Movie review: Project 9

Now I have been told that I get things mixed up...occasionally. I once got Margo Kidder mixed up with Stockhard Channing with a character ‘Margo Channing’ – played by Bette Davis in All about Eve. Just recently I have been calling HBO The wire – Wired. And I thought singer Kate Perry was also actress Zooey Deschanel [ yes who? Fooey the Chanel?] Hence why I mixed them up.

And so when I got the new disaster flick 2012 mixed up with Project 9 this was no surprise to Andrew. We sat there in the cinema and it dawned upon me [ this after booking & purchase of the tickets as well as the buckets of popcorn the size of our bodies] that yet again I mixed the movies up after the trailer of 2012 came on prior to the film.

Set in current day Johannesburg South Africa, an alien spacecraft has been suspended in the air for the last 20 years packed full of aliens refugees. But don’t think this is a purely sci fi film. Its starts in the documentary hand held way to introduce the main characters – but this is not a mock-u-mentry. It’s also funny but this isn’t a comedy. Basically the government of the day is planning to move the alien precinct to 250Km outside of Joburg. The parallels to the world’s treatment of foreign or [alien] refugees in a post 911 world are quite obvious. But this is a not a social commentary film either. This mixed up film of genres makes you wonder what is going to happen or occur in the film – or what this film is really about.

Peter Jackson is the producer and his early films [before the Rings] were always very quirky and off the wall – look at ‘Meet the Feebles’’ & ‘Braindead’- funny yet dark and grim. But instead of the films just becoming being a gore or shock film, there is always as strong story line, and this is also apparent in 9.

Without telling more of the story or ruining the film, there is something going on with the aliens...and something much darker going on with the ominous military group of why they want the aliens to move. The main character is really the anti hero – and initially quite annoying. No big stars in this and thankfully so - you concentrate on the characters and story rather than the name.

There are some violent scenes in the film, but don’t be put off. The chase scenes will get your heart racing [the sci fi geek next to me was jumping around his seat and cheering when the 'badies' get shot but don’t be put off from seeing this film as that’s the crowd you get at the Victoria Gardens at the early session Saturday night – I digress] and the aliens are very realistic looking – not the wobbly plastic circa 1976 Doctor Who/Blake 7 type at all. I was also genuinely convinced of all of the South African accents - not like Meryl in Out of Africa – all mixed up in a wrong way. This film is all mixed up in the right way. And my dears there is nothing wrong about that.

4 shaken not stirred UFO’s out of 5.