Sin City @ Nova
This movie is really quite brilliant. I haven't actually ever glanced at the comic books, but Sin City feels exactly like my vague impressions of the novels. Probably because Frank Miller actually collaborated on it.
The obvious comparison is Pulp Fiction, and it's an apt one. Not just because Tarantino was 'special guest director'. It's a series of semi-related vignettes from the world of Sin City. And this world is stark, evil, compelling and totally magnificent. It reminds me hugely of those Calvin & Hobbes strips where he does Tracer Bullet. So presumably if I was more culturally competent it would remind me of film noir or old detective novels. But cause I've got no idea on them, it doesn't.
The visual style. It's black and white (but filmed in colour, I think) with unexpected splashes of colour, like in people's irises. Blood is cartoon-like in a much better way than the blood in Kill Bill, which was frankly ridiculous. This blood splashes rather than spraying. And every shot is perfect, angles capturing exactly the vibe of the scene.
Of course, it's got that whole voice over thing going on, the internal monologue of the current subject. This is apparently a genre staple. It works well. The men are all-powerful, the women are busty and gorgeously (yet tastefully) lacking in clothes. I think there's some feminist-type issues here but I don't have the smarts to discuss them.
Great film. My only complaint? I wanted more Michael Madsen. Hollywood really should make more use of him.
The obvious comparison is Pulp Fiction, and it's an apt one. Not just because Tarantino was 'special guest director'. It's a series of semi-related vignettes from the world of Sin City. And this world is stark, evil, compelling and totally magnificent. It reminds me hugely of those Calvin & Hobbes strips where he does Tracer Bullet. So presumably if I was more culturally competent it would remind me of film noir or old detective novels. But cause I've got no idea on them, it doesn't.
The visual style. It's black and white (but filmed in colour, I think) with unexpected splashes of colour, like in people's irises. Blood is cartoon-like in a much better way than the blood in Kill Bill, which was frankly ridiculous. This blood splashes rather than spraying. And every shot is perfect, angles capturing exactly the vibe of the scene.
Of course, it's got that whole voice over thing going on, the internal monologue of the current subject. This is apparently a genre staple. It works well. The men are all-powerful, the women are busty and gorgeously (yet tastefully) lacking in clothes. I think there's some feminist-type issues here but I don't have the smarts to discuss them.
Great film. My only complaint? I wanted more Michael Madsen. Hollywood really should make more use of him.
