It’s easy to forget, at least for me, how awesome the first Sin City was. It came out back in 2005 and blew everyone’s minds due to its visual flair that was a game-changer in Hollywood, and showed how to loyally adapt a comic book into a movie with style. 9 years later, and we’re finally getting a sequel, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.

As Geoff Boucher says, Sin City was a synthesis of film and comic, and Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez come to the stage, to discuss their latest collaboration.

Robert Rodriguez tells us all that he wasn’t trying to make a movie based on Sin City. He was trying to turn a movie into a living embodiment of Frank’s work.

Frank Miller talks about how comic book movies are getting better, because they’re staying closer to the source material. Not that he’s biased or anything.

The tale “Another Saturday Night” opens the movie, and is the clip that we see, with Mickey Rourke’s Marv getting into trouble again, trying to piece back his memory, while beating the piss out of people. It’s the same beautiful style from the last movie, and even seems like the same plot.

The rest of the panel arrives: Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson and Josh Brolin. An impressive trio, but it’s hard not to get a little bummed that Mickey Rourke could’ve been there.

The thing that people are most excited for in this movie is Alba’s transformation and coming into her own as Nancy, who has turned into a warrior for the next movie. Everyone raves about her performance throughout the panel, and she even collaborated on the story (which is an original one, not based on any Sin City tale). I remember after Dark Angel and the first Sin City, that Jessica Alba was probably the biggest crush I had in all the world. Then Fantastic Four happened and her career has suffered. I hope Sin City 2 corrects her course.

Josh Brolin jokes that he wanted to play Nancy, but settled for working with 2 iconoclasts.

Apparently when making the movie, they would go to Frank after every shot, determined to make Frank happy, which is a hard thing to do. This panel was basically a Robert Rodriguez worships Frank Miller and so should you hour.

For being absent, Eva Green’s talents are all over Comic-Con this year. She’s the best part of Penny Dreadful, and apparently owns as the alleged Dame in which people kill for. Like you had any doubt.

Rodriguez says that everyone’s performances are 100 times better, as they get use to the technology.

Josh Brolin never met Mickey Rourke while working on the film, even though they were in several scenes together. Does that make sense? Not really, but that’s the beauty of green screen and the crazy process that Rodriguez uses to make these movies. And according to Brolin, “it works,” as he’s forced to balance the scene out, as he sees Mickey’s work and then reacts to it, completes it. It sounds weird and impressive and sounds like a pain in the ass. Brolin calls it a “bizarre, alien experience.”

Rosario Dawson wasn’t allowed to cut her hair for the movie because of a conflicting contract on another movie, but after arriving on set, she went home and cut her hair anyways, because she didn’t want anyone to think she wasn’t giving it her all. Rosario Dawson rules.

Alba stunned everyone, setting the bar (she was the first to shoot her scenes). She was in character on set, and connected with the dark side of Nancy, and it was hard to disconnect until after the movie. Alba admits she was more mature, comfortable and wanted to kick ass.

Eva: “She is a scary woman.”

Alba calls Powers Boothe a “scary mofo.”

Miller apparently drew an impossible action pose for Alba, knowing she couldn’t do it, and then he was amazed to see her actually do it.

80% of the film’s score was written on Robert Rodriguez’s phone.

The film doesn’t really have a script; they go by Frank’s storyboards.

Fan questions are awful, so I dozed through the end of this one.

Apparently Robert Rodriguez has his actors draw portraits of their characters before they start filming, to get the creative process going. What an awesome idea.

Robert shoots the film in color, then they strip it of color, then they add in colors afterwards. The colors will again be another character/element of the proceedings, like in the original.

Is Frank planning to write more Sin City graphic novels? Yes, as he has loads of story ideas, but he has no idea when he’ll get to them.

Frank’s also asked about a movie adaptation of Martha Washington, to which he responds that he’d love to, but “this time I’ve going to be a prick…do it my way.”

RIP Michael Clarke Duncan, who played Manute in Sin City. Dennis Haysbert is taking over the role from his friend, and studied the film from the first movie, to honor MCD.

Frank Miller is already talking Sin City 3, clearly excited with the second one, promising that they will be returning to Hall H a lot sooner next time around than 9 years. Here’s hoping.

Imagine if this film brought together its whole cast. It would’ve been the biggest collection of talent this side of Avengers. Seriously, can we have Mickey Rourke at Comic-Con? Or Eva Green, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Alexa Vega, Juno Temple, Stacy Keach, LADY GAGA, Jamie Chung, Jaime King, Ray Liotta, Powers Boothe, Bruce Willis, Christopher Meloni, CHRISTOPHER LLOYD, Jeremy Piven, Dennis Haysbert/Allstate? Um, yeah, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is going to be fun.

Maybe it’s telling off a bully or quitting your job but whatever your fantasy, there are plenty of movie moments that magically pinpoint something you wish you could pull off in real life. When I started compiling this list, I knew what I wanted on it but had a tough time figuring out exactly how to name it. There were a lot of other moments of cinematic comeuppance that came to mind but fell into other various categories like revenge or long diatribes. So here are a few of my favorite scenes that feature characters going off on screen.

