District 9

Nominated for 4 Oscars, on top of 42 other nominations and 11 wins, District 9 does a lot of things right. District 9 is directed by newcomer Neill Blomkamp and produced by Peter Jackson, producer of The Lord of the Rings. This movie also stars new actors Sharito Copley (Wikus) and Jason Cope (Christopher Johnson).
When an alien spacecraft drifts into the skies above Johannesburg, South Africa, the world is shocked to find the remains of a dying alien population aboard. The aliens, what the humans call Prawns, are brought down to a facility called District 9. The Prawns, after trying to live among the humans, face great racism, prejudice, and violence from the people of Johannesburg. This is why the Prawns are housed and contained in District 9, basically a refugee camp. During an attempt to relocate the more than one million aliens, Wikus, an government office worker, comes in contact with an alien chemical. Shortly after they find out Wikus is the key to the human’s ability to use the alien’s DNA-encoded weaponry. From there on, Wikus is on the run and works with an alien named Christopher Johnson to find a way to make things right for himself and the Prawns. Never having heard of or seen actor Sharito Copley, I must say his performance in this movie was outstanding. Having a lot of gun fights, explosions, and action scenes, the computer generated graphics in this movie are some of the best in the industry. However, Sharito Copley also makes this movie more than a thriller, but a wonderful drama too. Overall, this is a great film on all levels.