Sin City is a visually stunning and even revolutionary movie that convinces with many different and often intriguing side stories that all lead to a fascinating whole complex structure and a bunch of very famous actors that also give their very best in this film.

This neo-noir is based on Frank Miller's amazing graphic novel series and both the novels and the movie prove that Hollywood cinema must not hide behind the Asian wave of the manga boom and can still offer something innovating on their own instead of focusing on desperately copying the unbeatable masterpieces from other countries.

The movie contains a very Gothic atmosphere, many cool and unique characters, a shot of very dark humour, some brutal and surprisingly gore killing scenes, a few breathtaking action passages and nevertheless some almost soft and emotional moments that add some depth to some of the characters. This high degree of diversity makes you want to discover more and more precious details in this film and watch it over and over again year after year. I still can't wait for the second movie that will come out next year.

Even though the movie got a bunch of negative critics by fans of the game series, I happen to like "Max Payne" a lot for different reasons.

First of all, the movie is visually stunning and develops an amazingly intense and constant film noir atmosphere.

Second, the acting is surprisingly good for this kind of movie and offers a couple of very intriguing characters that represent the outsiders of a pitiless society. I never had a too favourable opinion of actors such as Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis or Olga Kurylenko but they are very convincing in this movie and almost left me speechless at some points. The fact that many stars have some minor roles or cameo appearances keeps the movie quite interesting and I like to see celebrities such as Ludicrous or Nelly Furtado in this film.

The third strong point of the flick is its story. The plot is quite dark and mysterious and offers some minor surprises. It's certainly not the script of the year and in the end, there are some predictable scenes and also a couple of lengths in this stylish anti-hero blockbuster but it's definitely better than I thought and easily beats many similar superhero movies that flood the markets nowadays or adoptions from computer games or visual novels. From that categorization, I would even say that this movie is one of the best of its kind.

I must admit that this movie focuses a lot more on the atmospheric part than on stunning action scenes as there were in the games. I think this is a positive thing for a movie and adds a lot of depth and originality to this adaption. The few action sequences are still well done but not quite outstanding. From that point if view the games were definitely more gripping and innovating.

In the end, I have seen this movie a couple of times by now and find it all very entertaining, visually impressive and intriguing from the beginning to the end. Anybody that likes "Sin City" or "The Spirit" might adore this movie and I even think its the most profound feature of these three.

"The Spirit" is a visually very stunning superhero movie based on a film noir atmosphere. I would even go as far and say that the visual factor is even more developed than the comparable and overall better movies "Max Payne" and "Sin City". The movie contains many theatrical elements and works a lot with absurd scenes, surreal moments and graphic metaphors. These factors create a lot of humorous scenes that contrast with the dark atmosphere in an interesting approach.

You see for example the megalomaniac Octopus played by an amazing Samuel L. Jackson portraying in an exaggerated way a Japanese samurai or a new leader of the Aryan's Third Reich.

The scenes when the mysterious Lorelei appears as a sort of angel of death for example give this movie a surreal comic touch.

The cat that is always near The Spirit symbolizes the nine lives he seems to have. The movie is filled with these kind of details and surprises that keep the whole film intriguing until the end.

On the negative side, the story of the movie is not too innovating and quite predictable. Some characters also lack of depth. It would have been interesting to know more about the main villain and the reasons why he became what he is. The Spirit is also a rather superficial hero. One first thinks he might be in love with his old flame or with the police doctor but he seems quite unstable and says that he is in love with the city. As we don't really know how comes he is so attached to this place, where it exactly is and what it is all about, the viewer can't develop any profound connection to the main character's paroles.

Concerning the acting, there are many big names featured in the movie such as Eva Mendes or Scarlett Johansson. While the women all look gorgeous and add some extra points to the visual mastery, the acting itself is rather limited and somewhat disappointing. Even the rather unknown main actor can't truly convince throughout the whole movie. The only great exception is the over the top performance by Samuel L. Jackson.

In the end, this movie is a must see for all those who like experimental graphics, experimental theatre plays and a solid dose of absurd humour. Apart of that, this movie can't though stick with other films of its kind as the story is too ordinary and the acting often too limited. After all, the movie is worth a watch despite its flaws and as I'm a very artistic person the film has even grown in my estimation over the years.

