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# Dan Dunn: Sin City stands out among a weak slate of new movies
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/whats-playing-20050415/
- Published: 2005-04-15T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T06:39:02.000Z
- Author: Dan Dunn
- Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import

SIN CITY

A weighty cinematic achievement that personifies the future of film-noir, merging classic sensibilities with the most advanced technology.

Starring: Bruce Willis, Rosario Dawson, Clive Owen

BEAUTY SHOP

Lacks the biting comedy and underlying gravitas of its male-oriented predecessors, relying instead on unoriginal sex and race zingers delivered by a bunch of walking, talking, blow-dryer-wielding clichés.

Starring: Queen Latifah, Kevin Bacon

MISS CONGENIALITY 2

The funniest thing about this slapdash money-grab will be the looks on the faces of gazillions of moviegoers when they collectively realize about 30 minutes into it that they’ve been Punk’d.

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Regina King

THE RING 2

The only thing remotely frightening about this tension-less sequel is the filmmakers’ arrant disregard for its audience’s intelligence.

Starring: Naomi Watts

MELINDA AND MELINDA

Woody Allen’s new film plays out much like a host of others he’s made over the course of his 40-year-career, but alas it’s not nearly on par with the revered filmmaker’s best efforts.

Starring: Radha Mitchell, Chloe Sevigny, Will Ferrell, Amanda Peet

HOSTAGE a stylishly rendered collection of action-flick clichés that casts Willis in a familiar role: Burnt-out cop turned reluctant hero.

Starring: Bruce Willis

THE UPSIDE OF ANGER

A smart, funny, and at times heartbreaking look at one family’s struggle to reinvent itself in the wake of a father’s sudden, unexplained departure.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 15, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/041505.pdf?ref=smdp.com)