9

"When 9 first comes to life, he finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world where all humans are gone, and it is only by chance that he discovers a small community of others like him taking refuge from fearsome machines that roam the earth intent on their extinction. Despite being the neophyte of the group, 9 convinces the others that hiding will do them no good. They must take the offensive if they are to survive, and they must discover why the machines want to destroy them in the first place. As they'll soon come to learn, the very future of civilization may depend on them." - IMDB

Opened today and the only reason I went to see it was because Up was full. I will go and see Up when the kids are back in school next week and I have a day off. I went to an 11:00 showing. The cinema was very quiet (except of course Up which was full). When I came out, there were families everywhere and a queue snaking out the door. I can just imagine what yesterday was like when it is half price Tuesday.

Anyway back to 9. I am not a fan of Tim Burton's work except for Batman. He was the producer on this film, but his influence is all over the movie. When I first saw the trailer, the first thing I said to the boyfriend was "This is a Tim Burton movie", and it transpired on trailer that he was producing it. While I think that what he does is very, very clever. He can invoke dark, nightmarish atmospheres like no one else except Guillermo del Toro. I can appreciate the imagination and I would think that the animators love working with him.

This movie is one of those machines turning against mankind cautionary tales that is very bleak when we first enter the world, then slowly "humanity" shines through. The one thing I am really tired of is the juxtaposition of using Judy Garland's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" against a nightmarish scene. The same thing was done in Face Off and I'm sure other movies as well. As soon as the song came on, I thought no good could come of it.

There is redemption and hope as well. I would really love to hear from people who like Tim Burton movies and who like this one.