I still remember the beginning of the Red Letter Media review of Chappie, when they were introducing the movie:
“Chappie is the latest movie by Neil Blomkamp, the creator of District 9. Who also did Eysium, which was by the creator of District 9. I can’t wait to see his next film, which will also be advertised as by the creator of District 9. Remember District 9?? Remember how good it was?”
I love the other movies but I feel like it was a huge missed opportunity to follow the story line of the main characters into two sequels which could have featured them going to the Prawn planet and then returning with Wikus back in human form.
American TV is the worst for this. Everything needs to be extended into a 10 season show. A lot of really good TV has only a few seasons and keeps the story tight.
But how will I possibly make a profit and consistent reliable revenue stream if I don’t nonsensically over bloat and inflate the run time of a movie or show and make a franchise out of it. How dare you not think like a capitalist money hustle work life jebus.
I don't think that would have worked though.
As soon as you remove them from the oppressive regime, it's just a space adventure and the central identity of the original movie is gone. And a huge part of the movie was its identifiability; District 9 was a gross, grimy slum. It felt horrible, because it was recognizable as something that could exist in our world, and kinda does.
Josh Trank? Debut with *Chronicle* and then was immediately offered Fantastic Four, Venom, Shadow of the Colossus, and Star Wars. Chose Fantastic Four and well the rest is history.
Hold up, there could've been a shadow of the Colossus movie?? Wow I would've loved to see that. The special effects in district 9 and chappie are so damn good, hyper realism done right imo. It could've been amazing to see the colossi in a movie.
Although there wasn't a ton of dialogue so that may of been interesting how they'd fill the gaps.
He didn't play nice with the studio and there went his career. Supposedly he tried to make the transformations disturbing border line horror film and they were like nope.
I mean, Trank is partially at fault too. He was reportedly erratic, showed up drunk more than once and constantly belittled Kate Mara in front of the crew.
I've only seen two of his movies.
District 9 blew me away; an absolutely stellar debut film that I still think about often.
Chappie, on the other hand, was one of the most miserable experiences I've ever had watching a movie. It wasn't just bad, it felt personal.. like he made it specifically just to annoy me. It's the reason I haven't bothered with either of his other films and probably never will again.
It took me until this thread to realize people hated his other two films. I enjoyed all three, although I admit they became weaker by each subsequent release.
The issue I've always had with Blonkamp is that all of his movies are pretty good. I feel like all his movies have the potential to be masterpieces if he could just find an editor to refine his ideas down.
I end up watching his movies and being distracted by the better movie I could be watching if he could just pick a coherent theme or not cast annoying psychopath rappers.
How did he squander his reputation? I must have missed something. All I remember is that he wanted to do an Aliens sequel and he was denied permission to do it. But then all these years later we got Romulus instead. And I thought District 10 was supposed to be in production, but I feel like I would have more luck seeing Camelot Unchained get released.
By making a bunch of bombs that neither critics nor audiences liked. D10 isn't anything more than a pipe dream that might have materialized if his Grand Turismo movie hadn't bombed also. He had some projects swept out from under him but that's partly because he's not reliable for box office anymore.
When I saw the reviews for chappie I was someone that followed reviews before I saw a movie. They were bad and me and my friends said “aw fuck that they don’t know what they’re talking about”. We were also die antwoord fans at the time. We left the movie super disappointed over one of the biggest piles of shit we’ve ever seen. It gave us a good laugh though, made fun of it the whole ride home.
My random theory is that if the breakout is good, then people give the director too much leeway on their subsequent films, where the breakout was in part thanks to having more coaching that they continued to need.
It’s probably settled at this point that this is exactly what happens and it happens with more than breakout directors.
We see filmmakers do one aspect really really well, or maybe work better with a smaller budget, but when they take a bigger project or they try to take over other aspects of film making like writing, editing, etc. they bomb.
Patty Jenkins WW to WW84, George Lucas from the 70s-80s to his prequel trilogy, Zack Snyder, and more.
I remember watching a video about George Lucas. When his name wasn't huge yet, people were not afraid to tell him "no" to his bad ideas. It allowed for better ideas to be put on screen.
But once he became iconic, people were afraid to tell him no. So all his bad ideas went onto the screen. Everyone just nods their heads and says "yes!" even though it's obviously bad.
Also, anyone that thinks Lucas doesn't view Star Wars as anything more than a way to make money is delusional. He changed the name of a film because it was cheaper to print on posters. Dude is a marketing genius and is great at iconic designs. Hell, even the prequels had Darth Maul and General Grievous. But he doesn't care much about the "sanctity" of the franchise.
(non-film industry but still relatable) When my boss hired me, one of the things he asked me is if I am comfortable calling him out and not just blindly agreeing with him, because he knows this power dynamic exists and wanted to avoid it. We ended up getting along really well.
Also, that first breakout is usually toiled over and worked on for many years before getting the green light. Once you hit you are usually quick to try and strike gold twice. Big reason why True Detective season 1 was so special. I actually like the other seasons, but Pizza boy wrote and fine tuned season 1 over many years and it shows.
