Sept 8: Sin City

"A film that explores the dark and miserable town, Basin City, and tells the story of three different people, all caught up in violent corruption."

Directed by: Frank Miller & Robert Rodriguez, Rated: R, 124 minutes

Sin City is a film with balls- big, violent, hilarious balls. It's like nothing you've seen before and is a festival of eye candy, with each scene looking sexier than the last. The film features one hell of a cast, all obviously having one hell of a fun time with it, and manages to turn something 'pulpy' into something that's worth every moment of your time. It's simply too cool to ignore, even if you're not a fan of a violent, over-the-top, good ol' fashioned orgy of awesome. 

And Jessica Alba plays a stripper. That is all. 

In the city of Basin City, criminals and prostitutes are at every corner. You survive by paying off the cops, being a badass yourself, or being a sexy dame a guy would kill for. Sin City focuses on three individuals in this ultra-violent "Gotham"- Dwight (Clive Owen), Hartigan (Bruce Willis), and Marv (Mickey Rourke). Dwight's a do-gooder who knows the streets as well as the women of Old Town (Basin City's version of a red-light district, but the "women of the night" are in charge, not the cops). Hartigan's a cop, one of the few good ones left in the city. He tracks down a girl kidnapped by a rapist and swears to do whatever it takes to keep her safe, even if it means losing his own life. Marv, a hulk of a man, is bullet-proof in his mission, seeking the murderer of a pretty whore that gave him too much attention. Throw in a constant narration from each of the men, detailing their lives with the most noir-esque lines you can imagine, and Sin City turns into the perfect combination of classic detective stories, pulp novels, and the grindhouse style of the 70s. 

The best part of the film is the visual style, being one of the most faithful comic adaptations (of any kind, actually) of all time. The pages of Frank Miller's graphic novels come to life on the screen, each scene literally ripped from the pages. Even the color palette, a heavy black and white with colors for accents, come straight out of the novels. Not only is this beautiful to watch, but the color scheme fits the stylized nature of the plot and turns something so violent and bloody into a work of art. Robert Rodriguez, best known for his Mariachi Trilogy and yes, Spy Kids, continues to show how incredible he is with a camera and creates his own unique masterpiece, giving so much depth and character to a 2D world that the genius Frank Miller created. 

Sin City is one of those films everyone needs to see, if just for the technical aspect alone. Yes, it's incredibly violent and and not for the weak of heart, but the gorgeous detail put into the film as well as the a group of characters so perfectly cast makes it easier to swallow. Sin City is an instant classic in its own genre and shows you that faithful adaptations do exist. While comic adaptations of every nature fly into theaters every summer, Sin City still remains the best, even after seven years and the continued promise of a sequel. As we all know, if you turn the right corner of Sin City, you can find anything. Here's hoping that anything is that sequel. 

Mickey Rourke was born to play Marv. 

The Good:

a great cast, with each actor fitting his/her role perfectly

The Better:

dialogue so rich with awesome, with every line reminiscent of something you'd read or hear in the 50s, when being cool was everywhere and a lit cigarette made you a badass

The Best:

a unique style that turns the film into something more than a run-of-the-mill action flick and proves that graphic novels can make a perfect leap to film

Overall: 9.5/10

Trailer:

If you're not sold on the film now, just take a look at the rest of the cast- Rosario Dawson, Michael Clarke Duncan (RIP), Elijah Wood, Carla Gugnio, Josh Hartett, Powers Boothe, Rutger Hauer, Benicio Del Toro, Brittany Murphy, Devon Aoki, Alexis Bledel, Jaime King, and Tommy Flanagan.  

Sept 7: Snatch

"Unscrupulous boxing promoters, violent bookmakers, a Russian gangster, incompetent amateur robbers, and supposedly Jewish jewelers fight to track down a priceless stolen diamond."

