Ego always leads to misfortune
Bakang Israel | Friday September 2, 2016 15:03
Pets have been on steroids at movies as recent blockbusters have dished out the best of animal ridiculousness for the much-loved genre. Movie enthusiasts have so far been entertained by a delusional fish, angry birds, and brave rabbits from films such as Finding Dory, Angry Birds and Zoootopia. Now comes Mr Fuzzypants the world’s craziest cat in Nine Lives. I for one used to think that Garfiled and Tom cat characters were the most wicked.
But Mr Fuzzypants proved me wrong that there is a funnier cat with such a huge ego that matches that of Donald Trump, serving it up as the main delicacy of the film. Nine Lives is a 2016 English-language French comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld the very same director from Will Smith’s mega Sci-Fi Men In Black. In the new movie enthusiasts are treated to Kevin Spacey as Tom Brand, who is a daredevil billionaire at the top of his game. His workaholic lifestyle has disconnected him from his family, particularly his loving wife Lara and adorable daughter Rebecca. His daughter’s 11th birthday is here, and she wants the gift she has wanted every year, a cat.
Tom hates cats, but eventually buys one as a last minute gift from a mystical pet store. Suddenly, a bizarre turn of events traps poor Tom inside the woolly animal’s body. The cat gets adopted by the trapped mogul’s family, which then enables Tom to experience what life is truly like for the family, and as a cat, Tom begins to see his family and his life through a new and unexpected perspective.
For things to return to normal Tom is told that he has one week to reconnect with his family, or live out the rest of his days as a cute and furry feline named Mr Fuzzypants. The comedy lights up cinemas with amusement for its star power boasting with golden globe and Oscar award-winning Hollywood superstars from hit TV shows like House Of Cards, The Flash and Alias as protagonists.
Action
Nine Lives is a comedy, but it sizzles fanatics with some very inspirational wisdom it teaches about arrogance and its results. For instance we see Kevin Spacey trampling and disregarding those around him before learning the hard way how to respect others. I enjoyed it very much for its simple basic life principles that you should not undermine anyone because life as they say is full of surprises, you can be on top today and before you know it be the least appreciated within a space of a moment. The film is also exceptionally funny because it uses irony as a fountain of its humour. For instance we see Tom as Mr Fuzzypants the cat that drinks a full bottle of scotch whiskey.
The audience was left in shreds at the sight of this scene. Not only that but to make matters worse the animated cat itself looked very intimidating as if it were a really stressed out person (of which was the case for the rich man trapped inside the cat). Believe me this comedy is hazardous to bad mood. It is a real ice breaker. Moving right along the action is also refreshing. As it is the norm with comedies there are a lot of irrational deeds involved. For instance we were thrilled by the discovery of a cat that did all sorts of things like fiddling with pens trying to write a message to its wife.
Apart from that it had in store some adrenalin rush moments like sky diving, road rage and cats doing some spying. Also Nine Lives is relatable in the sense that it deals with themes of family, greed, power, and love. Speaking of family, the movie encapsulates family matters we come across in our daily lives, for instance it shows us how the absence of a father and husband implicates a family opening the door for vulnerability and that in the midst of all struggles families pull through by sticking together.
This can be justified by the young David Brand’s actions, the film shows us that children these days need total support from their parents to succeed or they derail. Apart from that this movie takes us to the dark side of life as well as teaches us that like vultures people are always waiting for you to fall so they bask on your demise.
Deception and mind-bending twists is what we got from Nine Lives as it depicted Ian, our antagonist, as the ultimate opportunist already capitalising on a dying man’s legacy. Lastly the performances were also top notch, Spacey as both an egocentric cat and man delighted the audience. The cinematography was also crisp, with an urban setting and provoking sounds.
Quotes
From the movie that shed loads of humour.
Felix Grant: You haven’t been there for your family. You’re gonna be stuck inside this cat until you makes things right.
Tom Brand: But I hate cats!
Felix Grant: That’s what makes this so perfect.
Reception
Information reaching yours truly from the hive indicates that this comedy premiered sixth on the chart back on the first week of August with revenue turn over of $6 million. From a production budget of $30 million Nine Lives has only managed to gross an average sum of $18 million.
Top Five movies in the world currently, courtesy of the Box Office:
1.Don’t Breathe
2.Suicide Squad
3.Kubo and the Two Strings
4.Sausage Party
5.Mechanic:Resurrection
Ratings
This was a cool experience. It had all the ingredients of amusement. I rate it a terrific seven out of 10, a very cool comedy fantasy indeed.
Movie: Nine Lives
Genre: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Duration:1 hour 27mins Age restriction: PG
Release date: August 26, 2016
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Main cast: Kevin Spacey (Tom Brand), Jennifer Garner (Lara Brand), Mark Consuelos (Ian Cox) and Christopher Walken (Felix Perkins)