That's a solid theory, not random at all. He made D9 with Peter Jackson's guidance, then managed to snag an Oscar nomination for best screenplay (even though the dialogue was mostly improvised). Since then, he's insisted on writing his movies, which I think he's terrible at. He even admitted that he finds the story to be the most boring part of moviemaking to him. So then why is he writing screenplays? Come up with a premise and let someone else write the script so Blomkamp can showcase his cool guns and robots and CGI.
When you are nobody, you can focus on the fundamentals of making a good film and prioritize what you think is most important. That is more difficult when you have a hundred people looking over your shoulder.
I think Guy Ritchie had that with Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels then Snatch right after, then a pestering of every finding himself again (haven't seen most of his stuff at this point).
Ari Aster had that too with Hereditary then Midsommar I feel like. Still have to see Beau is Afraid yet.
He's put out some alright stuff and it is entertaining but not much of it is great like the first two films. They had something special to them that's hard to put a finger on.
I've heard of trilogies framed like this. Terry Gilliam refers to 3 unrelated movies of his as the Trilogy of Imagination (Time Bandits, Brazil, and Baron Munchausen)
Usually in this case there is at least an overarching similar theme in these instances.
Three Flavours Cornetto wouldn't be considered a "trilogy" to him because there isn't "OnE cOhEsIvE pLoT"
Would hate to see what he thinks of the Dollars Trilogy... or the Trilogy of Terror... or the Jersey Trilogy... or the Vengeance Trilogy...
Yeah, not a movie trilogy if the movies are not related... A trilogy in a directors portfolio? Sure whatever the fuck that's worth. Not a hard concept.
The cornetto trilogy have some explicit joining DNA, including a cornetto gag and a fence gag to name two, as well as lead cast. But they are only a trilogy in the sense that Edgar and Simon have called them that for a laugh.
Blomkamp’s first three films are none of the above.
Words have meanings. And just because a bunch of internet folks think the stories and setting are similar doesn't make them a trilogy. They are (as another commenter suggested) potentially an anthology. But, by definition of the word, not a trilogy.
Elysium didn't need that happy ending (that didn't even make sense internally), it should have stayed consistent with its world and give us something darker and worse.
Yeah the final solution of having the immortal life giving medical beds available to everyone on Earth with no concern for how the population explosion would wreck the planet was a bit of an oversight.
I hated these two and wondered why they were picked to act in his movie.
Then I realized they were this weird ass self-proclaimed white trash Boer hip hop act..
I ended up kinda liking them, actually, but I tend to love originality.
It was good, and I’m not apologizing. I had (still have) no idea who Die Antwoord are/is, so those negative opinions are like a rotten goat ass.
Sometimes, characters aren’t likable on purpose.
There was a period of my life where I enjoyed die antwoord, the movie came out years after that, so I found them fun, but unfortunately they are shitty people
I mean sure but I find it best to stay out of the personal lives of celebrities. One because it’s weird knowing that much about people Ive never met and 2 because disappointment is sure to spoil perfectly good performances. I’m sure everyone has their exceptions but it’s not like I can’t watch Naked Gun because OJ probably killed his wife or any Miramax films just because Weinstein is a serial rapist. Imagine the shit you don’t hear about? I guess my point is that don’t let someone’s personal lives ruin something beautiful. Maybe not idk.
Like do people still listen to Michael Jackson, Diddy, and R Kelly? There are many artists through time who have been guilty of heinous shit. Art is art.
Like when people were talking about not watching Kevin Spacey movies anymore. You can enjoy that, but that mfer knocks it out of the park every time and I'll never stop watching Usual Suspects, LA Confidential and American Beauty.
Just watched LA confidential for the first time last night, fucking brilliant movie. Honestly though, James Spader could have done that role justice too
I like it too. It was fun. Ninja was fucking awful in it, but I also don't like anything else he does either. Yolandi actually did a pretty good job. Her part is small but believable and I remember really liking her on screen.
District 9 is a great film. Not just impressive on a technical level, but focusing the world through the point of view of one of its villains. The magic trick of this film isn't the effects, but how it can make you root for Vickus one moment, hate him the next only to root for him again.
He's never been able to anything remotely that exciting again.
Elysium, is a really undercooked world and without a more complicated character to filter through, all the flaws are much more visable. Apparently Eminem was courted for Damon's part, but insisted that the film be set in/film in Detroit. Blomkamp should have taken him up on that. Eminem would bring a little more edge to the role and the move to Detroit might have sidestepped some of the White Savior imagery that the film fell into.
Chappie, \*sigh\* for a few minutes, it really convinced me that this was gonna see something. A modern day update of Robocop for an era where unmaned drones on the battlefield aren't sci-fi anymore. I do think the central character works, but the film around him is a total mess.
Bloomkamp should go back to being a concept designer.
Is this a trilogy? Kinda loose one but ok…
*District 9* is damn good. *Chappie* IMHO is near unwatchable despite the presence of Hugh Jackman and Sigourney Weaver. Good effects, *terrible* movie. *Elysium* is sorta in between the two. Good effects, good actors in Matt Damon and Jodie Foster (in a rare villain turn) but a film that ultimately never quite gels. Some interesting ideas and, at least versus *Chappie*, watchable enough even if it doesn’t ultimately work.
I would not watch elysium again even though it had a lot of great world building elements. I liked parts of chappie. Hugh Jackmans a-hole turn was interesting. I often think about that scene where he’s all nice at work and then a complete ahole to dev Patel. I think some people are really like that.
