District 9 is an amazing film, well worth watching, and gripping from start to finish.

#11 : The Hurt Locker has been released in NZ, I watched it at Sky City Cinemas six weeks ago.

In my opinion District 9 is the superior film. Imagine if District 9 had been made with the same budget as Avatar!

district 9 is a fantastic and original film. avatar was just hollywood tripe - braveheart for smurfs.

#11 Don't care what you have to say....your comment is TOO LONG!

Dont forget the South African director- Neill Blomkamp who made this film? He should be getting all the kudos - not Jackson (very over-rated)....AND....WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY has Bigelow's The Hurt Locker not been released commercially in New Zealand cinemas? How can we judge when we havent see the film. Oh sorry the DVD is already out and I watched it the other night on a friend's 52" plasma ..it is one of the best war movies ever made - uncompromising, visionary, and not one dreaded blubbing well-known, nauseatingly-cheesey American actor to be seen. It compares with PLATOON, APOCALYPSE NOW, ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, FULL METAL JACKET, STORY OF GI JOE, PATHS OF GLORY, and THE SORROW AND THE PITY as among the best war movies ever made. Maybe America is embarrassed about the film and limited its world-wide release, as the film is as graphic and unsparing as anything seen in a commercial cinema for a long time. It should be. It exposes how absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Diatrict 9 is an amazing film, shame it was overshadowed by the hype of Avatar. As good as Avatar is, this film is ORIGINAL - which is what makes it so great to watch - You never really know what is going to happen next.

I was also highly impressed by the amazing detail of the special effects.

Buy the Bluray version, you will not be disappointed.

D9 was spectacular - great story, fresh filmmaking style, great visuals. My favourite film of 2009, and way, way better than Avatar.

One of five really good films that I saw last year at the cinema(the others being Angels & Demons, Star Trek, The Hangover and Avatar).

Great to see a film like this portrayed by South Africans, with a kiwi influence as well. It has a great mix of doco-style, comedy and action and Sharlto Copely is magnificent as Wikus Van Der Merwe, comment #4, I agree that Sharlto is very unlucky to have missed out on an oscar nomination for best actor.

I havn't seen avatar yet, and am sure it will live up to the hype, but as someone who always favours the underdog, I thought District 9 was a truly excellent film.

It's rare for a film to succeed on all levels,(story, acting, cinematography, special effects and originality) but to get the added bonus of an excellent social commentary as well has made this film a true stand out for me, and not just for the year, I mean ever.