Movie review: Tim Burton’s ’9′

Opening today (9/9/09), the visually stunning and unique film 9 was the latest offering from Shane Acker. More than the director, Acker wrote the story for 9 as well. Its first incarnation was as an 11-minute short film produced entirely by Acker, working for over four years (on and off). It was released in 2005 and was nominated for an academy award for animated short film. Watch the original film on YouTube.

9 is entirely computer animated and runs close to 90 minutes. It features the voices of Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly, and other notable actors. Featuring a fairly original story, the real appeal is the characters themselves. Dubbed by Ackers as ‘stitchpunks’, they are small, sewn-together doll-like creatures who are the last remaining ‘living’ things in a post-war world. The ‘sackboy’ characters from the PlayStation 3 game LittleBigPlanet (buyfrom Amazon) look something like these stitchpunks, though much cuter.

The story centers around the character 9 (all the characters are named by their number). He awakens to this strange world not knowing where he came from or how the world got like this (or is even supposed to be). He soon meets 2 who gives him the ability to speak and starts to tell him of the others of their kinds. They’re attacked and 9 escapes but 2 is captured and taken away.

9 is later spotted by 5 and is taken in to meet the rest of the known stitchpunks: 1, the wizened but fearful leader, 8, the loyal warrior, and 6, the prophetic oddball. Always encouraging the others to remain hidden, 1 warns 9 about the dangers of the world. 9 feels that the others are too reluctant to take action and encourages 5 to join him to rescue 2.

They are able to locate 2 but almost fail in their rescue when the creature that captured 2 is killed by 7, a fierce female warrior who left the rest of the group a while ago. The four of them are about to leave when 9 finds an artifact and unwittingly uses it to activate a dangerous ‘machine’. The remainder of the story centers around the group deciding their actions, fighting the villanous machines, and staying alive.

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1 is basically a coward and doesn’t want to take any action against the machines. 2 is killed by the main Machine that 9 accidentally awakens. The Machine begins to build other machines to hunt down the remaining stitchpunks and the groups hideout is discovered and destroyed. The group finds 3 and 4, twins who don’t speak but open 9′s eyes to more of the history of how things in this ‘dead’ world came to be.

The Machine uses 2′s body to entrance and capture 7 and 8 and the group decides to rescue them and destroy the Machine, despite 1′s reluctance. 9 goes in alone and is able to save 7, but 8 is killed and the rest of the group deliver a ‘bomb’ to the Machine’s chamber, killing it as 7 and 9 barely escape.

It would seem that the story is prematurely over, but it turns out the Machine isn’t dead. It comes after the remaining members of the group and is able to kill 5 before they temporarily immobilize it. 6 says that the answer to freeing the stitchpunks that were ‘killed’ is back at the house where 9 was ‘born’, but only 9 believes him. The Machine then kills 6.

9 returns to the scientist’s home and discovers the truth behind the origin of the Machine and the artifact that powers it. He returns to the rest of the group who are still trying to destroy the Machine. 9 explains the workings of the artifact and attempts to sacrifice himself to the Machine to give the others time to destroy it completely, but 1 takes his place and is killed. 9 uses the opportunity to retrieve the artifact and destroy the Machine once and for all.

The artifact has the ‘souls’ of the five dead stitchpunks which the rest of the group release and the movie ends with 7, 9 and the twins as the only remaining living things. I thought they might have a way that the others could be brought back, but I always have respect for a story-teller who isn’t afraid to let some of his main characters die to progress the plot.

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I’m a huge Tim Burton fan and when I found out he was one of the minds behind this film, I knew it would be something special. Also a bonus in this film was the music score which was done by Burton’s many-a-film cohort Danny Elfman.

Overall 9 was a remarkable movie in regards to story, action, characters, and overall composition. I hope it does well in the box office (it’s often difficult for a ‘different’ kind of film to win over the masses). It will definitely have a place in my collection as soon as the DVD is released.

The original Planet of the Apes films (1968-1973)

1963 Pierre Boulle novel

I recently watched all of the original Planet of the Apes movies in order. While the original is widely regarded as a ground-breaking film, especially in terms of make-up effects and prosthetics, the sequels were never as highly revered. Based on the 1963 novel by French author Pierre Boulle, the original film starred Charlton Heston and Roddy McDowall (McDowall went on to appear in all four sequels). (buy the entire Planet of the Apes series from Amazon)

In the first film, Planet of the Apes (buy from Amazon, rent from Netflix), Heston’s character George Taylor and his three crew members land on a desolate and mysterious planet after a long trip in suspended animation. They know they’ve gone off course when they find themselves crash-landed in large body of water. One of the crew member’s sleep-chamber has leaked in transit and the others find her dead. The remaining three make it to shore with limited supplies and set out to find sustenance and an explanation to their predicament. They make their way west where begin to see signs of life and finally encounter some human-like inhabitants, though the primitive beings cannot speak at all.