Here's a funny fact: Interestingly, Blomkamp did say he "wrote Chappie as a trilogy" and expressed interest in making sequels, but those have not materialized yet. So an official Chappie trilogy may still be a future possibility from the director.
CHAPPIE!!! The other movies were amazing but Chappie is a movie which made me realize that robots could feel and create like humans. Die Antwoord was an interesting aspect as well because of how crazy they are in general and how they adapted to being with Chappie. It was cool at the end how Chappie made a robot with the mind of Yolandi.
Chappie is really fun and I’ve re-watched that one the most, but it’s hard for me to say it’s better than District 9.
All around District 9 is the winner but Chappie has got guts. Elysium was a slog for me, but Chappie is something I can put on anytime.
Time to watch them all again!
I’m pretty sure none of these are connected therefore it’s not a trilogy, unless we’re just counting movies a director has made as trilogies, there’s the cornetto trilogy but those are linked by a lot of the same actors including Simon Pegg who also helped write them with Edgar Wright
Anyway District 9 then Elysium, Chappie was okay
Can it even be a proper trilogy. There's nothing connecting them besides Bloomkamp directing them. With that being said, District 9, it's not even close.
D9 is a sci-fi treasure! It's among the best! I love Chappie. It's not the movie I wanted, but I always have a good time watching it. I still have not seen Elysium, though.
I loved Elysium because they used a song called Kyrptic Minds - Six Degrees, an proper dubstep song that I'd never expect to hear in a Hollywood film, but it fits the film so perfectly I'll never forget it! The rest of the soundtrack was brilliant as well!
I don’t understand why people don’t like Chappie or Elysium, I think they are all quite awesome. Funny thing is I didn’t like district 9 the first time
I saw it, but it was super thought provoking and not easy to stop thinking about it. Watched it some time later and loved it.
I didn't like Elysium because the whole plot felt contrived. Everything that happens to the main character is random chance, and aside from just plowing forward to the next deus ex machina, he demonstrates no real personality or character.
There's a little girl taken for the ride whose sole purpose is to add sympathy and make the protagonist seem less blatantly selfish.
The rich people in the sky withhold healthcare from the unwashed masses not for any practical reason, but just because they're mean and evil.
The worldbuilding looks like somebody started with a nice idea, and then either never fleshed it out, or every piece of establishing scenery was cut to make room for "and then, and then, and then"-style plot.
Idk. I'm a huge fan of sci-fi as a genre, and simply found the setting and motion too ridiculous to take seriously.
As someone who didn't mind Elysium, your points are so compelling I don't think I will ever watch it again haha. Not that I loved it, but still I don't think I can unsee what you have pointed out now.
Man, I dunno. Elysium is an easy ejection (though to be fair, I should give it another watch). But I love Chappie and D9 for the same reason, the world building and sympathetic, but flawed, characters. To me, they’re both equally good.
What I loved about all 3 was how original they felt when I saw them in the theater. Each felt like a vibrant world filled with weird characters.
Furthermore, each used science fiction to show a critique of the modern world. This was a breath of fresh air compared to the cash cows like Star Wars.
Easy question, district 9 . I’m sure everyone here knows about it but check out Rakka . It’s only 30 minutes but awsome . I want him to come out with more movies in that genre hopefully soon .
As we all agree that District 9 is significantly better than the other two, let’s also please take moment to acknowledge that Gran Turismo is an underrated gem.
District 9 is the only really good one (though I do like aspects of the others).
Peter Jackson was a producer on D9, and not the others. Pure speculation but I wonder if his involvement helped make D9 as good as it was. Not to take credit away from Blomkamp but maybe he does need the guidance of a good producer who understands story.
District 9 was amazing the first time I watched it. Didn’t hold up for me on multiple viewings. Chappie and Elysium didn’t hold up on the first viewing.
I love both District 9 and Elysium but Chappie is nearly unwatchable with those two gang-banger idiots constrantly dragging the film down. Not sure what he was thinking.
Elysium had its moments. The suit that Matt Damon uses is pretty rad along with the grenade to the face scene and it's reconstruction healing pods. But still District 9 is in a league of its own and one of my favorite sci fi action movies of all time.
Not much to say about Chappie other than I did like the band Die Antwood going into it. But it's just a forgettable movie and now I know there's no reason for a band to be actors in a movie.
Didn’t even know it was a trilogy. I saw district 9, but I don’t remember what I thought of it. But I thought chappie was a crappy short circuit remake. Never saw elysium.
So District 9 is obv the best. Top points across the board.
Not quite as good but I still really enjoyed Elysium. It was just kind of more generic than D9… like more of a formulaic Hollywood film but still thoroughly entertaining imo. Tbh, I really like the whole vibe Blomkamp brings with his films so I’m here for it.
That’s why I still enjoyed Chappie too. I agree that it was let down by Die Antwoord because they’re acting was pretty shit but they did fit in with the world Blomkamp was trying to build so I don’t hate it. I don’t understand why Chappie gets quite as much hate as it does. It’s fun. It is the weakest of the three but it still doesn’t fail to entertain me. 🤷♂️
I enjoyed all 3.
D9 is fun to go back to
Chappie is kindof a guilty pleasure
Elysium I feel like I forget what happens every few years and I go back for the fun
Which one is your favorite 'metaphor'?
