"Sin City" (2005)
Starring Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Mickey Rourke, Nick Stahl, Rosario Dawson
Directed by Robert Rodriguez
The unique visual style of "Sin City" will draw you into the film, but it's the stories that this city has to tell that will keep you riveted to the screen.
Director Robert Rodriguez takes three different stories from the "Sin City" graphic novels "The Hard Goodbye", "That Yellow Bastard", and "The Big Fat Kill" and translates them to the screen.
Since there are three different stories that Rodriguez ("Spy Kids") is working with, you might think that he would change some around a little bit. But commendably he hasn't changed anything from graphic novel to screen.
In "The Hard Goodbye", we meet an ex-con named Marv (Mickey Rourke) who finds himself next to a dead hooker (Jaime King, "White Chicks") and framed for her murder. In "That Yellow Bastard", we meet a retired cop named Hartigan (Bruce Willis) who is battling with a pedophile (Nick Stahl, "Bully"). And in "The Big Fat Kill", we have a long-standing truce between the prostitutes and the police about to be broken when a dirty cop (Benicio Del Toro, "21 Grams") is killed on the prostitute's turf.
The look of the film is like watching a live-action comic book. Rodriguez used pages from the graphic novel as his storyboards in setting up his shots, so the various shots are what you would see coming out of the original comics. The use of black and white with splash of color on various objects from a dress to a car to a pair of Converse sneakers help in giving the idea of watching the pages come to life, as well as contributing to the film-noir feel of the film.
Rodriguez used a similar technique that was used in the film "The Man Who Wasn't There" by the Cohen brothers, in which he filmed the movie in color then digitally removed the color from the film. It makes the characters stand out from their background and results in the picture being sharper and crisper than in a normal black and white film.
Another technique that Rodriguez uses is one that was used in "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow", in which the actors were filmed in front of a green or blue screens and only they, the props and the cars were real. What didn't work in "Sky Captain" works in this film, because Rodriguez was more concerned with story than technique.
Each actor looks like their respective characters in the film, and it brings the original graphic novel stories more to life. Although some actors didn't need makeup to portray their characters, others had prosthetics done to make the transformation for perfect. It's not enough that each one of the actors looks like the characters from the comic book. They do a superb job in their various parts bringing across each character's traits and quirks.
Rourke's Marv is a mean bastard that will do wrong to anyone who treats him badly. He captures this character accurately, and looks like he is having a ton of fun playing it.Willis is fantastic as Hartigan. He does a great job conveying the pain that his character feels in saving a young girl, but at the same time, he is being forced to confess to a crime that he didn't do. Clive Owen ("Closer"), who plays ex-photographer Dwight in "The Big Fat Kill", does a fine job coming across as a guy not to be fooled with.
"Sin City" has a large all star ensemble casts, but naturally there are bound to be a few standout performances. In particular Jessica Alba ("Dark Angel") as a stripper with a heart of gold and Rosario Dawson ("Alexander") as a prostitute with an itchy trigger finger rise above more than mere eye candy. Del Toro as the very bad cop in "The Big Fat Kill" is another standout. He looks like he'll hit you if you cross him.
One more standout in this large cast is that of Elijah Wood, as a character known simply as Kevin. Without going into too many details, let's just say that Wood brings a very eerie characterization to the screen and that he has completely wiped Frodo from the minds of any "Lord of the Rings" fans.
Despite the fact that the film's characters are what you would normally see in a typical film noir film such as the damsel in distress, the big tough guy or the cop gone wrong, Rodriguez and Miller turn these archetypes on their ears. Even the narrations used throughout the film used by the leads in each story play into the film noir feel of the film. Miller's original dialogue is almost completely intact from the source material, so we are able to really get into these character's heads. The lead female actresses are strong women that don't take crap from the men in their lives. The strongest example of this is that of the prostitutes of Old Town. They may be hookers, but they'll defend themselves if provoked. There are men in the story who will defend a woman's honor and wouldn't think of hitting a woman. As an example, you find out that as sadistic as the character of Marv is, he won't hit a woman out of principle.
Rodriguez shares his director credit with creator Frank Miller and having Miller there seemed to help in regards to the film. Because of a bad Hollywood experience in the past, Miller said "no" to a "Sin City" movie before Rodriguez approached him and showed him a sample clip. With Miller on board, it was a sure-fire way to make sure his property was treated right. Quentin Tarantino also receives a credit as a "special guest director." He directed a scene in the story "The Big Fat Kill" involving Owen and Del Toro for $1, just to get his hands on using the digital equipment. Without giving anything away, the segment had a definite black humor element to it.
The film is really violent. Tops of heads fly all over the place, people are getting shot or eaten, you get the idea. It takes on cartoonish qualities that Tarantino used in the "Kill Bill" films, so it can't be taken too seriously. The black and white tempers that a little bit, but be warned if you are squeamish about violence.
"Sin City" does justice to the comic it's based on and is one of the best comic book movies you will see this year or any year.
