DISTRICT 9 (A-)

Starring: Sharlto Copley and David James

Story: Over twenty years ago, aliens made first contact with Earth. Humans waited for the hostile attack, or the giant advances in technology. Neither came. Instead, the aliens were refugees, the last survivors of their home world. The creatures were set up in a makeshift home in South Africa’s District 9 as the world’s nations argued over what to do with them. Now, patience over the alien situation has run out. The tension between the aliens and the humans comes to a head when a human field operative, Wikus van der Merwe, contracts a mysterious virus that begins changing his DNA. Wikus quickly becomes the most hunted man in the world, as well as the most valuable – he is the key to unlocking the secrets of alien technology. Ostracized and friendless, there is only one place left for him to hide – District 9. (Sony Pictures)

Rated: R

Bottom line: DISTRICT 9 comes out of nowhere and makes for a perfect bookend to the summer movie going season. It’s documentary, meets sci-fi, meets action, meets fantasy, meets political intrigue, meets horror, meets romance…and it balances all of these elements perfectly without ever loosening its slimy stranglehold on the audience. So good I’m now calling DISTRICT 10!