Movie Review - Sin City: A Dame To Kill For

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For

Starring: Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rosario Dawson, Bruce Willis, Eva Green, Powers Boothe, Dennis Haysberth, Ray Liotta, Christopher Meloni, Jeremy Piven, Christopher Lloyd, Jamie King, Juno Temple, and more.

Directed by: Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez Written by: Frank Miller Based on the Graphic Novels by: Frank Miller Cinematography by: Robert Rodriguez Music by: Robert Rodriguez and Carl Thiel

Premise: Sin City means different things to different people, but they all have a story to tell - the dancer trying to shore her courage to get revenge on the man who killed the only one who ever tried to protect her; the young buck trying to make a name for himself and ends up getting in too deep; the old lover drawn back by the femme fatale who broke his heart when she comes asking for his help. And all the stories tied together by the one man who knows the city best, except when his mind forgets - he has a condition. (Rated R)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Many familiar faces grace the screen -- several reprising roles from the original "Sin City" film, while other make their mark in the city for the first time. Mickey Rourke is still a total hoot as "Marv". Bruce Willis reprises his role as Hartigan, back from the grave. Jessica Alba definitely proves the nine years between films have not slowed her down, and she gives a great performance on multiple levels as Nancy. Josh Brolin is "noir" to his core. Eva Green, though, steals the show, proving once more her tremendous and hypnotic range.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: As in the original "Sin City" there's a lot of play with black and white and flashes of vivid colors or flip flopping contrasts -- they all looked great. Some subtle storytelling also went on with the colors, which added some nice flavor to the tales. The women were being their true selves when their hair, eyes, lips, or face had color, otherwise...

The characters with the larger than life faces or bodies were expertly done. The power player Ava talks to during her party looked so realistic I couldn't believe she wanted to be that close to him. And the few shots of Dwight's face after some of his troubles, and of Johnny's hand, had me twitching in sympathy in my seat.

The visuals and sweeps during Nancy's nightmare scene were very nice.

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: It's been nine years between films, but "Sin City: A Dame To Kill For" picks up not far from the end of the original, so those who've not seen the first movie either recently or ever, will have a hard time connecting with the characters. While they do give information on what has gone before it's not enough to deepen the experience. (So be sure to watch/rewatch the first one before seeing this one!)

There's three stories, all of which connect through Marv or the bar. You see a piece of each one in turn, the middle one running on through to its end, then back to the others in reverse order. Because they don't have much to do with each other, and the Dwight storyline was so involving and long, by the time they got to the other two, I'd totally forgotten about them - so it was almost a jolt to realize there was more.

There were also a couple of bits they threw in at the beginning with Marv that were never actually resolved - you knew to whom Marv's jacket and gloves belonged to, but not how he got them. So that made things seem a little disjointed, especially after so specifically drawing the audience's attention to them.

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: Gun battles, car chases, knives, jumping and being thrown through windows, and lots of fists totally fit the films "noir" feel. Add in some crossbows, samurai swords, and tough girls, and there's plenty of stunt fun to be had by all.

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: Real or imagined, the locations for the different scenes worked beautifully. Merging reality and CGI as well as playing with shadows and moonlight made for some lovely cinematography.

Conclusion: I'd definitely recommend making sure to see the original "Sin City" before venturing to see "Sin City: A Dame To Kill For" - this should definitely fill in some of the gaps to make the film have more impact and get you as the audience more vested in what's going on. There's lots of lovely visuals and plenty of fist action. The R Rating should be taken seriously for younger viewers - this is not for kids. But the adults should have an entertaining time.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)  

Movie Review - 300: Rise of an Empire

300: Rise of an Empire

Starring: Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Lena Heady, Hans Matheson, Callan Mulvey, David Wenham, Rodrigo Santoro, Jack O'Connell, Andrew Tiernan, Igar Naor, and more.

Directed by: Noam Murro Screenplay by: Zack Snyder and Kurt Johnstad Based on the Graphic Novel by: Frank Miller Cinematography by: Simon Duggan Music by: Junkie XL

Premise: Starting before the events of the "300", Queen Gorgo tells the story of Themistocles and his inadvertent triggering ten years before of events which drove Xerxes to wonder the dessert and absorb pure evil to become a God King with only one goal, the complete destruction of Athens and all Greece and everything they represent. (Rated PG-13)


Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Sullivan Stapleton did well as the tactician and guilt burdened Athenian Themistocles. Being made to follow the more intense King Leonidas (as portrayed by Gerard Butler in the original "300"), placed a major handicap on Stapleton's performance, as viewers can't help but compare the two, especially as Leonidas is mentioned several times. Lena Heady reprises her role as Queen Gorgo, and she makes it incredibly easy to believe she is a true Spartan Queen. Eva Green was great as the violated and vengeful Artemisia. She exuded both competence as a tactician and general and a poisonous sexuality that was enthralling.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: While the original "300" stuck to battles on land, "300: The Rise of an Empire" is filled with sea battles and close hand to hand combat. The recreations of the ships and execution of attacks looked amazing. Creative blood splatter and appendage removal populate the film throughout. In the beginning, the audience is given an unusual treat, by seeing first hand why helmets and other armor are quite important during battles, despite not seeming so in most movie combat. Helmets and armor/shields can definitely make the difference, even if later on helmets grew out of favor. (Hollywood has always appeared to believe that if you can't see an actor's face, the audience will think less of the film. Anyone who's watched "Dredd" with Karl Urban, can testify that not seeing the actors full face can actually work very well.)

The only thing that could have been done better with regards to the special effects and CGI would have been the introduction of certain details which were eventually revealed in later battles, but would have made the experience so much better if they'd shown them straight from the beginning. For example, the manner by which the Greeks kept their place on deck during ramming maneuvers, or the fact they too were using rowers to power their ships.

3) Story - Thumbs Up: Like the "300", "300: Rise of an Empire" clings to the general history of the period, then spices it up with a little mysticism for added flavor. The timeline pulls back to before the "300" then works up to it and beyond. The most fun was the fact they kept the tactics of several of the sea battles of the time, which were a lot of fun to watch being carried out.

Artemisia was indeed a female naval general in the navy of Xerxes, and she was deemed quite capable and intelligent, but the rest of the information imparted about her in the film is not accurate, although it did make for some great motivation for wanting to destroy Greece. From what I read, it was Xerxes who ordered the naval attacks against the Greeks in open water, while Artemisia had counselled against them, already aware of the Greeks prowess on the water.

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: The film has a beach side battle and many sea battles with close hand to hand combat. Several of these get the slow motion treatment, making their savagery beautiful. The shield and helmet use showed clearly why they were such necessary articles in warfare of this type. Outstanding choreography on all the battle sequences.

5) Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: The visuals close up were great, and so were the far off shots showing a burning Athens, the fields of ships poised for battle, and other locations. When the Greeks first go against the Persian's in the sea, just seeing the view of the hundreds of masts, then the giant waves bringing the ships down right on top of them was an awesome visual.

Conclusion: "300: Rise of an Empire" does not reach the heights of the original "300" but offers a lot to enjoy regardless. Seeing the sea battles and cool tactics employed was a definite treat. Getting to watch the Athenians battle with their shields offensively and defensively? Priceless.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)