2009 has been a really cool year for movies. We've gone into space and seen Captain Kirk get beaten like he owed people money in Star Trek. We've seen an angry old man use balloons to abduct a short little fat kid in Disney's Up. We've seen giant blue wangs in Watchmen. We've - well, not me, but apparently a lot of you - saw the Jonas Bros. sing inoffensive, diabetically sweet pop music in the Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience. We even saw Optimus Prime beat the crap out of Shia LeBeouf in Transformers 2. And yet, none of those memorable moments mean anything compared to a single minute of District 9.

District 9, for those who don't know, is a film dealing with the arrival of aliens over Johannesburg, South Africa. They find themselves soon wardened into a segregated slum called District 9. What follows next is something I really can't address without spoiling the mystery of the film. This is one of those rare films that actually captures you way better if you have little idea of what it's about beforehand, and so, I won't address the story anymore than that.

There is simply no element in this movie that falls short. The cinematography is simply beautiful, with an incredible background set piece of the alien mothership hovering quietly throughout. CG in this film is of such a high quality that you seriously doubt that its budget was only 30 million. Any one alien or robot in the film looks far more realistic than any transformer. Pacing is incredible, with a very interesting, very quick revelation soon in that carries the film to an incredibly violent, very engrossing climax. Don't downplay that last sentence; this film is VERY violent. Alien weaponry does a messy number on human bodies. And yet, the most gripping aspect of it all is how it was filmed. About half of the movie is done in a documentary style, meaning you see the film through the lens of a news camera. Unlike Cloverfield, however, the person holding it is not having a 2 hour long seizure. With such an incredible amount of attention to detail, the film is proud to show you everything without a single shake. Everything feels quite visceral, dramatic, and most of all, real due to this style.

Yes. District 9 feels like it could totally happen.

No one acts in a way that people wouldn't. It is, at the center, about humanity at its best and its worst.

And that, specifically, is something that you so rarely experience in films. Too many trips to the cinema lately are overly-escapist; even romantic comedies seem too...unlikely...nothing more than Hollywood magic. D9 places you in the center of the action and leaves you feeling as desperate and stressed as the main character. Every actor in the film melts into their role, feeling so honest and perfect. I sincerely hope that at least Sharlto Copley, playing Wikus, gets an Oscar nomination.

Too few alien encounter films so blur the line between good and evil. Your sympathies go both ways; to the humans suddenly inconvenienced by odd visitors, and to the aliens, hoarded away into ghastly, dirty slums. The ending of the film highlights that point perfectly, and will certainly have you leaving the theater in an enjoyable argument with someone else.

Who was right?

Who was wrong?

What will happen next?

Can we see this again?

I sure will.