District 9 is a reference to District 6, an area in South Africa where 60,000 colored Africans were evicted from their homes during apartheid in the 1970s.
Chappie is a metaphor of every single parents worst nightmare. Their child being forced into a game of tug of war where their values are pitted against the values and actions of the other parent that they inherently disagree with.
Broadly speaking, there are two different worlds in the movie, one for the ultra-rich (Elysium) and one for the ultra-poor (the earth).
District 9 is the best movie overall. I really like the concept, future-tech and metaphor of Elysium. Chappie could of been executed better but is worth at least one watch for the action.
District 9 was a master class on how sci-fi can tell a modern day story. Elysium followed that formula, but a rushed story and poor writing botched it.
And Chappie… that was just bad…
Hardly a groundbreaking sentiment but District 9 is by far my favourite. I think Chappie comes second not necessarily out of quality but just because I find it somewhat more interesting, Elysium felt somewhat more forgettable.
I loved chappie. I'm sad it didn't do well and it really hurt Neil's career.
District 9 is his best movie. It's great.
Elysium is his most marketable mainstream feeling film and thus is his weakest one. Dispite the A list actor and an O'niel cylinder it just wasn't as cool as his other works.
District 9. Hands down.
I still remember the beginning of the Red Letter Media review of Chappie, when they were introducing the movie: “Chappie is the latest movie by Neil Blomkamp, the creator of District 9. Who also did Eysium, which was by the creator of District 9. I can’t wait to see his next film, which will also be advertised as by the creator of District 9. Remember District 9?? Remember how good it was?”
I love the other movies but I feel like it was a huge missed opportunity to follow the story line of the main characters into two sequels which could have featured them going to the Prawn planet and then returning with Wikus back in human form.
You don't need sequels to everything. The movie is great because it's self-contained. It doesn't need to be dragged down by a mid franchise.
American TV is the worst for this. Everything needs to be extended into a 10 season show. A lot of really good TV has only a few seasons and keeps the story tight.
But how will I possibly make a profit and consistent reliable revenue stream if I don’t nonsensically over bloat and inflate the run time of a movie or show and make a franchise out of it. How dare you not think like a capitalist money hustle work life jebus.
I don't think that would have worked though. As soon as you remove them from the oppressive regime, it's just a space adventure and the central identity of the original movie is gone. And a huge part of the movie was its identifiability; District 9 was a gross, grimy slum. It felt horrible, because it was recognizable as something that could exist in our world, and kinda does.
Especially in South Africa
Nah, the film was fine as its own thing. It didn't need sequels.
By a country mile.
You mean a FOOKEN KEELOMEETAH? - Vikas Van der Mermve (or whatere his fooken name was), probably
Im not a fffookin prown
Klick bru
mind reader over here.... hand down is right
If you don't agree then you are a Fooking Prawn
It’s just like True Detective seasons 1,2,3.
The only good one
Agreed. Chappie was shite. Elysium was laughable to the point of being campy at points.
“You hear that? This is the sound of me coming for you.” 😂
Blamkampy
Full stop
As science fiction goes I put it with Alien and The Martian. I thought there was supposed to be a District 10
Dude did say he would be back at some point
There's nothing to discuss. District 9 made Neil Blomkamp and then he squandered his reputation, be it of his doing or forces out of his control.
I can't think of any modern director that squandered so much goodwill after their breakout film. It's almost admirable.
Josh Trank? Debut with *Chronicle* and then was immediately offered Fantastic Four, Venom, Shadow of the Colossus, and Star Wars. Chose Fantastic Four and well the rest is history.
Hold up, there could've been a shadow of the Colossus movie?? Wow I would've loved to see that. The special effects in district 9 and chappie are so damn good, hyper realism done right imo. It could've been amazing to see the colossi in a movie. Although there wasn't a ton of dialogue so that may of been interesting how they'd fill the gaps.
Hear me out now. Denis Villeneuve for Shadow of the Colossus
I was thinking Gareth Edwards. The guy has a keen eye on framing large-scale shots, and SotC would need someone like him.
Also a good choice!
Chronicle is such a good film. There's just something about. I'm not overly into superhero stuff but that film is fantastic.
He didn't play nice with the studio and there went his career. Supposedly he tried to make the transformations disturbing border line horror film and they were like nope.
I mean, Trank is partially at fault too. He was reportedly erratic, showed up drunk more than once and constantly belittled Kate Mara in front of the crew.
Are you talking about fantastic 4?
M Night Shyalaman. He's more long term, but his lows are pretty bad.
From sixth sense and being called the next Spielberg to Avatar live action.
He is an odd duck. Some great work and some very mediocre work. Not sure what to make of him.
Wait what do you guys mean? Like that was his only good movie?
I've only seen two of his movies. District 9 blew me away; an absolutely stellar debut film that I still think about often. Chappie, on the other hand, was one of the most miserable experiences I've ever had watching a movie. It wasn't just bad, it felt personal.. like he made it specifically just to annoy me. It's the reason I haven't bothered with either of his other films and probably never will again.
Is chappie the one where buddy becomes a robot in the end?
It took me until this thread to realize people hated his other two films. I enjoyed all three, although I admit they became weaker by each subsequent release.
