Ma vie de chat

I went into this movie with no expectations at all. Come on! It's 2016 and we get a talking cat movie? How did this even get a theatrical release!? Boy was I wrong! This might be one of the best movies of the summer in fact. The humor is on point, and the acting is overall really great! Oddly enough, Kevin Spacey might be the worst of the bunch. Maybe he had the same expectations as me? Oh well, that did not ruin the movie! Christopher Walken gives his best performance since Seven Psychopaths, Cheryl Hines is as always lovely and hilarious, and the young Malina Weissman.. She's gonna be a star! That's all I gotta say. And there's jokes for both kids and adults, so don't worry if you think this looks like a cheesy kids film - It's not!

The movie had me rolling with laughter and an ending that actually made me tear up a bit. This is on par with Pixar/Disney movies like Inside Out, Toy Story, Zootopia.

Make sure Nine Lives is the movie you don't miss! IT'S THE SLEEPER HIT OF THE YEAR!

Inoffensive little title. I hadn't seen anything by Kevin Spacey since his ouster from Hollywood, and watched this on DVD in Feb 2023. Was nice to see him, he automatically brings some gravitas to the screen. Watched it with my neighbours, the teenage boy "spoiled" it in the first couple of minutes by telling me that Spacey becomes a cat but I pretty much guessed that had to be the thrust of the film just by looking at the title. Like other reviewers note, this ain't Shakespeare and there are definitely no real surprises, but it was a comforting and family friendly thing we could comfortably watch together. I thought it would be too much for me - we lost their 20-year old ragdoll just a day ago to kidney disease - but this was actually a nice diversion and got our minds off our grief. For 80 minutes their house that had suddenly become quiet and empty was once again brought to life. Watch this with the kids.

I've read some awful reviews about this movie and my expectations were set low. I was expecting to be dragged by my kids to a mix of "Baby Geniuses 2" and "Battlefield Earth". But I was pleasantly surprised. This movie won't win any Oscars, but its a reasonable kids movie. Kids liked it, and I was OK with it. Yes, the plot is predictable, and the jokes are pretty flat, but they are geared toward 10 year olds and adults who really like cats, and that is what is expected from a kids movie about a cat. If you hate cats, well, don't see it, see "Shaggy Dog" instead, its virtually the same plot, except its a different type of a pet. I think this movie is OK and I look forward to seeing new incarnations of the same plot in the future movies, such as "Being Goldie" (hint, hint movie studio, in about 10 years we will be ready for another one of those plots)

... but this is one of those body/soul switch films with a twist versus the average script about this thing. No old man getting to feel young again. No teenager in mom's body suddenly having to watch her carb intake or find out she's gained five pounds overnight.

Instead, this is a silly, predictable, yet very entertaining, piece of fluff about a wealthy builder (Kevin Spacey) who manages to get trapped inside a cat's body. The cat, named Mr. Fuzzypants, spends most of the film trying to get people to realize he is really Spacey, while Spacey lies in a coma. Along the way, there is some business intrigue, as Spacey's underlings attempt to take over his company. Will Mr. Fuzzypants save the day? Jennifer Garner plays Spacey's current wife, and she looks great. Spacey's first wife, played by Cheryl Hines, wears some of the tightest clothes in history and adds just the right amount of bi... - ahem - "crankiness" to her role. There are some laugh-out-loud scenes, such as when Mr. Fuzzypants tries to sneak past security guards who happen to be watching cat videos.

Christopher Walken, as the very weird pet shop owner, is perfectly cast. I admire anyone who can deliver his lines with a straight face, all the while wearing a three-piece green suit and bow-tie.

Recommended for the silliness and fun of it all.

I must say, the story and plot line were both fantastic as ever! My downside to this review is the entertainment factor. I had to pause the movie to take a phone call, and then realized, 30 minutes after the phone call ended, that I was still supposed to be watching this movie. It did not have me hooked on enough to remember that I was watching it. Don't get me wrong, it was kind of cool actually, with the characters and the whole set up and dialogue exchanged were really personable and seemed very realistic and natural, and some of the animations were great and some were kind of off at some points, but it was not too bad. What I liked the most was probably the ending scenes where it all comes together and the moral of the story was so beautiful that I still hold on to it.