Ape-like creatures attack all the humans, including the crewmen, capturing to killing most. Taylor’s throat is injured and he cannot speak as he and the other primitive humans are herded into the Ape city. He tries to communicate with one of the more compassionate ‘scientists’ among the apes (Zira), who realizes this human is special. Eventually, Taylor recovers his ability to speak and stands trial at what turns out to be a kangaroo court and is sentenced to die. He also discovers the fates of his other two crewmen – one has been killed and the other lobotomized. Zira, her fiancé Cornelius, and her nephew help free Taylor and they seek the truth about the origins of the apes. The movie ends with Taylor finding the dilapidated remains of New York’s Statue of Liberty, realizing that the planet he and his crew crash on was indeed Earth, in a disturbing future.

Beneath the Planet of the Apes (buy from Amazon, rent from Netflix) was the second film in the series and follows two more astronauts who find themselves in the same place right after Taylor and his crew have been lost. One of the astronauts, Brent soon loses his captain who dies from injuries sustained in the crash. Brent then meets the primitive human Nova wearing Taylor’s dog tags and enlists her help in finding the lost astronaut. Nova take him to Ape City where they meet up with Zira and Cornelius and discover what’s transpired. Brent and Nova then escape Ape City and make their way to a strange cave which turns out to be an ancient subway station, confirming Taylor’s findings. Brent begins to hear voices in his head and almost kills Nova. He later discovers the source as another human-like race using telepathy and worshiping a nuclear bomb. Taylor is jailed here and Brent is forced to fight him. The gorillas launch an attack against the mutants and at the end, Brent triggers the nuclear device, destroying the entire planet.

Escape from the Planet of the Apes (buy from Amazon, rent from Netflix), the third film, sees three of the apes (Zira, Cornelius, and a Dr. Milo) making their way to Earth’s past using the repaired remains of Taylor’s ship, and avoiding the end of the entire planet. After proving to the public that they are indeed intelligent apes from another time, Zira and Cornelius reveal that Zira is pregnant. The Earth’s government fear that Zira and Cornelius and the beginning of the ill-fated future the earth could face and decide to terminate Zira’s pregnancy and steralize them both. They find shelter in a circus run by the compassionate owner Armando, played by Ricardo Montalbán. The ape infant is placed into hiding, and Zira and Cornelius fake its death before being killed themselves.

The fourth installment, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (buy from Amazon, rent from Netflix) documents the events leading to the rapid evolution of apes on Earth and the beginnings of their overthrowing of the humans. A strange disease has killed all of Earth’s cats and dogs, leaving humans to begin taking apes as pets. Once discovering the abilities of the apes to learn simple, menial tasks, the humans begin treating them more as slaves than pets. In less than twenty years, apes are clothed, trained, and sold as commodities. After nearly disclosing his true identity, Zira and Cornelius’s son, Caesar, is slipped into the midst of ‘slave’ apes and sold at an auction. Being unable to handle the humans’ cruelty, Caesar begins to organize and ape revolution. The film ends with the revolt against ‘Ape Management’ and Caesar’s compassion overruling his vengeance.

Battle for the Planet of the Apes (buy from Amazon, rent from Netflix) is the final chapter and features Caesar as a benevolent ruler of the apes and humans, who he believes should live together in peace, to the behest of his military leader, a gorilla by the name of Aldo. Caesar leads an expedition back into the radiation-plagued city where he can hopefully discover more about his parents. The mutated humans who still reside there attack the explorers and run them off. Caesar’s desire to coexist with the humans angers Aldo who decides to overthrow the leader. In a tree, Caesar’s son Cornelius overhears Aldo’s plan. To silence him, Also kills Cornelius, thus breaking one of the fundamental ape laws, ‘Ape must never kill ape.’ Meanwhile, the mutants from the city launch an attack against the apes, but are ultimately defeated by Aldo’s troops. Caesar prevents Aldo from killing the captured humans and it comes out that Aldo has killed Caesar’s son. The film ends with Caesar killing Aldo and deciding that apes and humans should peacefully coexist.

Tim Burton's 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes

There was a remake of the original Planet of the Apes (buy from Amazon, rent from Netflix) in 2001 by legendary filmmaker Tim Burton. It featured many notable actors, including Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Paul Giamatti.

As a whole, here are my quick ratings of all of the original films:

Planet of the Apes (1968)	4/5
Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)	2/5
Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)	3/5
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)	4/5
Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)	2/5

Movie review: Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (buy from Amazon, rent from Netflix) is about two music-loving New Jersey-ites in the waning days of high school discover each other and grow close during one hectic night spent looking for an elusive band in New York city. Michael Cera (Arrested Development [buy | rent] Superbad [buy | rent]) plays the lovable but heart-broken bass player Nick, whose recent breakup from a six-month relationship has left him morbidly depressed. While his bandmate friends try to resuscitate his love-life, Norah, a slightly offbeat but lovable daughter of a New York music mogul has her own issues. They meet, they fight, they get to know one another, and they eventually fall for each other. While the plot is somewhat predictable, the movie is generally likeable – you’ll root for the couple to get together. There are many cute scenes, especially with Norah’s too-drunk girl-pal, and Nick’s band’s singer’s new-found “friend”.

Overall, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is a warm and charming little slice-of-life story of two endearing youths who turn out to be “musical soulmates”. The film is peppered with a few laugh-out-loud scenes and is definitely worth watching.