Monday 18 May 2015

Blood, Boobs & Carnage



It's time for the Blood, Boobs & Carnage blogfest, hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh and Heather Gardner. As a participant, I am required to post about a movie, book or TV show renowned for its depiction of, well, blood, boobs and carnage, or any combination of the same. And so I have chosen to highlight a movie that exemplifies all three facets of the blogfest, the 2005 graphic novel adaptation, Sin City.



The movie was directed by Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller and Quentin Tarantino. It starred an ensemble cast which included Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Mickey Rourke, Brittany Murphy, Devon Aoki, Benicio Del Toro, Alexis Bledel, Josh Harnett, Michael Clarke Duncan and Elijah Wood. It was not only renowned for its depiction of sex and violence, but for its stylish black-and-white visuals which was often punctuated by dashes of color to mesmerizing effect.

This came as a direct result of the movie's source material, which was itself a sort of homage to film noir. The movie was shot entirely against digital backgrounds, much like Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow before it. From the very beginning, director Robert Rodriguez had sought to recreate the look and feel of the comic books, and the result is an almost frame-for-frame replication.

Praise for the movie extends beyond its technical achievements. In terms of acting performances, the actors all did a great job in bringing their various characters to life, especially the point-of-view characters, most of whom tended to launch into monologues which were more often than not laden with strong metaphors. But I feel the show was stolen by Elijah Wood, who plays a cannibalistic serial killer named Kevin, a character that failed to utter a single word during the entire movie.

Ultimately, it is the directors that should be given most of the credit for Sin City's nearly flawless transition from comic book to silver screen. They successfully translated the comics' singular vision, without losing any of its essence along the way. I have always had a soft spot for movies like this, with enough blood, boobs and carnage to satisfy my unending appetite for the same.

47 comments:

  1. Never seen the film but I may just download it just because Elijah Wood is in it!

    I'm LOVING this Blogfest!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You should. Although this is a different sort of Elijah Wood, not the Frodo Baggins variant. This one has more in common with his character in the 2012 remake of the 1980 slasher film, Maniac.

      Delete
  2. Sounds like they handled the source material well. Cannibalistic serial killer? Yikes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can say that again. His role was easily one of the most disturbing aspects of the entire film.

      Delete
  3. the first SIN CITY was so good, just like the first MATRIX and then Hollywood stole that cool idea and saturated the films... now Sin City 2, was too long between films and that is why it failed.

    Jeremy [THE WOLF]
    Howlin' Wolf Records: On-Line Magazine

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah. The eight-year gap between the two films didn't exactly help matters. The novelty and shock value of the first one had worn off during that time.

      Delete
  4. That was one twisted movie. I'd heard it was really faithful to the comic.
    Thanks for participating in our blog fest.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is, like always, my pleasure to take part in one of your blog fests. And true that, Sin City was indeed a very twisted movie. Definitely not for the faint of heart. :D

      Delete
  5. Have not seen this film, but have heard about it. With that trio of directors it's got to be pretty wild.

    Arlee Bird
    A to Z Challenge Co-host
    Road trippin' with A to Z
    Tossing It Out

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're right. That is a trio of some of the most brilliant (not to mention sickest) minds in the business of telling stories around today. :)

      Delete
  6. Sin City is an awesome choice! I wasn't a big fan of the second one, but I love the noir feeling of both.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The second one definitely recaptured the film noir effect from the first movie. But sadly, the medium had lost most of its poignancy by the time of its release.

      Delete
  7. One to add to my list. I haven't seen it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cool. Glad I could make the recommendation. :)

      Delete
  8. Holy crap, that's a 10 year old movie?! O.o It seems like we watched it yesterday. It holds up very well though :)
    Visiting through the blogfest! cheers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I haven't seen it again since the year it was released, but I'll take your word for it that it holds up well after so many years.

      Delete
  9. If the translation from comic books was even half as good as the Marvel conversions, it sounds pretty good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Marvel has been on a roll for sometime now, so I can totally see why you'd use them as the standard to be measured against.

      Delete
  10. Great minds really DO think alike! Yay for Sin City.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I half expected we'd pick the same movie, but I was still stoked when I saw your choice. :)

      Delete
  11. Great choice Sin City, a little unhinged but captivating

    ReplyDelete
  12. Replies
    1. That's definitely one way of describing the movie, twisted, but brilliantly so. :)

      Delete
  13. Very well rendered. I watched it at a time there was absolutely nothing else available, and I was glad to have seen it. Might have been the thing that spiked my interest in the bad guy's perspective. The characters were visceral, well portrayed. Fabulous movie.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well said, Dolorah. I've always loved a good antihero, and Sin City is just filled with them.

      Delete
  14. Good choice. A disturbing film for me:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Kathy. It was disturbing for me too, but therein lies its entertainment value. :)

      Delete
  15. I've heard of this movie but haven't seen it, yet. Must check it out! Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino are two of my favourite directors. Great choice for the BB&C Blogfest! ☺

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Debbie. And yes, you should totally check it out, since you're already a fan of their other work. :)

      Delete
  16. Wow. That's a great review for that movie. I've heard it was really strange, but you made it sound much better. :)
    THANK YOU for joining Alex and me in this EPIC blogfest!
    Heather M. Gardner

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was my pleasure, Heather. Thanks for being a wonderful host. :)

      Delete
  17. I tried to watch this film, but just didn't get it. Which I feel bad about, because on paper it's a practically perfect film for me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That has happened to me with other films. Movies that I expected to love but just couldn't get into. Perhaps a revisit sometime in the not-too-distant future would help. :)

      Delete
  18. For me, Benicio Del Toro stole the show.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A part of me feels inclined to agree with you. I mean, any actor that can play a severed head with the butt of a gun protruding out of it deserves some form of recognition, right? :D

      Delete
  19. Ooohhh good call! I hadn't thought about Sin City! Nice to see a post that wasn't about GoT... ;)
    AJ Lauer

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can totally see why Game of Thrones would be getting most of the love during this blogfest, given its appropriateness and overall popularity.

      Delete