What I Watched -- Nine

I didn't know what this movie was about when I rented it. I just knew it had an incredible cast and I hoped they could all get together and do something great.

This time, not so much. Like I said, the cast is amazing: it stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, and Judi Dench, and also includes Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, Sofia Loren, and...wait for it...Fergie!

The concept is interesting. Day-Lewis plays a struggling screenwriter and director. He's trying to write a script for a movie, but just can't come up with anything. He gets flashes of inspiration, usually in the form of scantily clad women stimulated, as it were, by some scene in his real life.

Cotillard and Dench did a wonderful and understated job supporting and challenging the filmmaker, and they really made the movie - at least as much as they could. On the whole, though, it just felt very choppy. The scenes were individually interesting, but didn't weave together to make the movie I think they could have - something in the style of Chicago.

Bottom line: great song and dance by Kate Hudson and Marion Cotillard, and a MUST-see for anyone who has the hots for Penelope Cruz! If you're not interested in the aforementioned, skip the movie and the clips below.