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LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Frank Miller's Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014) in Movies
Jan 17, 2021
I think that I actually prefer A Dame to Kill For over the first Sin City...
Once again, it's a visual feast, and once again, has a damn fine cast.
Two of the stories here are (unless I'm mistaken) written for this film, rather than being adapted. One of them concentrates on Johnny (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his incredible luck at gambling. This story serves as nothing more than to further highlight just how much of an asshole Senator Rourke (Powers Boothe) is, once again, acting as the films main big bad. It's effective enough and does what it sets out to do. The other story concentrates on Nancy (Jessica Alba) torn up and struggling with alcohol after what Rourke did to Hartigan (Bruce Willis) in the first movie, before enlisting the help of Marv (Mickey Rourke) to exact revenge. This one is a little more high stakes. By this point, you really want Rourke to face some really unfriendly justice, and it's fitting that Nancy be the one to dish it out.
However, the titular story is what holds everything together.
A Dame to Kill For, which is indeed adapted from the comics is fantastic. It takes up the majority of runtime, and follows pre Clive Owen looking Dwight (Josh Brolin) going toe to toe with the seductively powerful and dangerous Ava (Eva Green). Here is where we're in full blown prequel territory, learning how Dwight comes to look how he does in the original, his connections the the girls of Old Town, and how Manute (Dennis Haysbert) ends up with his fetching golden eyeball. The best character interactions happen here. Green and Brolin are both great, and easily steal the show. It also boasts some great action when Gail (Rosario Dawson) and Miho (Jamie Chung) return to fuck shit up, and is just an all round enjoyable segment that easily dwarfs the other two stories.
The cast also includes Ray Liota, Christopher Meloni, Jaime King, Jeremy Piven, Christopher Lloyd, Juno Temple, Julia Garner, and Lady Gaga, so yeah, pretty solid ensemble all in all!
Its a damn shame that ADTKF took as long as it did to materialise. The Sin City hype train had gone a bit quiet by the time it released, and it didn't get the credit it deserves, and is frequently discarded as an inferior film to it's predecessor when personally, I think there's a lot to love.
Once again, it's a visual feast, and once again, has a damn fine cast.
Two of the stories here are (unless I'm mistaken) written for this film, rather than being adapted. One of them concentrates on Johnny (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his incredible luck at gambling. This story serves as nothing more than to further highlight just how much of an asshole Senator Rourke (Powers Boothe) is, once again, acting as the films main big bad. It's effective enough and does what it sets out to do. The other story concentrates on Nancy (Jessica Alba) torn up and struggling with alcohol after what Rourke did to Hartigan (Bruce Willis) in the first movie, before enlisting the help of Marv (Mickey Rourke) to exact revenge. This one is a little more high stakes. By this point, you really want Rourke to face some really unfriendly justice, and it's fitting that Nancy be the one to dish it out.
However, the titular story is what holds everything together.
A Dame to Kill For, which is indeed adapted from the comics is fantastic. It takes up the majority of runtime, and follows pre Clive Owen looking Dwight (Josh Brolin) going toe to toe with the seductively powerful and dangerous Ava (Eva Green). Here is where we're in full blown prequel territory, learning how Dwight comes to look how he does in the original, his connections the the girls of Old Town, and how Manute (Dennis Haysbert) ends up with his fetching golden eyeball. The best character interactions happen here. Green and Brolin are both great, and easily steal the show. It also boasts some great action when Gail (Rosario Dawson) and Miho (Jamie Chung) return to fuck shit up, and is just an all round enjoyable segment that easily dwarfs the other two stories.
The cast also includes Ray Liota, Christopher Meloni, Jaime King, Jeremy Piven, Christopher Lloyd, Juno Temple, Julia Garner, and Lady Gaga, so yeah, pretty solid ensemble all in all!
Its a damn shame that ADTKF took as long as it did to materialise. The Sin City hype train had gone a bit quiet by the time it released, and it didn't get the credit it deserves, and is frequently discarded as an inferior film to it's predecessor when personally, I think there's a lot to love.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Dredd (2012) in Movies
Jan 25, 2021
I grew up reading 2000AD and like many others, was disappointed in the Stallone effort to bring Judge Dredd to the big screen. Fast forward to 2012, and Dredd shows us that the way forward is a simple one. There's no need to go all out with a Mega City One wide story. The narrative is Dredd assessing Anderson on her first proper day of duty, locked down in a singular Megabuilding. Taking the template of Die Hard and applying it to Judge Dredd characters is wonderfully straightforward, and this movie is more spectacular for it.
We're told all the background we need to know within the first ten minutes before shit hits the fan and allows the rest of the films 80 or so minutes to give us one big set piece, as Dredd and Anderson make their way up the building to get to antagonist and drug peddling criminal, Ma-Ma.
Karl Urban is picture perfect in the titular role. His helmet wisely stays on for the duration, and he manages to keep up Dredd's signature grimace from start to finish, without it looking silly.
Olivia Thirlby is great as Anderson, and provides most of the movies more emotion charged moments that Dredd himself can't. The scene where she makes a vile gangster literally piss himself with her mind-exploring powers is a highlight of badass-ery.
Lena Headey plays the villanous Ma-Ma, and although she doesn't get a huge amount of screentime, she carves a lasting impression on proceedings as a truly nasty piece of work.
