Sin City
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Movie Reviews of Sin City
Movie Review: Sinful city
Summary: 5 Stars
The nights are cloudy, the alleys are dark, the men are dangerous, bars are smoky and femmes are fatale. "Sin City" is a thing of dark, bloody beauty.
It certainly says something if a graphic novel author helps out with a movie... especially if that creator swore he'd never let it be adapted. That is only one of the things that makes "Sin City," the adaptation of Frank Miller's comic, such a fascinating film.
"Sin City" is actually made up of three stories: In the depths of Basin (Sin) City, scarred hulk Marv (Mickey Rourke) sleeps with a beautiful prostitute, Goldie (Jaime King), only to find her dead beside him the next morning. Enraged, he goes on a killing spree to find her murderer, and learns that sinister cannibal Kevin (Elijah Wood) is responsible. But there's a powerful figure behind Kevin, who calls the shots.
Elsewhere in Sin City, Dwight (Clive Owen) does his best to defend Gail (Rosario Dawson) and the other Old Town prostitutes. But when Dwight kills a crooked cop, he has to somehow cover up the crime. And Hartigan (Bruce Willis), a cop with a failing heart, goes out of his job with a bang: He rescues little Nancy Callahan from a child molester who happens to be a senator's son. Hartigan is jailed, and when he gets out, he finds that Nancy (Jessica Alba) has grown into a lasso-twirling stripper. But the senator's son -- nicknamed Yellow Bastard -- is still after her.
"Sin City" is one of those few comic book adaptations that doesn't seem... well, cartoonish. Sure, it's the very image of noir, but the grim tone and grey characters are very real. It's not a movie for the fainthearted, but whoever enjoys the films of Quentin Tarantino (who directed one scene here) will surely be blown away.
Like "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow," this film is done almost entirely digitally. But unlike "Sky Captain," it has substance as well as style. All the sets and props are done with computers, and nearly everything is in black and white. Here and there we get a splash of colour -- red lipstick and matching dress, Yellow Bastard's face, green eyes.
The contents of three "Sin City" comic books are interwoven here, and Rodriguez is constantly faithful: A lot of these shots could have been lifted straight from the comic's pages. He also preserves the stark, black-and-white style that the graphic novels are known for. You can't get much more faithful than that.
"Sin City" is not quite a "Kill Bill" bloodfest, though -- surprisingly, this brutal movie has a dark sense of chivalry. Each story is about an outcast man defending a woman's honor, safety, or memory, even if he sacrifices himself in the process. "Sin City" wears its heart on its sleeve, even if that sleeve is bloodstained and torn.
Most of the actors do wonderful jobs -- Owen's dark photographer, Rourke's scarred strongman, Stahl's revolting Yellow Bastard, and Alba's surprisingly sweet stripper. Only a few, like Brittany Murphy, have lackluster performances. But perhaps the most memorable performances come from Bruce Willis and Elijah Wood. Willis plays his aging cop role with unusual grace, even when shooting the genitals off Yellow Bastard. And Wood plays Kevin with both creepy evil and spiritual ecstacy... all without saying a word.
"Sin City" is a remarkable, bleak, intense movie -- a halfway point between Tarantino and Raymond Chandler. An outstanding piece of work.
Movie Review: Visually Breathtaking And Astonishing
Summary: 5 Stars
Frank Miller's "Sin City" was one of the best comic books ever written. It has these awesome ensemble characters. Each was so interesting and each had their flaws and all of them seemed human. Even though it's obvious that the film version and the graphic novels of "Sin City" take place in a world that is far away from here.
Robert Rodriguez is one of the greatest directors of our time - he stands by Tarantino, Spielberg, Craven & others as collaberator of some of the greatest films that we've been pleased enough to see. He made amazing movies such as "From Dusk 'Till Dawn", "Desperadoes", 2003's beautiful and bloody epic, "Once Upon A Time In Mexico", he also makes kid's films that are actually fun to see. He made the "Spy Kids" trilogy and he just finished the new 3-D picture, "Adventures Of Sharkboy And Lavagirl". But his true jems are films like this.
"Sin City" is filmed in a very interesting way. It's Black & White, but various objects (eyes, blood, outfits, etc.) are in color, which makes "Sin City" a breathtaking pulpy noir film. If the movie was fully in color, it would still be fun, but it wouldn't look as good as it does. It's three of the graphic novels in one 2-hour film.
The first story begins the film and ends it. John Hartigan (Bruce Willis in his best work since "Die Hard") plays a cop who is retiring at 60 because of heart condition. He still has one loose end to tie up. He is trying to save an 11-year-old girl named Nancy Callahan (Jessica Alba as the 20-year old version. This movie is worth watching just for her, she's SO HOT!) is in the hands of a drooling child molester. And now since Hartigan is off the force and he's free to do whatever the hell he wants, he saves Nancy but is nearly beaten to death. He was framed and he is spending 8 years in prison. And when he gets out, the first thing he does is try to save a now 20-year old Nancy from a yellow rapist who can only give in if his victims scream. And Hartigan is once again out to save Nancy's back.
