Sin City (8/10)
A movie adapted from a graphic novel, Sin City has a very unique visual feel. I've got to give points to any movie that genuinely paves new ground, and this film is extremely clever in melding the look of a graphic novel into full motion media. The plot is somewhat disjointed, but all substories feature the same locales and background characters. It follows three main “protagonists,“ Hartigan, Marv and Dwight. Each confronts the evils of Sin City in their own style, with invariably bloody outcomes. The violence and gore is constant, as is expected from a graphic novel, although I found the transition from page to screen skewed the balance some. A 2D character is less human than a 3D one, so a level of violence that would seem normal in a graphic novel ends up a bit overdoen on screen. Still, I enjoyed the film, liked the protagonists (Marv in particular), and was very impressed by the visual presentation.
Hostage (6/10)
There was a lot of ranting about how this was Bruce Willis' best film since sliced bread, how suspenseful and awesome it was, etc. I certainly didn't dislike the movie. Anything above a 5 means I'm at least glad I saw the film... But I just didn't see what everyone was ranting about. Things moved along pretty predictably. The badguys were made unlikeable in a very hamhanded fashion. Willis did a good job expressing his pain and desperation, but then again, what's hard about pain and desperation? Those don't seem like the hardest emotions to express on screen. There were some minor surprises, but no real plot twists. On the other hand (and speaking of Bruce Willis), what twists there were, weren't paraded around like M Knight Shamalamagetadifferentjobbyan would do. All in all a predictable, but well done film.
Constantine (7/10)
Another movie adapted from a comic book. Hollywood loves that shit these days. I know I should probably have whined about Sin City for this as well, but it's really a novel approach to the idea gank, and so it gets a free pass. Regardless, Constantine is a good movie in its own right. The “Matrix-like, world behind our world” thing is a very obvious, especially with Keanu Reeves running around in a black suit, but it's still an interesting idea, and Reeves John Constantine is an interesting character. What's also interesting, is that while Hollywood loves going to comic book authors for ideas, they absolutely love going to the Catholic church, despite themselves being a bunch of secular liberals. When in doubt, do something about the bargains between heaven and hell, the sins of man, exorcisms, and ancient texts on demonology. Thanks Catholicism! I'll buy a new Murcielago with the money your ideas made me!