Directed by: Guy Ritchie, Rated: R, 104 minutes

So watching Safe, among a few other things, made me want to revisit Snatch (another Statham vehicle), the 2000 Guy Ritchie film that many (including myself) consider to be his best movie. It's hilarious on an entirely unique level and packs the style and energy Ritchie's become known for. It's also worth mentioning the performances of a huge cast, with the standout being the obvious with Brad Pitt, who plays a gypsy bare-knuckle boxer no one can understand. Some may complain that the plot is very similar to Ritchie's first film, Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, but Snatch is much more fun. It's as though Ritchie honed his craft with Lock, Stock and mastered it with Snatch.

Whenever you have The Stath in his natural element, and Pitt out of his, you know you're going to have a good time. 

The plot follows Turkish (Statham), a boxer promoter who just wants a new caravan to work out of (you know, to be more professional). He sends his partner, Tommy (Stephen Graham), to a campsite full of pikeys (or gypsies) to acquire something fancier. At the campsite, Tommy meets Mickey O'Neil (Brad Pitt), who's clearly the 'leader' of the camp, as well as a champion boxer. After the deal goes sour, Tommy's bodyguard, Gorgeous George, challenges Mickey to a fight in order to get their money back. Of course, Mickey takes George out with one punch and puts Tommy and Turkish into an awful position, as he was going to fight for them in just a few days. Not wanting to completely back out of the fight (and lose their balls, money, and everything else they would like to hold onto), Turkish tells the other promoter, a crime lord named Brick Top (Alan Ford), that he'll find another fighter to replace George and heads back to Mickey for another favor. Meanwhile, Franky Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro) has a stolen 86 karat diamond on his hands and plans on selling it for millions. As the diamond shifts hands between all sorts of gangsters, from Boris the Blade, to a bunch of 'unprofessional' criminals who moonlight as pawn shop owners, and even an American (Dennis Farina) and Bullet Tooth Tony (Vinnie Jones), who owes who what gets even more complicated. Every different story is connected in it's own odd way and seeing it all come together in the end is absolutely brilliant. But it all does make sense in the end.

You do not f**k with Brick Top. The glasses alone tell you to watch yo'self before he wrecks yo'self. 

If the above synopsis sounds confusing, I apologize. Ritchie's films tend to be so complex, yet ridiculously simple at the end, and explaining what happens is rather tricky. However, it's in these twists and turns of the plot that Snatch shines, as you cannot expect what will happen next and if a certain character even survives the film. So much happens in such a short amount of time and it's a credit to Ritchie's use of quick-cuts and high energy scenes that help bring it all together in the end. Snatch is easily his best film and as much as I like his Sherlock Holmes films, I'd love to see him return to the gangster genre that made him famous. As for Snatch, Brad Pitt absolutely steals the show as Mickey. He's both brutal and hilarious, and seeing him blend Tyler Durden with an awesome (and probably unintentional) impression of Colin Farrel and every other Irishman is so much fun to watch. He's incredibly hard to watch, but as opposed to confusing the audience, the characters that talk with him in the movie are just as confused, leaving it as a recurring joke that just makes you smile.

The film also features a squeaking dog. That is all. 

As you can tell, I'd highly recommend this flick. It's the perfect blend of comedy and action and manages to combine ridiculous situations with a touch of realism that makes everything work. It's certainly a Ritchie film and while many have tried to duplicate his style, he's still the master of his 'genre'. The characters are all colorful and fully-fleshed out and each story that unfolds is more exciting than the previous. Everything works and the final product is worth all of your time and effort. You'll laugh, you'll cringe, and you'll be shocked at a lot of what plays out on screen. Not many movies can do that effectively so when you can find one like Snatch, you know it's a keeper. 

The Good:

unexpected turns that leave you floored, but also makes you laugh the moment after (or even during)

The Better:

a great cast filled to the brim with character actors you'd recognize from everything, led by the terrific Brad Pitt who wanted to make the film because of how much he loved Guy Ritchie

The Best:

it's fun and original... something you never get these days

Overall: 8.8/10

Trailer: