9 (2009)

La sugestia unuia dintre cititorii blogului care ne-a atras atentia ca ar fi frumos sa punem un review la "9", acel short fantastic si nominalizat la Oscar al lui Shane Acker, pe care Kolcs l-a postat mai de mult si care a devenit feature film. Kolcs ne anunta de pe atunci ca va fi facut si film, cu Tim Burton regizor, pana la urma Shane Acker a devenit regizorul si Tim Burton producer. Stati linistiti, se vede mana lui Tim Burton bine de tot (ma refer la figurat).

Cum video-ul din postul lui kolcs se pare ca a fost removed de NBC, am gasit alt link pe care sa vizionati short-ul pentru inceput: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL5kOCrXnZ8

Dupa cum se vede si in short sau chiar de pe poster pentru cei care nu vor sa vada short-ul, actiunea se petrece intr-o lume post-apocaliptica, lume in care oamenii nu mai exista, ci doar aceste "ragdolls" (nu stiu cum sa le zic pe romana) si niste masinarii, ambele facute de oameni, unele facute strict tehnic si pentru performanta, altele cu putin sufletul inventatorului, va prindeti care-i care. Ei bine si in lumea asta post-apocaliptica, 9 afla ca nu este singura papusica ( pentru ca daca era singura, ar fi fost cam boring pentru un feature film, ci mai sunt inca 8 papusele din astea, cu numere/nume de la 1-8 ). Din aceleasi motive de plictiseala a publicului, papusele sunt acuma inzestrate si cu darul vorbirii si nu orice voci, ci chiar Elijah Wood, Martin Landau, Crispin Clover, John C. Reilly Christopher Plummer si Jennifer Connolly. Puncte in plus pentru marketing, nu? Na si toate cele 9 papusele se bat cu masinariile astea in niste scene de actiune chiar reusite pentru a stabili care are aia mai mare neoficial, oficial masinariile extrag sufletul din papusele alea pentru binele lor ( vezi clasica lupta man against machine ).

Dar nu asta e important, vocile, cat de talentati or fi actorii astia, dar nu m-au impresionat cu nimic, povestea in sine din nou nu prea are substanta. Dar grafica, of, grafica este absolut superba !!! Superba am zis! Nivelul de detaliu, grija pentru personajele nou aparute fata de short, inventivitatea de care au dat dovada artistii in creearea lor, gama larga de decoruri, de la peisaje distopice (inspirate se pare din Viena de dupa razboi ) la reprezentari de catedrale ( e chiar catedrala Notre Dame pentru cei pasionati de trivia ) pana la vile renascentiste injectate cand cu o atmosfera sumbra, cand cu una calda, relaxanta si impozanta. Mai jos am pregatit posterele cu fiecare din cele 9 ragdolls sa va faceti o idee de grafica lor:

Daca tot suntem la un film de animatie, grafic cu multa arta in el, mi-am permis sa fac post-ul ca un colaj de postere, chestii luate de pe ici pe colo ca sa adun de un review care s-a oprit din scris despre jocul actoricesc si firul narativ de ceva vreme si se va concentra de acum incolo pe artwork, character concept si alte chestii interesante, care nu sunt destul de bine constientizate de publicul larg ca elemente indispensabile unui film de animatie. Continuam colajul cu un copy-paste despre conceptul fiecarui personaj in parte. Aici veti citi lucruri pe care chiar si dupa ce va uitati la film, veti descoperi lucruri noi ( Warning: spoiler alert! mai bine cititi asta dupa ce ati vazut filmul sau daca oricum nu va uitati la el, dati-i drumul ) :

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• The Scientist (Alan Oppenheimer) An inventor who created the B.R.A.I.N. at the request of his nation's leader; thinking it was going to an instrument of progress. The machine was easily corrupted and turned against the mankind. The Scientist promptly renounced the Chancellor and joined the rebellion. He created the nine creations in an attempt to thwart the corrupt and warlike B.R.A.I.N. He hoped they would continue the spark of life. Each of his creations contains a portion of his soul, embodying his qualities and his flaws. He used the Talisman to transfer his soul and supply each with life.

• 9 (Elijah Wood) is the hero and the Humanity of the Scientist. 9 is goodhearted, thoughtful, and sincere. He is willing to risk his life to save others and is very intelligent. He embodies the scientist's bravery and courage. He seeks the truth and wishes to know the meaning of life, though can act without considering consequences. He often clashes with 1 about keeping hidden. His burlap skin is fastened by a zipper running down his torso.

• 8 (Fred Tatasciore) is the Bully of the Scientist. He wields a kitchen cleaver as his weapon. 8 wears shoulder-pad armor made with pieces of a carbide-tipped circular saw blade tied together. He is a weapons master and also the least intelligent. He is 1's bodyguard and right hand man. His skin is fastened by three belt buckles on his chest. He likes getting inebriated, as shown by his affinity for magnets, which have the same effect on a creation that marijuana would have on a human.

• 7 (Jennifer Connelly) is the Warrior. She is the only female creation and 9's love interest. A rebel and a loner, she is willing to take many risks for the good of her people. She is kind and caring, especially towards 3 and 4. Her canvas' color has been bleached away by the sun, leaving her a pale white. She uses a blade mounted on a long staff for fighting, and wears a helmet made from a dead bird's skull, as well as two bird feathers hanging down her back, covering her scar that distorts her number.

