The Lego Batman Movie

Based on the characters from DC Comics and Lego Construction Toys, The Lego Batman Movie is an animated film in which Lego Batman is trying to defeat the Joker and other villains while dealing with his own fears when he finds himself adopting a young boy who would become his sidekick. Directed by Chris McKay and screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Jared Stern, and John Whittington from a story by Grahame-Smith, the film is a comical take on the Batman story told through Legos as it’s a spin-off of the 2014 film The Lego Movie with Will Arnett reprising his role as Batman. Also starring Zach Galifianakis, Rosario Dawson, Michael Cera, and Ralph Fiennes as Alfred. The Lego Batman Movie is a fun and exhilarating film from Chris McKay.

The film follows the Caped Crusader who is once again battling the Joker (Zach Galifianakis) and his army of villains to save Gotham as he isn’t sure what to do next after the Joker suddenly surrenders to the Gotham’s new police commissioner in Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson). It’s a film in which Batman is forced to face his greatest fear as he refuses to believe that he can work with other people preferring to work by himself. The film’s screenplay explore Batman’s desire to be the hero of Gotham and his belief that he can do it himself yet he remains haunted by the fact that he lost his parents as a child and couldn’t cope with the idea of a family. Yet, at a gala to celebrate the retirement of Jim Gordon (Hector Elizondo) where they announce Gordon’s daughter Barbara as his replacement. Batman in his true identity as Bruce Wayne would meet a young orphan in Dick Grayson (Michael Cera) where he unknowingly adopts him. Adding to this is the fact that he would use Grayson to retrieve a weapon at the home of Superman (Channing Tatum) in the hopes he can get rid of the Joker but he is unaware of what the Joker is planning.

Chris McKay’s direction is definitely stylish as it play into this world where it all Legos and all of the characters are Legos while using references to all of the Batman films of the past. While McKay would use wide shots to get a look of Gotham as well as some extravagant action set pieces in which Batman would battle various villains. McKay would also utilize medium shots and close-ups to play into the humor and some of the drama as the latter relate to Batman’s issues over needing some companionship as the only person he has around him is his butler Alfred. McKay would infuse a lot of offbeat moments in the animation as well as footage of films such as the 1966 Batman film and Jerry Maguire with the latter being a film that Batman likes to watch. It’s among these moments that provide that heightened sense of entertainment as well as moments where Batman reluctantly makes Grayson his sidekick known as Robin.

The film also has McKay maintain a look that fit in towards every set piece and how the characters would build something through whatever Lego piece they can find. Helping McKay with the look is production designer Grant Freckelton in the way Gotham looks as well as Wayne Manor and what the Joker would do to it for its third act. The film’s third act doesn’t just feature Joker teaming up with various villains from other stories such as Gremlins, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and other franchises/films. It just adds to a climax that is crazy but also filled with a lot of humor and moments that aren’t afraid to be ridiculous. Overall, McKay creates a joyful and exuberant film about a vigilante struggling to deal with the idea of needing a family again.

Editors David Burrow, Matt Villa, and John Venzon do amazing work with the editing as it is stylish to play into the action without deviating too much into chaotic editing styles while playing up to the film’s humor with its approach to rhythmic cuts. Sound designer Wayne Pashley does brilliant work with the sound in creating some of the sound effects as well as how the voices matches up with whatever objects the characters are using to shoot. The film’s music by Lorne Balfe is fantastic for its orchestral-based score as it has a lot of bombast in the percussions and in the string arrangements while the soundtrack feature a lot of music from artists and acts like Patrick Stump, DNCE, Harry Nilsson, Wham!, Alesso with Tove Lo, Cutting Crew, Rick Astley, and Richard Cheese & Lounge Against the Machine.

The casting by Mary Hidalgo is great as it feature notable small voice roles and appearances from Eddie Izzard as Lord Voldemort, Jermaine Clement as Sauron, Jonah Hill as Hal Jordan/Green Lantern, Channing Tatum as Superman, Adam DeVine as Barry Allen/the Flash, David Burrows as an anchorman and Mr. Freeze, Doug Benson as Bane, Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, Conan O’Brien as the Riddler, Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face, Jason Mantoukas as the Scarecrow, Riki Lindhome as Poison Ivy and Wicked Witch of the West, Seth Green as King Kong, Kate Micucci as Clayface, Mariah Carey as Mayor McCaskill, Lauren White as Chief O’Hara and Medusa, Susan Bennett as Batman’s computer, and Hector Elizondo as Gotham police commissioner Jim Gordon who retires and gives the job to his daughter. Jenny Slate is wonderful in her small voice role as Harley Quinn as the Joker’s girlfriend who would help him conspire his scheme to defeat Batman and destroy Gotham.

Ralph Fiennes is excellent as Alfred Pennyworth as Batman/Bruce Wayne’s loyal butler who is aware of Bruce’s reluctance to invite people into his life as he sees Dick as someone that could probably help Bruce. Rosario Dawson is brilliant as Barbara Gordon as Gotham’s new police commissioner who wants to make some changes as she hopes to rid Gotham of crime once and for all yet realizes how much she needs Batman to help achieve these ideas. Michael Cera is fantastic as Dick Grayson/Robin as an orphaned boy accidentally adopted by Bruce Wayne as he would become Batman’s sidekick where Cera brings in that sense of boyish energy that is needed to be Robin. Zach Galifianakis is amazing as the Joker where he provides a lot of wit and depth into the character as well as providing a complexity to the Joker as someone who just wants some respect from Batman and is willing to do anything to get that. Finally, there’s Will Arnett in an incredible voice performance as Batman/Bruce Wayne as the Caped Crusader who thinks he is cooler than everyone and doesn’t need anyone’s help but also has this torment inside over the idea of having a family again as it’s a very comical performance from Arnett.

The Lego Batman Movie is an awesome film from Chris McKay. Featuring some dazzling animation, some very funny and adventurous moments, and a lot of high-octane action. It’s a film that definitely manages to be something fans of Batman can enjoy as well as be something that is just pure fun for audiences of all ages. In the end, The Lego Batman Movie is a marvelous film from Chris McKay.

Related: The Lego Movie - (The Lego Ninjago Movie)

Batman Films: (Batman (1966 film)) – Batman (1989 film) - Batman Returns - Batman Forever - Batman & Robin - Batman Begins - The Dark Knight - The Dark Knight Rises - Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - The Batman (2022 film)

© thevoid99 2017

Kids (1995 film)

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 9/2/07 w/ Additional Edits.

Directed by Larry Clark and written by Harmony Korine, Kids tells the story in the day of life of young kids in New York City causing chaos and such. During this day, a young woman learns she is HIV positive as she tries to find a boy who gave the disease while his mission is to take the virginity of another young girl. Shot on location in New York City and in a cinema verite style, the film is an uncompromising, unflinching look at mid-90s NYC when the city was still a mess and through an environment where not everything is great. Featuring a cast of unknowns that included then-newcomers Chloe Sevigny, Rosario Dawson, Leo Fitzpatrick, Justin Pierce, and Sarah Henderson. Kids is a harrowing yet chilling film from the duo of Harmony Korine and Larry Clark.

It's a typical, hot summer day in New York City as a young man named Telly (Leo Fitzpatrick) is making out with a young, 12-year old girl (Sarah Henderson) whom he later takes her virginity away. After the sex, Telly and his friend Casper (Justin Pierce) walk around the city, steal some things, and hang out at the apartment of their friend Paul (Sajan Bhagat) and his little brother Javier (Javier Nunez). Doing drugs and watching skateboard videos, the guys talk about sex and such while Telly gets a call from a girl named Jennie (Chloe Sevigny) whom he scoffs at. Jenny meanwhile, is hanging out with her friends including Ruby (Rosario Dawson) as they also talk about sex. During their discussion, Jennie and Ruby admit to taking an AIDS test to see if they're clean and such since Ruby has admittedly been with several guys while Jennie has only done it with Telly.

