I don't know: Maybe my expectations were fucked up on Sin City. I enjoyed the comics; I enjoy Bob Rodriguez's movies. Why isn't this a good fucking movie?
Because, it's the best fucking movie I've seen this year. (Yes, I realize it's only April, but gimme a break.) I guess I expected a warmed-over version of the comics, something that just followed the plot. When I heard they were making a movie of the Sin City comics, I thought, "No fucking way are they going to adapt this straight up. It's too dark." Well, what do I know: This thing follows the comics down to the panel. You could take stills from the film and match them directly to panels in the comic. That is a slamdunk adaptation.
As attempting to describe the plot of this movie is nearly impossible, some random thoughts:
--High definition digital video (HDDV) is going to kill film as a filmmaking format. While I still think that regular DV (like you can buy at the store) is total dogshit, HDDV may be the future. While regular film does actually have more resolution than HDDV, it's only on the negative, and is gets waterered down in the transfer to a positive print. Plus, any transfer to a widescreen format cuts resolution, as cropping and enlarging a square 35mm film cell into a rectangle automatically decreases resolution. Lighting for film is a nightmare, as what your eye sees and what the camera sees as colors are two different things. Also, you fuck something up, you just wasted film that now goes right into the toilet. Truly, a nightmare medium. HDDV has none of these problems. There's a reason why George Lucas, one of our more innovative filmmakers (no, seriously: He's figured out how to remake the original Star Wars movies in 3D), has used HDDV for his last two movies. (Wow, that got really technical; let's go back to the fluff.)
--Speaking of digital whatnot, I understand Rodriguez is allll about making epic scale movies for no money, but, seriously, man, you need to spend more than $20 on effects. Some of the effects shots in this movie are embarrassingly bad. Look at Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow: Made for relatively little money, shot in a fashion similar to Sin City, but great effects. That's because that movie was made by a digital animation company: They can do as much as they want on the effects. You can't go to an FX company and say, "Guys, here's the effects shots I need, and here's a $50 to cover costs." You end up with South Park style cars made from construction paper. You gotta spend some money if you want to make things look good. And don't try to blame it off on the quality of digital video; watch the trailer for Revenge of the Sith (which was shot in HDDV) and tell me how much of that looks fake. And speaking of bad FX...
--Let's settle on one color for blood. I realize that, in the comics, which are in black and white, that blood is white. And that's fine if you want the blood in the movie (which is also in black & white) to be white. But, when you also have blood that is red, well, that white blood kiiiinda looks like bird shit. Just something to think about for your next black & white movie.
--Jessica Alba has the biggest lips I've ever seen on a human woman. (I've seen bigger lips on a few mares, but Jessica is not a horse.) Her lips could beat Angelina Jolie's in a fist fight any day.
--Did Tarantino actually direct a scene in this movie? Allegedly, he directed the scene with Dwight and Jackie Boy in the car on the way to the tarpits. Seeing as how it isn't any different in tone or style from the rest of the movie, nor does it suck donkey dick like nearly every Tarantino project post-Pulp Fiction, I seriously doubt the validity of this claim. He may have been on the set during the shooting, but I don't think he had a hand in it. (I will say that if Pulp Fiction had a sequel, it would be this movie.)
--Clive Owen is about to get very famous. Especially if Brosnan does actually bow out, and Owen becomes the next James Bond. (While he's actually underutilized here, check out Closer and I'll Sleep When I'm Dead; mufucka can act.)
--For fans of the comics: If there's anyone more perfect than Mickey Rourke for Marv, you let me know. And I'll punch you right in the face for lying.
Seriously, go see this movie right now. It's just great fun for the whole family. (And go buy the comics too.)
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
One Deadly Sin
Posted by E at 2:28 am
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4 comments:
If you are a Clive Owen fan, as anyone who has seen "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" probably is, I would also recommend "The Croupier". Alex Kingston (from ER fame) also gets surprisingly naked for someone working in American TV.
I have seen Croupier and it's very good also. If you're a fan of Alex Kingston nudity, as anyone who has seen Croupier probably is, she gets hella naked in the most recent adaptation of Moll Flanders.
OK, let me start by saying that I liked this movie. It is friggin beautiful, well-executed, and from the little I know, faithful to the source material. It is definitely as cool as it think it is. However, it's not nearly as clever as it thinks it is. I'm all for themes but this story does not have themes as much as it has the redundancy of "guy saves/redeems girl(s) despite his self". The stories are linked in a way that isn't really that clever and I found the pacing to be similar to Max Payne or any other vid shooter. Again, I liked this movie but when you (and others) start to compare it to Pulp Fiction, I gotta paraphrase a certian bad m/f and say "It's not even the same m/f'n ballpark".
--Neil
A beautiful movie, stylish as hell, but, essentially, kinda empty. It's the same story three times. But remember, this is an adaptation of a comic, not The Magnificent Ambersons. As for the stories themselves, here's my opinion: The middle story is complete shit. The last story is buoyed by a nifty little double ironic twist. Only the first story packs any emotional punch. But, maybe if it was last, one of the other stories would seem better, as they are all pretty much the same.
As for the Pulp Fiction comparison, I use it solely as a stylistic comparison. There are a lot of similarities between the two movies, as far as style, story, and characters go. Are they on equal ground? Not even close. Sin City may be the best movie I've seen this year, but Pulp Fiction is one of the best movies ever. It's Pulp Fiction, for Fuck's Sake!!
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