The films macguffin like Slow-Mo drug gives director Pete Travis an excuse to pack in some typical slow motion shots, but thankfully doesn't overdo it, and when it's used, provides us with some stylish and colourful action that breaks up the otherwise bleak aesthetic that comes hand in hand with the Mega City setting. This is of course is all complimented with some well done hard R violence which is simply a requirement when dealing with 2000AD material!
I personally feel that Dredd is the Judge Dredd film that we deserve. It ticks all the right boxes and doesn't feel over serious, even though it has next to no humour. Its a damn shame that it didn't earn the desired box office numbers because a sequel would have been just lovely.
We're told all the background we need to know within the first ten minutes before shit hits the fan and allows the rest of the films 80 or so minutes to give us one big set piece, as Dredd and Anderson make their way up the building to get to antagonist and drug peddling criminal, Ma-Ma.
Karl Urban is picture perfect in the titular role. His helmet wisely stays on for the duration, and he manages to keep up Dredd's signature grimace from start to finish, without it looking silly.
Olivia Thirlby is great as Anderson, and provides most of the movies more emotion charged moments that Dredd himself can't. The scene where she makes a vile gangster literally piss himself with her mind-exploring powers is a highlight of badass-ery.
Lena Headey plays the villanous Ma-Ma, and although she doesn't get a huge amount of screentime, she carves a lasting impression on proceedings as a truly nasty piece of work.
The films macguffin like Slow-Mo drug gives director Pete Travis an excuse to pack in some typical slow motion shots, but thankfully doesn't overdo it, and when it's used, provides us with some stylish and colourful action that breaks up the otherwise bleak aesthetic that comes hand in hand with the Mega City setting. This is of course is all complimented with some well done hard R violence which is simply a requirement when dealing with 2000AD material!
I personally feel that Dredd is the Judge Dredd film that we deserve. It ticks all the right boxes and doesn't feel over serious, even though it has next to no humour. Its a damn shame that it didn't earn the desired box office numbers because a sequel would have been just lovely.
TacoDave (3553 KP) rated Lost and Found in Books
Oct 3, 2019
Plot (4 more)
World-Building
Characters
Dialogue
Concept
Small focus (1 more)
Plot coincidences
A smaller-scale story by the master of epic sci-fi
"Lost and Found" is a story about micropowers - small, seemingly useless powers that are almost the opposite of superpowers.
The main character, Ezekiel, can touch something that is lost and sense who and where the owner is. A lost toy on the ground might call out to him, asking to be returned to its five-year-old owner. Or a lost shoe might give him the impulse to track down a businessman. The power sounds useful, but since everyone assumes he is a thief (how else would he know where these items belong?), it is more of a burden than a blessing.
Everything changes when a police officer asks Ezekiel to help find a missing child. Could his "power" actually be useful? Or is it impossible to find a person who is "lost?" That's the main story of the book, and it is an intriguing concept, especially when Ezekiel meets other people with odd micropowers.
After saying all of that, how is the book? It's good! It isn't quite as engaging as some of Card's other books, but only because it is smaller in scale and scope. The Ender saga (which is up to approximately 12 books by now) feels important. The themes, moral dilemmas, and human interactions all have weight to them because of how epic the story is.
"Lost and Found" has a bit of adventure and danger, but it is much more grounded. It is focused on (almost) regular humans living their lives in contemporary times. So it is a touch lighter, a touch simpler than some of Card's other books.
Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed the book from beginning to end and would love to find out more about micropowers and just how inane they might be. The world-building is good enough to make me crave more.
One last note: the micropowers discussed actually *do* relate to the Ender saga, because they seem to be based (intentionally or not) on philotic rays. The main character can "feel" a connection between lost items and their owners. Another character can "feel" where spiders are. And one can "feel" other peoples' navels. It instantly reminded me of the ansible, the hive queen, and philotic webs. So that's something.
The main character, Ezekiel, can touch something that is lost and sense who and where the owner is. A lost toy on the ground might call out to him, asking to be returned to its five-year-old owner. Or a lost shoe might give him the impulse to track down a businessman. The power sounds useful, but since everyone assumes he is a thief (how else would he know where these items belong?), it is more of a burden than a blessing.
Everything changes when a police officer asks Ezekiel to help find a missing child. Could his "power" actually be useful? Or is it impossible to find a person who is "lost?" That's the main story of the book, and it is an intriguing concept, especially when Ezekiel meets other people with odd micropowers.
After saying all of that, how is the book? It's good! It isn't quite as engaging as some of Card's other books, but only because it is smaller in scale and scope. The Ender saga (which is up to approximately 12 books by now) feels important. The themes, moral dilemmas, and human interactions all have weight to them because of how epic the story is.
"Lost and Found" has a bit of adventure and danger, but it is much more grounded. It is focused on (almost) regular humans living their lives in contemporary times. So it is a touch lighter, a touch simpler than some of Card's other books.
Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed the book from beginning to end and would love to find out more about micropowers and just how inane they might be. The world-building is good enough to make me crave more.
One last note: the micropowers discussed actually *do* relate to the Ender saga, because they seem to be based (intentionally or not) on philotic rays. The main character can "feel" a connection between lost items and their owners. Another character can "feel" where spiders are. And one can "feel" other peoples' navels. It instantly reminded me of the ansible, the hive queen, and philotic webs. So that's something.
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