The two girls later go to the clinic to check their results where Jennie has learned that she's HIV positive. Distraught over the result, she's comforted by Ruby while calling on the phone hoping to talk to her mother. Learning that Telly is planning to go after a 13-year old girl named Darcy (Yakira Peguero), she hopes to find him and stop what he's going to do. Telly and Casper continue their unruly ways as they go to parks to buy some weed, hang out with their friends Harold (Harold Hunter) and Steven (Jon Abrahams). While smoking weed and skateboarding, Casper accidentally bumps into a guy whom he along with their crowd beats up. Taking a couple of girls named Kim (Michele Lockwood) and Joy (Carisa Glucksman) with them, Telly asks Darcy if they could hang out with her before they go to a rave party at Nasa.

Jennie continues her search as she has a brief conversation with a cab driver (Joseph Knopfelmacher) while going to several of Telly's hangouts to find him. Telly, Casper, and their entourage decide to go swim at a public pool where Kim and Joy kiss each other to turn Harold on as they later go to a party at Steven's place. Jennie goes to the rave club Nasa where she meets Fidget (Avi Korine) who numbs her with some ecstacy as she is becoming more distraught emotionally as she goes on her search. At Steven's home, the party rages on where Telly is starting to succeed in taking Darcy's virginity away. Jennie arrives, numb and depressed as a night of decadence ends in a crashing halt as everyone ponders what are they doing.

Given that the film looks and feels like a documentary of sorts, some will wonder whether or not this film is either exploitive or just exaggerated. Whatever the case is, since the film is written by Harmony Korine based on his own experience, it's no doubt that it's a film that has the power to shock and question the behavior of these youths. What this film is really about is a young woman trying to stop a man from engaging in dangerous, sexual behaviors where the hard truth is that, it's all he ever thinks about. Yes, these kids are amoral, they're disgusting, undisciplined and such. What the film does raise questions is something that the filmmakers and probably adult audiences will ask is, where are the parents?

This is a question that might have answers or might not, yet it all depends on the environment in which the kids are brought up in. There's only two scenes when parents are involved throughout the film. One where Telly and Casper ask Telly's mom for a bit of money or Jennie wanting to call her mother. It's not about where they are but rather where they're living. The parents are people probably trying to work more than one job trying to raise their families and such in a place that is chaotic and troubled as mid-90s New York City. How can they work and watch over their kids at the same time? Yet, the parents shouldn't be at fault totally. The kids themselves are more likely to be responsible for their own actions and such. Even when it relates to sex where things tend to go really wrong.

While what Korine writes and such suggest an unruliness to the behavior of young kids discovering their own sexuality and such but for all the wrong reasons. The direction of Larry Clark is one that definitely raises more eyebrows. Clark, who was then a photographer, goes for realism in an almost, documentary-like fashion that almost can be known as exploitive. With cinematographer Eric Alan Edwards, the film has this somewhat, grainy, naturalistic look that is colorful yet disturbing. Even when the film has shots of young skin and people in underwear. Even the pool scene, there's shots of a young girl's breast in see-through bra where the film definitely raises the question of whether these young people are being exploited.

Clark's observant yet uncompromising direction is one that not many will like and he is definitely willing to go as far as shoot anything that is extreme whether it's a rape scene or a full-on assault. Whatever he does, he reveals everything to the point of making his audience uncomfortable and such. This is a film that will not be liked by everyone and doesn't apologize for it. Yet, given what the reality of Korine's script and Clark's direction, it's something that couldn't be ignored.

Editor Christopher Tellefsen brings a nice, elliptical kind of pacing to the film's editing along with stylized cuts ranging from jump-cuts and slow-motion to convey the drama and doc-like nature of the film. Production designer Kevin Thompson and set decorator Ford Wheeler help create the film's decayed, messy look that definitely looks like the kind of room teenagers would have while bringing out a lot of colored lights and such for the rave scene. Costume designer Kim Marie Druce helps with the film's look of 90s t-shirts, baggy pants, and such that included the X-girl baby-tee shirts by Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon. Sound editor Wendy Hedin helps with the film's sound to create the chaos of the film itself.

The film's music by Dinosaur Jr./Sebadoh member Lou Barlow along with John Davis as part of their project, the Folk Implosion creates a chaotic, noisy score that undermines the film's sense of anarchy. The rest of the soundtrack that features music by the Folk Implosion including the modern rock hit Natural One also includes a track by Sebadoh and cuts from the Beastie Boys, John Coltrane, Brand Nubian, Sonny Rollins, A Tribe Called Quest, and cult singer-songwriter Daniel Johnston with his song Casper, the Friendly Ghost, which was the obvious inspiration to the character in the film.

The film's cast, filled with several unknown actors are wonderfully assembled with memorable small roles from Sarah Henderson, Sajan Bhagat, Javier Nunez, Michele Lockwood, Carisa Gluckman, Jon Abrahams, Harold Hunter, Yakira Peguero, Raymond Batista as a legless man in a subway, Julie Stebe-Glorius as Telly's mom, and Joseph Knopfelmacher as the cab driver. Cameos from Harmony and Avi Korine are in the film as they play club kids. In her first film ever, Rosario Dawson gives a memorable performance as Ruby, Jennie's best friend who talks about her own experience with sex and such that really shows the opposite of what guys really think about girls and sex. The late Justin Pierce is great as the unruly Casper with his love of 40s, grass, and ladies as his performance is the most loose of the entire film.

Leo Fitzpatrick gives an excellent performance as the horny Telly who seems hell-bent on taking the virginity of everyone young girl he comes across. While the character is unlikeable with little to redeem himself, he is a character that is interesting for his views on sex and such. Yet, when the film's ending is around, we see the flaw in his character that doesn't make him redeemable yet pitiable. Chloe Sevigny, in her film debut, gives a phenomenal performance as Jennie. Sevigny brings a presence to the film that is just haunting to watch as this young woman who just learned a horrible secret as she tries to deal with her new changes. Of all the characters in the film, Sevigny's character is the one that goes through all of the development and tragedy that surrounds this film.

Kids is a visceral yet mesmerizing film from Larry Clark and screenwriter Harmony Korine. Thanks to its cast and a superb soundtrack, it's a film that is definitely not afraid to say what it needs to be said. Though there's moments in the film that will raise a lot of questions rather than answers, it's a film that is uncompromising about the way kids are when they have no rules to live by. In the end, Kids is an incredible yet disturbing film from Larry Clark.

Larry Clark Films: (Another Day in Paradise) - (Bully (2001 film)) - (Teenage Caveman (2002 TV film)) - (Ken Park) - (Wassup Rockers) - (Destricted-Impaled) - (Marfa Girl)

© thevoid99 2013

Trance (2013 film)

Directed by Danny Boyle and written by Joe Ahearne and John Hodge from a story by Ahearne, Trance is the story about an art auctioneer who was involved in a robbery as he’s captured by a criminal who is trying to find a valuable painting with the help of a hypno-therapist. The film is a take on the film noir genre with a modern setting as it blurs the idea of reality and fiction where a man is being hypnotized to find a valuable painting. Starring James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson, Tuppence Middleton, and Vincent Cassel. Trance is a hypnotic yet entrancing film from Danny Boyle.

The film is about a robbery where the objective is to get an extremely valuable painting by Francisco Goya where everything goes well except that the actual painting is missing. The art auctioneer involved in the robbery has unknowingly hidden the painting unaware of its whereabouts as a crime boss decides to get a hypno-therapist to get into the mind of this man to see if he can remember where the painting is. What happens is that things get more complicated as reality and fiction begins to blur as does motives where those involved are unsure if everything they’re dealing with isn’t real. It’s a film that is really more about memory and the ability to remember but in the course of the story. Things eventually become more complicated as things aren’t exactly remembered as they were leading to all sorts of confusion where is everything that is happening real or is it part of something more?

The screenplay by Joe Ahearne and John Hodge is presented in a narrative style that recalls the idea of film noir where there are voice-over narration as well as archetypes of what is expected in film noir. Yet, there is much more that is present in the script as it has a narrative that is much more complex where it goes back to the idea of fiction and reality. Leading all of this is this young art auctioneer in Simon (James McAvoy) whose job is to get the painting and give it to the crime boss Frank (Vincent Cassel) who will wipe away his gambling debts in return. Instead, things don’t go that way as Simon tries to play hero where a hit in the head not only has him unsure of the painting’s whereabouts but also makes him vulnerable. By getting the hypno-therapist Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson) to go inside Simon’s mind with equal help from Frank and his associates. They hope to see if Simon can remember but under hypnosis, Simon’s mind gets more troubling.

