Sin Cities (plural)

Is it Christmas already? No, we're still in November. Then how can all my dreams be coming true? The dreams that exclude Mark Wahlberg from proposing to me that is . . . .

Anyway, the god of awesome has totally smiled upon me due to the news Robert Rodriguez is writing and directing two more Sin City films. TWO! For those of you born in the last six seconds, Rodriguez is just my FAVOURITE DIRECTOR EVER! Needless to say Sin City is also one of my favourite films and it went on to revolutionize the way movies are shot. Films like 300, Speed Racer and The Spirit are a few who have taken a lot from Sin City.If you don't know what Sin City is about you don't deserve to live. Okay, a little harsh maybe but it's that brilliant everyone should know. Adapted from a graphic novel written and drawn by the legendary Frank Miller, Sin City tells multiple stories of the inhabitants of Basin City - a dark, dangerous, neo-noir town. Miller directed, wrote and produced the original along with Rodriguez. Rodriguez's BFF Quentin Tarantino also guest-directed a scene or three. Although Sin City isn't scheduled to be released until 2010, a cast of colossal calibre has signed on for the sequel. The following is a brief list;

Clive Owen is Dwight McCarthy --from original
Mickey Rourke is Marv --from original
Jessica Alba is Nancy Callahan --from original
Rosario Dawson is Gail --from original
Rose McGowan is Ava Lord (rumoured)
Michael Clarke Duncan is Manute --from original
Jamie King is Goldie/ Wendy --from original
Brittany Murphy is Shellie --from original
Antonio Banderas is ??? (rumoured)
Devon Aoki is Miho --from original
Danny Trejo is ??? (rumoured)
Powers Boothe is Senator Roark--from original

As you can see most of the surviving characters from the original Sin City are reprising their roles as well as appearances from Rodriguez regulars Danny Trejo, Antonio Banderas and the smokin Rose McGowan. The plot follows one of the later graphic novels and delves further in to the past of Dwight and Marv as well as the present of the other characters. Rodriguez is commonly known as the `one man film crew' because of how he has a hand in all aspects of the film making process. Just as he did in Sin City he will be behind the cinematography, directing, producing, editing, writing and the music for Sin City 2. What a legend. Seriously.

If the above news isn't enough to get your juices going, Miller and Rodriguez are all aboard for Sin City 3 which is scheduled for release in 2011. This film will be based around the story of an ex-Navy SEAL named Wallace who saves a young woman, Esther, from killing herself. After a night on the town, she's kidnapped by mysterious people and so on and so forth. Johnny Depp is rumoured to have already signed on to play Wallace but no other cast details have come to light.

Santa is awesome.

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The Power of Levitt-ation

Upon request last month I compiled a tribute to the always fabulous Rose McGowan, which received plenty of feedback from you faithful readers out there. So this time I’m going to pay tribute to my favourite up and coming actor, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and his cinematic career so far. Odds are you’ll probably recognise him as the kid from the tv shows Third Rock From The Sun and Roseanne . Since then he’s appeared in several films and worked as a camera operator. The 27-year-old’s first big break came playing one of four leads in the teenage comedy 10 Things I Hate About You alongside Heath Ledger. Since then he has progressed to bigger and better things by dodging the nerdy, white kid role he could have so easily been type cast in after 10 Things. Below is a list of my top three favourite Joseph Gordon-Levitt performances and some notable mentions.

3. Mysterious Skin (2005)

Absolutely haunting. That’s the description I would use to describe his portrayal of a teenager still scarred from being molested by his baseball coach at the age of eight. Gordon-Levitt plays Neil McCormick in this spine-tingling drama which stays with you long after the credits have rolled. The fact anyone would have felt comfortable enough with their own sexuality and acting ability to take on a role like this is amazing. What’s more, this film is very explicit showing and talking about homosexuality, rape, molestation, nudity, AIDS and so forth. There’s a saying in Hollywood which goes something along the lines of if you play a gay or mentally handicapped person you win an Oscar, as long as you don’t go too far. Gordon-Levitt goes far, waaaaay far. This film and his portrayal of Neil is so powerful, Mysterious Skin is now screened to paedophiles in American prisons and rehabilitation clinics to show them how the victims are affected years after the incident. A must see.
Best line:
Wendy: "Where normal people have a heart, Neil McCormick has a bottomless black hole. And if you don't watch out, you can fall in and get lost forever."

