Classic Movies: Stray Dog (1949)

By Paco McCullough

It's summer in post-war Japan. Young cop Murakami (Toshiro Mifune) has his pocket-picked, with the criminal stealing Murakami's gun. Murakami is determined to find the gun before it is used in a crime, and begins prowling Japan's underworld. One of the first Japanese film noir's I've ever seen, Stray Dog owes a debt to the hardboiled stories coming out of Hollywood at the same time, yet retains a strictly Japanese feel. It certainly feels like a forerunner to the Japanese gangster cinema of the 60s and 70s.

Comic Movie Collection: Sin City (2005)

By Jason Haskins

In 2005, the big screen adaptation of Frank Miller's awesome 90s comic series Sin City hit theaters everywhere. Miller stepped in as director alongside Desperado's Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino (who shot one scene of the film). It was explosive--especially given that all of the books in the series were republished by Dark Horse and the event was very well received by audiences and fans. After re-watching it again I completely fell in love with not only the stories represented again, but how well done the film was shot overall.