Buy "Sin City" on DVD
Directed by Robert Rodriguez
The unique visual style of "Sin City" will draw you into the film, but it's the stories that this city has to tell that will keep you riveted to the screen.
Director Robert Rodriguez takes three different stories from the "Sin City" graphic novels "The Hard Goodbye", "That Yellow Bastard", and "The Big Fat Kill" and translates them to the screen.
Since there are three different stories that Rodriguez ("Spy Kids") is working with, you might think that he would change some around a little bit. But commendably he hasn't changed anything from graphic novel to screen.
In "The Hard Goodbye", we meet an ex-con named Marv (Mickey Rourke) who finds himself next to a dead hooker (Jaime King, "White Chicks") and framed for her murder. In "That Yellow Bastard", we meet a retired cop named Hartigan (Bruce Willis) who is battling with a pedophile (Nick Stahl, "Bully"). And in "The Big Fat Kill", we have a long-standing truce between the prostitutes and the police about to be broken when a dirty cop (Benicio Del Toro, "21 Grams") is killed on the prostitute's turf.
The look of the film is like watching a live-action comic book. Rodriguez used pages from the graphic novel as his storyboards in setting up his shots, so the various shots are what you would see coming out of the original comics. The use of black and white with splash of color on various objects from a dress to a car to a pair of Converse sneakers help in giving the idea of watching the pages come to life, as well as contributing to the film-noir feel of the film.
Rodriguez used a similar technique that was used in the film "The Man Who Wasn't There" by the Cohen brothers, in which he filmed the movie in color then digitally removed the color from the film. It makes the characters stand out from their background and results in the picture being sharper and crisper than in a normal black and white film.
Another technique that Rodriguez uses is one that was used in "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow", in which the actors were filmed in front of a green or blue screens and only they, the props and the cars were real. What didn't work in "Sky Captain" works in this film, because Rodriguez was more concerned with story than technique.
Each actor looks like their respective characters in the film, and it brings the original graphic novel stories more to life. Although some actors didn't need makeup to portray their characters, others had prosthetics done to make the transformation for perfect. It's not enough that each one of the actors looks like the characters from the comic book. They do a superb job in their various parts bringing across each character's traits and quirks.
Rourke's Marv is a mean bastard that will do wrong to anyone who treats him badly. He captures this character accurately, and looks like he is having a ton of fun playing it.Willis is fantastic as Hartigan. He does a great job conveying the pain that his character feels in saving a young girl, but at the same time, he is being forced to confess to a crime that he didn't do. Clive Owen ("Closer"), who plays ex-photographer Dwight in "The Big Fat Kill", does a fine job coming across as a guy not to be fooled with.
"Sin City" has a large all star ensemble casts, but naturally there are bound to be a few standout performances. In particular Jessica Alba ("Dark Angel") as a stripper with a heart of gold and Rosario Dawson ("Alexander") as a prostitute with an itchy trigger finger rise above more than mere eye candy. Del Toro as the very bad cop in "The Big Fat Kill" is another standout. He looks like he'll hit you if you cross him.
One more standout in this large cast is that of Elijah Wood, as a character known simply as Kevin. Without going into too many details, let's just say that Wood brings a very eerie characterization to the screen and that he has completely wiped Frodo from the minds of any "Lord of the Rings" fans.
Despite the fact that the film's characters are what you would normally see in a typical film noir film such as the damsel in distress, the big tough guy or the cop gone wrong, Rodriguez and Miller turn these archetypes on their ears. Even the narrations used throughout the film used by the leads in each story play into the film noir feel of the film. Miller's original dialogue is almost completely intact from the source material, so we are able to really get into these character's heads. The lead female actresses are strong women that don't take crap from the men in their lives. The strongest example of this is that of the prostitutes of Old Town. They may be hookers, but they'll defend themselves if provoked. There are men in the story who will defend a woman's honor and wouldn't think of hitting a woman. As an example, you find out that as sadistic as the character of Marv is, he won't hit a woman out of principle.
Rodriguez shares his director credit with creator Frank Miller and having Miller there seemed to help in regards to the film. Because of a bad Hollywood experience in the past, Miller said "no" to a "Sin City" movie before Rodriguez approached him and showed him a sample clip. With Miller on board, it was a sure-fire way to make sure his property was treated right. Quentin Tarantino also receives a credit as a "special guest director." He directed a scene in the story "The Big Fat Kill" involving Owen and Del Toro for $1, just to get his hands on using the digital equipment. Without giving anything away, the segment had a definite black humor element to it.
The film is really violent. Tops of heads fly all over the place, people are getting shot or eaten, you get the idea. It takes on cartoonish qualities that Tarantino used in the "Kill Bill" films, so it can't be taken too seriously. The black and white tempers that a little bit, but be warned if you are squeamish about violence.
"Sin City" does justice to the comic it's based on and is one of the best comic book movies you will see this year or any year.
Buy "Sin City" on DVD
posted by ScoopOnFilm @ 11:52 AM
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