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Noir reinvented
If there's anything you knew in advance about "Sin City" (aside from who gets naked -- show a little class dammit) it's that director Robert Rodriquez went as far out of his way as humanly possible to make this film adhere as closely as possible to the visual feel of the comic book source material. Well, I haven't read any of Frank Miller's legendary "Sin City" comics, but having seen the movie, I can't imagine it existing without them.Many people will see similarities between "Sin City" and the work of Quentin Tarantino, both because Robert Rodriquez will probably never break free from this stigma no matter how many kiddie flicks he makes, and more importantly -- gulp -- he actually inviteds QT on board to direct one of the segments, this after he'd torn up his DGA membership card in disgust after they wouldn't allow him to list Frank Miller as a co-director, so as far as integrity goes it's hard to one-up Sir Robert here. I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to which segment QT was supposed to be directing ahead of viewing this flick, and it's to the film's credit that it all seems of a piece no matter how the chores were divvied up.
Now, there are a couple of things that are immediately going to weed out a certain part of the older audience (hello Ma!), this being the "artsy" use of black-and-white splashed here and there with purposeful primary colors, and also the integrity of the action sequences. I shouldn't diss the so-called "older" audience, being in my third decade of existence myself, but my parents and everyone else their age have certain prejudices toward a particular kind of modern film, this being the type that has "far fetched" action sequences. Yes, in "Sin City" the characters are able to take a ridiculous amount of bullets and keep on ticking as well as jumping out of windows several stories to the ground without any apparent injuries, but to that I say that there is a reason this kind of thing works in a film like "Sin City" whereas it can easily wear thin in a movie like, say, "The Matrix". Sin City is portrayed as a hopelessly fatalistic backdrop against which the best the characters can hope for is to die with a little bit of dignity. It doesn't really matter that Marv doesn't croak after taking a bullet to the head because you know the dice are gonna roll cold for him sooner or later.Another comparison people may make to Tarantino is to point out that "Sin City" is also an anthology film. I could mention the fact that this is based on three graphic novels featuring different protagonists and leave it at that, but -- at the risk of unduly diminishing the genius of Quentin Tarantino, whose "Pulp Fiction" is undeniably the most influential film of the 90s and a work of art in it's own right -- it should be noted that QT did not, in fact, actually INVENT the anthology film. No, that would be George Romero and Stephen King with "Creepshow" (I'm kidding, of course, but you get my point...).
Aside from the anthology aspect, there is one thing that actually does somewhat resemble "Pulp Fiction": Bruce Willis' character makes an early exit only to return later in the film. It's not the same chronological gimmick that QT utilized but I've said enough as it is.The one aspect that got so much press in the film's pre-release was the unprecedented decision to film the entire movie in front of a green screen. This move not only doesn't come off as a gimmick but you'll find yourself forgetting that "Sin City" isn't absolutely real about five minutes into the movie. Sure, there are numerous improbabilities, as detailed above, but it's the MOVEMENT of the characters, vehicles, weapons, etc. that seem a bit cartoonish; nothing about the actual scenery really does. In essence, "Sin City" sticks to the elements that continue to make noir so compelling: great camerawork, gritty characterizations, and the theme of a hardened soul holding out some kind of remote hope for redemption. Bruce Willis was an absolute no-brainer for this flick: he's spent the last decade perfecting this world-weary gutter saint character, and "Sin City" is arguably his best portrait of this tortured soul archetype yet. Willis, Clive Owen and Mickey Rourke are the three main protagonists, and you'll find yourself rooting for them not through point-of-view bias alone, but because each of these guys completely earns the right to be called a bad ass. In a way I'm glad they saved the fate of Willis' character for last as the whole movie seems to be building to such tragedy.
So, yes, it's unfortunate that so many people will rent this movie sheerly on the recommendation of Mr. Skin, but hopefully "Sin City" will turn more than a few heads on to a new, hightened quality of experimental film-making in the same way that the aforementioned "Pulp Fiction" did a decade ago. Word is that Rodriquez is planning two back-to-back sequels as we speak.
