9: A Review
June 7th 2010 02:46
Been fueling my movie obsessions/hobby with offers from Quickflix lately. Signed up for a 14 day trial but that quickly expired and so far so good delivery times are quick and the best thing is I don’t have to scour the DVD store for movies (especially not in this rain!). The only let down is the range I guess but there’s heaps of OK movies to catch up on. Like “9”…
I thought that it was directed by Tim Burton but only when the credits rolled that I realized that Tim Burton was just one of the producers. It still has streaks of Tim in the movie but not as dark as his other movies. It’s a little out of this world but believable at the same time.
Being an animation (seems like I’ve been watching heaps of animations lately
), I suppose its only fair when reviewing it to consciously be comparing it to other animations. The trailers on the DVD promoted “Transformers: The Movie” (1986), “Ponyo”, and a whole host of Japanese animations. Pretty much anyone can tell the difference between a Japanese animation and a Hollywood-based one nowadays; they can be almost split into two genres of their own.
I guess it’s the cultures as well, adult animations have always been around in Japan but in Western countries, its only the comic book enthusiasts who will want to watch an animation; the general population citing animations as not a ‘real movie’; but that trend, I believe, is certainly bucking.
I admit that if it weren’t for Tim Burton; I would have passed on watching “9”. I didn’t have any expectations when watching the movie except to see where 3D animations have come and where they are improving on, etc.
The story starts off with a character called 9 jumping to life into a life-deprived world. He meets 2 which then gets kidnapped and in the process of retrieving 2 bumps into all the other characters, the complete 1 to 9 of them.
They have distinct personalities and you can’t help but think that the concept of the story has been very well thought out of. For me, it was sort of “Alice In Wonderland” meets “Harry Potter” meets “A Bug’s Life”.
The story is definitely a good one but I think a lot of shortcuts have been made story wise and art wise. A lot of the story is just too ‘convenient’. For me the movie seemed like a prototype for something bigger; something the production team would want to explore further before making it a bigger blockbuster of some sort. Or they’re just as happy extending a short-story to a full length film; which coincidentally what “9” is! (Director Shane Acker started "9" off as a short movie when he was still in ULCA).
No doubt the movie was made by absolute perfectionists; every single character is flawlessly flawed and the whole landscape of where it takes place is well thought out. Again, big chunks of the story and how these 9 characters came about were left out but if things like that don’t annoy you, it’s a great movie to experience.
Watch “9” if you want to be tugged at the heartstrings by a very convincing Elijah Wood (he plays 9) and for an hour of a preview of what future animations have the potential to be.
2.5 out of 5 stars.
DM
I thought that it was directed by Tim Burton but only when the credits rolled that I realized that Tim Burton was just one of the producers. It still has streaks of Tim in the movie but not as dark as his other movies. It’s a little out of this world but believable at the same time.
Being an animation (seems like I’ve been watching heaps of animations lately
), I suppose its only fair when reviewing it to consciously be comparing it to other animations. The trailers on the DVD promoted “Transformers: The Movie” (1986), “Ponyo”, and a whole host of Japanese animations. Pretty much anyone can tell the difference between a Japanese animation and a Hollywood-based one nowadays; they can be almost split into two genres of their own. I guess it’s the cultures as well, adult animations have always been around in Japan but in Western countries, its only the comic book enthusiasts who will want to watch an animation; the general population citing animations as not a ‘real movie’; but that trend, I believe, is certainly bucking.
I admit that if it weren’t for Tim Burton; I would have passed on watching “9”. I didn’t have any expectations when watching the movie except to see where 3D animations have come and where they are improving on, etc.
The story starts off with a character called 9 jumping to life into a life-deprived world. He meets 2 which then gets kidnapped and in the process of retrieving 2 bumps into all the other characters, the complete 1 to 9 of them.
They have distinct personalities and you can’t help but think that the concept of the story has been very well thought out of. For me, it was sort of “Alice In Wonderland” meets “Harry Potter” meets “A Bug’s Life”.
The story is definitely a good one but I think a lot of shortcuts have been made story wise and art wise. A lot of the story is just too ‘convenient’. For me the movie seemed like a prototype for something bigger; something the production team would want to explore further before making it a bigger blockbuster of some sort. Or they’re just as happy extending a short-story to a full length film; which coincidentally what “9” is! (Director Shane Acker started "9" off as a short movie when he was still in ULCA).
No doubt the movie was made by absolute perfectionists; every single character is flawlessly flawed and the whole landscape of where it takes place is well thought out. Again, big chunks of the story and how these 9 characters came about were left out but if things like that don’t annoy you, it’s a great movie to experience.
Watch “9” if you want to be tugged at the heartstrings by a very convincing Elijah Wood (he plays 9) and for an hour of a preview of what future animations have the potential to be.
2.5 out of 5 stars.
DM
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