The schematics of noir often has the protagonist falling for the femme fatale and to try and defy the antagonist but Ahearne and Hodge decide to play with those conventions by making these three archetypes much more realistic as well as add a sense of fantasy. Eventually, things become more troubling where Simon falls for Elizabeth though it becomes unclear whether it’s real or in his head as it triggers all sorts of events that happened on the day of the robbery. It creates problems for Elizabeth who realizes how damaged Simon’s head is where Frank starts to lose his patience as he starts to become aware that not everything is as simple as it seems. Even as he is unable to regain control of the situation as he and his goons have to play by not just Elizabeth’s rules but also wait to see if Simon can remember. It’s not just the structure and the way the characters that are created that makes the script so engaging but also its language where it is very stylized and has a certain rhythm that is part of the tradition of film noir.

Danny Boyle’s direction is very stylish in not just its presentation but also for allowing the script to guide him into the idea of fantasy and reality. The film opens with how an auction robbery can be staged as it is told in a noir-style narration as its first act does start off in a conventional manner. Even in the way characters are presented as it then leads to moments where it introduces Elizabeth and play off this world of fantasy and reality. The second act is where Boyle gets to play that world where he places a few scenes in the French countryside though the film is largely set in London. The scenes in France is an ode to not just the world of European art-house cinema of the 60s and 70s but also the idea of a fantasy that can lead to a world of surrealism.

Boyle infuses lot of strange camera angles to present the idea of fantasy and reality where things might seem confusing but there’s aspects of that conflict that maintain the idea that it’s all based on memory. Memory can allow someone to play parts of what happened but not everything can be told exactly at it could be where Boyle shows that things can get very confusing. Still, Boyle is all about emphasizing that world of film noir where there is a payoff and some twists where the third act reveals some more intense dramatic stakes that makes things much more unsettling. Overall, Boyle creates a truly exhilarating and intense ode to film noir about a robbery and a man’s desire to remember what happened.

Cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle does brilliant work with the film‘s very colorful cinematography with its use of colorful lighting schemes and mood settings along with some lens flares to give an air of style to the camera work as Mantle‘s work is a highlight of the film. Editor Jon Harris does amazing work with the editing as it does play an air of style with jump-cuts, montages, and all sorts of cutting style while helping to play out the narrative with its blur of fiction and reality. Production designer Mark Tildesley, with set decorator Dominic Capon and supervising art director Denis Schnegg, does excellent work with the set pieces from the homes of the characters to the recreation of the paintings to establish the value of those works of art.

Costume designer Suttirat Anne Larlarb does terrific work with the costumes to play out that idea of film noir where some of the clothes are casual while a lot of it also stylized including the clothes that Elizabeth wears. Visual effects supervisor Adam Gascoyne does nice work with some of the film‘s minimal visual effects to play out that world of reality, fiction, and surrealism including some of the film‘s violent moments. Sound designer Glenn Freemantle does fantastic work with the sound from a few of the therapy scenes to some of the more quieter moments to play out some of its suspense. The film’s music by Rick Smith is superb for its moody electronic score with elements of pulsating electronic beats and some somber moments as the soundtrack also features music from UNKLE, Moby, M People, Kirsty McGee, Art & Dotty Todd, and a collaborative track with Emeli Sande and Rick Smith.

The casting by Donna Isaacson and Gail Stevens is incredible for the ensemble that is created. Notable small roles include Danny Sapani, Matt Cross, and Wahab Sheikh as Frank’s trio of goons who are always around Frank as they also get a chance to stand out on their own. Other small roles that are memorable include Tuppence Middleton as a woman Simon meets in one of his hypnosis fantasies and Simon Kunz as a surgeon who watches over Simon that Frank later talks to about the concept of memory.

Vincent Cassel is marvelous as the crime boss Frank who is a man that wants his painting as he deals with the idea of hypnosis as well as its complications as he adds a lot of layers to the film that makes him more than just a typical noir antagonist. Rosario Dawson is brilliant as Elizabeth as a hypno-therapist that is trying to get into Simon’s mind while being in control as she would later realize that there are things beyond her control that eventually complicate matters. James McAvoy is remarkable as Simon as a man who can’t remember about what happened in the robbery while being under hypnosis to see if he can remember only to realize that there’s a lot more trouble than he’s facing.

Trance is a phenomenal film from Danny Boyle that is highlighted by its technical brilliance, Rick Smith’s score, and the performances of James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson, and Vincent Cassel. It’s a film that is definitely one of Boyle’s most inventive and provocative features as well as a stylish spin on the film noir genre. It’s also a very captivating film that explores the world of memory and how things can either help or prevent someone from finding something. In the end, Trance is a sensational film from Danny Boyle.

Danny Boyle Films: Shallow Grave - Trainspotting - A Life Less Ordinary - The Beach - 28 Days Later - Millions - Sunshine - Slumdog Millionaire - 127 Hours - Steve Jobs (2015 film) - T2 Trainspotting - (Yesterday (2019 film))

© thevoid99 2013

Grindhouse

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 4/9/07 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

From the minds of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, Grindhouse is an ambitious double-feature that celebrates sensational exploitation movies of the 1970s that were shown in drive-ins that blended all sorts of genres from zombie movies, biker films, horror, and all sorts of stuff. Both Tarantino and Rodriguez contribute their own features for this project that also includes fake trailers from Rodriguez, Rob Zombie, Eli Roth, and Edgar Wright. From Robert Rodriguez is Planet Terror about a doctor, a one-legged stripper, a hitman, and several others fighting zombies in their small Texan town. From Quentin Tarantino is Death Proof about an aging stunt car driver stalking and killing women for his own pleasure only to find himself dealing with the wrong group of women.

With an all-star cast that includes Kurt Russell, Bruce Willis, Michael Biehn, Rose McGowan, Marley Shelton, Freddy Rodriguez, Naveen Andrews, Rosario Dawson, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Danny Trejo, Nicky Katt, Tom Savini, Michael Parks, Jeff Fahey, Tracie Thoms, Zoe Bell, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Jordan Ladd, Vanessa Ferlito, and Eli Roth. Grindhouse is one hell of a motherfucking movie that will fuck the shit out of everyone who loves good ol' 70s exploitation.

Planet Terror

Go-go dancer Cherry Darling (Rose McGowan) meets her ex-boyfriend Wray (Freddy Rodriguez) at a barbeque shack as he asks her to give him back his jacket. Meanwhile at an army base, a scientist named Abby (Naveen Andrews) is trying to create a cure for an infection that is carried by Lt. Muldoon (Bruce Willis) and his troops as it starts to spread. At another part of town, Dr. Dakota McGraw Block (Marley Shelton) is hoping to leave her husband Dr. William Block (Josh Brolin) to be with her girlfriend Tammy (Stacey Ferguson) only for something to go wrong when zombies start to emerge where Cherry had her right leg torn off. Wray takes Cherry to the hospital where Sheriff Hague (Michael Biehn) questions Wray and has him arrested while Dr. Block notices an infection on a patient (Nicky Katt) is spreading. Suddenly, the infection starts to spread on people as Hauge and his troopers try to escape where they go to the barbeque shack owned by Hague's brother J.T. (Jeff Fahey) for safety.

After Dr. Block doses Dakota with her drugs to make her joints limp as he knows about the affair, Dakota escapes with her son Tony (Rebel Rodriguez) as she seeks help from her father Earl McGraw (Michael Parks) for help as they evade all of the zombies going to J.T.'s barbeque shack. With the survivors at the shack, they all try to escape only to be captured by Lt. Muldoon and his troops for quarantine. With Abby also there as well as he knows how to make the antidote, Wray learns about the infection as he and Abby make an escape as does Cherry and Dakota where the former gets a machine gun as a new leg as the whole gagn fights the zombies.

