District 9 redefines aliens by making them human

Finally got around to seeing District 9 this past weekend. It's difficult to describe how moving this movie was without giving away its story. But after the first third of the movie, which was mostly what I expected, it takes such a stark -- and ironically humanistic -- turn that caught me off guard. I've been trying to remember another alien movie that so effectively reminds us that aliens have children (not spawn or pod-birthed creatures), too, and all I can think of is Alien Nation, not counting movies that were the presence of alien children was done for comic effect. It's a shame that a movie like Avatar (which was just fine the first time, when it was called Dances With Wolves, and had no need to be remade in 3-D) got so much attention when District 9 was out there.

Last year was an odd year for movies. Not a great year for film in general -- no The Pianist or No Country For Old Men that stands out from the pack -- but a good year for genre films:

Sci-Fi: Three genre-defining or redefining movies in Avatar, Star Trek and District 9.

Comedy: The Hangover, one of the best comedies in ages.

Romantic comedy: Although I hesitate to characterize (500) Days of Summer as a romantic comedy in case it gets mistaken for the sort of movie that would star Katherine Heigl or Jennifer Aniston, it is a comedy and it is primarily about romance. It serves as a reminder that such movies can still move along unknown paths.

War: The Hurt Locker and Inglourious Basterds, one deconstructing a war without social commentary the other reinventing the World War II movie as a revenge fantasy.

Animation: Up and Fantastic Mr. Fox, two of the best animated movies ever, plus a return to Disney hand-drawn animation with The Princess and the Frog.