Wow. Just saw this for the second time tonight and I must say it was awesome. Rather like Pulp Fiction with all pretense at reality taken out. And Mickey Rourke looking like Spencer Tracy on steroids. And Elijah Wood doing his best Hannibal Lecter impression. Yeah.
I never read the comics, (er...excuse me...graphic novels) but from what I hear the film follows them very closely. The production design was certainly quite impressive, akin to my beloved Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow but yet completely of its own style---darker, grittier, and several helpings more badass. The cast was great. I wasn't exactly convinced that Bruce Willis was in his sixties, or that he looked any older after his character's eight years in prison, but that's pretty much my only gripe. (At first I was cynical at just how nimble Marv/Rourke was after being hit several times with the chick's car moving at what seemed like appreciable speed, but then I reminded myself that "hey, this is *not* reality!")
A friend of mine commented that the film made him "feel like going out and smoking cigarettes and killing people," with which I concurred. All in all I enjoyed it thoroughly. I get the impression that this summer will be a good one for movies, what with Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Revenge of the Sith right around the corner. Now if Speilberg and Lucas could just get their asses in gear on the next Indiana Jones flick...
-MMoM
P.S. Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, and company are all quite hot. Not to mention Clive Owen. Indeed. -MM Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
I really like it....except for three things:
They went to extreme lengths to make it true to the comics (down to reproducing the odd, clownish look of the Yellow Bastard and the makeup job on Mickey Rourke) but Miller draws his hookers...pretty "street looking" and not like the perfect supermodels of the film.
Jessica Alba's really crappy acting: she's being whipped with a fucking bullwhip but never loses her breath or breaks a sweat, then a few minutes later, she's fine as she drives away...
Bruce Willis' character's death: seemed kinds useless to me. Nothing says he could not have split town with "Cordillia" and started over somewhere new. As pointed out, he does not really age at all in eight years: neither does Powers Booth (some creative casting of has-been actors in this movie!)
I did love the movie overall though: particularly the middle part with (the very cool) Clive Owen and the hookers defending their turf and the hitman at the begining and end of the movie.
Posted by Vice-Admiral Michael T. Colorge (Member # 144) on :
I don't know about Jessica Alba's crappy acting... then again even I was distracted by the women in the film.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Frank's lesbian parole officer was the most bueatiful woman in the movie...possibly in recorded history.
Posted by Vice-Admiral Michael T. Colorge (Member # 144) on :
The topless lesbian parole officer... makes some of my straight friends want to be cuffed by her and my lesbian friends want to be naughty.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Awww yeah.
She actually looks a lot like a girl I used to be (platonically) tight with: she did the fetish parties and her sister was a dominatrix.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
Or, I guess, what I wrote about the movie.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
Never heard of this movie... Sin City. Elijah's in it? Based on comics?? Anyone give me a plot run-down?
I was flipping through a movie magazine today - there's a lot of good/big movies coming out this year!!
Star Wars, Kingdom of Heaven, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire... a few others I can't remember.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
Angry people murder each other a lot, and prostitute ninjas cut up Benicio Del Toro.
Also, it is awesome.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
What could be better?
The movie is based closely on three of Frank Miller's graphic novels. I can only recall two of their titles: The Dame Wore Red and That Yellow Bastard. No clue what the story with the hookers is called.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
Uh, Sin City.
Though I guess he retroactively gave it a subtitle. I'm just going from IMDB reports, here, though.
It's three of the collections plus a short story.
Posted by Hobbes (Member # 138) on :
The Hard Goodbye, The Big Fat Kill, and The Yellow Bastard.
While Spider-Man maybe a great comic book movie, Sin City feels like you're actually watching a comic book.
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
quote: Star Wars, Kingdom of Heaven, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire... a few others I can't remember.
Don't Forget War of the Worlds
Posted by Balaam Xumucane (Member # 419) on :
Nah, forget War of The Worlds.
So awesome. I liked the Marv story best. I like it the best of the graphic novels so far too. Though I'd hope that "A Dame To Kill For" might be included were there to be a sequel.
Posted by Siegfried (Member # 29) on :
I saw Sin City about a week ago, and I really enjoyed it. I think it dragged in a couple places (especially the middle of "The Hard Goodbye"), but it pretty tight (as the kids are wont to say nowadays). I really enjoyed the visual style of the film. I liked the comic book effect and the use of black and white with just a hint of color in places. It made an impact on me.
I didn't realize Marv was played by Mickey Rourke until the credits ran. The makeup artist did a good job on him. I think he did a pretty good job; he managed to play the character just over-the-top enough without making it cheesy. Elijah Wood was really, really creepy as Kevin. It's kind of amusing; he had no lines and most of his screentime was just standing or sitting there looking creepy, but he pulled it off. I was also entertained by the militant prostitutes (both for their parts and their, ahem, parts).
