District 9 (Neill Blomkamp) - 2009

This district is the worst ghetto or slum that you could ever imagine.  Rats and cockroaches don't look to be so bad after seeing this movie

It seems that a million or so aliens got stranded in a large spaceship hovering over Johannesburg, South Africa.  The movie takes place twenty years after the aliens (known as "prawns" to the humans) have been moved from the ship to a gated community known as District 9.  However, the South African city folk think that the alien camp is too close to the city so the politicos decide to move the aliens out to the countryside (Dictrict 10 - possible sequel title).  Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) is the lucky MNU (evil corporation) employee who is given the assignment to lead the relocation effort.

Some of the aliens don't want to go and Wikus gets into a bit of a kefuffle that causes major changes in his life.  Wikus had three very bad days that even a surprise party could not improve.  We soon learn that the prawns are the good guys and us humans are treating them unfairly.  Somehow, the Nigerian Mafia is also involved in a giant scheme to trade cat-food for weapons of mass destruction.  I think we finally found what Dick Cheney was trying to find in Iraq.

Although the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences rarely recognizes syfy movies, they should make an exception in this case.  Also, Mr. Copley deserves an Oscar nomination for his acting tour de force. [JAM 8/17/2009]