In Nine Lives, billionaire Tom Brand's (Spacey) workaholic lifestyle has distanced him from his beautiful wife Lara (Garner) and adoring daughter Rebecca (Weissman). Hoping to make amends, Tom buys Rebecca a cat for her birthday. But a bizarre event lands Tom inside the cat's body. Now, Tom must either cough up proof that he's a loving dad—or he'll spend the rest of his life coughing up hairballs. (Gary Reber)
Special features include the featurettes Letting The Cat Out Of the Bag (HD 12:03) and Russian For Herding Cats (HD 14:07), the theatrical trailer, upfront previews, and a digital copy.
The 1.85:1 1080p AVC picture was digitally photographed and exhibits a pristine appearance. The color palette is overblown in saturation for a hyped visual look. The picture also is extremely bright, lacking in realism. Hues are vibrant and pop, which can be visually stimulating at times. Fleshtones are generally natural. Contrast is dynamic, with strong black levels and intense highlights, with shadow delineation that is revealing. Resolution is good, though, facial features appear rather soft. Detail is good during close-ups of clothing furnishings and object texture. Overall, the appearance is exceptionally digital and unnaturally colorful. Still, cat lovers are sure to be tickled with the meandering images of cat behavior. (Gary Reber)
The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is a lively affair, with a lively but nuanced music score. Fidelity is excellent. The music is spread wide, and instruments are nicely distinguishable. Atmospherics and Foley is effective, specifically with respect to the cat's behavior. Sound effects are minimal, such as fireworks bursting out from the Firebrand high-rise, but provide moments of energy bursts, though, deep bass is pretty much non-existent. Surround envelopment is minimally engaged by the music and sound effects. Dialogue is intelligible throughout, with generally good spatial integration, This is a light-hearted soundtrack with a dialogue focus that is fun entertainment. (Gary Reber)