I liked The Salesman being bookends to the movie. The first scene with Hartigan and Bob on the dock was kind of awkward, but after he punched Bob out it was better. I got a little of the ick factor going with some of the gore (Lucille's stump, Kevin's dismemberment, and Hartigan ripping off Yellow Bastard's genitals), but it didn't detract that much from everything else.
I think my favorite segment was "The Big Fat Kill". There's just something cool about militant prostitutes. I liked Clive Owen, Rosario Dawson, Alexis Bledel, and Devon Aoki the most in this. I kinda felt that Michael Duncan Clarke and Brittany Murphy were wasted in this part of the movie. Oh, yeah, Benecio Del Toro was pretty cool was a corpse and bodiless head.
Overall, yeah, good flick. I'm in love with Alexis Bledel now. I may just have to start watching Gilmore Girls. Maybe.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Devon Aoki .....(drool)
Posted by Balaam Xumucane (Member # 419) on :
Ick! Seriously.
Carla Gugino, OTOH...
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
So is this movie accessible for someone who has NEVER heard of said comic book?
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Yes. Most of my friends thta love the movie had never read any of the comics (or even heard of them for that matter).
How can you not love Devon Aoki? She's bueatiful and she kills a whole lotta people without ever changing facial expression?
Nothing's sexier than a blonde asian woman with a mean streak.
Except mabye if she had jet black hair....with a mean streak. Posted by The Mighty Monkey of Mim (Member # 646) on :
Yeah. Like I said, I'd never read the comics, and it was still very enjoyable. They didn't include everything, but for the stories they *did* use they pretty much followed the books panel by panel, so you're not missing anything important. It's all self-explanatory.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Plus: Devon Aoki! (Did I mention she's hot?)
Posted by Siegfried (Member # 29) on :
What The Mighty Monkey of Mim said. I had heard of the Sin City graphic novels before (thanks to some documentary on comic books that included a long segment on Frank Miller), but I had never read them or looked into them. The movie's easy to follow, but there is some timeframe jumping going on (similar to Pulp Fiction but not as extreme (sidenote: Quentin Tarantino guest directed one of the scenes in the movie)).
Also, to disagree with Jason: Alexis Bledel is the hottest of the prostitutes.
Posted by Nim' (Member # 205) on :
There! Now it premiered in Sweden. Damn incomplete global movie-release synchronization.
I have to say that I went in with a few preconcieved notions and grudges, I haven't liked Clive Owen the last couple of years (except for Bourne Identity) and I didn't know what to expect from it, though my gut feeling told me I'd like it since I thought of "Max Payne" when watching the trailer.
Anyway, it helped that my sister-in-law disliked the movie, specifically the "sexism" and gore of the movie (as if Rodriguez and Miller didn't deliberately infuse it with that to make it sinny) which made me really think about why I liked it.
I've seen a lot of things in my life and it takes a lot for a movie to groce me out, so when it happens I actually enjoy and respect it. I felt I could allow myself to let the gratification appeal to me (especially since I'd payed for it and the movie had in it all the genres I enjoy except Renaissance satire).
Anyway, about the barriers. Seeing Marv's parole officer's arm-stump and realizing what she was talking about ("He made me look!") was a real slap in the face, as was Willis' nutjob on Yellowguy. I've never seen a prostate before. It was so out there that I had to laugh appreciately at the sheer gall of showing it.
Rourke and Del Toro were spot-on in their deliveries, I must say.
There were some things I didn't get, though. I hoped someone could help me out with that.
First of all, why did that hitman go after the blue-eyed hooker in the end? What was his story? It felt very hazy.
Michael Madsen's character, why did he try to talk Willis out of going in to save the girl in the beginning? I thought about it and he couldn't have been "on the payroll" since he left Willis alive and greeted him after he got out of jail, so why on earth would he shoot his partner a bunch of times when the same had only slightly knocked him unconscious?
The third question is a bit more open-ended, perhaps. Do the characters of Sin City have superpowers? I mean confirmed ones? Are they mutants or unnaturally gifted? Or was it just that this was a queer universe with special occurrences and styles that exist in a bubble, separated from mainstream action movies?
I was disappointed that Christopher Walken was so underused, only 3 seconds during some stiff, plot-establishing shots. All through the last half of the movie I thought "Aah, and there is still some Walken-stough to come, I haven't seen everything yet!".
I haven't seen "The Hitchhiker" but I imagine that scene in the movie must be the best scene of Rutger Hauer's whole career. He was more believable and deep than in Blade Runner, where I always felt he acted and talked like a child (I know, technically he was, but still).