Death Proof

New Yorker Arlene (Vanessa Ferlito) arrives to Austin to party with Shanna (Jordan Ladd) and local DJ Jungle Julia (Sydney Tamiia Poitier) as they go to a bar. They party with a few locals as watching them is an old childhood enemy of Julia's in Pam (Rose McGowan) as she finds herself sitting next to a man named Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell). Mike offers a ride as he looks at the rest of the women partying in the bar as he approaches Arlene for a lapdance as he heard from Julia's program that Arlene is giving free lapdances. After the party, the women leave while Pam rides in Mike's black 1971 Chevy Nova SS which he used for his stuntwork as the ride turns out more than what Pam bargained for. After a horrific crash that Mike survived as he's been cleared of all charges by Earl McGraw and his son Edgar (James Parks), Mike moves to Tennessee. Mike decides to stalk another group of women in a makeup artist named Abernathy (Rosario Dawson), young actress Lee Montgomery (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and two stuntwomen in Kim (Tracie Thoms) and Zoe (Zoe Bell) as they're taking a break from making a film.

While they gossip on men and such, Zoe revealed she's found a 1970 white Dodge Challenger, which is the same car from the 1970s cult film Vanishing Point, in Tennessee as Zoe wants to take it out for a test drive and play a stunt game with Kim. Abernathy convinces the car's seller Jasper (Jonathan Loughran) to lend the car in exchange for some time with a sleepy Lee as Abernathy joins Kim and Zoe for the stunt game which was interrupted by Mike in his 1969 Dodge Charger Death Proof car. What Mike doesn't know is that he has fucked with the wrong group of ladies.

Trailers:

Directed by Robert Rodriguez, Machete stars Danny Trejo in the title role as a Mexican hitman who is hired to kill a politician only to be set up by a crime boss (Jeff Fahey). Machete decides to get revenge with help from a priest (Cheech Marin) as the boss realizes he messed with the wrong men. Directed by Rob Zombie, Werewolf Women of the S.S. is a World War II film about a group of Nazi scientists trying to create an army of superwomen when everything goes wrong. Starring Udo Kier, Sheri Moon Zombie, Sybil Danning, Bill Mosley, and Nicolas Cage hamming it up as Fu Manchu. Directed by Edgar Wright, Don't is a British horror film of the 1970s starring Jason Issacs, Matthew McFayden, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Emily Booth, and Stuart Wilson about a haunted house that scares everyone. Finally, there’s Eli Roth's Thanksgiving with Jordan Ladd, Michael Biehn, and Jay Hernandez about a cannibal plot to kill people for a cannibal Thanksgiving. All of these films will be coming soon.

Since this is a tribute to the grindhouse movies of the 1970s, one would think that a movie like Grindhouse would have something profound to say to its audience. Naaaahh... In many ways, Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror is essentially an old-school zombie movie with loads of references to John Carpenter with its cheesy, synthesizer music in some parts to its campy dialogue. Even the character of El Wray is a caricature of the heroes Kurt Russell played in his work with John Carpenter. Overall, Planet Terror never bores its audience with its suspense, action, and sexual innuendo. It just plays it straight with its array of gore, machine guns, explosions, everything. It works overall. Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof is a part tribute to slasher films as well as car chase films of the 1970s, notably Vanishing Point. Now some audiences might be put off in some of the film's heavy, dialogue-driven conversations that comes in between the action sequences. Yet, those who know Tarantino is fully aware that his knack for fun dialogue is always done in great fun and are a joy to listen to.

The cinematic style of both films feature broken, scratchy film work that is done intentionally along with messed up sounds, dubs, and whatnot. Even in both films, there's scenes that are missing yet, I'm sure both directors will put them on the DVD. Both directors really just go for hard knocks in their style. Though Rodriguez did use visual effects for McGowan's leg and for some of the stunt work. Tarantino is more traditional in just using real stunts and real cars. Both Kurt Russell and Tracie Thoms drive the cars they are using in their battle. In truth, both directors plus Eli Roth, Rob Zombie, and Edgar Wright know what to expect from their audience. Nothing really overly intellectual. Something that everyone can enjoy. You want laughs. You got it. You want mindless sex and violence. That's there. You want cool stunts, gore, and everything you need in a fucking good motherfucking movie Then you fucking it Why? BECAUSE THIS IS MOTHERFUCKING GRINDHOUSE BITCH!!!!!

Both Tarantino and Rodriguez do their own cinematography where Tarantino's exterior shots are very wide open to convey the sunny side of Tennessee and Austin while the interior sequences are wonderfully colorful. Rodriguez's photography is more stylized with its darker colors to add to the film's genre style. Tarantino's longtime editor Sally Menke plays up to the film's unique energy in the car sequences while slowing it down for the conversation sequences with its longshots. Rodriguez and co-editor Ethan Maniquis also brings energy and style to the more fast-paced Planet Terror with some great and intentionally messy editing. Set decorator Jeanette Scott does some wonderful work in utilizing the locations while creating fantastic sets for both films. Costume designer Nina Proctor also does excellent work in creating the diverse costumes for the characters.

Visual effects supervisor Ryan Tuphole does some great work in creating some of the digital effects for the Planet Terror segment while makeup artists Rob Hinderton, Meredith Johns, and Darylin Nagy do great work on the gory look of the zombies. Sound designers Paula Fairfield and Carl Murray add to the film's tense, energetic atmosphere with some great sound work. For the score of Planet Terror, the film is dominated by snarling saxophone and guitar work from Robert Rodriguez along with cheesy, John Carpenter-like score music along with Graeme Revell's traditional, orchestral score. The music in Quentin Tarantino's is more of a soundtrack featuring 60s and 70s rock music plus a cut from legendary Italian composer Ennio Morricone.

Finally, there's the cast and what a hell of a cast. Featuring fun cameos from Tarantino (in both segments), Cheech Marin, Danny Trejo, Sheri Moon Zombie, Sybil Danning, Udo Kier, Jason Issacs, Jay Hernandez, Eli Roth (also in the Death Proof segment), and Nicolas Cage in the trailers are fun to watch. From the Planet Terror segment, the small appearances from legendary horror film icon Tom Savini, El Mariachi's Carlos Gallardo, singer Stacy Ferguson, Julio Oscar Mechoso as Romey, Nicky Katt, and Michael Parks (also in Death Proof with son James) are a lot of fun to watch. Playing the Crazy Babysitter Twins (who also appear in Death Proof) are Electra and Elise Allevan (Rodriguez's nieces) are fun to watch along with Rodriguez's son Rebel as the Block's son. Bruce Willis makes a great appearance as Lt. Muldoon who reveals what he's done for his country. Lost's Naveen Andrews is great as the scientist Abby who carries a mean knife. Noted character actors Jeff Fahey and Michael Biehn give two of some of the best performances as brothers fighting zombies with Fahey as a cook and Biehn as a sheriff. The two have great one liners and even make appearances in different trailers, they deserve more work.

Josh Brolin is wonderful as the villainous Dr. Block who later becomes a zombie wanting to kill his wife for her affairs. Marley Shelton is fun and sexy as the syringe-shooting Dakota Block who is one woman not to be messed with. In a role that is definitely inspired by Kurt Russell, Freddy Rodriguez gives a star-making performance as El Wray. Rodriguez steals nearly every scene he's in whether he's doing back flips, twirling guns, or anything. Rodriguez is the man!!! Finally, there's Rose McGowan returning to the cinema after a few years on TV for Charmed. McGowan is great and sexy as the back-talking, funny Cherry Darling who loses her leg and tries to find her way to fight back. Then when she gets that machine gun as a new leg, she really owns the film. It's a great, comeback performance from Rose McGowan who also does great work as Pam in the Death Proof segment.

In Death Proof, the small appearances from Michael Bacall, Monica Staggs, and Jonathan Loughran from Kill Bill are fun to watch. Jordan Ladd is great as the partying Shanna, Vanessa Ferlito as the New Yorker Arlene, and Sydney Tamiia Poitier is fun as the bitchy Jungle Julia. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is good and cute as the cheerleading-wearing actress Lee who is the naive group of the bunch with Dawson, Bell, and Thoms who doesn't understand about the films of the past. Tracie Thoms is a lot of fun as the car-driving Kim with real-life stuntwoman Zoe Bell is fun as herself. Rosario Dawson is great as the cautious turned angry Abernathy who uses her charm and wit to get the car.

