Sin City – A Dame to Die For.

Sin City is the title for a series of neo-noir comics by Frank Miller[1]. The first story originally appeared in "Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special" (April, 1991), and continued in Dark Horse Presents #51–62 from May 1991 to June 1992, under the title of Sin City and serialized in thirteen parts. Several other stories of variable lengths have followed. The intertwining stories, with frequently recurring characters, take place in Basin City.

Can Hartigan still protect Nancy - even though he's dead?

The first movie adaptation of Sin City was released in April 2005 based on the first, third, and fourth books in Miller's original comic series. An extra included on the DVD release explains how Miller was reluctant to release the film rights, but Roger Rodrigues, a long time fan of Millers graphic novels, talked the author into doing just that by shooting “The Customer Is Always Right”, which in fact ended up as the opening sequence in the first film. It was also this sequence that was used to recruit Willis and some of the other major stars to appear in the movie. 

Can Ava Lord become the femme fatale of femme fatale's? 

The sequel, Sin City: A Dame To Kill For was released in August 2014. One of the smaller plots of the film is based on the short story "Just Another Saturday Night", which is collected in Booze, Broads, & Bullets, the sixth book in the comic series. Two original stories ("The Long Bad Night" and "Nancy's Last Dance") were created exclusively for the film written by Miller.

Can Marv or Dwight save the day?

Both films were co-directed by Robert Rodriguez [2] and Frank Miller, and star an ensemble cast including returning cast members Mickey Rourke as tough guy Marv, Jessica Alba as Nancy Callahan, Rosario Dawson as Gail the overlord of the women that run the red light district known as Old Town, Bruce Willis reprises his role as the only good cop in Basin City John Hartigan, Jaime King appears as both Goldie and her twin sister Wendy, and Powers Boothe is the most powerful man in Basin City the rich and corrupt politician Senator Roark . Newcomers to the series include Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Eva Green, Ray Liotta, Lady Gaga, Julia Garner, and the wonderful Juno Temple.

 

Can there ever be a better looking working girl than Sally?

Again we have a rather unique looking movie, not quite as unique as it was ten years ago but still unique. We are presented with wonderful graphic noir atmospherics, the steamy black and white footage where red is the colour of dresses and cars and of course at times blood, the brilliantly spoken pulp narrative as if you were being read a bed time story by the king of pulp novels himself Mickey Spillane. In fact it does at times remind you of Spillane’s disgust for women, especially through Eva Greens character Ava Lord where one minute she is placed on a pedestal and the next thrown in the gutter – go back a century or two and she would have been burnt as a witch.  All this along with the ‘writing style’ gives you no doubt that it has been successfully lifted from the pages of a comic book – no wonder Miller agreed to release the film rights, know he can see what was originally in his mind eye in all its dazzling spender up on the big screen. Sexy, violent and humorous Sin City 2, just like its predecessor, is a joyous piece of nonsense that must be seen – but remember, “Never lose control. Never let the monster out”. Goodbye suckers I’m off to Kadies!!

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[1] Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American writer, artist, and film director best known for his dark comic book stories and graphic novels such as Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300. He also directed the film version of The Spirit, shared directing duties with Robert Rodriguez on Sin City, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For and produced the film 300. He is also known for creating the comic book character Elektra.

[2]  Robert Anthony Rodríguez (born June 20, 1968)[3] is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, editor and musician. He shoots and produces many of his films in Mexico and his native Texas. He has directed successful and groundbreaking film sagas such as the Mexico Trilogy, From Dusk till Dawn, Sin City, Planet Terror, and Machete. He is a friend and frequent collaborator of filmmaker Quentin Tarantino. In December 2013, Rodriguez launched his own cable TV channel, El Rey.