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96 comments in total

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103 out of 151 people found the following review useful:
A predictable 9 for The Nines, 7 December 2007

Author: standeman1984 from United Kingdom

I wrote this without reading any of the other reviews, mostly cos i didn't want them to influence my own, and partly cos i'm lazy. This was a very interesting film that left some to the imagination and a lot to interpretation (but not too much).

The film consists of 3 stories: the first about a house-arrested destructive TV star, the second a TV show writer with a new show in the works and the third a computer game creator stuck in the woods with his family. All three are played expertly by Ryan Reynolds. He is supported by two women, Hope Davis and Melissa McCarthy, who are also very good at enforcing the bizarre yet irresistible vision of John August, who has a good track record of writing screenplays, most notably with Tim Burton (it's worth ignoring the Charlie's Angels jobs though). The three leads play different parts in each. That alone should prepare you for the world he has created in The Nines.

It is difficult to talk of the story without giving too much away, John August has found a great concept and worked it brilliantly into a interpretable screenplay and image. The world he has created seems very real, with characters that operate in abnormal situations, but ones in which i think we all can relate, given our excessive access to reality TV and celebrity.

The direction is good, you know from the very start that the green woollen wristband holds significance, and the witty, experienced, inflective screen writing is a joy (though at times August gives a little more away than is necessary).

The film is a fantasy and the nines are a mystery, both collaborating in a way that captures the imagination. The three stories intersect and overlap with themes that confuse and inspire, which will leave many audiences pondering for awhile. But it is not as confusing as it may appear as the plot unfolds fairly intricately to those paying attention. All of the stories hold explanations, and the last explains it all.

I saw this with a friend who i wasn't expecting to enjoy it, but surprisingly they did. I giggled, guffawed and gasped, while we exchanged plot ideas and interpretations, throughout. Sometimes it became a little dry, but on the whole this a very well thought out drama mystery thriller with an excellent philosophy.

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69 out of 102 people found the following review useful:
Look For The Nines, 1 February 2008

Author: kixbooty from Australia

I started watching this movie after looking it up on IMDb. The plot summary said: A troubled actor, a television show runner, and an acclaimed video game designer find their lives intertwining in mysterious and unsettling ways.

I thought it sounded interesting, but never did i expect it would be such a thoughtful, intelligent and awe-inspiring experience.

At first, I'll be honest, I didn't understand it. It was extremely random and didn't seem to make much sense. It seemed like Ryan Reynolds' character might be a little insane or something, as he played these three different personalities, whose only connection was the people in their lives. But as the movie progressed and I learned more about what 'the nines' actually are, it starts to dawn on you that this movie has a very unique twist.

When the whole thing comes together and the big secret is revealed, everything else in the film falls into place. It is very rare for that to happen in a film, especially in such an effective way, and it is a product of fantastic writing. To have the audience realize what the whole movie has been about at that one revealing moment is a great achievement. And it is accomplished in this movie.

So don't worry if you have trouble understanding what is going on at first. When you do find out what the movie is about, I guarantee you will experience an "oh i get it now!" kind of feeling.

This movie is sensational and subtle at the same time and i recommend it to anyone who wants to have their minds blown!

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163 out of 302 people found the following review useful:
Brilliant in all aspects., 22 January 2007

Author: AwQuity from United States

As I sat in the packed Sundance theater watching the final scene of John August's, The Nines, I shuttered. The film had sent chills down my spine, and it lasted into the night. The script was brilliant beyond anything I have ever experienced, the character development between the three parts dissecting the film was astonishing. The metaphorical tie- ins left your mind racing and your imagination spinning. It was not ironic in a sense that it allowed you to contemplate the scenarios that had just unveiled. John August is a brilliant writer and holds himself magnificently in front of the film industry. Ryan Reynolds blew me away and Melissa McCarthy was amazing. The character interaction between them and Hope Davis reflected on the complexity of the dialogue and scene structure. The film is broken into three intertwining sections, serving as "acts" that play into a plot scheme that defies the contemporary and conformist thought of todays screenplay writers.

