Thursday, August 13, 2009
Of Balloons And Aliens
I knew I was in for a treat the minute I saw snippets of this movie trailer a few weeks ago in the cinema! I finally got to watch Disney and Pixar's "Up" (thanks to Nuffnang)!!
"By tying thousands of balloon to his home, 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America. Right after lifting off, however, he learns he isn't alone on his journey, since Russell, a wilderness explorer 70 years his junior, has inadvertently become a stowaway on the trip."
The colours are absolutely amazing! They were so vivid and rich, I was immediately sucked into the world of Carl and Russell with their adorable bickering and slapstick moments. The amount of minute detail in this movie is incredible, from the tired wrinkles on Carl's face to every leaf they passed along their journey.
Russell the little Wilderness Explorer is the cutest thing!
I loved watching how Carl eventually warmed up to Russel and the other non-human characters in the movie (even though we all know its bound to happen), letting his guard down and realising that he can fulfill his promise and save the day while he's at it. "Up" is such a happy movie and everyone in the cinema totally laughed on cue ;)
The beginning of the movie was so sad!! I admit, I teared up abit! =( If your eyes werent at least abit moist after that 5-minute montage, YOU ARE NOT HUMAN!!
Which means you belong in the movie I watched last night!
"Thirty years ago, aliens made first contact with Earth. The aliens were refugees, the last survivors of their home world. The creatures were set up in a makeshift home in South Africa's District 9. The tension between the aliens and the humans comes to a head when an MNU field operative contracts a mysterious virus that begins changing his DNA. He quickly becomes the most hunted man in the world, as well as the most valuable. Ostracized and friendless, there is only one place left for him to hide: District 9."
Firstly, the effects were mad! The weapons were crazy enough to be alien, yet not too outlandish for me to say "Oh, that's ridiculously impossible." This is a pretty gory movie with alot of blood and decapitated body parts (i loike), and everything was amazingly realistic! I flinched quite abit and there were alot of "Whoa.." moments from everyone in the audience during some scenes.
One of the aliens in an uncomfortable confrontation with MNU personnel.
But what really left an impact on me was the disturbing feeling that lingered behind long after I stepped out of the dark cinema into normal life again. This movie makes you think, but not in a way you'd expect to. I felt abit morally confused, I think.
I watch scenes where I felt indignant on behalf of some of the characters and felt a pang of injustice at how some people view things in the most unintelligent way possible. Then I did a 180 and felt sorry at the very same people (or more specifically, person) whose reactions were justified by the fact that he was just reacting as all humans would - that I deserve to live more than you do.
Most definitely the intention of the film-makers to blatantly insert elements that are relevant to current world issues and things we (unfortunately) face/read about everyday.
A pivotal character, Wikus Van de Merwe. You'll want to slap him and give him a hug at the same time.
A little bit of interesting trivia on Sharlto Copley who played Wikus - he had no acting experience prior to District 9! So for a first-time appearance, he played the role magnificently well! Trust me, when you watch the movie, you'll understand the complicated emotions he had to portray and evoke.
Gosh, 2 very contrasting movies, one after the other. Must. Rest. Brain.
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