|
|||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|
It had been a long time since the Movie Man had plopped into a theater seat before 11 a.m.
But there he was, awaiting 9, the latest in a series of science-fiction movies that have arrived this year.
About the film Like District 9 (MM #838, a 9) before it, 9 (this column is 9-city!) was originally a short film. Big time film folks were behind both movies. Peter Jackson (Lord of the Ring trilogy) produced District 9 while Tim Burton (legendary creepy director of a slew of eerie classics, most recently Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street [MM #753, 7]) was behind the scenes of 9, originally a 10-minute, wordless student film. (You can see it on YouTube.)
The Movie Man is surprised that the movie is not getting the kudos it deserves. 9 is fresh and different – well, certainly it owes a debt plot-wise (where 9 is weakest) to the story line of The Terminator with its machine-vs-humanity concept. But many reviewers think 9, even at only 73 minutes, isn’t complex and dense enough to sustain itself as a feature (shades of an expanded Saturday Night Live skit). Having seen the short and the movie, the Movie Man disagrees; 9 is exceptional. The plot (spoilers) 9 (voiced by Elijah Wood), a burlap creature with goggle eyes and a zipper up its front, wakes up in a room where a professor lies dead. Outside, the world has been destroyed. He spies another creature; while Wood has a 9 on his back, this fellow has a 2. Wood hurries down through the disaster area, and, after a little misunderstanding, he befriends 2 (Martin Landau) who’s impressed with the quality of Wood’s assembly. Suddenly, a mighty mechanical creature attacks. They look like goners, but then 7 (Jennifer Connelly) shows up. She saves them, but another attack captures Landau. A visit to see 4 (silent twins), who are archivists, sheds some light on the situation. 9 meets 5 (John C. Reilly) who takes him to 1 (Christopher Plummer) in an old church. 1, with mighty 8 (Fred Tatasciore) protecting him, advocates constant hiding until the machines go away. Wood wants to find Landau, however his efforts allow the machines to discover the church. Soon, those remaining alive flee, under constant pressure of the unrelenting machines. Right when they get a chance to kill a powerful attacker, Wood discovers something that makes him think the machine has to live. His compadres don’t think so. Wood now knows the secret of the glowing disc the machines seek and must act to save others. What works The computer generation in 9 is truly amazing; the first 20 minutes are mesmerizing. This movie is more astonishing visually than any other this year (even District 9 [and with the understanding that Avatar isn’t due until December]). The camera darts around and swoops from close-ups to long shots and vice versa. Everywhere is eye-popping detail, worthy of additional viewings. (Speaking of seeing a movie again, the Movie Man has to admit that he’d like to view Inglorious Basterds [MM #839, 6] once more – especially for that tense opening.) Pairing remarkable sound – during one machine attack, every theater seat vibrated (the Movie Man had a flashback to Earthquake, a 1974 “event” movie where auditoriums were rigged up with massive speakers that shook everything when the quakes [and aftershocks] occurred; it was called Sensurround, and we thought that was groovy back then) – with the striking look of the movie and mixing in some Danny Elfman (a Burton crony) themes, 9 is a perfect sensory balance in a dark movie theater. The story line is not the most intricate in the world which makes it a wonderful parable for children – except there are some intense sequences in 9. (see “The rating”) The top voices belong to Plummer (reflecting the conservative approach to a crisis) and Connelly, a bird-masked avenger who, like Wood, refuses to sit around and wait. Best scene One especially sly machine attacks the burlap creatures. 9 watches in horror as a snake-like, writhing machine snatches up his friends and begins sewing them into its reptilian body. It’s shocking and creepy and some kids somewhere out there had some freaky dreams after seeing this sequence in 9. What doesn’t work The plot does kind of run out of gas; there’s nothing new in that regard. Certainly there’s nothing wrong with an upbeat ending, but many jaded moviegoers have come to expect something different. Sometimes the action on the screen becomes too frantic. It’s hard to tell exactly what the machines are doing and/or how the burlap fellows are fighting back. (But it’s not nearly as bad as trying to decipher who’s doing what in the last Transformers picture.) The rating 9 is deservedly a PG-13. There are some startling attacks by loud, scary machines (that look like twisted animals often). Without question, small children will be frightened. Those images and sounds are the only reasons for the rating, but they’re enough. Summing up The Movie Man liked 9 very much; he teetered on giving it a 9. It manages to avoid looking like a video game; it’s a real movie. But it’s just a shade short of the year’s other 9’s: Star Trek (MM #824) and District 9 . Still, 9 easily stands out as being one of the top movies of the year so far, and it’s recommended – especially for sci-fi and animation nerds. Trailers A preview harping the 3-D reissues of the two Toy Storys was witty and funny (an 8). Next up Likely the romantic comedy Love Happens with Movie Wife. If she bails, then maybe the 3-D kids story Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs which looks like it will use the new process to its fullest dimensional effect. Or the wacky-looking The Informant! Jennifer’s Body, with Flavors of the Week Megan Fox and writer Diablo Cody, holds no interest for the Movie Man. |
|