The best to come from sundance this year... by far. John August matches Charlie Kaufman as a writer, and parallels Michel Gondry as a director He is outstanding in himself The film is one to reckon with and hopefully will hit the big screens but last its authentic, rare, independent flavor.

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42 out of 61 people found the following review useful:
Major spoilers in second half of post., 31 August 2007

Author: crisnyc from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I saw the premiere in NYC tonight. Ryan Reynolds and one of the producers (Bruce Cohen) spoke beforehand.

I thought this film was first-rate. It quite bent my mind. Often after seeing a film that affects me I can't get up from my seat (like most people do) when the credits roll, or even when the credits end (like everyone else does) because I need to process what I have just seen, plus it's hard to bring my self back to reality when a film has taken me to a profound place, like this one did.

What I noticed after this film was that practically the whole theater sat in pensive silence until the end of the credits, something I think I've never seen. For me it was stunned silence.

I can't see The Nines playing in the big Multiplexes, but no bother. Most of the best films don't.

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Spoilers start here.

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I think I understand about 75% of the script, the rest I figure is ambiguous or inscrutable. Here are my takes. I'd love to hear other's:

- He is a god (i.e., a "Nine"), not The God, but one of many. For 4,000 years he has been creating Universes for his amusement. He is addicted to doing this. - In each Universe he has a different persona. At some point, he eliminates the Universe and starts another one. (Why doesn't he know Who He Is in each incarnation?) - The 3 recurring characters (Hope Davis, the guy who plays the policeman, and the woman who plays the prostitute) are from his cosmic "world." They are trying to bring him out of his addiction and get him to return "Home," i.e., back to being a celestial being without a body. - I'm not sure of the Melissa McCarthy character(s). She is clearly a human (a Seven) and is very attached to him. She is trying to keep him on earth because she enjoys, loves, needs him. There is a battle between her and the Hope Davis character(s) over keeping him human versus spectral. I think this is why several times Hope tells him "We had to get you away from her," because she (McCarthy) is the embodiment of his addiction to being human.

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36 out of 54 people found the following review useful:
Best movie I saw at Sundance, 1 May 2007

Author: joshuahickman from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

It's a "9" This was the best movie I saw at Sundance Film Festival. An extremely creative script broken into three smaller stories where the actors play three sets of different roles... or do they?

Spoiler Alert!

This movie encompasses Psychology, Metaphysical multi-dimensional Theory, personal philosophy, and Theology. As a Seminarian, I loved this movie. It demonstrates an image of God that is believable but challenges most religions view of the omni-present, omni-loving, and omni-powerful God. It begs the question and reminds you of the song title, "What if God was one of us?"

Practically, this movie is three smaller stories all brought together when the secret is revealed. The first segment is a Comedy, the second a reality TV series, and the third a Drama. When the third segment starts you're ready to get serious, and delightfully surprised.

I gained a new respect for Ryan Reynolds as an actor, you fall in love Melissa McCarthy, and in the all is well with God... and all is well with us.

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27 out of 40 people found the following review useful:
A Splendid Little Film the Challenges the Mind and Forges New Ground, 2 February 2008

Author: gradyharp from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

THE NINES is a film that may seem like a tough story to follow, but the concept and the 'autobiographical' script by the gifted John August are so fine that once seen, this film demands re-visiting. It is tremendously entertaining, blessed with a superb cast, and offers food for thought far beyond the running time of the film. For this viewer it falls into the 'brilliant' category.

More of an existential exercise than a traditional movie tale, THE NINES has the courage to challenge our concept of that is the real world, what is fantasy, what exists beyond our concept of our 'space' here on planet Earth, and just how significant is the current obsession with television reality shows and videogames on the way we are stuck in the present. John August explores these issues by interweaving three stories, using the same actors to change vantages and personalities to raise questions and pose problems for the audience to attempt to resolve. It works.

