FOOD FOR THOUGHT: David Krumholtz, Heath Ledger and Joseph-Gordon Levitt in 10 Things I Hate About You.
Page 2 of 3
DVD extras include audio commentary by Gordon-Levitt, director Marc Webb and scripters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber; and a few deleted/extended scenes.
Movie: ***1/2
Extras: **
9 (2009) Not to be confused with Rob Marshall's deadly musical, Nine (or, for that matter, with the aforementioned District 9), this single-digit offering is actually director Shane Acker's expansion of his own Oscar-nominated short film from 2005. That animated work ran approximately 12 minutes; this new version clocks in at 80 minutes, shorter than most features but still thin enough to outstay its welcome by at least a quarter-hour. Set in a post-apocalyptic period caused by a gruesome battle between humans and the machines that ended up turning against them (sorry, no Arnold Schwarzenneger cameo this time around), the plot centers around a doll-like creature (voiced by Elijah Wood) identified by the "9" that's marked on his back. 9 discovers that humanity has been completely eradicated and fearsome mechanical monsters roam the earth, but he has no idea of his own origins or what his future might hold. He meets other rag dolls like himself – a warrior woman (Jennifer Connelly), a kindly scientist (Martin Landau), a scheming elder (Christopher Plummer), a timid sidekick (John C. Reilly), and more – and they argue as to whether they should continue to live in hiding or confront the enemy head-on. It's easy to see why Tim Burton signed on as a producer: The staggering visual scheme is dark, dank and dangerous, and characters often meet unexpected – and undesirable – fates (as the PG-13 rating suggests, this one clearly isn't for the wee ones). But these attributes, atypical for animation, are seriously undermined by a pedestrian end-of-the-world story line and by characters with zero personality.
DVD extras include audio commentary by Acker and other crew members; five deleted scenes; various making-of featurettes; and Acker's original short film of 9.
Movie: **1/2
Extras: **1/2
10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU (1999). Using Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew as its starting point, this sprightly comedy centers on Kat Stratford (Julia Stiles), a smart and cynical high school senior who wants nothing to do with the dating game. Her cheery sister Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) is just the opposite, and when their strict father (Larry Miller) agrees to let Bianca date only when Kat does, Bianca's potential suitors – one sweet ((500) Days of Summer's Joseph Gordon-Levitt), one sleazy (Andrew Keegan) – bribe brooding student Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger) to woo the sarcastic and stand-offish sibling. As far as placing literary classics in contemporary high school settings, 10 Things doesn't quite match the Jane Austen Emma adaptation Clueless, though it's miles ahead of the dreary Othello update O. With an energy level that can only be described as infectious, it takes almost every dated teen-flick cliché (sensitive rebels, preening jocks, distracted adults, etc.) and makes them fresh and funny. Director Gil Junger and writers Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith deserve a lot of the credit, but this wouldn't have been as disarming without the contributions of a game cast, several of whose members went on to illustrious careers – none, of course, more than the late Ledger, whose wooing of Stiles by crooning "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" is a particular treat. This also gets extra points for featuring one of the best end-credit uses of a classic song (Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me," performed here by Letters to Cleo).
Mobile
