The Nines is a strange comedy from John August, a frequent Tim Burton collaborator who here returns to the twisting narrative gimmickry that got him started when he wrote Go. In this movie, a successful Hollywood writer confesses in a voiceover:

When I get stressed out, I play videogames. It's a therapy. I can't have them on my computer at home because then I'd never write, so I come to Koreatown. I mean, I love these games that let you lose yourself a little bit in them. I love that it's a different world existing at the same time. They're better than real life. When you get stuck, you can always hit reset. That's what life needs. It needs a reset button.

He's seen sitting in a LAN center, playing something. It's hard to tell what game he's supposed to be playing, but as near as I can tell, it's a city builder with good graphics. Maybe SimCity Societies. There is also a later instance of gamespotting, including a reference to EverQuest, that you'll have to see to appreciate.

While The Nines has a definite perspective on videogames and videogame addiction, writer and director John August is working from a pretty facile understanding. He does confesses in the commentary track to a World of Warcraft addiction, but his ultimate point is the stuff of a late-night dorm room bull session. I do recommend the movie as an, um, interesting exercise. That's pretty much all I can say without getting into egregious spoiler territory.

By the way, Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner's Prius appears in the opening scene when Ryan Reynolds drags a barbecue out of a garage. True story.