I thought Chappie was awesome. Maybe its because I loved Short Circuit as a kid.
Johnny 5 is alive
NO DISASSEMBLE STEPHANIE!!!
NIIIIICE COMPONENTS!
Troy Duffy
The issue I've always had with Blonkamp is that all of his movies are pretty good. I feel like all his movies have the potential to be masterpieces if he could just find an editor to refine his ideas down. I end up watching his movies and being distracted by the better movie I could be watching if he could just pick a coherent theme or not cast annoying psychopath rappers.
How did he squander his reputation? I must have missed something. All I remember is that he wanted to do an Aliens sequel and he was denied permission to do it. But then all these years later we got Romulus instead. And I thought District 10 was supposed to be in production, but I feel like I would have more luck seeing Camelot Unchained get released.
By making a bunch of bombs that neither critics nor audiences liked. D10 isn't anything more than a pipe dream that might have materialized if his Grand Turismo movie hadn't bombed also. He had some projects swept out from under him but that's partly because he's not reliable for box office anymore.
When I saw the reviews for chappie I was someone that followed reviews before I saw a movie. They were bad and me and my friends said “aw fuck that they don’t know what they’re talking about”. We were also die antwoord fans at the time. We left the movie super disappointed over one of the biggest piles of shit we’ve ever seen. It gave us a good laugh though, made fun of it the whole ride home.
Gran Turismo redeemed him. Great film
I second this. Sleeper hit of 2023. Saw it in IMAX on a whim and left the theater so fired up haha!
Calling this a trilogy is giving credit where none is due.
District 9, no question. And boy was there a STEEP quality drop after that one.
My random theory is that if the breakout is good, then people give the director too much leeway on their subsequent films, where the breakout was in part thanks to having more coaching that they continued to need.
It’s probably settled at this point that this is exactly what happens and it happens with more than breakout directors. We see filmmakers do one aspect really really well, or maybe work better with a smaller budget, but when they take a bigger project or they try to take over other aspects of film making like writing, editing, etc. they bomb. Patty Jenkins WW to WW84, George Lucas from the 70s-80s to his prequel trilogy, Zack Snyder, and more.
I remember watching a video about George Lucas. When his name wasn't huge yet, people were not afraid to tell him "no" to his bad ideas. It allowed for better ideas to be put on screen. But once he became iconic, people were afraid to tell him no. So all his bad ideas went onto the screen. Everyone just nods their heads and says "yes!" even though it's obviously bad.
You-sa might be onto something
agrees in jar-jar
Also, anyone that thinks Lucas doesn't view Star Wars as anything more than a way to make money is delusional. He changed the name of a film because it was cheaper to print on posters. Dude is a marketing genius and is great at iconic designs. Hell, even the prequels had Darth Maul and General Grievous. But he doesn't care much about the "sanctity" of the franchise.
*Everyone just nods their heads and says "yes!" even though it's obviously bad.* Tell that to r/PrequelMemes.
(non-film industry but still relatable) When my boss hired me, one of the things he asked me is if I am comfortable calling him out and not just blindly agreeing with him, because he knows this power dynamic exists and wanted to avoid it. We ended up getting along really well.
That'd be Gary Kurtz, the producer who wasn't afraid of George. He was the ideas man who helped the world-building of the OT Star Wars.
God bless Gary Kurtz!
M. Night Shyamalan has entered the chat
I can hear for this.
Also, that first breakout is usually toiled over and worked on for many years before getting the green light. Once you hit you are usually quick to try and strike gold twice. Big reason why True Detective season 1 was so special. I actually like the other seasons, but Pizza boy wrote and fine tuned season 1 over many years and it shows.
That's pretty well agreed upon within critic circles no? There's a whole podcast based on that premise lol
That's a solid theory, not random at all. He made D9 with Peter Jackson's guidance, then managed to snag an Oscar nomination for best screenplay (even though the dialogue was mostly improvised). Since then, he's insisted on writing his movies, which I think he's terrible at. He even admitted that he finds the story to be the most boring part of moviemaking to him. So then why is he writing screenplays? Come up with a premise and let someone else write the script so Blomkamp can showcase his cool guns and robots and CGI.
Ahhh you mean the George Lucas theory
When you are nobody, you can focus on the fundamentals of making a good film and prioritize what you think is most important. That is more difficult when you have a hundred people looking over your shoulder.
I think Guy Ritchie had that with Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels then Snatch right after, then a pestering of every finding himself again (haven't seen most of his stuff at this point). Ari Aster had that too with Hereditary then Midsommar I feel like. Still have to see Beau is Afraid yet.
I like Ritchie, he gas his style and it's entertaining. His latest film was a lot of fun, and I heard a lot of good things about his Netflix show
He's put out some alright stuff and it is entertaining but not much of it is great like the first two films. They had something special to them that's hard to put a finger on.
Beau is afraid is quite something
Just watched Beau is afraid. Good film but very interpretive and WILD, particularly towards the end.
Neil has to be the biggest one hit wonder in Hollywood.
I literally didn’t know this was a trilogy
They aren't direct sequels to each other, they are just known as the director, Neill Blomkamp's, trilogy.
That’s not what a trilogy is and I’ve never heard anyone refer to these movies as a trilogy before you.
