Cult 12
By Maricke Nieuwdorp
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Maps to the Stars 13
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For What If
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Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is far removed from superheroes dressed in tights with fluttering capes. You know, those robosuited geniuses and alien beings with conveniently all-American values who save humanity and seem to be tip-top blockbuster material time and time again. You won’t find ’em here. Personally, we prefer our graphic-novel adaptations a little more like Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez’s sequel. Or like other more obscure, sometimes cynical but always mature and beautifully made films written in the ’90s. Frank Miller, creator of the neonoir graphic novel series Sin City first published in 1991, is not afraid of bloated black and bright white. His artwork shows obvious inspiration from classic film noir of the Fifties and Sixties—his shadow work, for instance, or his bright contrasts and styling (trench coats! lit cigarettes!). He also evokes that era’s best pulp, detective and genre fiction. Basin City, popularly dubbed Sin City, is Miller’s fictional American locale, a decaying city with a seedy underbelly where crime and prostitution are rife. Arriving nine years after the original film, for Sin City: A Dame to Kill For Miller once again teams up with Robert Rodriguez for another dose of neo-noir, sexploitat ion and videogame violence that does the original paper version proud. Just like Daniel Clowes’ super-cool graphic novel about Enid Coleslaw and Rebecca Doppelmeyer. The first serialized instalment of Ghost World was in 1993 before appearing in book form
in 1997. Enid and Rebecca are cynical, nerdy and intelligent teenagers on their way to adulthood. They’re drifting in their hometown, relieving their boredom by unleashing their acid tongues on everyone and everything. A wonderful story about growing up and friendship, and with a smart take on modern life, the 2001 film version, starring Scarlett Johansson and Thora Birch, is just as cool. Nice detail: Ghost World director Terry Zwigoff previously made a documentary about underground cartoonist Robert Crumb (Crumb, 1994). Max Allan Collins published the first instalment of his graphic novel Road to Perdition in 1998, inspired by the Japanese manga Lone Wolf and Cub. Collins’ stylish crime story is set during the Great Depression. The life of a cold-blooded assassin takes a dramatic turn when his son discovers the truth about his profession. In a nice twist, Collins’ fictional characters interact with historical gangsters from the 1930s. Sam Mendes’ 2002 film version, with Tom Hanks and his classic gangster hat in the lead, fell on good soil. The filmmakers didn’t just rely on the graphic novel; stylistically, they looked closely at Edward Hopper’s paintings as well. Release: 28/8 (NL), 29/8 (UK), 17/9 (BE)
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David Cronenberg’s representation of Hollywood is downright perverse, and way more gloomy and rotten than most. Behind the thin veneer of wealth, glitz, glamour and celebrity lies a pitchblack world where drug abuse, sloppy sex, incest, deep-seated insecurity and all sorts of mental shit are commonplace for everyone. In this ensemble drama about Tinseltown, we meet vari ous characters in the heart of or on the periphery of the entertainment world. Think they’re the lucky few? Think again. Agatha (Mia Wasikowska; scarily intense) arrives by bus in Hollywood. And that’s straight up the last we see of the world as we know it. Agatha, still weighed down by a mysterious fire during her youth, gets a job as the personal assistant to Havana (Julianne Moore). This famous actress, whose star is on the wane, is facing her own demons. Haunted by the ghost of her A-lister mother who died in a fire, Havana tries to assuage her m isery with the help of star psychiatrist Dr Stafford Weiss (John Cusack). Weiss—who, in all seriousness, wears black eyeliner—is also dealing with several problems inside the privacy of his own mansion. And that’s quite annoying, since he’s about to start a book tour and doesn’t want to miss a single cent on account of bad publicity. The issue is his son, a 13-year-old child star with a drug addiction and a Justin Bieber-esque sense of entitlement. Meanwhile, his ‘mommie dearest’ works the scene, Kris Jenner-style. All those haves and have-nots compete
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side by side against their (self) destruction. Because demolition is heading mercilessly for them in this version of Hollywood. Cronenberg, traditionally considered to be a horror man, is by no means a stranger to grim atmospheres—see Videodrome (1983), The Fly (1986) and Crash (1996)—and his jetblack rendering of this so-called magic al world of fame and fortune is prob ably painfully accurate. Drama. Director: David Cronenberg Actors: Julianne Moore, Robert Patterson and others Release: 30/7 (BE), 28/8 (NL), 26/9 (UK)
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What if the very British Harry Potter suddenly popped up in a Canadian romcom as a dropout student, looking for a little affection? Believe it or not, it pans out surprisingly nice. Radcliffe’s Wallace is somewhat quirky but has the gift of the gab; intelligent, witty and full of self-mockery. Plus, his chemistry with co-star Kazan is outright cute. When Wallace meets Chantry at a party, he’s still mourning his ex-girlfriend but he falls instantly in love with the charming illustrator. Unfortunately, she already has a steady boyfriend, a shared cat and a house. There’s only room left for a good friend. Wallace takes his chances and decides to be her buddy. Then it is, of course, all about the pressing question: can heterosexual men and women actually have a platonic relationship? Although the scenario is written according to the classic rules of romantic comedy, it surpasses mediocrity with its poignant, painful moments, adorable animations and especially the comic dialogue. Romcom. Director: Michael Dowse Actors: Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan and others Release: 20/8 (UK), 04/9 (NL), 17/9 (BE)
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