This was an excellent week for movies. I again pulled a couple movies from our IMC First Directorial Films display (District 9 [IMC DVD 001.942 D614 2009] and 12 Angry Men [IMC DVD 345.794 T971 2001]) and also ended up watching Saving Private Ryan [IMC DVD 940.54 S267 2004]. 

District 9 was the first film done by director Neill BlomkampI, who more recently has directed Elysium and Chappie. I had heard about this movie from a fellow co-worker, and I wasn’t disappointed. It takes place in a world where aliens have come to our planet and we placed them in contained housing called District 9. While it has obvious sci-fi characteristics, I would definitely classify this movie as more of an action film than sci-fi. It is a very compelling and interesting take on the alien premise, and I would highly recommend it.

12 Angry Men was Sidney Lumet’s directorial debut film. A classic black-and-white film, it tells the story of a jury debating on the verdict of a court case. At first, all the men but one are convinced that the defendant is guilty, but as they review the case, they find themselves rethinking their assumptions. This movie was extremely well shot, and the range of characters that make up the jury are relatable even now. 

Finally, this past week I watched Saving Private Ryan. It is very easy to lose yourself in this movie—Steven Spielberg did an excellent job with directing it. However, there was a lot of violence, in part because of the director’s commitment to the authenticity of the period. Hands down, this is now one of my new favorite war movies.

As always, feel free to follow along your own movie progress here: https://letterboxd.com/peterstanley/list/1001-movies-you-must-see-before-you-die/ . And don’t forget to come check out the IMC’s DVD display featuring directorial premiers.