District 9 (2009)

Director: Neill Blomkamp (nothing else I've seen)
Stars: Sharlto Copley (The A-team [which I haven't seen but heard is terrible)
Vanessa Haywood (Blood Diamond, nothing else I've ever seen)
YesNoSoso: 2

Almost an emphatic 2; even despite my high hopes for this movie. I spent the entire summer hearing from friends and the news cycle about this great new movie out of South Africa. I expected a Hollywood style blockbuster ala Independence Day, but what surprised me was Sharlto Copley's versatile performance of Wikus Van De Merwe. I went from despising Wikus's meek and incompetent nature to feeling genuinely sorry for him and admiring his moral make-up. The film is further improved by the humanizing representation of the Prawns (the aliens). I really felt connected to the main Prawn's, and his son's, plight despite neither character speaking any human language. Readers of YesNoSoso should be familiar with my hard-on for storytelling that's able to accomplish this.
IMDB
Wikipedia