9
2009  PG-13  ANIMATED  1h 19min
CAST— Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer, Crispin Glover, Martin Landau, Fred Tatasciore
MUSIC— Danny Elfman, Deborah Lurie  DIRECTOR— Shane Acker

     A vivid and unique vision of a post-apocalyptic world, where humanity is just a memory. After war with strange and intelligent machines the Earth is but a crumbling ruin. But there is a small family of creatures living amongst the rubble; a motley assortment of rag dolls, imbued with life, fight for survival against the remaining machines. One such creature, simply named 9, joins the fight with his numerical brethren. After inadvertently resurrecting a fierce machine with creative ingenuity 9 must evade capture long enough to learn the secret of his origins, thereby discovering a means to rid the world of the mechanized terrors once and for all. Stunning visuals enhance the surreal environment; fierce robotic creations provide the chills. Though hampered somewhat by a derivative tear-jerker finale, the film works on a visceral level that deserves applause.
OUR RATING— ***