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Don't get me wrong- John Carpenter is a fine horror director (see 1982's The Thing), but this fumbling hodgepodge of a movie could have been put together by an amateur. Weak plot line, lame Marilyn Manson-esquire villain, and an obnoxiously displayed gore factor are only a few problems, not to mention James Woods' character is such a cliché that all of his bad-ass attitude is utterly phoned in.

The final straw? Baldwin. Not Alec, the other one. Daniel. Or was it Steven? Or... oh, what's the difference? Regardless of which brother it is, he can't act, and it disgusts me that he probably got paid thousands of dollars for this half-bit character while a swarm of younger, smarter, and more talented actors are unemployed.

The good news: at least it gives you some skin.

There's no denying that visually Sin City is a ride- a very violent one. Rodriguez makes a film that has a Tarantino-esquire feel but is somehow markedly different from the latter's work.

What makes the film great is not only the direction and cinematography, but the three main leads- Willis, Rourke, and Owen do incredible jobs, arguably some of their best work. Elijah Wood and Nick Stahl deserve some recognition too for taking a chance on edgier roles- to say that these two are playing against type is an understatement. Rosario Dawson, Michael Clark Duncan, and Benicio del Toro are great as always. The only off-key performance is from Alba- sure, she's hot, but she is a second-rate actress.

Nonetheless, Sin City is a dazzling meld of film noir, ultraviolent pulp, and Frank Miller's uncanny comic series.

The idea to remake The Manchurian Candidate originally did not strike me as a good idea; the 1962 version is still regarded as a landmark film, especially as an epitome of Cold War paranoia. Now that the Cold War is over, why even try to legitimately rework the story and characters?

I'm not a fan of "political thrillers"- and I dislike applying the cliche here because this film goes above 99% of them- but this is an amazing movie. It never comes off as painfully contemporized, and it has an all A-list cast. Washington and Streep are, as always, great in their leading roles, but it's Liev Schreiber who really holds the show together with a star-caliber performance.