• 6 (Crispin Glover) is the Artist. 6's fingers are ink pen nibs, which he uses to draw. He is white, covered in faded black stripes; his hair is made of ropes and is ink-stained, like much of his body; and his right eye is smaller than his left. He wears a key around his neck, but no one knows to what. The Scientist described him as being peculiar and unable to naturally fit in to his surroundings, and that he sees the world differently from the others. 6 is preoccupied with finding the Source, and only 9 listens to him. On the DVD, under the Deleted Scenes, it is shown that his key is used to open a secret compartment in the box containing the Scientist's message for 9, which plays a music box lullaby.

• 5 (John C. Reilly) is the healer. He takes sundry parts and makes them work together. He fixes the injuries of the other creations. 5 is caring, nurturing, and the loyal, bighearted "common man" who always tries to play the peacemaker. He is a diligent worker, a meek spirit, and a devoted friend to his people. He is missing his left eye, instead wearing a leather plate. The Scientist remarked that 5 was the first of his creations not to run off or explore the workshop, instead staying by his creator. He has two buttons on his torso.

• 3 and 4 are twins, and the group's historians. They are unable to speak, instead using flickering lights in their eyes to communicate with each other and show documentaries or photographs to the others. They instinctively hide at the sight of danger. Both wear corduroy hoods made of gardening gloves. They are both very scholarly, voraciously cataloging everything they encounter, building a massive database of their world and its history. There has been much dispute over their genders due to their lack of voice actors and tiny androgynous appearance.

• 2 (Martin Landau) is a kind, delicate, old inventor. He is fascinated by garbage, and loves to explore the wastelands and look for spare parts. He is not in very good shape, always walking with a cane, and uses a lorgnette attached to his stovepipe top hat as a pair of glasses. The Scientist wrote that after 2's creation, 2 began tinkering with the spare parts in the workshop. 2's part leather, part burlap skin is fastened with many knotted strings. Shane Acker affectionately described him as a "salty old sea dog".

• 1 (Christopher Plummer) is the traditionalist and the oldest creation. He is extremely clever and intelligent, but also domineering, irritable, quick-tempered, and reluctant to trust new ideas. The Scientist described 1 as struggling to get out of his hands right after his creation. 1 wants to protect the group, but he sees the world only through extremely strict rules. 1 wears a cylinder-shaped hat that is adorned with a one pence coin. He also wears a red cape fastened with a red-purple gemstone, and carries a broken pen topped with a small bell that he uses as a scepter. He is more roughly created than the others.

• The Cat Beast is the first machine that 9 encounters. It has a cat skull and a red mechanical eye in its left socket and a light bulb in its right, which it uses to see in the dark. In the short film which the movie is based, the cat was the main antagonist. Its design is based on a cat and a monkey.

• The Fabrication Machine/B.R.A.I.N. is the machine that built all the other machines, and was created by the Scientist for the Chancellor to be a machine of "progress". It has all the Scientist's intelligence but none of his soul, and so does not know right from wrong. It was extremely easy for it to be corrupted by the Chancellor, causing it to hold a grudge against humanity, and it created an army of war machines that wiped out the human race. It is powered by the souls captured with the Talisman. The Fabrication Machine was based upon a hanging spider in one of Vincent Price's poems and a cyclops in Greek mythology.

• The Winged Beast is a pterodactyl-like machine with knives and scissors for a mouth and a harpoon for its tail.

• The Seamstress is a snake/spider robot with a broken doll's head and 2's corpse sewn onto her tail. She flashes light through 2's eyes to hypnotize her victims, and then wraps them up in red thread. In one of the documentaries on the DVD, the Seamstress is referred to as 'she' and 'her', implying that the Seamstress is female.

Ziceam la inceput de "mana lui Tim Burton". Dupa ce ati vazut cele 9 papusi banuiesc ca ati ghicit,nu? Linii, pete, chestii alb-negru, figura ciudata, un ochi mai mic ca si celalalt, outsider... numarul 6, nu?

Shane Acker si Tim Burton au dus estetica uratului la un alt nivel. Este incredibil cat de frumoase sunt niste papusi, care la origine sunt niste carpituri de fapt ( 3 si 4 sunt inspirate dupa niste perechi de manusi de gradina ) si ei impreuna cu echipa lor reusesc sa le inzestreze o frumusete de mai ca mi-as dori sa am vreuna din ele acasa ( pe cine pacalesc, as da bani sa-l am pe 6 ).

Inca un lucru trebuie mentionat, acest film desi este de animatie, e al dracu de violent, pe bune, chiar sunt niste scene care te lasa putin cu rasuflarea taiata, ca sa nu mai zic de masinariile alea care sunt creepy ca dracu. Uitati-va mai jos numa....va mai puteti uita vreodata la capul unei papusi de portelan fara sa va ganditi la creatura asta?

In final va voi lasa cu ceva concepte grafice ale personajelor si detaliile acordate texturii, componentelor si functiunile lor. As spune despre film ca este o delectare grafica incredibila, nu va preocupati cu povestea, e ok, dar nu ceva spectaculos. Ronnie, cel care mi-a zis sa fac review la "9" zicea ca Rango si 9 sunt cele mai bune animatii care le-a vazut de ceva vreme. Grafic, da, insa Rango e tare si la dialog si la poveste.