Sin City (2005)

Directed by: Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez, and Quentin Tarantino

Starring: Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, and Bruce Willis

John Hartigan (Bruce Willis) is an aging cop who protects Nancy Callahan (played by Makenzie Vega as a young girl and Jessica Alba as an adult) from child-killer and rapist Roark Junior (Nick Stahl).  To put Roark behind bars, he has to take on his father, a US Senator, and the police who are on his dad's payroll.  Meanwhile, Marv (Mickey Rourke) is an ex-con who has a phenomenal one-night stand with Goldie (Jaime King).  He awakens to find her dead in bed next to him and vows to avenge her death.  Marv relentlessly pursues her killer, a cannibal named Kevin (Elijah Wood).   Finally, we have Dwight (Clive Owen).  His girlfriend Shellie (Brittany Murphy) has some issues with Jackie Boy (Benicio del Toro) a violent ex-boyfriend who just can’t seem to let go.  Dwight deals with the situation as any boyfriend would.  He kicks Jackie Boy’s ass.

Sin City stands as the best adaption of a graphic novel to date and will forever be a cult classic.  The movie is dark, violent, and vulgar.  It has a star-studded cast that includes Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Jessica Alba, Benicio del Toro, Brittany Murphy, Elijah Wood, and Rosario Dawson.  They all deliver great performances.  It has a trio of talented directors—Frank Miller (the author of the graphic novel), Robert Rodriguez, and Quentin Tarantino (Tarantino only directed a small part of the film though).  Each of the directors puts their own mark on this great film.  This is definitely a film for which a little buzz wouldn’t hurt, but be careful.  If you go too far, you’ll miss some great stuff.