Finally, there's Kurt Russell in what has to be an Oscar-worthy performance as Stuntman Mike. Russell starts off being laid back and cool but once he's in that car, he's a total badaass. Wait, there's two more characters cannot be missed. The cars. Playing Death Proof are the 1971 Chevy Nova SS and the 1969 Dodge Charger where as one, they're both badass looking cars that can destroy anyone. The other car, making his comeback after a 35-year sabbatical is the old-school 1970 white Dodge Challenger from the cult film Vanishing Point. That's a fucking beauty.

Grindhouse is a one absolutely enjoyable and adventurous double-feature from Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. With two amazing movies and some great faux trailers from Rodriguez, Rob Zombie, Edgar Wright, and Eli Roth, it's a film that really captures the glory and excitement of the Grindhouse movies. It has something for everyone. Tits, ass, cars, gore, zombies, fights, explosions, guns, good food, and lots of unadulterated violence!!!! In the end, Grindhouse is an experience that will give audiences one hell of a fucking time.

Quentin Tarantino Films: Reservoir Dogs - Pulp Fiction - Four Rooms: The Man from Hollywood - Jackie Brown - Kill Bill - Inglourious Basterds - Django Unchained - The Hateful Eight - Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

Related: The Auteurs #17: Quentin Tarantino - Growing Up with Quentin Tarantino

Robert Rodriguez Films: (El Mariachi) - (Roadracers) - (Desperado) - Four Rooms: The Misbehaviors - From Dusk Till Dawn - (The Faculty) - (Spy Kids) - (Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams) - (Spy Kids 3D: Game Over) - (Once Upon a Time in Mexico) - Sin City - (The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3D) - (Shorts) - (Machete) - (Spy Kids: All the Time in the World) - (Machete Kills) - (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For)

© thevoid99 2012

Sin City

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 1/4/06 w/ Additional Edits

Based on Frank Miller's graphic novel series, Sin City is a collection of stories set in a dark seedy world featuring many of its players as they defy the law and do all sorts of dastardly deeds. Written for the screen, produced, and directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller with special guest director Quentin Tarantino, Sin City is a dark, violent, gritty film that pushes the limits of the film noir genre. Using the same, digital style of his Spy Kids films, Rodriguez goes a look that is similar to Miller's graphic novels. Starring Rodriguez/Tarantino regulars like Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Josh Hartnett, Michael Madsen, Elijah Wood, and Carla Gugino plus Jessica Alba, Devon Aoki, Alexis Bledel, Rosario Dawson, Nick Stahl, Brittany Murphy, Jamie King, Marley Shelton, Rutger Hauer, Powers Boothe, Benicio del Toro, Clive Owen, and Michael Clarke Duncan. Sin City is a fast, powerful, in-your-face film that brings Frank Miller's vision to life.

It's a rainy night in Sin City as a mysterious man (Josh Hartnett) looks upon a woman (Marley Shelton) as she looks out on the rain. The mood sets for the night when a big, battered ex-convict named Marv (Mickey Rourke) is accused of killing a hooker he loved named Goldie (Jaime King). He escapes the cops as he flees into the home of his lesbian parole officer Lucille (Carla Gugino) for some pills. After stepping into the bar where dancing is a young stripper named Nancy (Jessica Alba) while a waitress named Shellie (Brittany Murphy) gives him a drink. Marv looks for answers on who killed Goldie as her twin Wendy is going after him. Marv goes to a farm where he finds a young, cannibalistic killer named Kevin (Elijah Wood) who works for the town's cardinal Roark (Rutger Hauer) whose brother (Powers Boothe) is a senator. After another escape from the cops, he turns to Wendy and her gang in the seedy section of Old Town as he gets help to seek vengeance on Goldie.

Meanwhile in that same bar, Shellie is trying to evade a violent madman named Jackie Boy (Benicio del Toro) who is trying to figure who is Shellie's new boyfriend who is a big man named Dwight (Clive Owen). Jackie Boy comes to her apartment where he meets Dwight and after a confrontation, Jackie Boy leaves as Dwight decides to go after him. Jackie Boy enters the world of Old Town which is run by venomous hookers led by the sexy Gail which includes the innocent Becky (Alexis Bledel) and the silent samurai Miho (Devon Aoki). After Jackie Boy and his gang try to sweet-talk Becky into coming with them, Miho kills the gang as Dwight and Gail watch. Then they learn a horrible secret about Jackie Boy that threatens a peace treaty between cops and the ladies of Old Town as Dwight tries to return Jackie Boy's body downtown which starts troubling since Jackie Boy is still alive. After encountering a group of Irish mercenaries, Dwight is delayed as Gail is suddenly being tortured by Manute (Michael Clarke Duncan) who is the leader of corrupt cops. With the help of Miho, Dwight evades the Irish mercenaries led by Brian (Tommy Flanagan) as he joins Gail for their war.

The last story involves a burnt-out cop named Hartigan (Bruce Willis) with a bad heart condition who is one-day away from retirement as he tries to rescue a young girl (Mackenzie Vega) from a troubled young man (Nick Stahl) who turned out to be the son of Senator Roark. Despite saving the young girl and wounding Roark's son, Hartigan is in the hospital but is forced to go to jail by the Senator unless he confesses to molesting the young girl. Though the girl who would become Nancy would write to him, trouble emerges eight years later when a creature in yellow appeared as Hartigan decides to bust out. With help from his former partner Bob (Michael Madsen), Hartigan goes to Sin City where he finds Nancy and the Yellow Bastard as Hartigan's promise to protect Nancy is underway.

Shot with digital cameras in Rodriguez's own studio in Austin with top visual effects equipment, this film is truly one of the most visually-inspiring movies to come out in many years. With its ode to the film-noir genre, the film is shot mostly in black-white with dabbles of color to appear. The directing by Rodriguez and Miller is definitely amazing in its ode to the film-noir genre while the violence and sex is very graphic which is true to Miller's vision. This film isn't for those with a bad ticker, it's a film where anything goes and the violence is very uncompromising. From its fast-paced camera angles to the visual effects that plays to the emotions of the films in its color. Many of those visual effects is credited to Rodriguez who not only serves as the cinematographer but editor as well. Rodriguez brings a unique black-and-white style of lighting that is a wonderful ode to film-noir while his editing is fast-paced and to the point while not being a distraction to the story.

If Rodriguez's ability as director, producer, editor, and cinematographer helps, so does his writing in his collaboration with Frank Miller. While the script starts off with an early segment featuring Josh Hartnett and Marley Shelton, the film really starts off with an early part of Hartigan's story with Roark. Then there is the dialogue where its approach is very stylized, it works to the genre. From the narration to the words that are spoken is a true ode to film noir. A lot of that credit goes to Frank Miller who uses the world of 1940s film noir to create an atmosphere that is true to the film while its tone adds excitement to the story. Each segment is filled with excitement where each of them on their own merits have fascinating moments but as a whole, it's brilliant. It's a testament to not just Frank Miller's talents but also Robert Rodriguez. Then there's Quentin Tarantino who does a great job in the Jackie Boy/Dwight car scene which shows a lot of Tarantino's humor as he returns a favor for Rodriguez as he directed that part for $1 which Rodriguez did in his score for Kill Bill Vol. 2 for $1.

Adding flair to the gritty look of Sin City is art director Jeanne Scott and set decorator David Hack along with visual effects supervisors Thierry Delattre and Richard Martin. The film's look shows a town in chaos where it's all authentic from its bar to the motels and everything in between. The visual effects are amazing in its mix of color and black-and-white backgrounds. Then we have the costumes by designer Nina Proctor who does a great job in not just the long trench coat jackets for the men as well as Dwight's Converse shoes but the clothing for the ladies which is filled with the punk-leather of the Old Town girls to the cowboy chaps that Nancy wears. Finally, there's the film score composed by Rodriguez, John Debney, and Graeme Revell that not only adds flair to the genre with its saxophone arrangements but the orchestral arrangements play to the film's wonderful action and dramatic scenes.