The 2nd story revolves around the character of Mickey Rourke. He plays Marv - a guy who is in love with a prostitute named Goldie. When he is sleeping, a cannibal (Elijah Wood in a thoroughly disturbing role). It's his job to save himself and Goldie's twin sister Wendy (both ladies played by Nicole Kidman lookalike Jamie King). The bloody results are anything but pretty.
The last story revolves around Dwight (a very good Clive Owen) is trying to save everybody from a dirty cop with a penchant for violence (Benecio DelToro in a very enthusiastic part), he plays the ultimate bad guy and he gets his comeuppance. Dwight tries to save the girls of "Old Town"( a city that is overrun by [...]). He takes place in a bloody war that includes Rosario Dawson, Devon Aoki, Alexis Bledel and other recognizable people.
In conclusion, "Sin City" is easily the coolest movie of the year and it provides great surprises and thrills the whole way through. You shouldn't buy this DVD though. Rent it a few times, because director Robert Rodriguez has something special planned for fans that plan to wait for what is yet to come. There will be a 2-disc special edition that will include new footage and much more. This DVD has only a lousy 8-minute behind-the-scenes featurette. I bought it for about $10 somewhere, but I will be the first one there when the Special Edition hits the shelves. Get SIN CITY immediately.
Movie Review: Basin City Blues
Summary: 5 Stars
The concept for this film started in the Comics revolution of the late 60's with incredible artists like Frank Frazetta, Jim Steranko, Neal Adams, and Barry Smith. They knew anatomy, and they used photographs to compose their backgrounds. Pre-Anime, the characters began to "almost" move off the pages. Frank Miller came along in 1978. He helped to inaugurate the adult graphics novels-larger formats, better paper, brighter inks-coupled to nudity and R-rated dialogue. Some of this has been around since the late 50's, but the new format was gathering speed and Miller was in the vanguard.
Miller's graphic novel's about SIN CITY contained art in panels that broke down like very detailed storyboards. When Robert Rodriguez decided to court Miller and sell him on the idea of converting the graphics to digital video-Miller loved it. Their partnership went so far as to have Rodriguez dropping out of the Director's Guild so that he might be permitted to put Frank Miller in the credits as co-director. Rodriguez created a B&W world where color was used sparingly-and for great effect. Blood was white-or bright red. Some eyes were blue. Some hair was blond. Pale green and pale blue showed up on classic cars.
Rodriguez assembled a powerhouse cast. Bruce Willis was first up, to boost the sales of the production and the star power. He was excellent in the film-beginning to appear very Noir-very Chandler and Hammett-a modern Bogart. Using CGI and live actors, Rodriguez was able to do most of the work in his homegrown studio in Texas. Miller created a world part pulp-novel, classic cars-and part hyper-violent martial arts and splatter film. Everybody smoked, many of them drove a ragtop-they could shoot guns with both hands simultaneously-and women, regardless of how far they had fallen-were still treated with respect. More than an adaptation of Millers comic book art-it is literally his artwork brought starkly to life. The effect is original, violent, sexy, existential-and very effective.
The film worked off three Miller "stories"-and the best of the three-THE BIG FAT KILL-starred Mickey Rourke. He can think of this film as his return to the big time. He is brilliant. His character, Marv, is perfectly fitted for this new genre-and his acting, and the action he precipitates-blows all the others in the film out of the water. This may be Rourke's finest performance. He has been a pro boxer, as well as actor-and he needed that physical prowess for this role.
Everyone in the film was impressive-with the likes of Clive Owen, Powers Boothe, Rutger Hauer, Nick Stahl, Benicio Del Toro, Elijah Wood, Michael Madsen, Josh Harnett, and Michael Clarke Duncan all making love, murdering, or slapping around women like Jessica Albo, Jamie King, Rosario Dawson, Carla Gugino, and Brittany Murphy. One critic wrote," This is a Mickey Spillane fever dream!"
There is a rumor that in the director's cut RR will include some deleted scenes that he shot to flush out all three of the Miller stories. It appears that a sequel is imminent-absolutely necessary. Most of us can't wait for the next installment-to cruise Old Town, prowl the Roark farm, beware of the warrior hookers, love the hot babes, dodge the bullets and swords and knives, and stare at those great cars.
Movie Review: Visually Stunning Reproduced Film Noir
Summary: 5 Stars
The task, or the responsibility, of a director to take on a project involving the adaptation of a comic book is crucial. It is crucial in respects of getting the job done. It is critical for the director to capture the spirit of the story, characters and setting. If this is not achieved, then the project fails. This is why most comic book, or in this case graphic novel, adaptation to film does not achieve the superiority that Sin City surpasses.