 Honorable Mention: Shoot ‘Em Up – “One Inch”

This only has Honorable Mention status because it doesn’t really fit the bill for this list but is still a mega-wish fulfillment moment for me. Driving is usually one of the biggest stressors of my day and on more than a few occasions I’ve seriously pondered why the country’s murder rate isn’t higher. It’s infuriating dealing with selfish idiots on the road that can’t merge, cut people off and drive recklessly just because they want to get home in time to see Two and a Half Men (that’s still a thing right?). If everyone drove respectfully and obeyed the simple rules of the road then there would almost never be any traffic. Everyone always complains about traffic but we should really just be complaining about all these stupid people and figuring out what to do with them. Alright, I’m kidding (sort of) but that sort of thinking is exactly what makes this clip from the ridiculously fun movie Shoot ‘Em Up so grand. Clive Owen doesn’t really tell anyone off but he does fulfill one of those collective daydreams we have all had when encountering a shitty driver.

Good Will Hunting – “How do you like them apples?”

I was watching this movie a few weeks ago while preparing for an upcoming Boston road trip when I decided I wanted to write a list like this. The extremely watchable flick follows a working class gent from South Boston named Will Hunting (Matt Damon) as he struggles to accept his gift of profound intelligence. The ‘ordinary guy you never saw coming’ is usually a favorite among the list of movie comeuppance moments but this scene might just take the cake. After some Harvard douchebag totally tries to cockblock Ben Affleck, Will uses his knowledge of Economic theory to verbally demolish the collegiate turd stain. To get the full effect though, you have to watch the follow up. It’s the last little bit at the end of the night, when Hunting delivers the adorable “Apples” line that completely seals the deal.

Waiting… – “Poof! As if by some form of slut magic you’d appear.”

I stand by the fact that I think Waiting… is hilarious and very rewatchable no matter how much Dane Cook is in it. The movie does a solid job recreating what it’s like to work in the dysfunctional family environment that is the food service industry. During some downtime at work, ladykiller Monty (Ryan Reynolds) gets into it with fellow waitress and former girlfriend Serena (Anna Faris) about their previous relationship. Serena’s deconstruction of their less than noteworthy time together is one of the funniest, most brutal and thorough shut downs ever put to screen. A lot of credit goes to Faris here, whose delightful delivery makes the speech feel less premeditated than I’m sure it appeared on paper but Reynolds gets to say my favorite line (the title I used for this scene)

Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion – “And, Yeah!”

I doubt this movie ends up on a lot of people’s radar especially in the discussion of favorite films but for me, Romy & Michele came to me at an early age and quickly became one of my most quoted comedies. Much of the film deals with the social structure of high school and how cruel your peers can be. The title duo goes through great lengths to impressed their former classmates but realize late in the game that they shouldn’t really give a shit if people don’t like them or not. In the end, Romy delivers an impassioned statement to head bitch Christy Masters (Julia Campbell) that stands as one of my favorites.

The Social Network – “It’s raining.”

If you know anything about me you should know that I have an unabashed love for David Fincher and especially his 2010 film The Social Network. I’ve written about the film and this scene in particular at great length on other corners of the interwebs (you can read some here and here) but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for it here on this list.  During the midst of a lengthy legal deposition, the man at the center of the conflict, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, seems distracted. When questioned about his disinterest, Mark gives one of the most biting retorts ever constructed. Oh how I wish Aaron Sorkin could write me a few bites of dialogue every once in a while.

Role Models – “Congratulations, you’re stupid in three languages.”

Okay, so admittedly, Danny (Paul Rudd) is indeed a dick in this scene and for most of the movie for that matter. But I mean, come on, the lady could have just made him a large coffee. I know that Role Models tries to tell you to lighten up and not let life’s little annoyances get you worked up but I would love to just go off on a few people every once in a while in the same manner in which Danny does in the scene.

50/50 – “Exhibit WHORE!”

50/50 is a truly touching and funny movie loosely based on screenwriter Will Reiser’s own bout with cancer. In the movie, 27 year old Adam Lerner is diagnosed with schwannoma neurofibrosarcoma and is given a 50% chance of recovery. Through his ordeal, he looks to his best friend Kyle (Seth Rogen) and girlfriend Rachel (Bryce Dallas Howard) for most of his support. Kyle has never approved of Rachel so when he spots her kissing some ‘Jesus looking freak’ at an art gallery while Adam is laid up at home, he gleefully snaps a photo of the dirty deed. What follows is equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking which is a great representation for the tone of the film.

American Beauty – “I’m just an ordinary guy with nothing to lose.”

Right at the top of my list of all-time favorite movies is Sam Mendes’ American Beauty. We follow Lester Burnham’s (a brilliant Kevin Spacey) splendid breakdown from Middle American slave to free spirited man as he completely revaluates and prioritizes his simple existence. In one of the best quitting your job scenes of all time, Lester sticks it hard to his corporate hell-hole job that is in the process of purging employees. His desperation translates in spades and makes you want to throw your fist in the air right along Burnham when his efforts pay off.

