Movie: 9 * Trailer * Official Site	In Theaters: Sept. 9, 2009
Runtime: 79 minutes	Directed by: Shane Acker; produced by Tim Burton
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for violence and scary images	Gecko Rating:

I’d like to crack Tim Burton and Shane Acker’s heads open sometime (hypothetically speaking) and peek inside to see where they get all of their ideas.

This is Acker’s first major film as a director and writer, although he’s done some shorts – including the 2005 Oscar-nominated short on which this movie is based. He was also an animator on “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.”

Tim Burton, of course, is the genius behind “Corpse Bride,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” and “Edward Scissorhands,” among others. Together, they make magic with “9,” a darkly beautiful film with an inspiring message of hope and perseverance.

The story follows a group of small, ragdoll-type creatures created by a forward-thinking scientist who knew the end of the world was nigh. He made the creatures, numbered from “1” to “9,” to carry on after mankind is wiped out after a battle with robotic machines.

It begins with “9” (voiced by Elijah Wood) waking up in a dusty, abandoned room (with someone lying on the floor) and looking out on a post-apocalyptic world. The buildings are piles of rubble and the streets are littered with the remains of humanity (scattered toys, vehicles and even a few bodies, though brief).

Upon seeing another creature like himself on the street below, “9” makes his way down to the street and follows the creature, “2” (voiced by Martin Landau), who eventually gets caught by a mechanical beast.

“9” soon learns that there are others like him, holed up in a building with “1” (Christopher Plummer) calling the shots. Others in the group include fiercely brave “7” (Jennifer Connelly), shy artist “6” (Crispin Glover), skittish “5” (John C. Reilly), and young twins “3” and “4”. Part of the group wants to find and kill the murderous machine and save “2,” while the others wish to hide from it. After “9” inadvertently fires up a much larger machine, the group has no choice but to destroy it.

Although it’s an animated film, this is not for kids younger than 13. It’s dark and disturbing, but it’s also beautiful and hopeful. The animation is amazingly detailed, from the zippers and stitches on the creatures to the dusty stained glass window in an abandoned cathedral. And the reason this movie is hopeful, despite the chaos, is because the creatures have souls and some of them are really resourceful, determined, creative, and caring. “9” is in the “never leave anyone behind” camp.

At just 79 minutes, the story flows along nicely and is never boring. For kids 13 and older, this is a great film and a must-see for Acker/Burton fans.

NOTE TO PARENTS: Though it’s animated and filled with interesting creatures, make no mistake that “9” is not for little ones. This movie contains a lot of violence and disturbing images, including intense battles and chase scenes between the ragdoll creatures and robotic machines; characters getting the life force sucked out of them; brief images of dead humans (including a child) in a post-apocalyptic world of rubble and chaos; and a machine being beheaded. Weapons include spears, guns and chemical bombs (some of these are shown in flashback scenes). While it may not be for young kids, “9” is still a darkly beautiful film with a message of hope for older teens and adults.

Images: © FOCUS FEATURES LLC. All Rights Reserved

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But  Connelly explains it differently, saying she and husband Paul Bettany appeared briefly, but left early because it’s the anniversary of her father’s death. Hmmm, I think maybe the executive should be the one making the apology here, don’t you? 

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If any Film Gecko readers are AT the festival and want to send me photos, I’d love to post them. For now, here’s a few from INF:

Megan Fox

Mena Suvari

Vivica A. Fox

 Amanda Seyfried

Hugh Hefner and friends

Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany

Kim Cattrall

Matt Damon

Olivia Wilde

Penelope Cruz

Rachelle LaFevre

Richard Kind

Image: INF

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The story follows a ragdoll-like creature named “9” (voiced by Elijah Wood) who comes to life and finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world where all humans are gone. When 9 discovers a small community of others like him taking refuge from killing machines, he convinces the others that hiding will do no good. They must take the offensive if they are to survive, and the future of civilization may depend on them.

Definitely not a light-hearted, fluffy kids’ flick. Also check out the Facebook page, where the back-story of “9” has begun to unfold through the voice of the film’s Scientist. You can see for yourself the Machine that will help rebuild the Nation and his designs that will change the world. 

Set for a Sept. 9, 2009 release date, voice talent also includes Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly, Crispin Glover, Martin Landau and Christopher Plummer. It doesn’t get much better than that.

What do you think of the poster?

