Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with a short review of John August's directorial debut THE NINES from a recent Alamo Drafthouse screening with both August and the film's star, Ryan Reynolds, in attendance. I saw the premiere of this one at Sundance and I really dug it, but it's one of the most divisive movies I've seen this year. I know people who flat out hate this movie.

I got a chance to talk to both Reynolds and August while they were in town, so look for that interview to hit sometime this week! Here's Casper Von Sidecar with his opinion! Enjoy!

"The setting was the Alamo Drafthouse" should be how every great story starts. Anyway, this one does. I was incredibly fortunate to have the chance to view The Nines starring Ryan Reynolds and written/directed by John August. The movie stars Ryan Reynolds thrice in three different scenarios. I do not want to spoil the movie too much but I will say that each story line contains a cavalcade of recurring actors in different roles. Each storyline is joined by the thread that they have to do with the idea of creations and creators. Wether that be in the capacity of a television star creating a character, a young television writer trying to get his show on the air, or a video game designer whose massively online role playing game smacks of World of Warcraft and delivers flashbacks of the South Park kids as avatars.

The stories contain a great deal of intersection which no one does quite like August. Anyone who has seen Go, written by August, knows that one story can be told from three different perspectives and each take on their own voice. This could not be more evident in The Nines.

Reynold's delivers not one, but three out of type performances that may finally land him some of the credibility I think he has long been overdue. The second story line in particular mirrors the experiences of John August as he too once struggled to get a television show onto the air. (The Q&A afterwards informed me of that and it made that storyline more opus-like and beautiful). The creation/creator theme plays up to a gorgeous ending that seems to have a religious tone to it, but the great thing about the film is that it creates a spectacular hatrack onto which we hang our own experiences and interpretations. I chose to see a more religious theme because, in doing so, it made God appear omnipitent but also extremely vulnerable and susceptible to boredom just like anyone else; which made the movie even more powerful for me.

The music is fantastic and does well to mark the chapters in all three lives. The twists are not cheap thrills but actually interesting turning points that cause us to stop and evaluate the events. Also I loved the supporting performances of Melissa McCarthy who had me in stitches with her dialogue and then proceeded to pop my stitches with her delivery and I do believe I left a mess for the good people at the ADH to clean up.

Sufficed to say there is a LOT going on in the NINES and the movies should not be viewed just once. I would have liked to have had the chance to talk to Ryan a little bit more about his performance but the amount of clamoring teenage girls seeking to mob him forced him to flee out the back door. Although a funny image of Ryan running through the streets of London to the music of the Beatles just popped into my head. Look for the NINES, you will not be disappointed.

-Casper Von Sidecar