Alive in Joburg

Today marks the opening of District 9 in box offices across America, and from what I've heard, it's getting rave reviews. We may even have a sci-fi classic on our hands. I really want to see it - it looks fantastic.

A little known fact about District 9 is that it all started out as a short film by director Neil Blomkamp in 2005 known as Alive in Joburg (or Johannesburg, whichever it was supposed to be.) It's a six-minute short about a peaceful group of aliens who land in South Africa around 1990, only to be met by xenophobia and intolerance (insert not-so-subtle apartheid reference here.) But this was the project from which the supposed gem that is District 9 stemmed. For all I know, it might even be sort of an extended trailer, four years in advance. Either way, it's a fun, interesting little short.

Adventureland

Amidst all the hype about Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, I take a different direction today. I recently saw a movie called Adventureland, you see, and I'm doubting that HP6 will be able to top it. You should see it. Fo serious.

Adventureland, in a way, reminds me of Juno: It's a classic coming-of-age comedy (or so the critics tell me.) The main character, played by Jesse Eisenberg (who has an amazing ability to look exactly like Michael Cera, and act like him but be way cooler) is a recently graduated, somewhat nerdy literature major who for the first time must deal with real life by working at a sub-par carnival called Adventureland. It's about him growing up and facing the real world, as it is, without fanfare or cuddling.

The film blends the sharp sting of reality, juxtaposed against the assumed clear sail to the finish line by the smart and supposedly successful members of society with the awkward stylings of young love, who appears in the form of fellow lead Kristen Stewart.

It's just a good film. It's funny, it's awkward, it's touching, it's sometimes strikingly moving, and may hit close to home. You should watch Adventureland. You won't regret it.

This is a trailer. It doesn't do it half justice.