Neill Blomkamp films

[Hitcore]

INTRODUCTION:
Neill Blomkamp is a South African director, who in my opinion has made some very interesting films. His style is gritty, the movies look trashy and have rather dystopian settings. He takes his inspiration from his hometown, Johannesburg, a city with, let's say, problems. Of Blomkamp's films I have seen three of them, which are:

• District 9 (2009)
• Elysium (2013)
• Chappie (2015)

I will address these movies one at a time, in chronological order, make summaries, show trailers, and share my opinions. But I won't go too deep as of course I don't want to give away spoilers.

Without further ado, the first film: District 9.



SUMMARY:
Above Johannesburg a massive spaceship hovers over the city. It does nothing, it just hangs there. After some time it is decided to enter the spaceship, and a population of extraterrestrials is found that are in need of help. It seems that they are stuck on our planet, so the aliens get treated as refugees, and they get to stay in sort of a township, named District 9. And then there's Wikus van der Merwe, an awkward guy who is the head of operatives for the relocation of these aliens. Things don't go quite so smooth, to use an understatement.

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OPINION:
The format is original, for a good part the film is shot in a documentary style, making it almost feel real. What I also like is the portrayal of the aliens and how conflicted the interactions between them and the humans are. The aliens having a weird fascination for cat food is a funny touch. And there is a great plot twist. This movie will keep you in suspense, but also entertained with a great deal of subtle but explicit humor, which is a trademark of Neill Blomkamp, we will get to see in his other movies as well.

7/10, a solid debut for Blomkamp's first feature film.

District 9 (2009) ⭐ 7.9 | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller

1h 52m | 16

www.imdb.com

 

[Retro]

Oh yeah, I've seen this twice, first time in HD off a Blu-ray at a friend's house and secondly off Sky Cinema.

Firstly, the video quality was really high off the Blu-ray, with a very clear picture, putting to shame the compressed garbage that Sky put out. Funny thing is, it's not so obvious unless you compare them side by side. One can also noticeably tell the 4% speed up that all TV companies do to 24Hz movies to 25Hz to make the framerate divide evenly into the broadcast rate of 50Hz.

Secondly, I thought this film was first rate, giving it a 9/10. I know what you mean about the humour, but it was also a criticism of the kind of racism and discrimination abuse one sees against minorities, with some really unpleasant mistreatment of the aliens and abusive language towards them. Very well done.

The aliens were CGI, but integrated really well into the live action, something a lot of films get wrong. I hope there's a sequel one day.

I've also seen Elysium which was a very good space-based sci-fi movie. I guess we'll be talking about that in your next post.

 

[Crims]

Not a lot to add here, I'm a big Blomkamp fan since he's one of the last noteworthy sci-fi writer-directors I've been keeping my eye on. Elysium was good, and he produced a short called Landfall for Halo back in the day that inspired a friend to make a Halo film of their own.

 

[Hitcore]

INTRODUCTION:
While All three films of Blomkamp fit into the sci-fi genre, Elysium probably feels the most sci-fi'y. And I have to agree with Crims here, the way Blomkamp makes these films really sets him apart from others.

And that's right, Retro, today it's Elysium's turn.



Starring:
(I'm sorry, ever since Team America I cannot unhear this whenever his name gets mentioned )

SUMMARY:
The year is 2154, Earth is overpopulated and polluted, while the wealthy live in luxury on a space station called Elysium. Max (Matt Da-monnnn) is a factory worker who gets exposed to radiation, then put aside. There are regeneration units where a person can step in and it will basically heal you from anything. But that is only for the wealthy, and more specifically, the wealthy on Elysium. So Max has got to get up there, somehow. Fortunately he gets help.

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OPINION:
Elysium delivers a thrilling mix of action and social commentary, highlighting the stark divide between the rich and the poor in a futuristic dystopia. Matt Damon gives a solid performance, and the film’s visuals are stunning, but the story can feel predictable at times, plus there are a few plot holes. Also Sharlto Copley's (who plays a mercenary named Kruger, in District 9 he played Wikus) role is memorable, coming off as an absolute psychopath.

I'm changing my rating for District 9 to an 8/10, and Elysium gets a 7/10.

Elysium (2013) ⭐ 6.6 | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi

1h 49m | 16

www.imdb.com

 

[Hitcore]

INTRODUCTION:
Now this is the movie I have been waiting for. Chappie is without a doubt my favorite film by Blomkamp. Some call it "South African Robocop", but it is anything but a cheap copy and very much its own thing. What's also incredibly cool to me is that Die Antwoord (meaning: The Answer), a Johannesburg based rap-rave group that I quite like, are the main protagonists. Perhaps I'll make a thread about them in my music section some day, their videoclips are quite zef. Anyway, without further ado:



SUMMARY:
Johannesburg is suffering from uncontrollable gang crime. The normal police cannot handle this any longer, so they turn to Tetravaal, a robotics company that has a successful line of military style droids. A number of droids are deployed to assist the police and for the most part the droids handle their tasks exceptionally well, with the exception of one, that gets damaged to the extent that it is to be decommissioned. In the meanwhile one of Tetravaal's engineers figures out sentient AI, and since aforementioned robot is soon to be destroyed anyway the engineer takes the opportunity to test this his new AI on said robot, which we will get to know as Chappie. In the meanwhile some gang members (played by Die Antwoord) have a bit of a problem paying off another gang, and they could very well use an off-grid robot for their activities. But it has to learn and there isn't much time. Back at Tetravaal there is another high ranked employee, a project manager of sorts, who is eager to put his own project into battle, through intimidation and manipulation. And of course all these elements come together at some point.

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OPINION:
All of this is just a recipe for epic action packed scenes, which are filmed incredibly well, and especially how the robot/droid Chappie comes to life on screen and how he moves, talks, and walks is both impressive and hilarious. The acting and cast, such as the engineer played by Dev Patel (which you may know from Slumdog Millionaire) and Die Antwoord even though acting isn't their core business, they hit the nail as well, and all play their roles convincingly, displaying proper emotion and everything. I've found myself really rooting for them, and of course for Chappie, the coolest and most compelling robot you'll ever see.
With this story line, action, humor while still maintaining suspense plus with the unlikely but awesome cast I have to give a 9/10. Which is pretty much the highest I will probably ever rate something, things that are 10/10 are extremely rare. With Neill Blomkamp and Die Antwoord the best that South Africa has to offer come together in Chappie.

Chappie (2015) ⭐ 6.8 | Action, Crime, Drama

2h | 12

www.imdb.com

 

[Retro]

This film sounds right up my street. It's available on Sky Cinema in glorious UHD HDR, so will watch it soon.

 

[Tiffany]

I haven't seen the other films but I've seen Chappie. Good movie!