This is the best comic book or graphic novel film ever made. Frank Miller's Sin City is a creation beyond the imaginative nightmare. It has style with fashion, affection and hate. It chills your bones, makes you squirm forcing a smile out of you where you can't help but feel the adrenaline-charged images on the screen as if you were experiencing them. Robert Rodriguez has ingeniously redefined "reproduction" in a new postmodern experience. The replica on the screen is incredibly audacious and it achieves itself as a visual masterpiece, exploring our subconscious of colors and graphic images with characters we love to hate and hate to love.
Done on a scale of almost all computer generation with no real sets, the film captures the reality of the environment the characters are situated in that we do not feel in the CGI that we are exposed to, or see, in films like Troy (2004). For most films, computer generation does not work because actors do not act real to the environment. In Sin City we have a story and setting that fits the medium that Rodriguez and Miller create.
Sin City has three intertwining stories told at separate time periods involving us much like Pulp Fiction (1994). These stories follow Hartigan (Bruce Willis), Marv (Mickey Rourke) and Dwight (Clive Owen). They work within a framing device that opens and closes the door on us in the world of Sin City. Hartigan is an almost sixty year old cop trying to catch a pedophile (Nick Stahl) that has kidnap a young girl named Nancy. He is beat, broken down and worn out, but understands his duty and will cross the line to get it done. Marv is about two or three times the size of a defensive lineman who is out to seek justice for the murderer of Goldie (Jaime King), a hooker with a "heart of gold." He loves her and will stop at nothing, no matter what the consequence, to seek equity in his eyes. Dwight wants to protect his girl, Shellie (Brittany Murphy), from Jackie Boy (Benicio Del Toro). He is a cool clever guy that accidentally gets involved in a war. This is the story where Tarantino puts his signature as the guest director. The stories each start our engines with interest with Hartigan cracking down on the pedophile, Marv waking up next to a dead Goldie, and Dwight in a jam with Jackie Boy and his girl. The film follows these three stories but involves us in many others with vividly fresh characters played by Rosario Dawson, Elijah Wood, Michael Madsen, Josh Hartnett and numerous others.
The film recreates the film noir of the golden days where the characters on the screen acted as gods of cinema. This film is visually stunning and the characters are just as extreme as the stories. Sam Spade couldn't even survive this town. Miller, Rodriguez and Tarantino give Sin City a touch of elegance and a bath of brilliance.
Movie Review: A surprisingly sophisticated movie!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've surprised several people by telling them that I believe "Sin City" is one of the best movies of the year. Such a claim is surprising both because "Sin City" is not generally the kind of movie I like (or so it would appear) and because it doesn't seem to be the type of movie that could be thought of as great. Entertaining, yes. Great, no.
But this movie is indeed great. It is obviously visually innovative and pleasing, taking film noir to the next level. But the subjects the movie delves into--and the way it deals with them--make "Sin City" stand out. Because, underneath all the flash, "Sin City" is actually (and don't laugh!) a sophisticated examination of the nature of morality.
The world of "Sin City" is a world where those institutions and people who are generally seen as bastions of morality turn out to be highly immoral--most notably the church and the police. This could easily lead to the conclusion that Sin City is a place devoid of moral values, and with the amount of deviant behavior in this film, that's an easy judgment to reach.
"Sin City" is a three-part story, with each part revolving around one of three men: Marv (Mickey Rourke), Dwight (Clive Owen), and John Hartigan (Bruce Willis). Marv, Dwight, and Hartigan each devote themselves fully to protecting a woman, to the point that killing--and possibly dying--for her sake become necessary actions.
What makes "Sin City" compelling is that although Marv, Dwight, and Hartigan would certainly fail to live up to most moral standards--not only do they kill for their women, they do so without remorse or hesitation--you end up seeing these men as heroes. You want them to succeed; you begin to understand their choices, and you start to believe that not to kill in defense of these women actually might be offensive.
In other words, Marv, Dwight, and Hartigan are most certainly "good" characters in the eyes of the audience. Does this mean that they are simply the least immoral in a world filled only with immoral people? Perhaps. But "Sin City" is world of extraordinary situations, and these men are able to fight against those situations in the defense of an ideal--namely, the safety and redemption of a worthy woman. In this light, "Sin City" caused me to reflect on my own potential actions in certain situations. There are things every person would be willing to kill or die for, whether it be one's child or one's country. How do you determine what is worth killing for? Is such a killing moral, immoral, or outside of morality? Does your attitude towards such killing make it moral: in other words, must you be regretful and remorseful for it to be moral? I think that it is clear that when we are pushed to our limits, the laws of conventional morality bend. "Sin City" does a remarkably good job of presenting three men who are each pushed far beyond their limits, and the filmmakers leave it for the audience to decide whether these men are moral defenders or just as immoral as the people they come up against.
In light of this, I highly recommend this film, both to those who are looking for an entertaining movie and to those who are in search of a thought-provoking one. That "Sin City" can appeal to both types of people demonstrates just how great this film is.