i might see district 9 twice.

This may come as a shock to you, but I’m a geek. Actually, I probably qualify as a supergeek though I’ve never seen a single episode of Battlestar Galactica. I promise.

Even so, it’s extremely rare that I’ll shell out the cash to see a movie in theaters more than once. Even if the movie’s amazing, I just can’t always bring myself to pony up the second round of $10 tickets and $70 snacks. In the last 23 years, I’ve only double-headered the following: Starship Troopers, Star Wars Episode III, Rush Hour 2 (I walked out the second time), and Transformers. Like I said. Supergeek.

But I’m not really surprised that I find myself itching to double up on District 9.

aliens + oppression + energy weapons = win

First off, this film was made on a $30 million dollar budget. That’s pretty modest, when you consider the fact that Spiderman 3 spent more than triple that on one CGI sequence. I’m happy to reward ambitious film making with frugal budgets. They can have another $10 from me.

Secondly, it’s awesome. Blomkamp’s direction holds up well throughout the whole film, maintaining the same mysterious qualities of the short Alive in Joburg. Sharlto Copley does a wonderful job as the protagonist – I found myself loving and hating him at various points in the story. And holy hell were the action scenes epic. Don’t get me wrong, I love a solid Coppola or Anderson film as much as anyone, but I’m a sucker for well executed action. And D-9 delivers. It’s violent, yes, but appropriately so, much in the way Saving Private Ryan can be difficult to stomach. The few skirmishes feel hurried and panicked – the way it should feel to be trading bullets and lasers with your life on the line.

Its marketing campaign left a little something to be desired. Oh well. We all know how I feel about that anyway.

And then I suddenly remembered that Inglorious Basterds opens this weekend. Maybe I won’t be seeing District 9 again  after all…