This is now already the third part of my little review series: Movies that are way better than you expect.

"Eden Log" is a completely underrated dark experimental science-fiction movie. It impresses with brilliant camera settings that give the movie an adventurous dark video game touch and a very artistic approach. The minimalist dialogues remind of other popular experimental movies like the brilliant pioneer work "Eraserhead". The dark and gripping atmosphere honour the French film noir genre at its best. Don't expect any horror moments, big fighting scenes or stunning special effects as this movie lives from its simplistic approach and dark and calm atmosphere. The acting is also very basic but overall great and especially Clovis Cornillac proves once again that he can play quite everything and is one of the best modern French actors out there. The story itself is indeed less important but has still some interesting philosophical touches and a minor twist in the end.

This movie is a great gem for anybody that is interested in artistic avant-garde cinema and dark video games but doesn't fit to a larger audience because it is not commercial and quite unusual in every aspect. This movie happens to be experimental at all costs and is as unique as it is courageous, especially if you consider that this is the director's first full length movie. Even if this movie lacks of budget and commercial success, it is technically stunning and something vivid for the science-fiction genre that lives some difficulties and a downfall of popularity nowadays. If you like this movie, be sure to also check out the Swiss low budget gem "Cargo" or also the experimental "Valhalla Rising".

The average on this site shows that many people adored while other completely hated it and the average is somewhere in between. But I sure you that it's nearly impossible to think the film is mediocre and that you either adore or hate it. No matter how you ultimately decide this movie may be an unforgettable flick for each one of you.

I really happen to like experimental and surreal movies and I was looking forward to watch this flick. It's an eerie and dark movie settled in many untouched and dark landscapes and featuring brutal, pitiless and stupid men that work against each other in order to try to survive in the wilderness of the New World. The movie works a lot with symbols and images. Mads Mikkelsen is the main actor and doesn't say a single word throughout the whole movie. His unwilling companions also don't talk very much and only the most stupid ones create a few dialogues now and then.

What is this film about? That's somewhat difficult to say. The movie is settled many centuries ago during the "christianisation" of Scandinavia. It's the story of a slave that has to fight for his masters against others in order to survive and is one day able to free himself. Instead of seeking for immediate vengeance, he meets a different Viking tribe that wants to head for the paradise in a small ship. The tensions rises quickly as they don't arrive and get lost on the shores of a new and unknown continent. Lost in an unknown place, hunted by Indians and isolated from food, the voyagers all die one by one while only the free slave seems to be able to face destiny and commits a crucial sacrifice in the very end by showing that he is after all a human being.

The movie offers some space to a multitude of interpretations. While it seems to be a violent gore flick in the beginning, the mood changes into a short suspense before a survival and adventure part kicks off that ends with a philosophical showdown worth of a good drama. The movie shows some strange visions that the slave without a name has and focuses on the dark landscapes that seem to be parallel related to the desperate events of the movie itself. Especially the visual part of this movie is very well done. The development of the movie is slow paced and unusual and may not addict many people. It reminds me sometimes of David Lynch's "Eraserhead" and has also to do with human fears, visions and mistakes. Contrary to the Lynch movie, the character has got a development as he is a pitiless murderer in the beginning and turns out to be a courageous and emotional saviour in the end which I really liked.

Normally, the visual style, the experimental art and the multitude of styles would guarantee a voting of about eight points but I had to rate this flick down because it has too many lengths and as most of the supporting characters don't have much development. There is also a true lack of suspense, action or drama apart of the boat passage and the fateful ending. The mysterious atmosphere and dark vibes aren't able to carry the other parts entirely and one gets the impression that movie seems to go nowhere in the most boring way before we come to the end. This movie doesn't do a sacrifice to try to entertain the mainstream public and is experimental at all costs while some more gripping and high paced scenes would have been possible and could have enlightened this weird flick. The director prefers to miss those chances and addresses to a very small public that surely adores the sense of the movie while the people out of this focus may have a lot of difficulties with it.

To keep it short, this movie is for those who like visually stunning and slow paced movies with an "avantgarde" style and some experimental influences. Even though I gave a rather low rating from an objective point of view, I must admit from a subjective point of view that this movie is worth to be tried out and watched several times to forge your own interpretation of the events.