postal scrotum: about "Sin City"

Andrew R. writes in:

Hi Kevin,

Re: "Sin City"

You wrote, "But does "Sin City" have a point? Maybe the pointlessness of the endless violence is its point; I couldn't tell you. No matter what you end up concluding about the subtext, though, you can be sure that "Sin City" will grip you by the balls for the entire ride. The movie is dark, dark, dark... so make sure your five-year-old is properly liquored up before you take him to see this flick."

Heh. I made sure my five-year-old was at work in the salt-mine before I went to see this movie. But liquor works, too, I guess.

What you missed here in the USA - and what TOTALLY caught me off-guard - was the absolute PRAISE the folks at Public Broadcasting (et al) heaped on 'Sin City'. Violent testicle-ripping was prevalent, sure. But the reviewers pointed out that all of the violence was done In Defense Of Women. Which made it OK, I guess.

I mean, Clint Eastwood shooting a bad guy to save a man is bad. But Bruce Willis ripping the nuts (and all hardware) off a guy in defense of a little girl is OK. At least for tax-payer supported Public Broadcasting. I know there is a value judgement in here somewhere....but I'm ignoring it for now.

_Andy

Andrew also writes:

The entire 'old-fashioned' society angle escaped me, too. I had to re-read the review to make sure I got it right. And to be sure, the gore is beyond the pale.

Having said that, 'Sin City' could be considered a modern-day answer to King Arthur:
- the good guys (Willis) fight to be good - at the expense of their own life (BIG asian themes here),
- the borderline men (Owen) struggle to maintain internal & external order, and
- the bad-ish guys (Rourke) follow their Samurai/Ronin code (path to enlightenment(?)) as they are 'saved' by the balancing effect of women.

On the whole, this story would make better classroom discussion fodder than, say, 'Beowolf'.

_Andy

Justin Yoshida writes:

14. A wolf eats a guy tied to a tree.

Are you sure? Marv amputated all his limbs, so I assumed he was just propped up against it (although I can't be sure until I see it again). I only bring this up because I just dl/ed the DVD rip two nights ago and when I saw the scene in question I thought, "he should have seated master Frodo on a barbed stake instead of just leaning him against a tree. THAT might have elicited a scream or two (or at least a Hobbuttgasm).

I wrote back to J:

You may have caught another of my mistakes. I'll have to go back and see the whole gory thing again.

Arn writes in re: Devon Aoki:

She is a cutie! You were speculating on her ancestry, I dug it up for ya.

Biography for
Devon Aoki

Birth name Devon Edwenna Aoki
Height 5' 6" (1.68 m)
Mini biography
Born in New York but raised in California, Devon is no stranger to the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Her father is former Olympic wrestler and Benihana Steakhouse magnate Rocky Aoki, and her mother is Pamela Hilburger, a jewelry designer. Devon is of Japanese, German, and English ancestry. She started modeling when she was 13, the same year her godmother introduced her to modeling legend Kate Moss. She is now the face of Lancome and is one of the top earners at her agency, Women.

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