Year: 2009
Rating: PG-13 for Violence and Scary Images
Director: Shane Acker
Stars: Elijah Wood, Christopher Plummer, Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly

Plot: In the final days of humanity, a dedicated scientist gives the spark of life to nine of his creations. The world has turned into an unrecognizable landscape of machines and spare parts, but this group of nine finds that if they band together, their small community might just be able to change the course of history.

My Thoughts:  I've wanted to watch this ever since I saw the trailer in the theatre last year; I just never got around to it.  My friend Erin liked it so much she knitted a #5 doll.  I really liked this film.  While there could have been so much more (or is it that I wish there was?), 9 had an interesting post-apocalyptic setting, striking visuals, and wonderful character designs.  It's also a very mature animated feature for American animation, which was very nice to see. 

Overall: 3/5 (solidly entertaining, worth watching)

Quoting Addicted2DVD:

Quote:
...
I never seen 9 myself.

It's worth to have look. I expected more, but it was entertaining with nice made animations.

@ Danae Cassandra: Nice to have one more thread to read some reviews. 

That is cool... I been curios about that one... and I know my daughter been wanting to see it. 

Year: 2010
Rating: PG for Fantasy Action/Violence Including Scary Images and Situations and for a Smoking Caterpillar
Director: Tim Burton
Stars: Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway , Crispin Glover

Plot: Inviting and magical, Alice in Wonderland is an imaginative new twist on one of the most beloved stories of all time. Alice, now 19 years old, returns to the whimsical world she first entered as a child and embarks on a journey to discover her true destiny. This Wonderland is a world beyond your imagination and unlike anything you've seen before. The extraordinary characters you've loved come to life richer and more colorful than ever.

My Thoughts:  Another visual feast of a film with inventive character designs (I especially liked the Cheshire Cat & the Bandersnatch).  I expect whether or not you like Tim Burton will decide whether you want to see this film.  Visually, his style is all over the film.  It's a darker, creepier, more dangerous Wonderland than the '51 animated feature.  Alice is a bit of a feminist here, which I enjoyed.  It's not much like Carroll's books (the film has a plot and the characters motivations - neither of which are heavily present in the books), and there's never any question about how things are going to end (at least in Wonderland) but with films like this it's about the journey, not the destination.  Even starting it later in the evening than I wanted, I did not glance at the clock once during the film.  Quite an enjoyable journey.

Overall: 3/5 (solidly entertaining, worth watching)

Year: 1949
Rating: NR 
Director: Charles Walters
Stars: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Oscar Levant

Plot:  Astaire plays driven hoofer Josh Barclay. Rogers is his wife Dinah, who longs to forsake the clackety-clap-tapping of Bouncin' the Blues for stage dramas. She parts, Josh vies to win her back and the routines leading to a happy resolution include Fred's Shoes with Wings On and a rhapsodic reprise of a George and Ira Gershwin number from Shall We Dance: They Can't Take That Away from Me.

My Thoughts:  A lovely, light, frothy romantic comedy, filled with fabulous song and dance numbers as only Astaire & Rogers can put on.  They had fabulous chemistry together, even after 10 years apart, and were some of film's best dancers.  This is the kind of classy movie they just don't make any more ... and more's the pity.  If you like old movies, especially musicals, definitely check this out sometime.

Overall: 3/5 (solidly entertaining, worth watching)

Year:  1964
Rating:  NR
Director:  Stanley Kubrick
Stars:  Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Slim Pickens

Plot:  Convinced the Commies want to pollute America's “precious bodily fluids,” a crazed general (Sterling Hayden) orders a nuclear air strike on the U.S.S.R.  As his aide, Captain Mandrake (Peter Sellers), scrambles to unlock a recall code to prevent the bombing, the U.S. President (Sellers again) calls a drunken Soviet Premier on the hotline claiming the proposed attack is all a silly mistake, while the President's advisor (an ex-Nazi scientist) Dr. Strangelove (Sellers once more) verifies the existence of a dreaded Doomsday Machine – a retaliatory device designed by the Soviets to end the human race once and for all!

My Thoughts:  Dr. Strangelove is another movie I've seen clips and sections of, but had never watched all the way through.  The cast is brilliant, especially Sellers, Scott & Pickens, and the comedy is of the most delicious black nature.  I think a second viewing will bring even more of it through (especially in the names).  I enjoyed this film immensely, though it's not one that I would just pick up on a whim.  It's definitely something to be in the mood for.  But, IMO, a film everyone should see.  The satire (and its underlying message) is as topical and valid today as it was in 1964, all one must do is simply change the names of the players.

Overall:  4.5/5 (just shy of a masterpiece)

Year:  1956
Rating:  G
Director:  Fred McLeod Wilcox
Stars:  Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen, Warren Stevens, Robby the Robot

Plot:  A dutiful robot named Robby speaks 188 languages.  An underground lair offers evidence of an advanced civilization.  But among Altair-4's many wonders, none is greater or more deadly than the human mind.

Forbidden Planet is the granddaddy of tomorrow, a pioneering work whose ideas and styles would be reverse-engineered into many cinematic space voyages to come.  Leslie Nielsen plays the commander who brings his spacecruiser crew to the green-skied world that's home to Dr. Morbius, his daughter...and to a mysterious terror.

My Thoughts:  Classic, old-school sci-fi, Forbidden Planet is a film filled with imagination and ideas rather than action sequences and the latest ways to make things blow up.  I love this film.  It's been a good 20 years since I last saw it (sometime around 90-91) but it's lost none of its charm and wonder.  Very enjoyable, highly recommended (unless your sci-fi has to be violent and filled with the latest CGI effects).

Overall:  4/5 (an excellent film)

Year:  1946
Rating:  NR
Director:  Sidney Gillat
Stars:  Alastair Sim, Leo Genn, Trevor Howard, Sally Gray, Megs Jenkins, Rosamund John

Plot: In the midst of Nazi air raids, a postman dies on the operating table at a rural English hospital. But was the death accidental? A delightful and wholly unexpected murder mystery.

My Thoughts:  An excellent little murder mystery that kept us guessing until the end.  Clever and interesting, and featuring a delightful performance from Alastair Sim.  Highly recommended for fans of the genre.

Overall:  3.5/5  (solidly entertaining with no flaws)