DVD Collectors Online

Sin City , a review by Dragonfire

Frank Miller's Sin City

My Thoughts

First of all, this isn't a movie for everyone.  It will be too violent and just plain too different for some people.  I do think it is entertaining and worth seeing.  I've never seen the original stories in the graphic novels, though from things I've read about the movie and seen in some of the extras, it does seem like the movie stays very true to the stories.  It definitely does have the look of a comic book with the unique coloring used.  Most of the movie is in black and white, with only selective use of colors in a piece of clothing or someone eyes..or blood.  The movie was filmed with green screens and just about all the locations were created digitally.  That does give the movie a very unique look that may turn off some viewers.

The movie is made up of four stories that slightly weave together with over lapping scenes.  I watched the extended version this time, which splits the stories into different parts, complete with their own credits.  Some things are shown in a slightly different order than they were in the theatrical version.  That could cause a little bit of confusion in a few spots since things are shown sort of out of order in a few cases.  The stories are mostly independent of each other with only a little overlap.  The stories are dark, disturbing, and twisted in some way, something else that may turn some viewers off.  A few things are a little harder to see.  The movie is entertaining overall even with the darker tone and subject matter.  Several scenes are very violent, though it does seem slightly less gory at times when the blood is a different color, like white. 

Pretty much all of the characters are twisted in some way and really none of them are purely good characters, though a few are presented as sort of hero characters.  Nancy is probably the only really good character, and she does seem a bit out of place.  She dances suggestively in some sort of club, but she doesn't strip.  That just seems a tad unbelievable.  From one of the extras, a panel from the graphic novel is shown and I think it is Nancy dancing topless, so that seems to have been changed for the movie..probably because of Jessica Alba being cast.

The Blu-ray has several extras that focus on some part of the making of the movie.  The extras that I've watched are interesting and worth checking out.

Overall the movie is entertaining and worth checking out, though it will turn some people off.



I did get a review posted on Epinions if anyone wants to take a look.

Sin City

(From Dragonfire88's Alphabet Marathon on August 1st, 2010)

Kick-Ass, a review by addicted2dvd

Kick-Ass (2010/United States) IMDb |Wikipedia |Trailer | Lionsgate Director: Matthew Vaughn Writing: Mark Millar (Original Material By), John S. Romita, Jr. [John S. Romita Jr] (Original Material By), Jane Goldman (Screenwriter), Matthew Vaughn (Screenwriter) Length: 118 min. Rating: Rated R : Strong Brutal Violence Throughout, Pervasive Language, Sexual Content, Nudity and Some Drug Use - Some Involving Children Video: Widescreen 2.40:1 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio: 7.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo Subtitles: English, Spanish

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Stars:
Aaron Johnson as Dave Lizewski/Kick-Ass
Garrett M. Brown as Mr. Lizewski
Clark Duke as Marty
Evan Peters as Todd
Deborah Twiss as Mrs Zane
Lyndsy Fonseca as Katie Deauxma

Plot:
Co-written and directed by Matthew Vaughn (upcoming X-Men: First Class), the ass-kicking adventure about unlikely real-life crime fighters stars Aaron Johnson (Nowhere Boy), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad) and Mark Strong (Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes), along with the dynamic father-daughter duo played by Chloe Grace Moretz (upcoming Let Me In), and Nicolas Cage (National Treasure series). Based on the comic written by Mark Millar and John S. Romita Jr., the story follows Dave Lizewski (Johnson), an ordinary teenager who goes unnoticed in high school until he dons a mask to become "Kick-Ass," a real-life crime fighter. Bruised and beaten and without any real super powers, he is saved by a father-daughter duo (Cage as "Big Daddy," Moretz as "Hit-Girl") who have been fighting their own battle against a vicious crime-lord. After a firestorm of Internet publicity, Kick-Ass becomes the target of the same crime lord, which leads to the ass-kicking finale when the three crime fighters take on the crime lord, his son Red Mist (Mintz-Plasse) and his gang of criminals.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Audio Commentary
• Feature Trailers
• Featurettes
• Gallery
• Picture-in-picture
• BD-Live
• Digital Copy
• Ass-Kicking BonusView Mode, D-Box, BD Touch, Metamenu

I have seen this one before... on DVD. But this is the first time seeing it on Blu-ray. And even after a second viewing this movie is nothing less then amazing! I absolutely loved every moment of it.  Hit-Girl stole the show... best character in the entire movie. Brittany said it right when she told me not to confuse this with a superhero movie... it really isn't one. It is actually a vigilante movie that just happens to use superhero costumes as a gimmick. If by any chance you haven't seen this one yet.... it is one I highly recommend... see it as soon as possible... you won't be sorry!



(From Weekend Movie Marathon: The Blu-ray Experience on July 13th, 2013)

Angel Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: The gang is wondering who could have stolen the soul and if they have a traitor in their midst. Angelus is still a prisoner but he perfectly plays the mind games. Then Lilah arrives in the basement and she offers a deal to Angelus.

My Opinion: I knew it! But why had I to be right this time? I also knew somehow that Angelus wouldn't be really Angel after the spell. Nonetheless a good episode.

Synopsis: Lilah is dead and Angelus is presumed the murderer. The last duty for Wesley left to do is to make sure that she won't rise as a vampire. But he also has another job, to get reinforcements: he brings the Vampire Slayer.

My Opinion: The son of two vampires is getting a child with who-knows-what-demon. Now it becomes really un-relaxing. But it is a bit suprising that they built up the big enemy over the entire season. If they follow the tradition of "Angel", Cordelia won't last until the season finale, but let's see.

Synopsis: Faith is badly hurt after the fight with the demon, both physically as well as mentally. After Angelus has visted the hotel again both Cordelia and the gang try to find him and get him under control.

My Opinion: "Hearing voices no one else can hear isn't a good sign, even in the wizarding world." (Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets") Nice fight Wesley and Faith put up against Angelus but one has seen that she didn't fight wholeheartedly. Otherwise she would have swept the floor with him. Very thrilling. And Wesley can fill out an application for the CTU, they are also in L.A..

Synopsis: Angelus bit Faith but her blood was spiked with a drug. Now both lay in a coma and try to break out of a nightmare. Additionally, Willow has come from Sunnydale to re-implant Angel's soul.

My Opinion: Another exciting episode. A love this arc. The only drawback was that I already knew that Faith wouldn't die because she makes an appearance in the final episodes of "Buffy" which run parallel to this season of "Angel".

(From Angel Marathon on February 23rd, 2008)