So, its movie day here today
First, I have to get this off my chest: I think that Robert Rodriguezs adaptation of Sin City looks really terrible. Ive seen both trailers as well a the little mini-movie with Josh Hartnett. I am just not feeling it. The visuals are way too stylized, the action looks a bit over the top, and dialogues sounds really, really bad when spoken out loud. I feel like Im taking crazy pills (to paraphrase Will Ferrell) on this issue; every other comic geek in the universe is psyched by the first proper (read: boring literal) translation of a comic book. I just feel embarrassed for reading comic books and thinking Sin City was cool when I see those trailers.
Now, I am a big Frank Miller fan. I even like The Dark Knight Strikes Again (which is much more clever than people think; much like the Dark Knight Returns was a commentary on Reagans America, Millers sequel is an evisceration of our scandal fueled, 24-hour news cycle. So there.) Despite this, I cannot get into this movie.
Sin City, in its graphic novel form, is mostly fueled by the beauty of what Miller does with stark blacks and whites, with the occasional splash of color. The stories themselves are ludicrous, so hyper-noir they border on parody. Their whole aesthetic is actually much more super hero than crime story (Stray Bullets is a comic book that is actually a real crime story, natch). It just seems possible that maybe the same techniques (ultra-violence and exaggeration) that work on paper do not work in film.
All that said, I would rather see someone interpret Sin City rather than just replicate it. In fact, I have a hard time imagining paying Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez for just putting something on screen that I have literally already seen frame for frame and read word for word. Further, I m not sure that Robert Rodriguez is all that great. Hes like Kevin Smith; only hes from Texas and does action movies. How is he like Kevin Smith? Well, they both had about two good movies in them, and their storytelling skills have not advanced much beyond that.
Personally, Id rather see Sin City done more like Million Dollar Baby (which totally deserved the Osar). Baby was wonderfully lit with darks and lights. The first step to doing a better Sin City would be using true black and white AND extreme lighting (not computer-based effects). Id rather see a movie that was more about the spirit of Sin City, urban crime and revenge, than some hokey, video game looking monstrosity.
Second movie note of the day..
This past weekend my wife and I saw Ong-Bak: Thai Warrior. This movie kicks so much ass! Sure, the lead (Tony Jaa) is boring as all when hes not kicking ass. But when he is? He is one hell of a martial artist and acrobat, and great fun to watch.
The best thing about the movie is the subtext. The movie is completely a derision of the West and a shout out to traditionalist, nationalist Thai sensibilities. The hero lives in a village, which is robbed by drug dealing art thieves from the city. The hero heads to the city (Bangkok), where he seeks help from a member (George) of his village who has relocated to the city. Only this guy, George, has been corrupted by the city. The hero finds himself in a series of fights at a fight club where the spectators and fellow contestants are primarily foreigners (apparently Americans and Australians). One of the opponents even goes so far as to mock Muay Thai (the fighting style of the hero, and traditional Thai boxing). The best? The big villain of the piece is a Thai national who has turned his back on his countrys heritage, relies on technology, and has been corrupted by capitalism. His final death (that I will not reveal) only stresses the importance of tradition and the risk of modernity. The whole flick is over the top. Despite the very conservative message, its absolute fun (this proves that I can enjoy a movie for its surface qualities despite its deeper layers, despite what my wife thought after I pissed and moaned over The Four Feathers and Hero both of which were seriously flawed in other ways).
Anyway, I need to go read for my exam. Ill talk at you all later.
First, I have to get this off my chest: I think that Robert Rodriguezs adaptation of Sin City looks really terrible. Ive seen both trailers as well a the little mini-movie with Josh Hartnett. I am just not feeling it. The visuals are way too stylized, the action looks a bit over the top, and dialogues sounds really, really bad when spoken out loud. I feel like Im taking crazy pills (to paraphrase Will Ferrell) on this issue; every other comic geek in the universe is psyched by the first proper (read: boring literal) translation of a comic book. I just feel embarrassed for reading comic books and thinking Sin City was cool when I see those trailers.
Now, I am a big Frank Miller fan. I even like The Dark Knight Strikes Again (which is much more clever than people think; much like the Dark Knight Returns was a commentary on Reagans America, Millers sequel is an evisceration of our scandal fueled, 24-hour news cycle. So there.) Despite this, I cannot get into this movie.
Sin City, in its graphic novel form, is mostly fueled by the beauty of what Miller does with stark blacks and whites, with the occasional splash of color. The stories themselves are ludicrous, so hyper-noir they border on parody. Their whole aesthetic is actually much more super hero than crime story (Stray Bullets is a comic book that is actually a real crime story, natch). It just seems possible that maybe the same techniques (ultra-violence and exaggeration) that work on paper do not work in film.
All that said, I would rather see someone interpret Sin City rather than just replicate it. In fact, I have a hard time imagining paying Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez for just putting something on screen that I have literally already seen frame for frame and read word for word. Further, I m not sure that Robert Rodriguez is all that great. Hes like Kevin Smith; only hes from Texas and does action movies. How is he like Kevin Smith? Well, they both had about two good movies in them, and their storytelling skills have not advanced much beyond that.
Personally, Id rather see Sin City done more like Million Dollar Baby (which totally deserved the Osar). Baby was wonderfully lit with darks and lights. The first step to doing a better Sin City would be using true black and white AND extreme lighting (not computer-based effects). Id rather see a movie that was more about the spirit of Sin City, urban crime and revenge, than some hokey, video game looking monstrosity.
Second movie note of the day..
This past weekend my wife and I saw Ong-Bak: Thai Warrior. This movie kicks so much ass! Sure, the lead (Tony Jaa) is boring as all when hes not kicking ass. But when he is? He is one hell of a martial artist and acrobat, and great fun to watch.
The best thing about the movie is the subtext. The movie is completely a derision of the West and a shout out to traditionalist, nationalist Thai sensibilities. The hero lives in a village, which is robbed by drug dealing art thieves from the city. The hero heads to the city (Bangkok), where he seeks help from a member (George) of his village who has relocated to the city. Only this guy, George, has been corrupted by the city. The hero finds himself in a series of fights at a fight club where the spectators and fellow contestants are primarily foreigners (apparently Americans and Australians). One of the opponents even goes so far as to mock Muay Thai (the fighting style of the hero, and traditional Thai boxing). The best? The big villain of the piece is a Thai national who has turned his back on his countrys heritage, relies on technology, and has been corrupted by capitalism. His final death (that I will not reveal) only stresses the importance of tradition and the risk of modernity. The whole flick is over the top. Despite the very conservative message, its absolute fun (this proves that I can enjoy a movie for its surface qualities despite its deeper layers, despite what my wife thought after I pissed and moaned over The Four Feathers and Hero both of which were seriously flawed in other ways).
Anyway, I need to go read for my exam. Ill talk at you all later.
VIEW 10 of 10 COMMENTS
shard:
My geek out confession: I've seen Akira three times. I just haven't seen it on DVD. 
doctashock:
You sound like me. My friends hate going to the movies with me.