Finally, there's the film amazing cast that includes several fine small performances from Mackenzie Vega and Frank Miller as a priest in the Mickey Rourke segment. Josh Hartnett and Marley Shelton also do great work to the film' opening segment while veterans like Rutger Hauer and Powers Boothe do great job in their villainous roles. One of the strangest and memorable performances that deserves the term, "against type" is Elijah Wood as the silent, cannibal killer Kevin who delivers a performance that is clearly the anti-Frodo. Devon Aoki is also memorable as the silent but deadly Miho who brings an amazing presence to the film. Jaime King is excellent in her double duty as the slain hooker and her angry twin sister while Alexis Bledel is good as the innocent, charming young hooker Becky. Nick Stahl brings a creepy, venomous performance as Roark with his love for young girls and slithery demeanor. Michael Clarke Duncan is also good as the big man villain Manute. Michael Madsen is funny in his small role as Bruce Willis' partner while Tommy Flanagan is funny as an Irish mercenary.

Clive Owen delivers a great performance as the cool Dwight who shoots his guns and wears some cool Converse while Benicio del Toro is funny as the demented Jackie Boy. Rosario Dawson is hot, hot, hot as Gail with her fishnet, leather clothing and in-your-face attitude that gives the meaning of "girl power" to a new level. Brittany Murphy is also good as Shellie that is an ode to noir female characters while Jessica Alba is great as the stripper Nancy who knows how to move. Carla Gugino is great as the lesbian parole office who helps out Mickey Rourke while appearing in the film nude most of the time. Mickey Rourke delivers the film's best performance as Marv who is filled with confusion and doubts as he is battered and burnt out while delivering some of the coolest lines and moments throughout the entire film. Bruce Willis is also brilliant as the cop with a bad heart, Hartigan in a heroic performance that proves that Willis still have what it takes to be a hero.

The 2005 one-disc DVD that presents the film in its widescreen format ratio and 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS sound is great but for fans of Rodriguez's films, it's disappointing. Only because it has a 10-minute TV feature on the making-of the film which includes interviews with cast members, Rodriguez, Miller, and Tarantino.

***Added on 6/21/06, the 2-Disc Version of Sin City***

While the one-disc DVD for Sin City may be for those who just want to see the movie. In December of 2005, a brand-new two-disc set for the film has something that not just fans of the film wanted but has all the elements that co-director Robert Rodriguez has done with his DVDs. For this special edition, two-disc deluxe edition of the film, Rodriguez presents the film in two different versions. One is the theatrical version in all of its glory and a second disc featuring the film separated in its four different segments all extended with over 20 minutes of additional footage. Both version shown on the widescreen theatrical format of 1:85:1 anamorphic format with a 16x9 ratio along with DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound with Spanish subtitles.

The two-disc DVD also includes several special features and extras plus two different commentaries featuring Rodriguez with Frank Miller and Quentin Tarantino and an audio track of the film's premiere in Austin, Texas.

The first disc of the DVD which is the film in its theatrical version features the three different audio commentaries. First is Rodriguez's commentary with co-director and novelist Frank Miller where Rodriguez and Miller comment on the adaptation from book to film where it was very easy since they didn't change a lot of the dialogue. The two discussed the casting in how Bruce Willis and Mickey Rourke were perfect for their roles while Clive Owen auditioned to play Dwight. Of the commentaries, the one with Rodriguez and Miller is the most fun and insightful as they talk about a lot of the performances and the faithfulness to Miller's graphic novels.

The second commentary is mostly a technical commentary track from Rodriguez as he talks about the challenges of making the film, convincing Miller to do it and the casting. Popping up during the commentary, notably the Big Fat Kill segment is Quentin Tarantino who discusses the scene he shot with Clive Owen and Benicio del Toro as many people assumed it was a scene involving Miller's favorite character Miho killing guys with swords, Hatori Hanzo swords that they borrowed. Bruce Willis joins the commentary for the That Yellow Bastard segment as he talks about the acting challenges and his enjoyment of making the film. The third and final audio track is recorded from the film's premiere screening in Austin, Texas. For this particular track, Rodriguez wanted to give the viewer a chance to watch the film with an audience to bring the sense that the film is being seen with a big audience. The noise full of cheers, claps, and yells definitely brings the right tone since it makes the film more fun to watch.

In the special features of the first disc, there are several documentaries and featurettes about the making of the film. First is the six-minute How It Went Down: Convincing Frank Miller to Make the Film revealed Miller's reason for making Sin City as an anti-film after his horrible experience in Hollywood, notably the Robocop films. Featuring interviews with Miller, Rodriguez, Tarantino, props master Steve Joyner, and cast members Bruce Willis, Benicio del Toro, Carla Gugino, and Josh Hartnett. The small featurette revealed how Rodriguez wanted to make a completely faithful adaptation of the novels with the blessing of Miller. It started with the test shoot that Rodriguez did with Hartnett and Marley Shelton for The Customer is Always Right where Miller was immediately impressed. Rodriguez is considered the more technical director as Miller was the artistic director as Rodriguez felt that Miller should co-direct since its his baby.

Special Guest Director: Quentin Tarantino is a seven-minute featurette that opened with Tarantino and Rodriguez's longtime friendship/collaboration since they both released their debut features at the 1992 Sundance Film Festival. When Rodriguez was to score Kill Bill Vol. 2, he mentioned Sin City as Tarantino decided to return a favor by directing a scene for Sin City. Rodriguez's wife and producer Elizabeth Avellan thought it would be a great idea although Tarantino had some reluctance on shooting digital. In the end, Tarantino was amazed at the digital work that Rodriguez had done with the test short as he directed the car scene of del Toro and Clive Owen that owed to his French New Wave style. The scene showed some of Tarantino's exuberance and how Rodriguez played cinematographer/editor and Miller as the writer for Quentin's scene. It's really one of the enjoyable featurettes in the DVD.

A Hard Top with a Decent Engine: The Cars of Sin City is a seven-minute-and-a-half featurette which revealed the importance of cars in the movie. Cecil D. Evans who serves as the transportation coordinator reveals on finding the cars for the film which gives the movie a sense of style. The ones he found were in Austin like Wendy's '55 Porsche Spyder Convertible, Dwight's red '59 Cadillac Convertible, Hartigan's '55 Buick Convertible, '55 Chevy Police Car, Jackie Boy's '57 Chevy Imperial, Dallas' '41 Chevrolet, Roark Jr.'s '61 Jaguar XKE, the 57' Ford Thunderbird for the Body Transfer, the Priest's 1990 Mercedes 420 SEL, Marv's '68 Chevrolet Corvair, a '49 Chevrolet Taxi, and Mr. Shlubb's '89 Ferrari. Nancy's '57 Chevy Nomad was the only car found outside of Austin while the Yellow Bastard's 1937 Cadillac was the most expensive since it costs $100,000 to rent for a week. Many of the cars were chosen in ode to film noir and they were the kind of cars Frank Miller loved.

Booze, Broads, & Guns: The Props of Sin City is an eleven-minute segment that focuses on the contributions of props master Steve Joyner. Joyner plus property master Caylah Eddleblute reveal the weaponry they find and how they created them through a 3-D clay-like style. Using the books for storyboard and detail with help from graphic designer Troy Engel, they created the weaponry design and detail through computer before creating it into a 3-D machine. Eddleblute had to find the look of the weapons just to get a full idea on the designs for them since Miller draws them with great detail. Transportation captain Joe Llanes was responsible for teaching Jessica Alba how to lasso while props sculptor Brandon Campbell and head props fabricator Marcus Laporte reveal the making of the weapons through a 3-D clay-like machine. Devon Aoki reveals the martial arts props that were used and the swords she got are indeed, Hatori Hanzo swords from the Kill Bill movies that they got from Tarantino's garage as Miller, is so in love with Miho.

