Sin City
This is one of the movies that I hadn't seen or even heard about until I went to film school, and once I was in school it was one of the movies everyone liked to talk about. Then while I was at home on holiday, I had a month off before I started classes again, I was left at home by myself and bored out of my mind. I decided to browse through my brothers DVDs and when I found Sin City I thought it was about time I had finally seen this movie that I had heard so much about.
I got about half way through the movie when my family came home and then insisted on having a conversation without any regards to the movie I was trying to watch. This was actually a reoccurring thing that happened a lot at my Dad's house, and I gave up on trying to finish it at that point. It wasn't that I wasn't interested in the movie, it was something I was actually really interested in and wanted to be able to watch without stupid distractions. I always intended on watching the rest of the movie later that night when everyone went to bed, but it never worked out that way. I've been trying to watch and finish Sin City and well, that later has finally come - it's just been four years.
After having watched the movie:
(Possible spoilers below)
I had seen a good chunk of the movie once already, so I already knew about all of the stylized aspects of the movie. Having not really known anything about comic books, for a long time I promise you I thought they were just something that was kind of talked about on one of my favorite cartoon shows growing up. So I had no idea that Frank Miller made entire comic books that the movie was based on. I've since realized now that comic books are a legit thing, and I've already been called a liar, gasped at, and slapped for not having realized how serious comic books and the fans of said comic books are. I may have made up that last part about being slapped, but you get my point. Anyways, the most exciting thing about watching the DVD with Wil was that he has a special edition of the movie that included the original comic. So for those who haven't seen the movie, when people tell you it's pretty much shot for shot the comic, they're no exaggerating even a little.
Rob Rod did an amazing job with the help of a few friends in making this movie. Wil shared the story about how one day Rob Rod had just kind of decided to shot a few things for the movie in an attempt to try and sell Mr. Miller on giving him the rights to make his comic book work into a movie. It was kind of a last stitch effort after several failed attempts to discuss the matter over the phone. Of course it didn't hurt that at this point Rob Rod has reached an idolized status, and found a way to brilliantly bring these stories to life. Over time it became one of those projects that so many people became so passionate about that A-List stars were lining up for parts in the movie.
I think this kind of bonding together and doing it because it's new and exciting and not because there is a six or seven numbered figure in your paycheck is what brings forth some of the best movies that have ever been made. However it has raised one big question with me, at what point did Rob Rod just have a "parking lot" which is what he calls his own private studio, where he seems to be able to take on these massive and rather expensive projects like it's nothing? I'm not trying to be a jerk and cause a big ruckus with all of Rob Rod's fans, I'm really just curious to know at which point in his career was he given this free pass to just start making whatever he wanted. I've heard so many times about how there are times when you have to work on things you don't really care about before you're really able to start doing the things you want to do. I kind of wonder if Rob Rod has ever really had to work on things he didn't really care about?
Final thoughts: Four years later, I'm glad I was finally able to finish the movie. It was amazing, stunning and was amazingly shot; but I kind of watched it already knowing who Luke's father was. Like so many other people, when Wil first got to see the movie, it was the first time we were watching these kind of techniques and this kind of violence and "translation" of a comic book series before. I missed out on all of that, and it's a little disappointing. Overall though, I loved the movie for it's film-noir style and the overall impact it had on filmmaking. This was one of those movies that after you watched it for the first time you realize, "Oh damn. The bar was just raised."
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Next up: Sweeney Todd
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