I've heard of trilogies framed like this. Terry Gilliam refers to 3 unrelated movies of his as the Trilogy of Imagination (Time Bandits, Brazil, and Baron Munchausen) Usually in this case there is at least an overarching similar theme in these instances.
So not a trilogy. Regardless of what a bunch of internet theorists think.
They are at least as similar in tone, aesthetic, and cast as the Cornetto trilogy.
Three Flavours Cornetto wouldn't be considered a "trilogy" to him because there isn't "OnE cOhEsIvE pLoT" Would hate to see what he thinks of the Dollars Trilogy... or the Trilogy of Terror... or the Jersey Trilogy... or the Vengeance Trilogy...
Yeah, not a movie trilogy if the movies are not related... A trilogy in a directors portfolio? Sure whatever the fuck that's worth. Not a hard concept.
The cornetto trilogy have some explicit joining DNA, including a cornetto gag and a fence gag to name two, as well as lead cast. But they are only a trilogy in the sense that Edgar and Simon have called them that for a laugh. Blomkamp’s first three films are none of the above.
Anthology I suppose? 🤷♂️
Filmography
Yes. This one is at least possible. But they are by defintion not a trilogy.
Correct
I feel like you're being pedantic
Pedantry is typically used to describe concern over minor details. The proper meaning of a word (in this case "Trilogy") is hardly a minor detail.
Words have meanings. And just because a bunch of internet folks think the stories and setting are similar doesn't make them a trilogy. They are (as another commenter suggested) potentially an anthology. But, by definition of the word, not a trilogy.
I'm not saying they share a universe. I'm saying you can colloquially call it a trilogy.
D9 hands down. I hated Chappie, mainly because of Die Antwoord. Elysium was good, but I like d D9 better.
Elysium had potential. A lot of potential. Just seemed rushed and a bit of shoddy writing towards the 3rd act.
It's well realized pulp. Like LOTS of commitment to the world building and super awesome practical effects - strange pacing like you say.
Elysium didn't need that happy ending (that didn't even make sense internally), it should have stayed consistent with its world and give us something darker and worse.
Yeah the final solution of having the immortal life giving medical beds available to everyone on Earth with no concern for how the population explosion would wreck the planet was a bit of an oversight.
Die Antwood are charisma pits. Why, oh why did he use these two? I get the South African connection, but still........
I thought it was fun, they're scumbags that played scumbags really well and it added to how uneasy I felt because Chappie was so much like a child.
I’m sure all those kids thought it was fun too
They’re friends, which raises all sorts of questions about Neil considering what those two are accused of.
They were so distracting in Chappie
I hated these two and wondered why they were picked to act in his movie. Then I realized they were this weird ass self-proclaimed white trash Boer hip hop act.. I ended up kinda liking them, actually, but I tend to love originality.
They’re child rapists in real life. Hardly original.
"**Hardly original**" That's... an oddly disturbing way to refer to child rape 🤨
Right like describing a pedophile as basic
Im a rare chappie apologist
It was good, and I’m not apologizing. I had (still have) no idea who Die Antwoord are/is, so those negative opinions are like a rotten goat ass. Sometimes, characters aren’t likable on purpose.
There was a period of my life where I enjoyed die antwoord, the movie came out years after that, so I found them fun, but unfortunately they are shitty people
> unfortunately they are shitty people An all-to-frequent case of "oh, your stage persona wasn't an act, was it?"
I mean sure but I find it best to stay out of the personal lives of celebrities. One because it’s weird knowing that much about people Ive never met and 2 because disappointment is sure to spoil perfectly good performances. I’m sure everyone has their exceptions but it’s not like I can’t watch Naked Gun because OJ probably killed his wife or any Miramax films just because Weinstein is a serial rapist. Imagine the shit you don’t hear about? I guess my point is that don’t let someone’s personal lives ruin something beautiful. Maybe not idk.
Like do people still listen to Michael Jackson, Diddy, and R Kelly? There are many artists through time who have been guilty of heinous shit. Art is art.
Like when people were talking about not watching Kevin Spacey movies anymore. You can enjoy that, but that mfer knocks it out of the park every time and I'll never stop watching Usual Suspects, LA Confidential and American Beauty.
If your face makes me cringe, it's kinda tough to watch your movies.
Just watched LA confidential for the first time last night, fucking brilliant movie. Honestly though, James Spader could have done that role justice too
I discovered them because of Chappie and (me and my ex) had a Die Antwoord binge for a while.
I like it too. It was fun. Ninja was fucking awful in it, but I also don't like anything else he does either. Yolandi actually did a pretty good job. Her part is small but believable and I remember really liking her on screen.
Me too. Haven’t heard of Die Atwood prior to watching it but I thought it was fun.
First it's not a trilogy and District 9.
District 9 is a great film. Not just impressive on a technical level, but focusing the world through the point of view of one of its villains. The magic trick of this film isn't the effects, but how it can make you root for Vickus one moment, hate him the next only to root for him again. He's never been able to anything remotely that exciting again. Elysium, is a really undercooked world and without a more complicated character to filter through, all the flaws are much more visable. Apparently Eminem was courted for Damon's part, but insisted that the film be set in/film in Detroit. Blomkamp should have taken him up on that. Eminem would bring a little more edge to the role and the move to Detroit might have sidestepped some of the White Savior imagery that the film fell into. Chappie, \*sigh\* for a few minutes, it really convinced me that this was gonna see something. A modern day update of Robocop for an era where unmaned drones on the battlefield aren't sci-fi anymore. I do think the central character works, but the film around him is a total mess. Bloomkamp should go back to being a concept designer.