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Miller's graphic novels become Rodriguez's film noir epic
"Sin City" is a black and white world, except when the blood is being sprayed around and then be prepared for lots of red or white or even yellow. Based on three of the first four "Sin City" graphic novels by Frank Miller ("The Hard Good-Bye," "The Big Fat Kill," and "That Yellow Bastard") and "The Customer Is Always Right" short-story from "Babe Wore Red" that was the test run for this project, this 2005 film sets the standard for what film noir will be in the 21st century and advances the cause of digital filmmaker even more than "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow." That film was pure eye candy, but "Sin City" is much too gritty to be that sweet. You are going to wince at some of what happens in this film and you might even turn away once or twice as the over the top violence hits you in the gut as hard as it hits some of the characters in the side of the head. But chances are you are going to love this movie to death.
Frank Miller's "Sin City" is a world where the heroes can take a whole series of punches as well as deliver them, where justice has nothing to do with either mercy or the cops, and the system is crooked from top down to pretty near the bottom of the barrel. The dames are still worth dying for and some of them might even be goddesses, but others can defend themselves quite well, thank you. This is a world where protecting women is hard-wired into the psyches of guys like John Hartigan (Bruce Willis), Marv (Mickey Rourke), and Dwight (Clive Owen). If you fail to protect a dame, then somebody has to pay and in a way that will make the scum bucket think Hell is heaven when you finally let them go there. This movie is rated R for sustained strong stylized violence, nudity and sexual content including dialogue, but that is an R that is a lot closer to NC-17 than it is to PG-13.
Ang Lee tried to have parts of "The Hulk" look like a comic book, but that meant throwing several frames on the screen at the same time. But with "Sin City" director Robert Rodriguez knows that a comic book panel can be like a frame in a motion picture and visa-versa, so his solution was to embrace Miller's visual style and make him the co-director of the film (and give him a small role as a priest hearing his final confession). The "Sin City" were done largely in black and white, although sometimes white and black, and other times when the strategic addition of a single color as in the red of a woman's lips, the yellow of her hair, or the blue of her eyes. Sometimes the red is a cool looking car.
This is the bloodiest film noir of my experience, so it is a good thing that when there is a lot of blood is it just as likely to appear as bright white or neon yellow as globs of the red stuff. But it is also evokes more bursts of laughter at the audacious violence and the perfectly timed one-liners, most of which will never work uttered in Dirty Harry fashion out of the context of the film. This is film noir in the tradition of Mickey Spillane updated for the Quentin Tarantino generation.
The standout performance in "Sin City" is clearly Mickey Rourke as Marv, who is buried under so much makeup you keep assuring yourself that he is really in there somewhere. In keeping with the formula of the film Marv is both the most violent of the protagonists, giving taking somebody for a ride a whole new meaning, and the funniest, in both word and deed. Willis and Owen are both fine as the other two protagonists, but they are more the strong and silent types, neither as reflective nor as sardonic as Marv. Willis definitely has the world weary act honed down to perfection, but Owen seems a bit too mannered in his detachment in his story line and ends up finishing third in the hero sweepstakes. Elijah Wood as Kevin does not get to speak but still creeps you out as Frodo gone over to the Dark Side. Benicio Del Toro shows some nice comic timing as Jack Rafferty and Michael Madsen has not changed a bit as Bob, while Nick Stahl is scum of two different colors. Rutger Hauer, Powers Booth and Michael Clarke Duncan all take turns playing heavies and it becomes pretty clear Rodriguez could get just about anybody he wanted to do this movie.
Of the women of "Sin City" it is Devon Aoki as Miho who stands out although she never says a word (she does not have to). Jessica Alba's best moments as Nancy are silent, although there is a change in why that is the case as we go through the movie. Rosario Dawson has fun going over the top as Gail, Brittany Murphy goes slumming as Shellie, and Jaime King plays two sides of the same coin as Goldie and Wendy. Alexis Bledel is certainly trying to get as far away from Rory Gilmore as possible by playing Becky, but I am afraid she does not get far in that regard. Then again, if you have read Miller's graphic novels you will be impressed by how Rodriguez has brought the stark black and white images of Becky, Hartigan, the Yellow Bastard and the rest of them to life on the screen. This movie is going to make a ton of money, Miller is going to sell a lot of copies of the new editions of his "Sin City" graphic novels, and hopefully it will not be too long before we get the next cinematic installment, which should have Johnny Depp playing Wallace in the "To Hell and Back" segment.
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Sin City is absolutly crazy of a good movie.
Sin city is pretty much base on the name of the movie it's fun, crazy and even sometimes scaryyou'll love this movie for dvd and psp.
![: Sin City [UMD for PSP]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/513FNKHKWGL._SL160_.jpg)
