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.

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

There have always been people how want really badly to be artists but being aware they are not blessed with sufficient amount of true inspiration they all fall to the same old strategy: if I make something without any point what so ever people will think they are stupid for not seeing the (missing) point, will be embarrassed to admit it and will pretend my work is a masterpiece.

Dear Author, please do go through the history of art. From all those pieces, defying oblivion for hundreds and thousands of years, there is not a single one whose value cannot be recognized by literally everyone regardless of culture, education, upbringing. A true piece of art does not have to be liked by everybody but it "speaks" to everybody whatever may be the level of their understanding, evokes emotions (good or bad it doesn't matter) and demands respect. The only feeling a true piece of art does not leave a single consumer with is - waste of time.

And so eager to be original... You either are or not. If you have to think real hard to come up with something "different" just accept it - you are not.

Yet among all that hard thinking a "masterpiece metaphor": numbers floating above people's heads, 9 literally bigger than 7s... What was that!?!?!? Just... what...

That said, hats off to Hope Davis, Ryan Reynolds and Melissa McCarthy. It's far easier to prove yourself in a good movie with a strong story than in this... Good good work!!!