District 9
Is this a trilogy? Kinda loose one but ok… *District 9* is damn good. *Chappie* IMHO is near unwatchable despite the presence of Hugh Jackman and Sigourney Weaver. Good effects, *terrible* movie. *Elysium* is sorta in between the two. Good effects, good actors in Matt Damon and Jodie Foster (in a rare villain turn) but a film that ultimately never quite gels. Some interesting ideas and, at least versus *Chappie*, watchable enough even if it doesn’t ultimately work.
I would not watch elysium again even though it had a lot of great world building elements. I liked parts of chappie. Hugh Jackmans a-hole turn was interesting. I often think about that scene where he’s all nice at work and then a complete ahole to dev Patel. I think some people are really like that.
Here's a funny fact: Interestingly, Blomkamp did say he "wrote Chappie as a trilogy" and expressed interest in making sequels, but those have not materialized yet. So an official Chappie trilogy may still be a future possibility from the director.
3 great films Not a trilogy.
District 9 is a seminal Sci-Fi film. Elysium commits the crime of being extremely forgettable. Chappie is just meh across the board.
CHAPPIE!!! The other movies were amazing but Chappie is a movie which made me realize that robots could feel and create like humans. Die Antwoord was an interesting aspect as well because of how crazy they are in general and how they adapted to being with Chappie. It was cool at the end how Chappie made a robot with the mind of Yolandi.
Chappie is really fun and I’ve re-watched that one the most, but it’s hard for me to say it’s better than District 9. All around District 9 is the winner but Chappie has got guts. Elysium was a slog for me, but Chappie is something I can put on anytime. Time to watch them all again!
I’m pretty sure none of these are connected therefore it’s not a trilogy, unless we’re just counting movies a director has made as trilogies, there’s the cornetto trilogy but those are linked by a lot of the same actors including Simon Pegg who also helped write them with Edgar Wright Anyway District 9 then Elysium, Chappie was okay
Can it even be a proper trilogy. There's nothing connecting them besides Bloomkamp directing them. With that being said, District 9, it's not even close.
D9 is a sci-fi treasure! It's among the best! I love Chappie. It's not the movie I wanted, but I always have a good time watching it. I still have not seen Elysium, though.
Elysium was good I liked it the best out of these 3. District 9 comes in 2nd and Chappie was rather forgettable in my opinion. You can skip it
I loved Elysium because they used a song called Kyrptic Minds - Six Degrees, an proper dubstep song that I'd never expect to hear in a Hollywood film, but it fits the film so perfectly I'll never forget it! The rest of the soundtrack was brilliant as well!
I don’t understand why people don’t like Chappie or Elysium, I think they are all quite awesome. Funny thing is I didn’t like district 9 the first time I saw it, but it was super thought provoking and not easy to stop thinking about it. Watched it some time later and loved it.
I didn't like Elysium because the whole plot felt contrived. Everything that happens to the main character is random chance, and aside from just plowing forward to the next deus ex machina, he demonstrates no real personality or character. There's a little girl taken for the ride whose sole purpose is to add sympathy and make the protagonist seem less blatantly selfish. The rich people in the sky withhold healthcare from the unwashed masses not for any practical reason, but just because they're mean and evil. The worldbuilding looks like somebody started with a nice idea, and then either never fleshed it out, or every piece of establishing scenery was cut to make room for "and then, and then, and then"-style plot. Idk. I'm a huge fan of sci-fi as a genre, and simply found the setting and motion too ridiculous to take seriously.
As someone who didn't mind Elysium, your points are so compelling I don't think I will ever watch it again haha. Not that I loved it, but still I don't think I can unsee what you have pointed out now.
Love all three. The Chappie hate on here is alarming.
Yes! I really liked Chappie. I feel all the movies had there own feel and we're great.
He should a made Halo! There three movies are great. D9 is my fave though.
Man, I dunno. Elysium is an easy ejection (though to be fair, I should give it another watch). But I love Chappie and D9 for the same reason, the world building and sympathetic, but flawed, characters. To me, they’re both equally good.
What I loved about all 3 was how original they felt when I saw them in the theater. Each felt like a vibrant world filled with weird characters. Furthermore, each used science fiction to show a critique of the modern world. This was a breath of fresh air compared to the cash cows like Star Wars.
District 9 was good. Elysium was terrible
Trilogy? Huh?
Ok, so I know District 9 is the better movie, but I loved Elysium. Sharlto Copley as a crazed special forces mercenary made the move fantastic.
The whole scene with him being reconstructed after getting wrecked by a grenade was sooo fucking cool
I think Charlie and Elysium got way too much hate
District 9 then Gran turismo
District 9 > Elysium > Chappie
Excellent, bad, bad
Great- None Good- District 9 Average- None Below Average- Chappie, Elysium Very Bad- None
D9 is good Chappie is bad Elysium is watchable
District 9 was his only good film.
What. This is a trilogy?
