I’m well aware that there’s been much ballyhoo about the fact that we’ll see a few movies this year that all have to deal with the Roman Numeral IX.  There’s three – count ’em, three – similarly named, though completely different, films:

• The amazing looking animated film called 9, which is based on the animated short called 9.
• Rob Marshall’s follow up to Chicago called Nine, which is the musical remake of Fellini’s 8 ½.
• Peter Jackson’s production of District 9, which is a filler product until he can get the video game movie Halo off the ground.

And for the record, we already had a Ryan Reynolds flick (as if he’s a genre) two years ago that was called The Nines. 

What is it about understated titles that these filmmakers and producers find so appealing?  Does it save on toner?  Why couldn’t they have used different numbers, or even letters for that matter?  There are a lot of numbers and letters ripe for the plucking.

In the spirit of beating a dead horse, why don’t we take a look at a gallery of movie posters that kept the titles simple for the hearts and minds and marquee changers of America:

(IN CASE YOU DIDN’T NOTICE: Steven Spielberg has directed three of the above.)