personally i dig stop motion animation and for the simple conscious fact that there a lot of blood and sweat go on behind the scene just to get an object to move . you can imagine what it take to get a character to move an arm and and you extrapolate that effort into a feature length film with a lot more thing happen concurrently on screen and and youre likely to appreciate this artform a lot more and with new find respect for it . $ 9 . 99 be an amazing piece of stop motion animation couple with a tremendously engage story make up of multiple narrative thread and and a myriad of character attempt to tackle their respective problem in life . it begin with a bang literally and where a homeless man ( geoffrey rush ) with a gun in hand and ask jim peck ( anthony lapaglia ) for a cigarette and a light and before launch into some really clever moment about manipulation . it an excellent start to jolt you into realize that this film isn not just another walk in the park and and a it play on and you would discover it brilliance in it commentary about life and a see from the experience of the resident in an apartment block . we have a family of three and with jim who might just need his karma check for encounter really antagonize moment involve death and and his two son dave ( samuel johnson ) and lenny ( ben mendelsohn ) and the former be unemployed and be find to be central to the narrative and and the latter be a repo man find himself fall and and obsess over the love by new neighbour and supermodel tanita ( leeanna walsman ) and who have a fetish for a hairless body . then there a lonely old man who find the world content pass him by with nobody interested in hear him talk a bit ( well and because he long wind as well ) and find a companion in an angel and whom he ask incessantly about heaven . then there a boy who have a friend in his piggy bank and and a couple on the verge of be marry have to fall out because one of them refuse to grow up . the $ 9 . 99 come from the price of a catalog of book and one of which tout to hold the meaning of life which dave buy . unfortunately and the character here seem to be catch up in live their own life and fall victim to respective challenge life present itself and and so every effort that dave want to share get spurn and and we the audience and unfortunately and do not get to hear if there be any insight to that . but of course we all know that there no silver bullet and and the character here and though the course of this emotionally move film and learn of that meaning a it apply in their own and with the old man determine to take a more proactive approach and to a connection between a father and a son and to love found and run parallel to that and a love broken because of sacrifice that one have to make and or the lack thereof and and the maturing of a young child . i guess nobody scoff at animation and especially one that target the mature audience check out that dr manhatten moment . i have new find respect for stop motion animation and and for the filmmaker involve in produce this fine piece of work . the attention to detail be incredible and never at any moment hint that they have cut some corner and compromised quality . definitely highly recommended and and easily one of the few film i thoroughly enjoy in the festival lineup .