2. The Lookout (2007)

One of my favourite films of last year. It’s truly a shame this only ever a got a straight to DVD release in Australia. Gordon-Levitt is enthralling as a once promising high school athlete Chris Pratt who is now handicapped in a devastating car accident. He is truly brilliant as this young man struggling to live with brain damage similar to that of Guy Pearce’s character in Memento. Working as a janitor at a local bank he finds himself caught up in a planned heist. It’s hard to pigeon hole the genre of this film. I guess crime, thriller, noir, drama would suffice and undoubtedly Gordon-Levitt is the glue which holds this complicated web of a movie together. With a weaker lead actor this could have spiralled in to a B-grade slosh of a film. Instead, his sincerity and fragility makes this character truly believable and, quite simply, captivating to watch.
Best line:
Lewis: "You know, here I am, sitting at home alone every night while you're out getting blown and God knows what else by Luvlee something, who probably has a friend, and what, you don't introduce me?"
Chris: "Lemons. That's what it is."
Lewis: "That's what what is?"
Chris: "That's her last name."
Lewis: "Luvlee Lemons? That's her name?"
Chris: "Well, it's her stage name. She's a performer. Or she was."
Lewis: "Ah, and by stage I'm assuming you mean the kind with a pole?"
Chirs: "What do you mean?"

Lewis: "Let's move on."

1. Brick (2006)

Perhaps I’m a little biased because yet again this another one of my favourite movies (I realise that’s a long list). Brick tells the tale of high school outsider Brendan Frye, Gordon-Levitt, as he investigates the death of his ex-girlfriend played by Aussie actress Emile De Ravin who also appeared in The Hills Have Eyes. Essentially this is a noir, detective story reminiscent of a Humphrey Boggart film or The Maltese Falcon but in a high school setting. The script is superb, the dialogue is sharp and the performances from the young cast are excellent. However, it’s Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the lead who not only steals the show but carries the whole the film. His portrayal of this intelligent outsider who deals with the death of the women he still loves by taking on the local drug ring is to date one of my favourite performances of all time. How he manages to pull of the quiet strength of Brendan’s character and put up with getting beaten (literally) again and again is worth the 110 minute running time and then some. If you can only ever see one of Gordon-Levitt’s movies then this is it.
Best line: This movie is built on incredibly good lines and I have to say it’s too hard to pick just one. However, two favourites would be:
Brendan: "Come on at me, if you want, Hash-head. I've got all five senses and I slept last night, that puts me six up against the lot of you."
Assistant VP Gary: "You've helped this office out before."
Brendan: "No, I gave you Jerr to see him eaten, not to see you fed." Assistant VP Gary: "Fine. And very well put."
Brendan: "Accelerated English, with Mrs. Kasprzyk."Assistant VP Gary: "Tough teacher?" Brendan: "Tough but fair."

Notable Mentions

In 2005 Gordon-Levitt proved he can not only play a raging queer and male prostitute in Mysterious Skin, but he can also hold his own amongst a star studded cast of veteran Oscar winners in Shadowboxer. The film stars Helen Mirren as a female assassin with terminal cancer, Cuba Gooding Jnr, Macy Gray, Vanessa Ferlito and our Gordon-Levitt as Dr. Don. In 2006 he had a supporting role in Havoc alongside Anne Hathaway, Bijou Phillips, Channing Tatum and Freddy Rodriguez. Although he doesn’t get as much camera time as the other films mentioned here, his interpretation of Sam, a wannabe nigga or wigga (white-nigga) is completely new ground for him. More recently he played Tommy Burgess who’s emotionally scared after serving with the American army in the critically acclaimed Stop-Loss. He stars alongside Channing Tatum again in this movie too.

Coming Up

His latest film is a project called Killshot which is to be released later this year. It’s about a couple placed in the Federal Witness Protection program after witnessing a mob hit. They’re then targeted by an experienced hitman played by Mickey Rourke and a psychopathic young upstart killer played by Gordon Levitt. Diane Lane and Rosario Dawson also star and just quietly this film looks awesome! My heart was pumping overtime just watching the trailer which you can view here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By23zDhB_-8: In 2009 he will once again appear alongside buddy-ol-pal Channing Tatum in the film adaptation of G.I Joe titled G.I Joe: Rise of the Cobra. He’s also set to try his hand at romantic comedies in 500 Days of Summer where he plays a man who falls for a woman who doesn’t believe in love, played by the always kooky Zooey Deschanel.

