Nine

Nine was released in Canada on December 25, 2009. The cast in this film carries a lot of Oscar weight and includes Daniel Day-Lewis (2 wins and 2 nominations), Marion Cotillard (1 win), Penelope Cruz (1 win and 1 nomination), Nicole Kidman (1 win and 1 nomination), Judi Dench (1 win and 5 nominations), Kate Hudson (1 nomination) and Sophia Loren (1 win, 1 nomination and an honorary Oscar). Holy Hardware!! Add to this impressiveness a Director who has been previously nominated, in Rob Marshall, and a group of writers that have Oscar wins and nominations to their credit, and this baby is a recipe for a little gold statue.

The plot of Nine revolves around a narcissistic film director who is desperately seeking meaning in his personal life, and doing so in the midst of attempting to write a screenplay for his latest film. That does not exactly sound genius, and at times the storyline is tedious. But make no mistake, there will be a screenplay nomination.

In addition to a screenplay nod, look for this one to have multiple Oscar nominations. Day-Lewis is fabulous, if not as brilliant as we have seen him, and will get a Best Actor nomination. The Best Supporting Actress category could be filled from this movie alone, and still be a more potent category than it was last year. Look for Judi Dench and Marion Cotillard to get nominations. Cruz, Lauren, and Kidman were also good, but we have seen all three outperform what they gave us in Nine. Cruz did kick some serious butt in her song, and showed some as well, but overall was not as good as we expect from her. Hudson was mediocre, and it is highly debatable whether she really has a place outside of the romantic comedy. Those are just the acting categories. There will likely be nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, art, costumes, music, make up and cinematography.

Nine is an entertaining film, but not one all viewers will enjoy. It is Broadway musical meets silver screen. But The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be licking their lips for all of the elements it brings together in one flick. This is not a film a serious buff should miss.