Part I ('The Prisoner') views the life of a famous television personality Gary (Ryan Reynolds) who naïvely takes on a 'crack' trip that results in a house arrest controlled by a jovial officer Margaret (Melissa McCarthy) and whose only outlet is a neighbor Sarah (Hope Davis) with whom he has a seductive affinity: while both women appear real, events occur that make their existence questionable to the crack-addled Gary. In Part II, 'Reality Television', Gavin (Reynolds) is a television writer attempting to get his pilot film accepted by executive boss Susan (Davis), but falls into troubled times when he is told his best friend Melissa (McCarthy) must be dropped from the project. In Part III, 'Knowing', Gabriel (Reynolds) is a gentle video game creator, happily married to Mary (McCarthy) with a daughter Noelle (Elle Fanning) who has been weaving in and out of the film as different characters, gets stuck in a forest and in attempting to seek help encounters Sierra (Davis), a strange woman who finally approaches the possibilities of Gabriel's 'mission on earth'. The title of the movie becomes apparent when Sierra informs Gabriel that while God is a 10, human beings are only 7s, koala bears are 8s because they control the environment, and Gabriel is a 9 - an extraterrestrial being in a human incarnation to test the goodness of the earth. How this information affects Gabriel and how the story is resolved is yet more of the intellectual exercise and joy of THE NINES.

Ryan Reynolds is extraordinarily fine in his three roles: he is a far better actor than the usual films he makes would indicate. Hope Davis and Melissa McCarthy are as always reliably excellent. But the magic of this film comes form the mind and direction of John August who thankfully gives the audience much to ponder. It is a gem of a film. Highly Recommended.

Grady Harp

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20 out of 30 people found the following review useful:
See The Nines, 11 April 2008

Author: moviewizguy from United States

The film is divided in to three acts: "The Prisoner" tells of a troubled actor, Gary, under house arrest living in another person's house because he burned down his own. While living in the house he is befriended by both a P.R. 'handler', Margaret, and the single mom next door, Sarah, who may or may not be interested in him romantically. Over the course of his house arrest, Gary becomes convinced that he is being haunted by the number nine.

"Reality Television" tells of a television writer, Gavin, trying to get his pilot made. The house he lives in is the house Gary later stays in. During the process of post production and the 'upfronts', a television executive, Susan, pushes for Gary to ditch the unconventional lead actress of his project, Melissa. This segment was somewhat inspired by writer/director John August's own experiences in the television industry.

"Knowing" tells of an acclaimed video game designer, Gabriel, who is lost when his car breaks down, a situation shown in Gavin's pilot. Gabriel leaves his wife and daughter with the stranded vehicle and meets up with Sierra, a mysterious woman.

"The Nines" is a film definitely worth watching, just for the weirdness of it and how thought-provoking and unlike any film you've ever seen. It's in the vein of, let's say, "Being John Malkovich" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." This is the film where you won't stop thinking about it and that you'll talk about it with the people who have seen it.

It's not a film that you'll forget after the credits start rolling. Now that you get the point, it's time to talk about the movie. Even so, it's hard to describe this movie in words. When you ask people if this movie is good or not, they'll either like it or not, but it's hard to explain their reason and it's hard to explain why I love this.

The performance by the three main characters from the three stories, Ryan Reynolds, Melissa McCarthy, and Hope Davis, were all fantastic, having themselves to change their personality so much. It's pretty amazing. But of course, the movie will arise more questions than answering them. It's like "Donnie Darko," per se. This should be a cult hit, even though it isn't right now.

This is a really weird film and it's hard to explain anything, as you can tell. All I can say is watch it because the way the stories are told, the thought put into all of this, and the strong performances are already some reasons to watch it.

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18 out of 27 people found the following review useful:
The Nines Keeps You Guessing Till The Very End, 26 March 2008

Author: Matt_Layden from Canada

The Nines tells three short stories, the first of about an actor who is under house arrest after flipping over his car, the second is about a writer who's pilot TV show is in jeopardy and the last deals with a video game designer lost in the woods after his car breaks down. All three stories are told with the same actors.

When I first heard about The Nines, everyone was raving about how original it was and how it was like nothing they have ever seen before. So obviously it peeked my interest. After finally watching the film, I can see where it gets it's praise, but don't fully understand why it's getting so much of it. Yes, The Nines is original and keeps you guessing until the very end, but the pay off isn't as good as the rest of the film.