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I'll have the McGowan meal thanks

I've had quite a few comments from friends and colleagues since I did a blog with the movie posters for Robert Rodriguez's latest project Red Sonja. Most of those comments were about Rose McGowan's mega yumminess. Sooo I decided to give all you McGowan fans out there something to squeal over and pay homage to the actress with more attitude than Ice T and Grace Jones combined. Here are my top three favourite McGowan performances:

3. Courtney Alice Shayne
Jawbreaker (1999) McGowan's attitude and X factor are put to full use in this black teen comedy which sees the girls in the popular group accidently kill their BFF in a birthday prank gone wrong. Courtney Shayne is one of the most underrated bitches in cinema history and McGowan plays her to perfection. Everyone else in the cast pales in comparison to McGowan who is the ultimate femme fatale, using her sex appeal and wit to manipulate those around her. The only thing more ridiculous than the fact the audience are supposed to believe these 27-year old’s are teenagers are the corsets and leather Courtney wears to school. She is the ultimate mean girl and other high school Queen Bees have nothing on Miss Shayne.
Best line:
“I killed Liz. I killed the teen dream. Deal with it.”

2. Tatum Riley
Scream (1996)
A testament to McGowan's ability to hold her own in a cast alongside some of the biggest names in nineties Hollywood. While initial attention may have been drawn to the clever plot, sharp script and tongue-in-cheek performances who can forget Sidney Prescott's loyal best friend Tatum Riley. Not only does she have some of the best one liners in the film (“Billy and his penis don't deserve you Syd”) she also has one of the best deaths (garage doors+Tatum =gnarly!). While some people are always cast as the `token black guy' it seems McGowan is always cast as the `knowing slut with attitude' and she pulls it off well as a buxom blonde.
Best line:
“No, please don't kill me, Mr. Ghostface, I wanna be in the sequel!”
1. Cherry Darling
Planet Terror (2007)
I may be a little biased to pick this as my favourite McGowan performance because I'm a Rodriguez whore but honestly, she gets to do what she does best and that's deliver her natural blend of comedy and sass. McGowan plays Cherry Darling, a stripper who has just quit her night-job to pursue a career as a stand up comedian. Anyways, some zombies rip her leg off and her ex replaces it with a machine gun. Awesome much? In the style of some of the greatest exploitation films ever made violence, sex, horror and comedy ensue as Cherry and her machine gun stump blast their way through the movie. Only McGowan would be able to make an amputee one of the sexiest characters on screen in 2007. Notably, her comedic turns are still effective against a back drop of zombies whose genitals explode.
Best line:
There's so many, sigh, so here are a few of the best . . . .

“Useless talent number 66. I'm very pliable.”

Cherry: Name's Cherry Darling...
El Wray: Sounds like a stripper name.
Cherry: No, it sounds like a go-go dancer name. There's a difference.

“I am not leaving you here like this. Motherfuckers around here eat road kill.”

El Wray: So what are you going to do now?
Cherry: I'm going to be a stand-up comedian.
El Wray: You're not funny.
Cherry: That's what I keep trying to tell everybody but they all say I'm hilarious.
El Wray: But you're not.
Cherry: There's a difference between being frank. . .and being dick.

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They say red heads do it better . . .

Two potential movie posters for the 2009 release Red Sonja sprouted up on the internet a few days ago and there’s been no shortage of hype surrounding Robert Rodriguez’s latest venture. When news that a film was to be made based around the Marvel Comics character, Red Sonja, it raised a fair few eyebrows. But I have to say these nifty pieces of graphic art have got me hooked (either that or I’m afraid the red head will stab me). Rose McGowan is looking hot, hot, hot as the sword wielding she-devil.

Red Sonja first appeared as a side character in the Conan the Barbarian/Adventurer/Raving homosexual comics before branching out in her own series. If the posters are anything to go by (which I say they are) then McGowan’s Red Sonja looks likely to surpass Angelica Bridges god-awful version of the character played in the 80s TV series Conan the Adventurer. Plus McGowan’s costume doesn’t look like it was bought from `Dominatrix’s R Us’ so brownie points for that one. There was also a film adaption of Red Sonja in 1985 with the title character played by Brigitte Nielsen accompanied by the heavily tanned and bulging Arnold Schwarzenegger. Again I use the term god-awful to describe this cinematic effort.

The last time Rodriguez and McGowan paired up was for the hugely entertaining but financial flop Planet Terror. No doubt the real-life lovers are hoping Red Sonja will make more of an impact at the box office. Anyway, the talented and slightly scary Djimon Hounsou will be playing the other lead role of Thusla Doom while Douglas Aarniokoski is up to direct. But never fear! Although you mightn’t have heard of Aarniokoski before, he has worked with Rodriguez on majority of his films as first or second assistant director etc etc. The main draw card for me here is with Rodriguez on board, the action scenes are bound to be spectacular and well executed. He’s also one of the few directors in Hollywood who has his actors perform majority of their own stunts so McGowan better get used to lugging that pointy stick around otherwise someone just might lose an eye! Or boob! Stay posted for more Red Sonja pics and news.

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