I too felt the Willis-suicide felt like a sort of copout, though I wasn't that surprised after all the shit I'd seen previously. Funny that he gave in to Alba's kissing, that "Sin"-theme really stays through the movie.
The Nazi-Hitman-With-Impaling-Arrow was a surprise, real honest-to-fuck comedy relief suddenly, and so late in the movie too. He was really good with his lines and timing, the audience loved it.
Another thing, isn't Sin City supposed to be an unnamed and non-existing town, only created to house the extreme and Film Noiry characters and stories shown there? Why then add those tar pits with dino statues, which IIRC are a trademark of Hollywood, Los Angeles?
Posted by Siegfried (Member # 29) on :
quote:First of all, why did that hitman go after the blue-eyed hooker in the end? What was his story? It felt very hazy.
Best as I can tell, there isn't much story to Josh Hartnett's character. He's just a hitman-for-hire. As for why he goes after Becky (Alexis Bledel, the blue-eyed hooker), I think he was hired by Gail (Rosario Dawson, the leader of the hookers) to kill Becky since she was the one that sold out the hookers to Manute (Michael Duncan Clarke, the corrupt police commander).
quote:Michael Madsen's character, why did he try to talk Willis out of going in to save the girl in the beginning? I thought about it and he couldn't have been "on the payroll" since he left Willis alive and greeted him after he got out of jail, so why on earth would he shoot his partner a bunch of times when the same had only slightly knocked him unconscious?
I was under the impression that Bob (Madsen's character) was on the Roark payroll. He seemed to know a lot about what was going on with the serial little girl rapist/murderer (Roark Jr.). In addition, I think Bob genuinely liked and had a friendship with Hartigan (Bruce Willis); that's why he tried to convince Hartigan to not go after Roark Jr. In the end, Bob had to sell out his friend (setting him up as the little girl rapist/murderer) to protect his boss's only son. That's why he shot to wound instead of just knocking him out or shooting to kill.
quote:The third question is a bit more open-ended, perhaps. Do the characters of Sin City have superpowers? Are they mutants or unnaturally gifted? Or was it just that this was a queer universe with special occurrences and styles that exist in a bubble, separated from mainstream action movies?
I'll go with the queer universe theory and say that, simply, biology and physics are a different beast there. Anime/cartoon/comic book rules of the universe apply to Sin City, thus fatal wounds aren't, fatal falls aren't, and superhuman reflexes are the norm for the central characters.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
Christopher Walken?
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Yeah, I missed Walkin if he's in there and I saw it twice.
The second time around, Jessica Alba's crappy acting is noticiby distracting. She's just a nice piece of ass with no acting ability- that bodes ill for the Fantastoc Four movie.
Posted by Nim' (Member # 205) on :
It appears I saw Walken's name some time in the preceding trailers to the film, he actually wasn't in there I see now. I think I thought it was him when Marv talked about the fatcats who run the town, when we see a short clip of Rutger Hauer soundlessly orate to the masses in his church-hat.
Siegfried: Your three conclusions sound very right and logical, I will go with that.
Ah! Just watched imdb and there is indeed a sequel slated for 2006, though it has no info in it yet.
Hope we see some of that famed "mafia" and yet more hookers. Gretchen Mol needs the money, mehe mehe.
Posted by Balaam Xumucane (Member # 419) on :
So, er, not to be a total sexist misogynist perv or whatever (er, ooops), but what is it with actresses playingstrippers who do not take off their clothes? Don't get me wrong. I'm all for chasteness and modesty (everything in moderation). But I'm thinking if you're casting (or cast in) a role wherein the character's occupation more or less revolves around taking off her clothes, well then maybe you might expect the film to portray a little nudity. And stuff.
Ignore me. I'm bitter and grumpy tonight. Carla Gugino remains.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
The movie would indeed have been better with all the prostitutes nekked as well.
Plus...Devon Aoki!
Posted by Siegfried (Member # 29) on :
Everyone should have been naked in that movie.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Er...not that yellow guy.
Posted by Siegfried (Member # 29) on :
Well, Nick Stahl has done a couple nudes scenes. So has Clive Owens. And probably Mickey Rourke. Rosario Dawson, Carla Gugino, and James King have all done nude scenes, with the latter two being in this movie.
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
Lol! Sin City made the Zero-ranking at CAP alert! Sharing place only with American Psycho. It's a fun read, the guy even seems to give a slight nod of respect to the labors of Miller and Rodriguez. "Cinematic cyanide" indeed.
Posted by WizArtist II (Member # 1425) on :
I'm sorry, I can't see Natalie Portman without hearing her say "I can CLEAN for you".
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