District 9

A rascists corporate shmuck in Johanasburg, South Africa gets what’s coming to him… and then a whole lot more. Teaches us that Aliens are humans too, except with cooler weapons.

Nominated for:
Best Picture
Writing Adapted Screenplay - Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell

Also Nominated for:
Film Editing
Visual Effects

This clever little social commentary packs a ton of information into each frame. I kind of wish the whole thing hadn’t turned into a sci-fi action flic by the end but what can you expect from something with Peter Jackson’s name attached to it?

Aside from the obvious commentary on the ever-present racism of South Africa, I think the best thing about this movie is the main character and his thoroughly un-likeable personality. He is a whiny, wimpy, weasel in a tie, and he makes you want to reach into the screen and smack his annoying little face. He’s not an anti-hero, he’s a NON-hero. Except he still comes off as sympathetic, which is not easy to pull off and that deserves a round of applause.

Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay? I don't think so, especially since it dropped the social commentary angle about 3/4 of the way through and went instead for an alien-weapon shoot-em-up.

Here is the original short film, if you're interested.

Eli