Okay, here are 5.5 reasons to watch 9 if you're a teenager:

1. It's a movie squarely aimed at the age group. Filled with war, dead bodies, machine guns, biology, explosions, intelligence and maturity akin to Spiderman and Catch Me If You Can, 9 proves that an animated movie doesn't have to be sanitized.

2. It has a butt-kicking rag doll named 7. For guys, 7 is the closest thing we have to a female ninja in this wasteland. For girls, how can you NOT like her? She is also one of the great ironies in the film when the rag dolls' origins are revealed.

3. Despite the fact that a lot of critics have criticized the "lack of plot," the story makes sense in a linear fashion. The questions that the film doesn't answer aren't frustrating, just one that a curious moviegoer will ask about while looking for their car in the theater parking garage.

4. Everyone agrees that the visuals are great. I went for that reason too. We see creepy robotic serpents, rag dolls that look real enough to hold in our hands, fragments of Europe dotting the landscape (again, we have a high intellectual level here), and nothing cute or cuddly. You will not be embarrassed to have the poster rolled up in your bag.

5. If you grew up on Japanese anime, then you know that America needs an influx of teenage films with animation that are mature and not merely spinoffs of The Simpsons or Family Guy.

5.5 It's a good movie. Period. You'll be getting your money's worth.

Task one of the weekend accomplished. Next: a diary entry!