TheNines Tagged Articles at Cinematical

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Whether it's grown men in bunny suits or the addictive giggle of Melissa McCarthy, this week's double feature is all about alternate realities. While I'm not the biggest fan of many science fiction elements, I'm a sucker for a good story about worlds that are just a little bit off. When an eerie twist is mixed into scenes showcasing the life and environment we're all familiar with, a film changes from something we can guess into an intriguing puzzle to figure out, or endlessly argue about. (And it does so without traveling to unrecognizable, fantastical new turf.)

Tonight, we've got a film that really should get more play, plus one beloved cult classic. I give you: The Nines and Donnie Darko.

*Included at the request of a nerd friend of mine.

What are The Nines? I have no idea, but I think The Eights are koala bears. That's about as close as you'll get to answers in this film, screenwriter John August's directorial debut, but don't let that deter you -- this is one of the most fun, most brain-twistingly clever films of the year. It's at once a serious meditation on the responsibilities of creators, a light-hearted poke at people in the entertainment industry who apply life-or-death stakes to everything that happens to them, and a metaphysical meditation on exactly what constitutes reality. Is television reality? The characters certainly seem to think so. Who are we to tell them they aren't real? And what about our creator? Do we have one? If so, what would that creator think about what we're up to, and how would they go about inserting themselves into the everyday world to get a closer look? What guise would they use? The Nines is a movie that raises about six million major, thought-provoking questions but then holds back on answering most of them.

The film is structured as a three-part anthology, with three actors -- Ryan Reynolds, Melissa McCarthy, and Hope Davis -- playing different characters in each part. Part 1 has Reynolds playing a capricious Hollywood actor who totals his car and ends up being put under house arrest in his gigantic Hollywood home -- some punishment, right? Going stir-crazy under the watchful eye of his ultra-chipper publicist, played by McCarthy, Reynolds' character becomes enamored with a sultry next-door neighbor, played by Davis, and starts to challenge his house arrest. Part 2 is a more autobiographical section, with Reynolds playing a television executive fighting to keep his pet project in development while also submitting to the demands of a Project Greenlight-style reality show, starring him. Davis plays a cold-hearted network executive in this piece, while McCarthy plays a thinly-disguised version of herself, acting out a version of her own past experiences with August. Part 3 is a self-contained story, starring Reynolds and McCarthy as a couple with a child, lost in the woods -- Davis plays a mysterious jogger. Still with me?

Many thanks to Erik for filling in for me on last week's Trailer Park. Now that I'm all rested and recreated, let's look at some films that take us to some weird place either internally or externally. This week on Trailer Park we're traveling from the inner mind to the outer limits.

Right at Your Door
In an all too believable scenario, several dirty bombs are detonated in Los Angeles, sending a radioactive cloud into the sky. Rory Cochrane -- who to me will always be that little stoner from Dazed and Confused -- plays Brad, a man whose wife has gone into the city and he wonders if he'll ever see her again. With the roads jammed, he attempts to make his home as airtight as possible, sealing up every crack and crevice. The radio warns against contact with anyone who was in the vicinity of the blasts as they will be highly contaminated, so when Brad's wife finally does make it back, it's not the happy homecoming we had all hoped for. As realistic as the premise may be, the trailer had me thinking about zombie movies. A large scale catastrophe which results in people barricading themselves inside for fear of the people outside? Sounds like Night of the Living Dead to me, which itself used radiation to explain the menace. Bleak and apocalyptic but fascinating as hell, I'm looking forward to seeing this one. The film starts its limited theatrical release to U.S. theaters on August 24. Have a look at the trailer right here:


The Nines
Usually I find myself gritting my teeth over trailers that don't actually tell you what the movie is about. Isn't that the whole point? This trailer plays its hand close to its vest, not really telling the viewer what's going on, but showing enough to really make me curious. Delightfully vague is how I would describe it. Ryan Reynolds plays three characters: a troubled actor, a television show runner, and an acclaimed videogame designer who find their lives intertwining in mysterious and unsettling ways. There appears to be some Matrix-esque reality bending at work here. Are these three different aspects of the same person? Are these characters in a computer game? Am I dying to find out? A resounding "yup" to the former. Cinematical's own Erik Davis posted an exclusive look at the poster here. The Nines goes into limited release on August 31.

Above is an exclusive look at the final one-sheet for The Nines (click on poster for larger image), written and directed by John August. Yup, the extremely talented screenwriter (and frequent Tim Burton collaborator) is making his directorial debut with a film about three people (a troubled actor, a television show runner and a video game designer) whose lives and stories all intertwine to form a single narrative that explores the relationships between author and character, actor and role, creator and creation. Alternately funny and unsettling, The Nines is like a riddle where the answer may just lead to another question. The film stars Ryan Reynolds, Melissa McCarthy, Hope Davis and Elle Fanning. Additionally, you can check out the trailer over at IGN, as well as two puzzles (via UGO and Coming Soon) which should keep you busy until the flick arrives in theaters on August 31.

The 2007 Sundance Film Festival is a wrap. I saw some outstanding movies (King of California, Grace Is Gone, Son of Rambow, The Nines) and some not-so-outstanding movies (The Go-Getter, Smiley Face), some A-list celebs (Justin Timberlake, Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci) and some not-so-A-list celebs (Heavyset Girl #1 from Black Snake Moan). All in all, it was a great experience, full of flicks, fun and plenty of Bud Lights. In order to best summarize the things I saw, heard and learned at the festival, I now present Sundance by the Numbers.

1: Number of times I heard Justin Timberlake ask Samuel L. Jackson, "Are there any motherf#&!in snakes in Black Snake Moan?"

1: Number of times I heard Samuel L. Jackson reply "Only trouser snakes."

1: Number of movies about a girl who grows an actual set of teeth in her vagina. The twisted and, yes, crowd-pleasing flick is quite appropriately entitled Teeth, and those dangerous vajay-jay chompers belong to rising star Jess Weixler (Little Manhattan).

1: Number of people who laid down on the floor and went to sleep during the press screening of Heather Graham's Adrift in Manhattan.

1: Number of dudes dancing shirtless at the Sundance Awards after-party.

2: Number of movies in which a character goes off to war in Iraq and gives a loved one a digital wristwatch with an alarm set to beep at the same time as the alarm on his/her wristwatch -- that way they'll know they're thinking about each other at the exact same moment. Justin Timberlake gives one to Christina Ricci in Black Snake Moan, and John Cusack's unseen wife gives one to their daughter in Grace Is Gone.

2: Number of movies starring a Fanning -- Dakota headlines the controversial Hounddog and younger sis Elle plays a supporting role in The Nines.

3: Number of times Christina Ricci takes her top off in Black Snake Moan.

4: Number of times Ryan Reynolds takes his shirt off in the first 20 minutes of The Nines.

4: Millions of dollars paid by Harvey Weinstein for distribution rights to Audience Award and Screenwriting Award winner Grace Is Gone.

5: Number of attempts it takes drunken teenager Hal Hefner (Reece Thompson) to throw a cello through the window of the girl who jilted him in the Thumbsucker-esque Rocket Science.