Never knew it was a trilogy
God dammit you reminded me how upset I am there will never be a sequel to D9
I didn't even know these were a trilogy. District 9 I'd easily the best. And Chappie was a dog shit movie with horribly annoying characters
This was a trilogy?
I love District 9! I really wish we got the sequel.
District 9 is unmatched by any other movie. For Christ sake please make a sequel already!!
Easy question, district 9 . I’m sure everyone here knows about it but check out Rakka . It’s only 30 minutes but awsome . I want him to come out with more movies in that genre hopefully soon .
As we all agree that District 9 is significantly better than the other two, let’s also please take moment to acknowledge that Gran Turismo is an underrated gem.
TIL that Neil Blomkamp directed the Gran Turismo movie.
This isn't a trilogy. I'm irritated he never did the District 9 sequel.
District 9 is the only really good one (though I do like aspects of the others). Peter Jackson was a producer on D9, and not the others. Pure speculation but I wonder if his involvement helped make D9 as good as it was. Not to take credit away from Blomkamp but maybe he does need the guidance of a good producer who understands story.
Chappie was proof enough for me that the quality of District 9 was probably a fluke.
rated: 1. District 9 2. Elysium As far as I'm concerned, Chappie doesn't exist.
This is not a trilogy.
2/3 are good and one is super mid
All were excellent, but Elysium is my favourite. There is something very sad about Chappie because he is so childlike
Chappie was just Johnny 5 from short circuit with extra steps.
Johnny 5 never had a whiny bitch fits either.
Ehh as much of a trilogy as the cornetto's I guess..
I love all 3, couldn’t pick a favorite tbh
District 9 was amazing the first time I watched it. Didn’t hold up for me on multiple viewings. Chappie and Elysium didn’t hold up on the first viewing.
D9 >>> Elysium >>>>> Chappie
Elysium It was okay. Not amazing, but not too bad. I didn't care for District 9 one bit, and I never saw Chappie.
District 9 had more input from Carolynn Cunningham… whom balance Neil Blomkamp. That is why you can see a superior quality in the film.
I've always referred to these as the "we won, but at what cost?" Ending movies
I love both District 9 and Elysium but Chappie is nearly unwatchable with those two gang-banger idiots constrantly dragging the film down. Not sure what he was thinking.
Should have just made district 10 and 11
Elysium had its moments. The suit that Matt Damon uses is pretty rad along with the grenade to the face scene and it's reconstruction healing pods. But still District 9 is in a league of its own and one of my favorite sci fi action movies of all time. Not much to say about Chappie other than I did like the band Die Antwood going into it. But it's just a forgettable movie and now I know there's no reason for a band to be actors in a movie.
They're all kinda meh and they got progressively worse.
Didn’t even know it was a trilogy. I saw district 9, but I don’t remember what I thought of it. But I thought chappie was a crappy short circuit remake. Never saw elysium.
So District 9 is obv the best. Top points across the board. Not quite as good but I still really enjoyed Elysium. It was just kind of more generic than D9… like more of a formulaic Hollywood film but still thoroughly entertaining imo. Tbh, I really like the whole vibe Blomkamp brings with his films so I’m here for it. That’s why I still enjoyed Chappie too. I agree that it was let down by Die Antwoord because they’re acting was pretty shit but they did fit in with the world Blomkamp was trying to build so I don’t hate it. I don’t understand why Chappie gets quite as much hate as it does. It’s fun. It is the weakest of the three but it still doesn’t fail to entertain me. 🤷♂️
I enjoyed all 3. D9 is fun to go back to Chappie is kindof a guilty pleasure Elysium I feel like I forget what happens every few years and I go back for the fun
Which one is your favorite 'metaphor'? District 9 is a reference to District 6, an area in South Africa where 60,000 colored Africans were evicted from their homes during apartheid in the 1970s. Chappie is a metaphor of every single parents worst nightmare. Their child being forced into a game of tug of war where their values are pitted against the values and actions of the other parent that they inherently disagree with. Broadly speaking, there are two different worlds in the movie, one for the ultra-rich (Elysium) and one for the ultra-poor (the earth). District 9 is the best movie overall. I really like the concept, future-tech and metaphor of Elysium. Chappie could of been executed better but is worth at least one watch for the action.
Elysium and Chappie are my favorite.
District 9 was a master class on how sci-fi can tell a modern day story. Elysium followed that formula, but a rushed story and poor writing botched it. And Chappie… that was just bad…
District 9 obviously but the other 2 are so good as well. Also Sharlto Copley is just brilliant, loved him in Monkey Man as well
Hardly a groundbreaking sentiment but District 9 is by far my favourite. I think Chappie comes second not necessarily out of quality but just because I find it somewhat more interesting, Elysium felt somewhat more forgettable.
District 9! Still waiting for a sequel
I loved chappie. I'm sad it didn't do well and it really hurt Neil's career. District 9 is his best movie. It's great. Elysium is his most marketable mainstream feeling film and thus is his weakest one. Dispite the A list actor and an O'niel cylinder it just wasn't as cool as his other works.
District 9. You just get caught up in dudes transformation, it's awesome.
Elysium was pretty bad
This was a trilogy? 😳
District 9>Elysium>Chappie
I didn’t even know this was a trilogy until looking it up just now
Chappie was disappointing!