Pandora's Box

C and I had a much-needed date night. Our schedules are so incompatible, we haven't been out together in months, it seems. So we decided on dinner at Mifune. Sorry, Mari, as good as Iroha was, Mifune will always have our hearts. ;-) It's the kitsune soba, I tell ya. There is no match for the flavor of memories.

Well, sometimes there is...

After dinner, I decided to pick up a can of Calpico out of the soda machine to drink during the movie. In Japan, it had been called Calpis. But somehow, I guess the manufacturer figured a drink prounounced "cow piss" wouldn't make it big in the U.S. There was a similar drink I used to get called Pocari Sweat, but I haven't seen it sold in the states either. I wonder why. ;-) Anyway, Calpico is a fermented milk beverage that tastes kind of like a lemon milk drink. It comes carbonated or flat or as a powder you can mix yourself. I prefer the soda version. Well, I used to anyway. I worry my taste buds are changing. When I opened the can, it smelt like rubber. I finally convinced myself to taste it, but let's just say I didn't finish it. So I guess memories can deceive us. But I digress.

C's and my date night climaxed with seeing the movie Sin City at the Kabuki theater. I had forgotten that Jessica Alba was going to be in Sin City.

 


Both C and I have been crushed out on Jessica Alba ever since she appeared in the tv show Dark Angel. Though I have to say, I prefer her as a brunette. (She was blond in Sin City).

But my initial point with this post was to talk about the movie, not Jessica Alba. Sorry, I am very tired. I am trying to stay up late because I work tomorrow night and hope to sleep through most of tomorrow day. Or today day, I suppose, as it is now almost 2am.

But yes, back to the movie... I *loved* it. I have not read any of Frank Miller's graphic novels upon which it was based. But I may have to read them after seeing this movie. In contrast, C had read his books, and was still blown away by the creativity of this film.

First of all, I love B rated movies. Not that Sin City was a B rated movie, but it sometimes wanted to be one. Some of the lines, we were certain we were laughing *at* more than the directors and writer intended. Such as the line:

"Kill him... kill him good," said in the film's standard overly dramatized manner, much reminiscent of early cinema such as Casablanca.

I was impressed by the unique and highly stylized cinematography. The black and white film footage and anime blended impeccably. The comic book style rain drops worked, especially with the dramatic lighting and the deliberate angles of the cameras.

Although the film was primarily directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, the grotesque gory shots of blood splashing were very reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino's recent films (he was a special guest director of Sin City). Though not having read the graphic novels, I suspect the gore is also characteristic of Frank Miller's work. These gruesome effects of Quenton Terantino's worked more successfully in Sin City than in Kill Bill or other works of Tarantino's.

The flow of the film - which jumped between different intersecting story lines - was a little hard to follow initially, but I caught on quick, even without having read Frank Miller's graphic novels. Though I think if I'd read the novels first, I might have followed along better.

The action in the movie was exciting and suspenseful. I'm pretty sure that it was during a preview, however when my hand went numb from C squeezing it so tightly. Sin City was suspenseful at times, but more out of anticipation of gore than hand-squeezing kind of suspense.

All in all, we both loved this film even when we laughed at it. Don't miss it. It's truly a one-of-a-kind.

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Speaking of things not to miss... Don't forget - Pet Noir is happening tonight in San Francisco!