9 (2009)

Acker, S. (director). (2009). 9. (Motion picture). United States of America: Focus Features

I just watched a CGI movie called "9." The main character is one several burlap covered mechanical dolls, their names respective to their numbers which are painted on their bodies. They live in a post apocalyptic world where AI machines have destroyed humanity... or at least that what it seems like at first.
This movie has atmosphere! The graphics are very well done and are both magical and creepy. The Brain, the mastermind AI machine that began the war on humans is particularly scary. Also several characters die. There's hope at the end, but it is a dark tunnel traveled to get there. Probably not suitable for kids younger than 10... unless you want to stay up hugging them all night.
BUT,
It's not THAT scary and there is a philosophical side to the story that is very thought provoking. The purpose of origin for each burlap doll I found rather moving. My favourite part was the curiosity and independence expressed by the main character, 9. It might be peculiar to accept a computer animation of a burlap covered mechanical doll as a role model, but I don't care, that's how easy it was to relate. There’s tons of appropriate behaviour modeling in this movie that is particularly relevant for people in their tweens, people who are transitioning from having everything dictated to them to having to make their own decisions:

9: Why do you listen to 1?
5: A group must have a leader.
9: But what if he's wrong?

Boo-ya! Critical, independent thought, the importance of which cannot be overemphasized enough.

Science Fiction: The House of the Scorpion

Farmer, N. (2002). The House of the Scorpion. New York: Simon Pulse.

Need a good book to encourage the reading habits of a male tween or teen? Look no further than this Science Fiction adventure played out in the atmosphere of a classic westerns. The story of Matteo Alvarez a secret clone of El Patron the most powerful man in the country of Opium, a country established between what was formerly Mexico, and the United States. Unlike most books that try to address the issue of drugs and their negative side effects there is none of the artificial and moralistic After-4 feeling in Farmer's work. Drug use rarely enters into the narrative, but the harmful effects of drug production are heavily emphasized. Our society is invested in recreational drug use and so the older images of “your brain on drugs” are losing their impact. However, the negative impact drug production has on some regions of the world is terrible and this book is a good introduction into thinking about the global harm drug use creates.