Image: © FOCUS FEATURES LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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It follows nine ragdolls on a quest to save humanity in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Ok, so maybe it’s not all that different from LOTR. Produced by Tim Burton, it features the stunning voice cast of Elijah Wood, Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly, Crispin Glover, Martin Landau and Christopher Plummer, and hits theaters in limited release Sept. 9, 2009 (9/9/09 – get it?). Take a look at the clip, and after the jump, check out the trailer… they look darn depressing!

Video clips courtesy of MTV.com

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The advance reviews for this romantic comedy haven’t been all great, but I love all the players — Jennifer Connelly, Bradley Cooper, Kevin Connolly, Ginnifer Goodwin, Justin Long, Jennifer Aniston, Scarlett Johansson, Drew Barrymore, and Ben Affleck. So even if the movie isn’t a knock-out, I have a feeling I’ll still like it. It hits theaters this Friday, Feb. 6, 2009.

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Pamela Petter is penning the screenplay; she also wrote "Monster House" and Tim Burton’s own "Corpse Bride." Voices include Elijah Wood, Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, Jennifer Connelly, Crispin Glover and John C. Reilly. Not a bad cast! I guess having Tim Burton behind it doesn’t hurt.

The story sounds dark: When 9 (Elijah Wood) first comes to life, he finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world. All humans are gone, and it’s only by chance that he discovers a small community of others like him taking refuge from fearsome machines that roam the earth intent on their extinction.

More after the jump, including a trailer…

9 convinces the others that hiding isn’t the answer. Instead, they should take the offensive if they are to survive, and learn why the machines want to destroy them in the first place. As they’ll soon come to learn, the very future of civilization may depend on them.

It’s gloomy, isn’t it?! It’s making me think of "Wall*E" (though that had a happy overtone to it) and "Terra" I dunno … are these good movies to be showing kids? Do they need to be worried about such dark issues at a young age? I’m thinking no. "9" isn’t rated yet, and I hope it ends up with a PG-13 rating.

There was a big brouhaha at the Traverse City Film Festival last year because, though it’s rated PG-13, it was billed as a Saturday morning movie appropriate for kids. It wasn’t, and parents got a little upset.

Check out the "9" trailer. Is this appropriate for kids? 

Image: 9, Focus Features, 2009

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I’ve always thought that Keanu Reeves had sort of wooden acting abilities, which makes him perfect for this role, since he plays a humanoid-looking alien. Although I wouldn’t say this remake of the classic 1951 film is a great movie, it still has some nifty special effects.

It begins with a huge spherical object landing in New York’s Central Park. Dr. Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) is practically dragged out of her home by law enforcement officials and shepherded into a waiting aircraft carrier, along with several other scientists. They’re taken to Central Park, where the group approaches the object and Helen makes contact with a strange being exiting the orb. Of course, the military shoot the creature on the spot.

Taken to a medical facility, the creature eventually sheds a goopy layer of gray blubbery skin, and emerges as Klaatu (Keanu Reeves), the aforementioned humanoid-looking alien. The reason for his visit to Earth becomes clear: other civilized planets wish to destroy Earth’s population, since we’ve done such a horrible job taking care of the place.

The Secretary of Defense (Kathy Bates) decides to deal with the situation by force, but Helen takes pity on Klaatu and, along with her stepson, Jacob (Jaden Smith), helps him escape. On the run, she tries to convince Klaatu that the Earth is worth saving, that we can change, but he says things are already in motion and it’s too late.

This is where things get interesting. During all of this, military personnel have been dealing with and attempting to destroy a giant robot-type being. I won’t say what happens with this being, but let’s just say that the special effects are pretty cool. In fact, I wanted more of the special effects and less of the environmental/save the planet message. 

That said, “The Day the Earth Stood Still” has plenty of suspense and action scenes, and the story stays true to the original movie. It bugged me that U.S. military personnel were portrayed as these buffoons who didn’t have a clue what they were doing. Also that force would be the only way to deal with a situation like this. I guess that’s the point of the movie. That we’re buffoons, but buffoons with heart — and that’s enough to save ourselves from total destruction.

Jon Hamm, John Cleese, and Kyle Chandler also show up, and while they’re fine in their roles, they go the way of the rest of this movie, which is to give us one-dimensional characters. But I still love Keanu’s line from the trailer: “You should let me go.” He rocks that line.

Images: The Day the Earth Stood Still, 20th Century-Fox Film Corp., 2008

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