PAnews.com, Port Arthur, Texas

Entertainment

Related Photos

  • Courtesy art

    images_sizedimage_253134511

Discussion

September 10, 2009

“9” for the animation. “4” for the story

By Sean McBride



 

“9”

Focus Features

Directed by Shane Acker

Starring Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer, Crispin Glover and Martin Landau

Rated PG-13

 

2 1/2 Stars       

 

If you’re a grown up video gamer who enjoys “Little Big Planet” but would rather run your Sack Boy characters through more mature levels, you’ll get a kick out of “9,” an artistically impressive but ultimately pointless animated adventure.

Based on his Academy Award nominated short film, director Shane Acker gets an opportunity to expand his mini-movie into a full-fledged feature film. The story follows a little burlap rag doll named 9, voiced by Elijah Wood, is who is born into a post-apocalyptic world where humanity and machines have fought each other to extinction. As he explores the post-war rubble, 9 finds that he is not alone. There are eight other rag dolls running around, as well as a couple of left-over machines programmed to hunt and destroy the dolls.

Which means that the movie quickly turns into a series of action scenes where giant mechanical beasts hunt down the little rag dolls. It’s actually pretty exciting stuff, but very repetitive and ultimately pointless. First they fight a cat-robot, then a vulture-machine attacks, and finally a big-boss battle against a giant, one-eyed spider-bot. So what? There’s not enough time spent on characters to make you care about the rag doll’s plight, and there’s no reason to root for the little guys other than a charitable wish for their survival.

On the other hand, “9’s” animation provides plenty of reasons to cheer. The dystopian landscapes provide unique battlegrounds, and I suppose that our nine heroes (known as stitchpunkers) are cute enough, but it’s the villainous robots that really make an impression — like a two-scared-toddlers-had-to-be-taken-out-of-the-theater-level impression. The creations are a nightmarish mix of producer Tim Burton’s fevered imagination and the disturbing animation of Czech surrealist, Jan Svankmajer (wow, there’s a film school fact I never thought that I would use).

Visually, “9” is top-notch, one of the more inventive films of the year. Story-wise, it falls flat, so let’s give “9” a 9 for it’s animation, but only a 4 for the rest.

Movie reviews by Sean, “The Movie Guy,” are published bi-weekly in “The Port Arthur News” and weekly on KFDM-TV. You can also follow Seanthemovie guy on Twitter. Sean welcomes your comments via email at smcbride@kbcitv.com.

 

Text Only
Entertainment
Subscribe today
Community Photos
Wild- LU Basketball.jpg

Morgan Jones
Alexis Werner of Port Neches dances with the Lamar University Dance Team during their Wednesday night basketball game against Northwestern State University.

Video
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs Expert: Removing LA School's Staff 'Appropriate' Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal $25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Facebook
Sports Tweets
  • Sports tweets

Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com