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We've seen enough alien movies to know their ways: they either attack your city, invade your body or live cuddly and cute in your closet.
Never before have they landed on Earth, homeless and desperate, banished to a refugee camp outside the city. It's the inspired premise of "District 9," brilliantly carried out by first-time director Neill Blomkamp, lead actor Sharlto Copley and the design and CGI team.
"District 9" is the year's (decade's) most inventive sci-fi thriller, shot in a combination of cinema verite and cinematic style, following the exploits of nerdy "MNU" administrator Wikus van de Merwe as he attempts to evacuate the "prawns" from their seething South African shantytown.
Contaminated by some alien ooze, he begins a Brundlefly-like transformation into an insect creature and is forced to align himself with a maverick alien known as Christopher Johnson who is scheming a way home. Along with the overtones of racism and genocide that the film evokes, not to mention the heart-pounding suspense, the genius of "District 9" is the empathy it generates for a hideous creature you'd want to wipe out with a giant can of Raid.
The extras include 20 minutes of deleted scenes, including an explanatory talk-show segment that summarizes the plot and a stomach-turning visit with the alien's meat butcher. There are multiple making-of features showing how they worked on location, added the special effects and allowed the talented Copley and others to add realism by improvising dialogue.
This is the rare film where you leave wishing you could see the sequel immediately.
-- Scott Mervis
"This is not a love story," the omniscient narrator quickly states at the start of "500 Days of Summer" in a warning to the audience that Tom and Summer, the romantic duo, do not end up together. There is little to suggest that their relationship is anything more than passing infatuation.
Still, that lack of believable, profound romance is OK, because "500 Days of Summer" happily scoots along without it, as a post-graduation coming-of-age tale laced with enough humor, clever dialogue and unconventional art direction to leave audiences feeling satisfied. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, with her scene-stealing blue eyes, deliver nuanced and full-bodied performances that made them believable as real people, if not real lovers.
Direction and tone of the movie are as pleasing as Deschanel's flouncy blue dresses, and devices that are usually hokey -- split screens, montages, song-and-dance Bollywood numbers -- come off as fresh and dynamic.
Extras include a commentary with director Marc Webb, Gordon-Levitt and writers Michael Weber and Scott Neustadter, as well as deleted and extended scenes. The Blu-ray also comes with a making-of feature and music video.
-- Post-Gazette
ABC Family canceled "Kyle XY" on a cliffhanger and producers promised the DVD ($39.99, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment) would offer some sort of a wrap-up to the story.
What viewers get is "Future Revealed," a 12-minute featurette of three of the show's producers ruminating on what might have been. But their suggestions are sometimes vague and don't always seem to agree entirely with one another, which may make some fans' heads spin.
In short: Kyle and Michael Cassidy shared a mother; Kyle would continue to ping-pong between Jessi and Amanda but in the end he'd be alone as superheroes often are; Kyle might become a spiritual leader when his secret powers are exposed.
It's better than nothing, I suppose, and I applaud the producers for making the effort but it would still be better if networks had enough respect for the audience to give producers more warning when their shows will not be renewed so unanswered cliffhangers can be avoided.
-- Rob Owen, Post-Gazette TV editor
TV columnist Rob Owen's Tuned In+ is featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.
