Must See Movies: 9 (12A); Dead Man Running (15)

Nov 5 2009

9 (12A) ***

Why we are excited: Writer-director Shane Acker greatly embellishes his original 11-minute vision into a 79-minute quest to sow the seeds of a new man and womankind.

Plot: 9 (voiced by Eljah Wood) wakes in a deserted room. The scientist who created him is dead, one of millions wiped out by a targeted attack spearheaded by the Great Machine. Eventually, 9 meets other figures, all with identifying numbers scrawled on their back. No longer alone, 9 joins forces with his cloth kin in an epic battle against the remaining machines, including a vulture-like flying contraption and a monstrous beast.

Dead Man Running (15) ••

Why we are excited: Produced by Premier League football stars Ashley Cole and Rio Ferdinand, the film is a race against time for one ex-con to raise the money that will save a loved one from a grisly fate.

Plot: Nick Kane (Tamer Hassan) is dangerously behind with debt repayments to notorious gangster and loan shark Thigo. With the credit crunch biting hard, Thigo decides to make an example out of Nick and he holds the former convict's mother hostage. In order to save her, Nick must raise £100,000 in 24 hours. So Nick joins forces with best mate Bing to find the cash - travelling to the outskirts of Manchester and the dog tracks of east London to raise the money as quickly as possible.