G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, The Final Destination, Inglourious Basterds

So, having watched very few films in the cinema lately, I decided it was about time I set up camp there and see as many films as possible. Having successfully managed 3 films in one day, I have of course found myself lumbered with the task of writing 3 reviews and as such I've taken the easy way out and will do another one of my short-and-sweet multi-film summaries...

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

I'll get straight to the point here: it's rubbish. For a while it looked like G.I. Joe may be lucky enough to find itself in the "dumb but fun" category but sadly by the end it had degenerated into being just plain bad. A story with more holes than plot, dodgy CGI, worse acting and some truly painful dialogue ensure that this is a film that can only be enjoyed in conjunction with copious quantities of alcohol.

VERDICT: Don't bother unless you're looking for good drinking-game material.

The Final Destination

The Final Destination franchise has always been good value, providing plenty of entertainment with its awesome disaster sequences and wonderfully inventive (and increasingly messy) death scenes. Sadly, the fourth (and most lazily-titled) entry into the series clearly demonstrates that the concept has become tired and run its course. While not particularly bad in any way, it does absolutely nothing original with the premise, and even most of the deaths are generally lacking in imagination. The 3D gimmick added literally nothing to the film.

VERDICT: They should have got off at the third stop rather than continuing on to even more Final Destinations.

Inglourious Basterds

Having heard decidedly mixed reports about Quentin Tarantino's latest effort, I was actually very pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. The story is entertaining and features plenty of genuine surprises, the acting is great (Christoph Waltz steals the show as the evil but excitable Jew-Hunter) and as you would expect the dialogue is excellent. Nevertheless, I can't help but feel that Tarantino needs to scale back his increasingly clichéd approach of multi-chapter stories comprising of long, unscored scenes of conversation. The middle part of the film especially suffers from this and I wonder how much more focus a more traditional narrative structure would have provided. The final chapter, where most of the action lies, is great fun and gives us a hint as to what Tarantino could do if he were to try his hand at something a little outside of his comfort zone. I will say one other thing: what the hell was Mike Myers doing in this?

VERDICT: Surprisingly good, if a little self-indulgent. Worth seeing.

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District 9

I'm not even going to begin explaining the plot of District 9, as this is another film that should ideally be seen with as little knowledge as possible. All you need to know is the basic concept of aliens living in a Johannesburg slum for over twenty years, forcibly segregated from the human population. To reveal any more would be a disservice to the few people who read this.

What I will tell you is that District 9 is brilliant. An astonishing achievement from first-time South African director Neill Blomkamp, this is a film that grabs you almost instantly with its gritty realism and faux-documentary stylings, before gradually getting even better as the story unfolds. The second half of the movie is just staggering, featuring some of the most visceral, intense and beautifully executed action scenes I have seen for quite some time. The visual effects, especially those of the aliens themselves, are remarkable - despite their prevalence they are virtually seamless and never draw attention to themselves. I find this amusing after all the (apparently misguided) talk about James Cameron's much-vaunted "photo-real" alien characters in his upcoming film Avatar - I'm sorry James, but District 9 has beaten you to it (and arguably done it better). Oh, and on quite literally one tenth of your budget!

It's worth drawing attention to the film's star, Sharlto Copley. His transformation from his initial appearance as a bumbling office bureacrat to the undisputed hero of the story is made utterly believable by a truly excellent, star-making performance, all the more impressive considering that Copley has essentially no previous acting experience. The two main alien characters also deliver extremely emotive, compelling performances, and the fact that I can even say this about CGI characters is a great credit to Blomkamp and his effects team.

Of course as a former resident of Joburg I got a kick out of the film's unique setting, and the little details like the the SABC logo on TV news footage made me smile. The very fact that the story takes place in South Africa allows for an intriguing allegory to the events in District 6 during the apartheid era, but crucially it does not beat you over the head with its themes of intolerance and racism. Ultimately this is a hugely entertaining sci-fi action thriller with a healthy dose of intelligence, emotion and even some humour thrown in. I've heard some complaints about various plot holes and contivances, but even if there are, I was enjoying myself so much that I either didn't notice or didn't care. District 9 is without a doubt one of the best films of the year so far, and in a perfect world would be attracting awards attention come Oscar time...

VERDICT: A must-watch. Go see it! Now!

IMDb

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