"District 9" ***1/2 (out of four): Inventive, intriguing sci-fi indie with mainstream polish is pure allegory - and isn't afraid of the questions it raises or the objections it may incur.

"District 9", a sci-fi indie with mainstream polish, opens with an intriguing premise. An alien ship (big, round, imposing) hovers lifelessly over Johannesburg, South Africa. The newscaster in the film is winkingly incredulous, "not over New York, not over Los Angeles, but here in Johannesburg". The inventive, largely improvised, script continues by having the alien ship just sit there. No hostile advances, no ultimatum, no giant displays of pyrotechnics. Finally, after several months of stalemate, the military intervenes, sending helicopters up to the alien ship to cut open a doorway. What they find is also unexpected.

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