District 9

District 9 is an instant sci fi classic. A loosely disguised parable of apartheid the story concerns aliens who are stranded on Earth (in Johannesburg) and simply herded into a detention camp and sequestered from humanity. Director Neill Blomkamp expanded a 2005 short film (Alive in Joburg) that basically makes up the first half reel or so of District 9. Excellent special effects, both physical puppetry and CGI, are wholly integrated into the film in a practically flawless manner.
District 9 unwinds in different modes. One one level it's a mockumentary, portraying the events as if they are unfolding on cable news casts and first-person handheld camera teams who are assisting in the relocation of the aliens to another quarantined camp. District 9 also brims with sci fi energy, just revealing enough of an extraterrestrial intelligence and weaponry to keep the viewer glued to the screen right up to its balls out finale. Lastly District 9 gives us characters, both other worldly and all too human, that we care about. In fact some of the situations will remind knowledgeable viewers of the late 50s film The Defiant Ones, where Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier are two convicts chained to each other who escape from imprisonment. Despite their mutual hatred the two cons learn to trust and respect each other.
There are moments in District 9 that keep you on the edge of your seat. One such sequence involves the film's reluctant hero (Sharlto Copley providing a career sustaining performance) and his calcitrant alien doppelganger breaking into a high security complex to steal a substance that will enable both of them to achieve certain goals. In the alien's case completing a scientific formula that will propel its stranded spacecraft away from our hostile planet. In Copley's case he needs the alien's help to reverse a process that has infected his DNA causing him to mutate into one of the aliens.
District 9 will certainly wow science fiction fans, but the film's resonance with topical issues guarantee an expanding fan base that will only continue to grow.

The Time Traveler's Wife

The Time Traveler's Wife unrolls a non-linear story in a linear manner. Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams are married yet he transfers in and out of their reality throughout their marriage without so much as a moment's notice. Where he goes (the future?, the past?) and how the time travel functions are not part of the why of this movie. As long as you accept that premise The Time Traveler's Wife is a fairly absorbing and emotional experience.
As good as McAdams and Bana are as actors, and they are good, the conceit of the plot twist doesn't sustain the entirety of the film. About halfway through you're watching the same events unfold over and over and at that point you have the rest of the movie pegged. That didn't keep me from enjoying the moments of love and serenity that McAdams and Bana are able to share.
Robert Schwentke's direction never assaults the viewer with obvious clues or overt special effects but he's still a pedestrian at the director game. Arliss Howard makes an impression in a supporting role as Bana's dad. One element that stood out was the lilting strings orchestrated by Mychael Danna that fit so well into the lyrical paths of the lead characters.
If nothing else The Time Traveler's Wife is a film that gets its point across. You never know in advance when to expect the best moments of your life.

Little Ashes

Were Federico Garcia Lorca and Salvador Dali and Luis Bunuel all hanging out at the university together in the early 20s in a Spain racked with civil war? Probably and Little Ashes chronicles that artistic and emotional alliance.
Little Ashes takes some liberties no doubt although a sexual liaison between Lorca and Dali has been put forth in at least one biography of that period's cultural icons. In the film Bunuel is portrayed practically as a homophobe such is his malevolent reaction to finding out about his buddy's peccadilloes.
But the film never draws the viewer in emotionally to the tale. The result provides a cold depiction of the turbulent era and the lives of the artists depicted. Parts of the film lag under the strain of believable drama. Female characters that would have fleshed out the drama are only portrayed as thin caricatures. The main reason Little Ashes has gotten a belated theatrical release is because Robert Pattinson plays Dali. Pattinson (if you don't know he's the biggest current sex symbol due to his role in Twilight and its upcoming sequel New Moon) proves to be the weakest link in Little Ashes.
You know that cliche picture of an older Dali with one raised eyebrow and a mad and surreal glow on his face. Well Pattinson does that look but that's the extent of his acting. While the rest of the cast speaks the dialogue in English with Spanish accents Pattinson has no accent to speak of.
Still the film holds fascination to those devoted to Lorca, Dali or Bunuel. Lorca's poems are heard (read in Spanish) and bits of Bunuel's first film Un Chien Andalou are seen in one sequence that relates how that film was inspired, or repulsed, by Lorca's behavior. (Remember when MTV used to run a short edited version of Un Chien Andalou that was colorized?) Overall it's a chore to sit through Little Ashes unless you're versed in these artists.

Fissure

Fissure, out today on DVD, had a brief theatrical engagement in Houston last month at the Studio Grill Movie Theater on I-10. Free Press Houston spoke to director Russ Pond about the film's production and subsequent rollout.
"A cop navigates a fractured reality to solve a mystery," explained Pond who wanted his feature film debut to bristle with a mixed-genre storyline. So you have a detective investigating a murder only to find he's trapped in what may be a haunted house. But that notion gets tossed out the window when the audience realizes the real explanation borders on "metaphysical premises."
Pond made Fissure on a modest budget utilizing a Panasonic HD Varicam. "We spent a great deal of time lighting the set and color corrected the negative to get a film look," noted Pond. While Fissure employs a few special effects shots the overall feeling never emphasizes that fact. Much of the atmosphere is accomplished through the narrative and what Pond refers to as "a unique sound design," meant to draw the viewer into the experience.
The capstone to Pond's efforts was hooking up with a small distributor (SMG) that allowed Fissure to four-wall at Studio Grills in Dallas and Houston. Additionally a barrage of self-promotion using networking tools like Facebook and the free movie streaming website Hulu.com allowed Pond to reach a somewhat wider circle of appreciation.
Fissure has a compelling plot, and once you get drawn into its maze like structure you know you're watching something different than a run of the mill indie thriller.