This is John August's directorial debut, if you don't know who August is, he's the writer of such films like Big Fish, Corpse Bride and Go. The Nines is another impressive entry to his already good resume. It seems that August was confident enough to tackle this big project. I applaud him ambitions. He didn't fail by any means, but he didn't blow me away either. It is always a love hate relationship when the writer is the director. When it works, you get Pulp Fiction, when it doesn't you get Blade Trinity. When the writer is the director, he knows exactly what he wants, he knows the characters inside out and how to bring everything together. The Nines doesn't seem to fall into either category, it seems to sit on the fence.

Ryan Reynolds proves again that he has more range then people give him credit for. He might have painted himself into a corner with Van Wilder and Waiting, but he seems to be slowly breaking free of it. He showed range at the very end of Smoking Aces and in the recent rom com Definitely Maybe. With The Nines he again proves why he is underestimated and will bring greater things in the future. Reynolds plays the lead in all three shorts. We see him as a crack addicted actor, gay writer and family man video game designer. While he doesn't blow you away with his performance, he does manage to capture you and bring you along for the ride from start to finish.

Hope Davis appears here in a supporting role, again playing three different characters in all three shorts. She manages to get so much across the screen by doing so little. A look here or move there and you know exactly what she is thinking. Melissa McCarthy plays herself in one segment, I think she had the hardest job. She has to be bubbly, scared, mean and informative.

The three segments are all shot differently. The first segment, titled The Prisoner, showcases bright reds and yellows and was shot on 16mm. The second segment, titles reality television is shot on video. The entire segment plays out like a reality TV show as we follow Gavin (reynolds) and his troubles in trying to get his pilot on air. The third and final segment, titled Knowing, is darker and shot on 35mm. The third segment has the same title as the pilot that Gavin in the second segment is writing. Even the same events take place. Without giving too much away, all three segment interconnect with each other. But not exactly in a way you want or think.

If you are confused after watching the film, join the club. I knew what happened and sort of got some things, but had to read up on it to see what others thought to finally connect the dots. The films does a very good job of teasing the viewer with bits of information and bringing them along asking questions left right and centre. As the film concludes you sit there wondering if you are satisfied or not. I still do not know really. I like the idea behind the film and the presentation was nice, but the way they dragged us along seemed like it would amount to something bigger, something deeper, something more then what we are ultimately given.

The film doesn't answer everything and it doesn't need to. It's a film that leaves it's answers up to the viewer, to make whatever assumptions they want. But even this isn't satisfying enough. I guess because all the hype I head prior, I expected more. If you go into it not knowing anything about it, you will be pleasantly surprised.

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27 out of 45 people found the following review useful:
Beautifully Surreal, 26 January 2008

Author: Brooke from United States

John August really outdid himself in his directorial debut. We all knew he could write, and now we know that he is one hell of a director. He took risks, and accepted major challenges, including filming out of his own house to save budget. With a cast lead by Ryan Reynolds, who really exceptionally out-did himself, this movie was the best movie nobody has ever heard of.

Filmed in three parts, "The Nines" connects the three worlds using a simple, common term...the number 9. Now, this isn't like The Number 23. There are reasons, and there are valid points to why 9 was chosen, and you'll just have to watch the film to figure it out. The result is something very existential and outside the box when it comes to typical cinematic works. The relationships between Ryan Reynolds, Hope Davis, and Melissa McCarthy are so perfectly intertwined, and little Elle Fanning deserves major credit for playing what role she did. (a mute child who has a curious omniscience about her) She's really following in her sister's footsteps to becoming a fantastic actress.

This film did not get the credit it deserved in the theaters. Let's make sure it does on DVD.

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25 out of 43 people found the following review useful:
Give it a chance, 1 February 2008

Author: necron99

I will not spoil the movie for anyone. I watched this film last night. This is a film that is worth renting and watching. It has a Donnie Darko flavor to it and is very interesting. The script is solid and very intelligent, as well as the acting. There are three different movies all linking up into one movie about creation in my opinion. All three films contain the same characters, it is just that the roles interchange and do not make sense until the end of the movie. The film begins as almost a comedy and turns into a thriller so just be aware of this and do not get turned off too early. I give this a 7 (as opposed to 9) for a truly unique film with a solid cast. This one is worth renting.

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