Making the Monsters: Special Effects Make-Up is a nine-minute featurette that focuses on the work of Greg Nicotero who is the special effects makeup supervisor. Nicotero reveals that with Miller's help and the books, the look of Marv, Hartigan, Jackie Boy, and Yellow Bastard come to life. While Hartigan's scar was only minor, the look for Marv took them three weeks to do but it worked. For Jackie Boy, Benicio del Toro wanted the look to be more like the book and they had more fun with the look, even when he's covered in paint for a scene. The toughest was the Yellow Bastard where on set, Nick Stahl is in full-make up and look where he's blue but on post-production, he's yellow. The last featurette for Trench Coats & Fishnets: The Costumes of Sin City focuses on the work of costume designer/supervisor Nina Proctor. Proctor reveals the work into the costumes with help from Miller's book as it became a very fun experience. Rosario Dawson and Brittany Murphy praise Proctor's work as they all had fun wearing the costumes while Murphy was totally into character once she wore some six-inch heels.

The last two special features on the first disc are a trailers sections that reveals both the teaser and theatrical trailer that brought anticipation for the films. The second is an interactive feature called the Sin-Chroni-City Interactive Game where you take a character, put him in a place, and connect him with another character and through Frank Miller's voice. You hear background stories, details, and everything about places and the characters in one of the best interactive features available.

The second disc of the DVD includes more special features and the Recut, Extended version of Sin City which are separated into four different segments. In his introduction, Rodriguez cut over 20-minutes of footage for the theatrical release for length reasons. For the Recut version, he chose to separate the four segments into their own individual stories with the option of viewers to watch a segment at any time. Whether its in chronological order for: That Yellow Bastard, The Customer is Right, The Hard Goodbye, and The Big Fat Kill or in the order that the film had. Still, each segment is given new treatment and new ideas that is faithful to Miller's novels.

The first one for The Customer is Right with Josh Hartnett and Marley Shelton isn't done with a lot of work since it's a prologue and the only touch Rodriguez adds is the film's epilogue that also involved Hartnett and a major character from one of the stories. In The Hard Goodbye, a few moments of dialogue, notably Marv's rant in the rain is extended while a scene of him going to his mother's house to retrieve his gun, Gladys has been added. The scene overall is great as it works for the entire segment which shows a more sentimental side of Marv as he goes into his childhood room and later, meeting his blind mother (Lucina Paquet) which shows more of the range that Mickey Rourke has as an actor.

The Big Fat Kill features some extended dialogue and narration from Dwight McCarthy along with an extended scene between Clive Owen's McCarthy and Brittany Murphy's Shellie. The best added scene comes right in the end in the big final battle between the mob and Dwight with the girls of Old Town. Most notably, the battle involves the sweet, little Miho who gets to show everyone what she can do with an ax, a big fucking ax!!!!!! I love Miho, I'll fight Frank Miller to the death for her heart.

That Yellow Bastard is the segment that adds more scenes to the film. First that are added is a bridging sequence that comes between Hartigan's shooting and his meeting with Senator Roark. It's when Michael Madsen's Bob is surrounded by police cars and an ambulance that leads a sequence where everyone including a nurse (Katherine Willis), a DA, Hartigan's superiors, and Hartigan's wife Eileen (Babs George) is asking Hartigan about what happened as he refuses to talk. The second added sequence involves Carla Gugino's Lucille who serves as Hartigan's attorney where she's called for the parole hearing who is disgusted in Hartigan's false intentions to leave the jail. There's also an extended sequence with Nick Offerman's Mr. Shlubb and Rick Gomez's Klump on their way to the motel Hartigan and Nancy were staying. Overall, the extended and added scenes that are filled with more violence reveals the true nature and style of Frank Miller.

Five special features are on the second disc which includes two regular segments of all of Rodriguez DVDs. The first special feature is the actual movie shown in high-speed on green screen. There, you see the entire film in 10 minutes through a fast speed time where you see how all of the performances are done and who's acting with who along with isn't in the frame. It's one of the best featurettes with a wonderful introduction from Rodriguez. The second featurette is The Long Take: 14 Uninterrupted Minutes of Tarantino's Segment which shows an uncensored, uncut outtake of Tarantino directing Clive Owen and Benicio del Toro in their scene with the car. It reveals the exuberant energy of Tarantino as well as the relaxed chemistry between Owen and del Toro.

The two regular Rodriguez DVD special features arrive with the 15-Minute Film School with Robert Rodriguez. The lesson Rodriguez gives is about the advantage of working with digital cameras and shooting a film like this with a cheap budget as opposed to shooting the film with a full studio backing. Since Rodriguez is one of few directors to have his own studio, effects team, and collaborators, he can do a film on green screen and not having to create scenes outside or create production scenes most of the time. Since he uses green screen for lighting purposes and production, Rodriguez was able to save more money and with own effects team, he didn't need to have a visual effects team from other studios where he saved more money.

For performance, actors had to move a little bit faster than usual where after a few days, they get really comfortable acting in a green-screen set. While the production part was easy, the entire film was made on post-production which took a long time but it allowed Rodriguez and his team to think of ideas, using computer dummies, and things to get the ideas of shots and visual photography. Rodriguez closes the featurette saying that if you have some film, visual effects computer software and a digital camera, you can make a film like Sin City while you can take your time in making effects and learning about the technology.

The 10-Minute Cooking School with Robert Rodriguez is easily one of the most enjoyable featurettes. The recipe Rodriguez makes are Sin City Breakfast Tacos. For these tacos, Rodriguez makes his own flour tortillas with flour, baking powder, a bit of salt, some lard, and butter to give the sense of Mexican authenticity. He makes the tacos in two variations both with scrambled eggs. One of them has peeled, diced, chopped potatoes which he fries as he refers to them as Mexican fries and he likes them crisp. The second variation includes diced, fried corn tortilla chips, tomatoes, onions, and jalapeno peppers. Mix them with the eggs and fry the flour tortillas and you got yourselves some damn good tacos. In the words of Marv from an outtake of the film, enjoy those tacos.

The final special feature is Sin City Live Night at Antones-Filmmakers, Cast & Crew Party which features a full performance from Bruce Willis and his own band the Accelerators doing Devil Woman along with clips of performances from Robert Rodriguez's band. Showing up in the clip are not just cast members Nick Stahl and Jessica Alba but director Richard Linklater and his cast including Woody Harrelson from Linklater's film A Scanner Darkly. While Willis may not have been a good recording artist like most Hollywood stars, he does bring in a good live show.

Added to the two-disc edition of Sin City which is a good starting point for people new to the novel is a complete graphic novel of the first Sin City novel for The Hard Goodbye, which reveals in complete detail, Frank Miller's drawing style, some added scenes, and how close the dialogue that Miller wrote is to the actual film. Overall, it's a great book and anyone who is new to the novels will definitely be interested in the entire series of Sin City. In the end, the 2-Disc DVD special edition of Sin City is a must-have for not just fans of the film or of the work of Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez. It's also one of the best film collections ever assembled on DVD.

***End of 2-Disc DVD section***

In Conclusion, Sin City is a hands down, visual, noirish, violent, sexual, and stylized film from Robert Rodriguez & Frank Miller with a great cast, a great crew, and the contribution of Quentin Tarantino. For anyone interested in the novels will definitely get a new introduction as the vision of Frank Miller definitely comes to life. Anyone interested in film noir will see how closely Rodriguez pays tribute to the genre. So for anyone who wants a great film with lots of violence, sex, and cool dialogue, go see Sin City.

Robert Rodriguez Films: (El Mariachi) - (Roadracers) - (Desperado) - Four Rooms: The Misbehaviors - From Dusk Till Dawn - (The Faculty) - (Spy Kids) - (Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams) - (Spy Kids 3D: Game Over) - (Once Upon a Time in Mexico) - (The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3D) - Grindhouse: Planet Terror - (Shorts) - (Machete) - (Spy Kids: All the Time in the World) - (Machete Kills) - (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For)

(C) thevoid99 2012

25th Hour

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 2/23/04 w/ Additional Edits.

Directed by Spike Lee and written by David Benioff based on his book, 25th Hour tells the story of a man spending the last 25 hours of his life before going to prison.  Set in the post-9/11 world of New York City, the film follows the man with his friends, his girlfriend, and father while wondering where did it all go wrong as he is about to go to prison.  The film also marks a departure of sorts as Lee is directing a cast mostly filled with white actors as opposed to his usual African-American actors that he's worked with for a large portion of his career.  With a cast led by Edward Norton along with Rosario Dawson, Barry Pepper, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Anna Paquin, Tony Siragusa, and Brian Cox. 25th Hour is one of Spike Lee's enriching films to date.