What are some of your biggest movie wish fulfillment moments? I’m sure that I have left off a ton of other great movie “tell-off” scenes so be sure to let me know some of your favorites in the comments.

During the fateful first get together of the Writer’s Meeting in Burbank (a group now forever known as “Hear Me Out, Bro!”), one of my friends brought up the film A FIELD IN ENGLAND.

I had heard of the movie, as it played at the Beyond Fest, which means one thing: it’s weird as shit. Aforementioned Writer Friend confirmed this, when he said he went to a screening and was offered shrooms by someone else in attendance. He declined the offer, never having taken shrooms and wisely resistant to experimenting for the first time in a public venue.

For a couple days I just thought this was an amusing anecdote. Then, on this particular Thursday night (Feb. 13th), faced with the possibility that I may never get the chance to see A FIELD IN ENGLAND in its proper venue, it was the only thing I could do without tearing off my apartment’s wallpaper. My apartment doesn’t have wallpaper; that’s how dire a situation it was, exacerbated by this trailer:

A FIELD IN ENGLAND was ending its run at Cinefamily‘s not-so Silent Movie Theater, an awesome local theater recently renovated and under new ownership (with JGL, Phil Lord and Michael Cera on the advisory board), playing both the classics (like Chaplin-era classics) and new, trippy films like Ben Wheatley’s newest. Not only would I miss out on the chance to see this bizarre movie about a few 17th century British civil war deserters in theaters, I’d be missing a chance to see it at the Silent Movie Theater, on one of their comfy couches that take up the first few rows, AND, I’d miss the possibility of seeing a psychedelic movie on psychedelic drugs. So, I made sure that didn’t happen.

I’ve done shrooms once, and it was alternately one of the best and worst moments of my life, but it also revolved around an (admittedly obvious) movie: PINEAPPLE EXPRESS. For a couple hours, I was one of James Franco and Seth Rogen’s pals, along for the ride, kicking out the windshields and giggling with them.

Then, I was forced to endure the movie a SECOND TIME (I couldn’t move from the couch; the only thing I managed to do was rub the hardwood floors lovingly with my feet), and that led to vomit, massive embarrassment and darker thoughts than I’ve probably ever had. I wanted to go to the hospital, or bang my head against the toilet to blissfully pass out for a little while. I was prepared to live the rest of my life in a psych ward in a straitjacket, with my parents looking down at me in disappointment. Miraculously, friends and WALL-E managed to drag me out of the darkness and into the light of the stars.

Having had this experience, I felt like I was ready for A FIELD IN ENGLAND, and thought the movie would be better for it.

I hopped on the bus, and arrived way too early. I purchased my tickets and walked around Fairfax, determined to squeeze out even more fun into this evening. After a Yelp search and a few circles around the block that likely made another moviegoer believe I was chasing him, I ended up at…

The Dime. The place is exactly the dive one wants at about 1:38 AM. At 8 PM on a Thursday, there was about 4 people in the bar, and the tiny space felt darn right huge and comfortable, a feeling never shared after 10 PM. From my painful conversation with the hot bartender, I learned that the Dime had DJ’s every night (every night). I also learned that a dive bar in LA means $9 well vodka drinks. The Dime is not the right name, though it does have one of those old-school cash registers:

The vodka soda at least was strong, and it readied me for the mindfucks to come.

Unfortunately, no one offered me shrooms. I don’t know if I didn’t qualify, if Shroom Dude wasn’t in attendance, or if my writer friend just happened upon a miracle (and wasted it). Until I arrived there, it seemed to me like it was a veritable certainty, as if my ticket entailed I receive a handful of smelly, awful tasting psychotropic drugs.

Alas, it was not meant to be (or perhaps thankfully, judging from my only other experience), and I think the movie was worse for it. I had no idea what was going on, and while I know that was the point, I feel like I just wasn’t on the same plane of existence with the characters, the filmmakers or the writers (Amy Jump and Ben Wheatley). This movie demands another frame of mind and a lack of sobriety, and I celebrate it for that. It’s essentially MONTY PYTHON meets David Lynch and Ingmar Bergman.

Even so, it managed to be hilarious at times, and if you desire random penises and other disturbing images of violence, sex and god knows what, wrapped around by an absorbingly eerie score, A FIELD is for you. There’s even a scene where one of the soldiers is literally choking on mushrooms, and I can’t imagine this movie puts you in good, magical happy trip land based on its fucked up content.

While I was disappointed by the movie and the experience as a whole, I’m glad I went for it. I could’ve stayed home and caught up on AMERICAN HORROR STORY, but instead, I tried to live out my own episode. These are the kinds of things I’m in LA for; these are the kinds of things we live for. I’d rather go and experience the weird, than for a moment regret I didn’t.

I also ended up getting a business card out of it for an event planner who once raised money for charity by traveling across the world wearing only a Tuxedo. Yes, the guy rules.

To figure out how to see A FIELD IN ENGLAND, check its website. Its apparently on demand, available on DVD and Blu-Ray, and during the summer of its release, you could’ve seen A FIELD IN ENGLAND…in a field in England. That would’ve been everything.