The Goods: Live Hard Sell Hard, Jeremy Piven, apology, flowers, thin ice, peephole

Discussion (11) ¬

  1. Scott
    Scott

    DISTRICT 9 is a fantastic film. The only drawback is that it shares the same cinematic traits as THE DEER HUNTER, APOCALYPSE NOW, and SCHINDLER’S LIST. All three films are amazing and compelling pieces of cinema you may not want to see with any regularity because of their dour nature.

  2. Marcus Falarkus
    Marcus Falarkus

    If you’d like to get the bad taste out of your mouth after seeing “The Goods”, then I’d like to suggest the movie “Used Cars” that starred Jack Warden and Kurt Russell. Now that was a good movie!

    • Tom
      Tom

      Scott… I don’t know if District 9 is as dour as The Deer Hunter, Apocalypse Now or Schindler’s List. Certainly there is a claustrophobic feeling in the slums and amid the squallor that I don’t want to revisit. But, actually, when the action really kicks up, the movie becomes a different experience. In that respect, it was smart of them not to push the apartheid parable too far. I think if all of it was political or set inside the slums, it would be as dour as you describe. But, c’mon. Mecha!

      Marcus… I’ve seen Used Cars and it’s excellent. I was going to mention it in my review, but forgot. That’s the problem with The Goods – You’d think using a rarefied subject matter like used car salesmen, they could do more with it. But all the jokes in this movie could really be used in any outlandish comedy.

  3. Anubis
    Anubis

    SPOILER ALERT DISTRICT 9!!!

    I really liked the movie… but I can’t get past this one plot point. When the ‘control’ ship first takes off, they shoot it down with the missile launcher. Why when it ascended the second time didn’t they try to shoot it down again?

    Please comment.

  4. superdave1690
    superdave1690

    Anubis….been waiting a long-ass time for this movie and paid extra for the premiere screen…..woe betide you if that is a major plot development…..

    In other news- has anyone seen Orphan? I figure it would make the basis of a good comic Tom, with a character actually turning out to be a lot older than they appear- perhaps Jared?

  5. Relaxing Dragon
    Relaxing Dragon

    Try as I might, I really can’t find anything wrong with D9. Mixing the more political themes in the beginning with the chase and fight for survival at the end worked, and just because it got more explody towards the end is hardly any reason to mark against it. Of course, I’ve become a straight-up fanboy for that movie since Thursday night, so any perspective I have has long since vacated the premises.

    And from what I’ve been hearing, it seems like a good thing that I skipped out on The Goods.

    Anubis, to answer your question (with probable spoilers): the guy who ordered the strike the first time was a little busy at the time. Plus, since it was the larger ship doing all the work, hitting it with another missile probably wouldn’t have stopped it.

  6. Andre
    Andre

    WOW! I can’t remember the last time I went to watch a movie twice in theaters, but I may just do that with District 9. The last time I came out as impressed about a movie as this one was probably the first Matrix, what 10 years ago now? Incredible, just incredible. That whole 2nd act was totally unexpected and it just made perfect sense. Wikus’ growth throughout the movie was great. With a budget of $30M, it puts everything else that came out this summer to shame. As I said, WOW!

  7. Gray
    Gray

    I saw District 9 this past weekend and, honestly, wasn’t that impressed. The storyline was fairly predictable, the ‘social commentary’ seemed a bit heavy handed and the lead character wasn’t particularly sympathetic. It didn’t help any that the ending felt like a setup for a sequel. On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d give it a five; its a good movie, probably worth paying full price for, but I have no desire to see it again.

    • Tom
      Tom

      I’m confused. The story was predictable – so I’m assuming you had a problem with the action elements – and the social commentary was heavy handed.

      First, how can the social commentary be heavy handed when that kind of social injustice happens every day and second, what kind of movie were you expecting?

      I don’t think the hero was supposed to be sympathetic. He was a bureaucrat and a racist (he used the derogatory slur “prawns” repeatedly). But he was a regular guy caught in an extraordinary situation and that’s where the conflict and interest is drawn from.

      I’ll agree that the ending was really, really obvious. But I thought everything leading up to it was very well-crafted and executed.

  8. kit
    kit

    loved d9 best movie of the year for me. im kinda down with all the negative feedback on the goods. o well ill wait till blu ray.
    i hope whoever the company is that is responsible for the mecha effects get to work on the metal gear solid movie or neon genesis movie. if either of those ever get made. if they do then holy crap i cant wait
    what do u think tom? or are you familiar with either of those franchises?

  9. Andre
    Andre

    That the main guy wasn’t sympathetic was one of the best parts of the movie. He’s terrible at the beginning, then he becomes the ‘good’ guy in the middle for selfish reason (not because he feels bad for the tortured aliens) and by the end, he really becomes a good guy and sacrifices himself to let Christopher go and get help. I’m not sure I remember a character arc this well done in a movie. This is one of the most complete movies I’ve seen in a long time. I can’t recommend it enough to everyone! And to those who didn’t like it, you just have to be different, don’t you? 😉

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