The film begins when a young drug dealer named Montgomery "Monty" Brogan (Edward Norton) and his Ukranian accomplice Kostya (Tony Siragusa) find a battered dog in a highway in New York City as the kidnap him and Monty makes him his dog that he named Doyle. Years later, Monty is now facing a seven-year prison sentence after being busted by feds. On his final day of freedom, Monty decides to go some people for one final day. He decides to meet the first of his two childhood buddies, Jacob Elinsky (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who is now an English teacher in a NYC school. Monty visits him during a class session one day just to tell him about tonight's final romp as he later calls his other buddy, Frank Slaughtery (Barry Pepper) who is a commodities broker. Frank gets a call about the night as he does his usual swagger of making deals and slacking off. Jacob meanwhile, is having problems as one of his students named Mary D'Annunzio (Anna Paquin) wants to talk to him about a grade she got over one of her papers.

With the day looming, Monty goes home to his apartment where he meets with his Puerto Rican girlfriend Naturelle (Rosario Dawson) as he suspects her of being the one who ratted him out to the feds. Naturelle notices the quiet tone Monty has taken to her as he reflects on the day he got busted and how the feds told him it was her that ratted him out. With the day going by after having a meeting with Kostya about a final meeting with his uncle Nikolai (Levani Outchaneichvili), Monty reflects on what has happened to him. He goes back to thinking of his days dealing, the day he first met Naturelle when she was just 18 and still in school. He later has a final dinner with his father James (Brian Cox) as they talk about the last day. Monty goes to the bathroom where he sees himself insulting everything including himself. Monty goes back as he and his father talk about what went wrong with them as James felt, this was going to be the last time he would ever see his son.

Jacob meanwhile goes to Franks's apartment, which is nearby the area of what once was the World Trade Center. The two look at ground zero as they reflect on what has happened to Monty. Jacob insists he'll see him after he's out of jail but Frank meanwhile wants to but felt that Monty put himself into all of this and couldn't bring himself to give any sympathy. Later in the night, the two discuss about sex and how Frank is pretty good at flirting with women while the insecure Jacob admits to having troubles. They later see Monty and Naturelle as she joins Jacob and Frank for a drink knowing that they'll never see Monty again. They all decide to go to the club where Monty is supposed to meet Nikolai.

They go to the club where trying to get in was Mary as she sees Jacob and he's in shock that she's out on a school night. Monty decides that she can go in as she joins the gang for the party. Naturelle and Mary dance the night away to Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five's classic White Lines as Monty decides to give Doyle to Jacob since Doyle always liked him. Monty also has a meeting with Frank as Monty wonders what will happen to him after he's in jail. He feels all those years of dealing cost him not just his freedom but a chance at a future as Frank is trying to figure out how to help him. Mary meanwhile tries to seduce Jacob as they engage in a kiss while Frank and Naturelle have a talk where Frank finally lets out all of his frustrations on her since he felt she was the one who ratted him out.

With the night looming, Monty sees Nikolai and Kostya as Monty is now officially out of Nikolai's business as he learns the truth about the bust. For Monty, it was a strange night as he feels more down in the dumps as he ponders all that is left for any sense of hope.

While 25th Hour isn't up to par with classics like Do the Right Thing or Malcolm X, it is still one of Spike Lee's finer efforts. Being a master of drama Lee brings in a structure of emotional, cerebral moments for the film's central protagonist. Using David Benioff's script as a guideline, Lee definitely uses the elements of humanist drama to portray the complexity of the characters while displaying its flaws, notably the backdrop of post 9/11 NYC that still shows its prejudices and despair while showing the vibrant American spirit that is prevalent throughout. For Spike Lee, it's another endearing tribute to New York City while showing the spirit of the city's residents and the characters in the film.

Capturing a colorful, grainy look to New York City wonderfully is cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, who definitely gives a dark, classical look to the film, especially showing only blue colors in the dance club scenes and the dark, wooden tone for the bar and outer club scenes. Prieto's work is truly one of the film's technical highlights thanks to eerie cinematography.  Another amazing element to the film is the score by longtime Lee contributor Terence Blanchard, who brings in a haunting, grandiose score with a sprawling orchestra arrangement and an ominous Arabian chant in the background while using the music of Grandmaster Flash and Bruce Springsteen for the film's emotional and fun moments.

With many of Lee's past films, there's always a great cast and here, it's no exception. Edward Norton is excellent as the troubled Monty by showing a sense of intelligence and sympathy of a man gone wrong and seeking any sort of redemption. Since breaking through with his Oscar-nominated performance in Primal Fear, Norton has been one of those actors who can instill a sense of compassion, fear, and intelligence and as Monty Brogan, he brings in a stellar performance. Topping Norton in performance is Barry Pepper as Frank by bringing in a swagger and cynicism that is relevant but also showing signs of sympathy and pain, especially in the film's final moments. Philip Seymour Hoffman is always great as the often-insecure characters and in 25th Hour, he still pulls off another amazing performance by displaying elements of self-loathing as well as compassion as he insists, he will see Monty again.

Rosario Dawson delivers her best performance to date as Naturelle by not just bringing an element of classical sexiness but a display of street smarts and intelligence to her character. She does more than just play Norton's girlfriend by adding her own sense of individuality, especially in a scene with Pepper as the two start a conflict with each other. While Anna Paquin does a good job as a Lolita-like role to Hoffman's character, she still at times has trouble delivering a NYC accent, notably in the club scenes. While this role is miles away from her Oscar-winning breakthrough in The Piano where she looked great in a sweating glow, she still needs to perfect her American accent while try to find more ways to break away from ingenue type roles as it was recently perfected by fellow young-acting peer Scarlett Johansson.

While the roles of DEA agents by Tony Devon and Isiah Whitlock Jr. are hilarious in the bust and interrogation scenes, the film's funnier moments come from Tony Siragusa. While he tries not to play the stereotypical Soviet fat man, Siragusa definitely brings some funny moments that annoy Norton's character while displaying elements of smarts as far as business is concerned. Levani Outchaneichvili as Nikolai is menacing but also noteworthy as he tells Norton's character to watch his back when he's prison as he strays away from a typical mob role. Finally, there's the always-amazing Brian Cox as Edward Norton's father. In a year where he played a screenwriting guru in Adaptation and a tough highway patrol captain in Super Troopers, Cox delivers a stellar performance as Norton's guilt-ridden father as he brings in a performance that I think the Academy has overlooked, especially in the film's final moments where he brings in moments of clarity and moral convictions that was needed. For the versatile Cox, this is one of his best performances to date.

While 25th Hour has a few predictable moments and some flaws, it's still a stellar, enduring film from Spike Lee. Fans of the filmmaker will love Lee's masterful approach to dramatic structure and emotionally intense scenes. Newer fans will find the performances of the actors more appealing while giving a nice introduction to Lee's masterful direction. With amazing performances from Norton, Pepper, and Cox that leads the cast, 25th Hour works not just as a great tribute to NYC but also showing the struggle of a human being regardless of color, which is what Lee wanted to show. In the end, 25th Hour is one of the best films of 2002 coming from one of the most seminal African-American filmmakers in the past 20 years.

Spike Lee Films: (She’s Gotta Have It) - (School Daze) - Do the Right Thing - Mo' Better Blues - Jungle Fever - (Malcolm X) - Crooklyn - (Clockers) - (Girl 6) - (Get on the Bus) - 4 Little Girls - (He Got Game) - Freak - Summer of Sam - (The Original Kings of Comedy) - (Bamboozled) - (A Huey P. Newton Story) - (Jim Brown: All-American) - (She Hate Me) - (Inside Man) - (When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts) - (Miracle at St. Anna) - (Kobe Doin’ Work) - (Passing Strange) - (If God is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise) - (Red Hook Summer) - Bad 25 - Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth - (Oldboy (2013 film)) - (Da Blood of Jesus) - (Chi Raq) - Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall - BlacKkKlansman - Da 5 Bloods - (American Utopia)

© thevoid99 2011