Reel Critics:

Peter Jackson secured his place as a maker of high-end science fiction films with “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy. All of his special effects skills are evident in this new story of aliens living among us in “District 9.” They are refugees from a crippled spacecraft who have been segregated into a disgusting ghetto.

Because the story is set in South Africa, the parallels to the apartheid system are obvious. But the analogy is stretched to the limit by the grotesque aliens. They look like a cross between a deformed human and a 6-foot-tall cockroach.

The government puts a nerdy manager played by Sharlto Copley in charge of an alien relocation effort that goes terribly wrong. He becomes infected with an alien virus that begins to turn him into one of them. As he becomes hunted by his own agency, he is thrown into an alliance with the aliens he was sent to control.

What follows from this premise is a disturbing allegory of intolerance and dark political satire. Reality TV formats and the 24/7 news cycle also get a good dose of quality sarcasm. But be warned: There’s plenty of random violence and ugly facts to wade through before you get to the philosophical point of this film.

‘Traveler’ takes up too much time

A little girl falls in love with a handsome man who just happens to be naked in the bushes and tells her he’s from the future. Clare grows into a beautiful woman, while Henry never seems to age much — but he still shows up with those buns of steel.

Who knew time travel was such a great way to stay fit?

They are blissfully happy but, aside from the naked thing, there’s one teensy problem — Henry will literally disappear without warning. Isn’t that just like a man? He claims he can’t help it, it’s in his genes. Boy, if I had a nickel for every time I heard that one . . .

Such is the stuff of “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” a sentimental soaper that’s wa-a-y-y too silly and too long. Time is so wacky that Henry can be in two places at once and at different ages. Poor Clare can never count on Henry to be around for holidays, weddings or bar mitzvahs. Unlike Elvis, Henry basically looks the same, so she can’t even tell what age he is at any given moment.

Stars Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams are pretty to look at, but so was my watch as I kept wondering when this endless love story was going to release me from chick flick hell.

JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator for the Orange County public defender’s office. SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant for a financial services company.