District 9 - 2009

It is 2010 and the aliens who took refuge in a district of Johannesburg, South Africa after their spaceship stalled have overstayed their welcome. In charge of getting rid of the aliens and their nuisance is Wikus van der Merwe who, in the process of their eviction, is infected by a substance that slowly overtakes his body. In his mission to save himself, he befriends the very alien whom he must evict and discovers that those who had put him in charge are more interested in Wikus' new capabilities than in Wikus himself.

This is a brilliant, exciting piece of entertainment. I went into it not knowing much and it took me for an unexpected ride.  The movie is pure fun. Definitely not your typical alien movie. The story is very original and the special effects are astoundingly believable. I don't like watching movies where the cgi is so obvious that it either overwhelms or ruins the whole movie, like Transformers and the Incredible Hulk. I watched this movie on HD and the cgi was so incredible yet subtle that it only added to the experience. Watch this one.

Fun Fact:
- This certified blockbuster sci-fi adventure only costed $30 million USD to make and look in $37 million in the first 3 days. That's mind blowingly cheap for a movie of this caliber.

The Matrix - 1999

This is one of the best movies of all time if not the best. The action sequences are incredible. But that's not what makes the movie what it is. It's the story. And it's deep.

Have you ever thought if we are real? Do we really exist? Is there such a thing as free will? Well this movie doesn't only question what is real but takes us into a totally different dimension, a world where computers are at the top of the food chain. Our hero, Neo, "the chosen one", is recruited by a rogue group of humans and is taught not only to question his real existance and test his will, but discovers that humans are simply crops to computers. This movie is mesmerizing, the casting is excellent, and the story is so deep in philosophical thought that to categorize The Matrix purely as a sci-fi action movie is a travesty. It is a theatrical masterpiece.  Definitely a must watch.

Fun fact:

-The Wachowski brothers had an incredibly hard time selling the movie to the big studios because no one could understand the story. I've seen this movie 4 times and I learn something new each time. It's that deep.

- The success of the trilogy helped Keanu Reeves make over a quarter of a billion dollars.