Summer Movie Picks: August

Must See: District 9 (August 14)

The Deal: A band of alien refugees has been living in District 9 in South Africa while the world's nations discuss what to do with them. Humans have been waiting for the aliens to attack or for some great leap in technology, but neither have come. With patience over the situation running out, control of District 9 has been contracted out to MNU, and the aliens are no longer being treated well. When an MNU agent becomes infected with an alien virus, he becomes to sole way for humans to unlock the alien weaponry, but when they only place for him to hide is in District 9, things may slip out of control.

Why: As I mentioned before when I picked Moon for June, great sci-fi films are rare. As for this film, the marketing department has shown us just enough to create lots of buzz and interest. The visuals have looked cool, and previews leave you begging to learn more. Even better, the film had a pre screening at Comic-Con last week, and all I'm hearing from it is that it is fantastic (IGN can't stop raving about it). To top it off, the film is helmed by the two people (Peter Jackson and Neill Blomkamp) who nearly brought us Halo. We were given snippets of what to expect of that, and it looked phenomenal before the project was shut down. The two then channeled their mutual interest and poured it into this. Anyone who's seen Lord of the Rings knows what kind of passion and awe Jackson brings to the screen, and Blomkamp is his protege. In the last month, this flew up my list of films I'm dying to see, and I can't see Jackson and Blomkamp disappointing me.

Sleepers

The Time Traveler's Wife (August 14): I've generally ignored the romance genre when making my monthly picks, but this one looks like it could be very interesting. Eric Bana plays a man who involuntarily travels through time, and he falls in love with a woman played by Rachel McAdams. It's pretty obvious this will put some interesting stress on their relationship, and I'm intrigued to see how it plays out. I can probably guess how it will end given its genre, but the sci-fi time travel element is quite enticing.

Inglourious Basterds (August 21): I thought for a long while this would be my August pick until I learned more about District 9. That being said, despite some mixed reviews from Sundance, I love a good Quentin Tarantino film. With the likes of Brad Pitt, Eli Roth, and B.J. Novak playing Jeweish soldiers who run around brutally killing Nazis, it seems like something right up Tarantino's alley, and I'm eagerly anticipating the film. To top it off, it has the beautiful Diane Kruger in it.

Taking Woodstock (August 28): I was a little hesitant to consider this, but the more I thought about it, the more I'd like to see it. The film chronicles the generation-defining concert of 1969, and the previews look fairly good. I like Demetri Martin, he's pretty funny, and the film has a handful of other good actors and actresses. Director Ang Lee will most likely do an excellent job, and I think it will turn out to be a fun and exciting film.