REVIEW:

In the future, the US population is held in an iron grip under a rich ruling class with a broadcasted, deadly game between 24 children and young people as the annual highpoint. But this year cool Katniss Everdeen volunteers to spare her little sister, who was drawn out for the competition!

Hunger Games is an adaptation of Suzanne Collins' (Mockinjay (2010)) same-titled 2008 novel, the first in her Hunger Games trilogy. It is adapted by Collins, Billy Ray (Captain Phillips (2013)) and great co-writer/director Gary Ross (Pleasantville (1998)).
The Hunger Games universe lures and amuses with its many goofy elements and stylings of its characters; here's a giant science fiction phenomenon that simply doesn't look very cool!
Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle (2013)), the Cinderella-like darling of the movie business these years, is perfect in the lead, and she possesses a warmth and a strength that is remarkable. Donald Sutherland (Horrible Bosses (2011)) is exciting to watch as President Snow. In other supporting parts, Lenny Kravitz (Precious (2009)), Woody Harrelson (Semi-Pro (2008)), Elizabeth Banks (Magic Mike XXL (2015)), Toby Jones (Berberian Sound Studio (2012)) and Stanley Tucci (The Devil Wears Prada (2006)) are good, at times funny, whereas Liam Hemsworth's (Empire State (2013)) contribution is minimal. I also SPOILER wondered why Katniss falls for Josh Hutcherson's (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012)) character, who can't do much and even betrays her.
The violent scenes are shot so that it's hard to see what is happening, which is annoying.
The Hunger Games is a piece of sci-fi that isn't so bizarre that one can't see reflections of our own reality in the exciting world conjured up here. A promising start to the franchise.

Watch the trailer for the movie here

Cost: 78 mil. $
Box office: 694.3 mil. $
= Huge hit
[The Hunger Games was one of Lionsgate's biggest projects at the time, and lots of happening actresses tried out the part that went to Lawrence. It was shot on film, (which was deemed most cost-friendly...) in May - September 2011 in North Carolina. Tax breaks helped the costs down by around 8 mil. $. A majorly anticipated youth property, the film arrived with positive reviews to a great response: It took the #1 spot with a 152.5 mil. $ opening weekend in North America and broke the March release record. It held onto the #1 spot for 4 consecutive weekends, the first film to achieve this since Avatar (2009). It grossed 408 mil. $ (58.8 % of the total gross) in North America. The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets for the film were the UK (37.3 mil. $/5.4 %) and Australia (31 mil. $/4.5 %). Hunger Games was banned in Vietnam. With 10.3 mil. DVD and Blurays sold, it was the #1 video release of 2012, and the soundtrack album debuted at Billboard's #1 spot as the first soundtrack to do this since This Is It (2009). The Hunger Games is certified fresh at 84 % with a 7.2 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Hunger Games?

District 9 (2009) - Blomkamp's strenuous, sci-fi-dressed Johannesburg squalor

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An evocative, volatile poster for Neill Blomkamp's District 9

QUICK REVIEW:

An alien life-form has landed its massive spaceship over Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1982, and have been rescued out of it to stay in a slum part of the city. Now, they are to be moved to a new area.

I wasn't captivated by District 9 the first time I saw it. And seeing it again, I find that I like it even less now than I did at first. It is the feature debut of South African writer-director Neill Blomkamp (Elysium (2013)), who wrote it with Terri Tatchell (Chappie (2015)), based on his short Alive in Joburg (2005).
The main reason for my dislike of the film, which has a huge (for me inexplicable) attraction on many people, is the protagonist, who serves as the anchor of the film: He is a bureaucrat with no extenuating qualities whatsoever, who we are nonetheless required to shower with our deference and attention in order to take in District 9 the way it's supposed to be taken in. Sharlto Copley (The A-Team (2010)) plays him like a real moron, who I fast felt I didn't want to hang out with at all.
There are no other nice humans in the film as well, and the 'prawns' (the derogatory slang for the aliens) are repugnant in the extreme. So my problem with District 9 basically is that I don't want any of them to win anything. And that I don't give a rat's butt what happens to any of them.
Blomkamp has served up his native city in as ugly a scoop as he could have made here, and he tells the story as if it's the work of a documentary crew. District 9 is full of disgusting scenes and ugliness, little to no charm or music and no stars to break the fall for someone with no penchant for aggressively ugly science fiction-coated, pontificating squalor such as this. 
Pontificating about what, you might ask? - Something about racism, slum existence and dehumanization. - South Africa has massive slum, social and cultural problems, which the aliens become an integral part of here.
The film has striking effects, creatures and CGI. Watching it makes me so happy to live in a country that is distinctly not South Africa.

Related post:

2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Watch the trailer for the film here

Cost: 30 mil. $
Box office: 210.8 mil. $
= Huge hit
[I obviously can't really explain what made people fall over their own feet to get to watch this film, but they did: It opened #1 in North America with a 37.3 mil. $ opening weekend and grossed 115.5 mil. $ (55 % of the total gross) there. It was met with great reviews and was even 4-time Oscar-nominated: For Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Visual Effects and Editing, - becoming the first found-footage movie to be nominated for Best Picture.]

What do you think of District 9?
What stroke of genius is it that I am missing ... ?