Sin City: A Dame to Kill for

The original Sin City was a brilliant film that stunningly brought to life the neo-noir graphic novel series of the same name by Frank Miller. So when the follow up was released by the same directorial duo the assumption was that it would continue in the same vein. The film in many ways does do that by reappraising most of the original cast. Miller has thrown in a few stories from Vol 2 and tried to mesh them in a similar fashion as in its predecessor. In other ways the handling of story lines is poor and almost as if the hope was the CGI would be distracting enough to make up for it.

Rating: * +

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Looper

It is the year 2044 and Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) works as a "looper" for a crime syndicate. His job is to kill and dispose individuals sent back in time by the syndicate. The film based on this interesting premise has endless possibilities, but the director picks a predictable one where Joe is tasked with killing his own self from the future. Things go wrong and young Joe ends up chasing old Joe (Bruce Willis) around.  In spite of the predictable plot, the film is strangely engaging  and you never once feel like switching off.

Rating: * *

The Dark Knight Rises

Gotham finds itself fairly free of crime in the aftermath of the Harvey Dent's death and the Dent act. Batman seems to have disappeared in to the twilight and Bruce Wayne has turned hermit. With a sinking Wayne Enterprise and a guilt filled Commissioner Gordon, Gotham seems ripe for the picking again. Enter the mysterious Bane. But then there is always Batman. There are hints of Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns in the makeup of the film, however the majority of the plot seems to be from Knightfall. Christopher Nolan has also thrown in some hits against Occupy Wall Street though that could be a matter of interpretation. In spite of that the movie turns to be an excellent final piece in Nolan's Batman trilogy.

Rating: * * *