Post by moviefan2k4 on Jan 23, 2013 6:18:14 GMT -5
Hey, all.
For those who don't know me, my name is Josh. I'm a 32-year-old "born and bred" Texan, though I don't have a thick accent. I love movies in general, though I've become more selective in recent years. I spend most of my time every day online, and messing around with Photoshop. I am a Christian, though I try my best not to beat people over the head.
Anyway, I started writing reviews as a hobby a few years ago, but I haven't done a new one in a while. I figured starting off with some older ones would give folks a feel for my writing style, so hang on...
THE CROW (1994)
Starring: Brandon Lee, Ernie Hudson, Michael Wincott, Tony Todd, & Rochelle Davis
Directed by Alex Proyas / Rated R
SUMMARY
October 30th. Most consider it the night before Halloween, but in this forsaken city, its known as Devil's Night. Gangs run amok, torching residences and businesses without mercy or pity. The sickening "tradition" has existed for longer than anyone can remember, and most people have learned to simply play it safe. But one couple is different. Struggling musician Eric Draven and his lovely fiance' Shelley Webster decide to fight back against the mobsters who've targeted their home for eviction. All seems normal in their lives...until Devil's Night takes on a horrific new meaning.
Eric arrives home to a sight he can barely believe: his beloved Shelley screams in fear, while a group of murderous thugs beat and rape her. Eric rushes to her defense, but is cruelly stabbed and shot for his concern. Dying, he is thrown from the loft of their high-rise apartment. Shelley later succumbs to her injuries, under the watchful care of police officer Daryl Albrecht and the couple's streetwise surrogate daughter, Sarah.
One year passes, and the monsters responsible for this despicable crime still thrive, evading justice thanks to high connections and a (mostly) corrupt poilce force. Sarah visits the graves of her friends, briefly taking notice of a single crow which perches itself atop Eric's headstone. Later that night, during a massive thunderstorm, Eric is returned to the world of the living, with the strange bird as his guide. Almost by instinct, Eric follows the crow back to his old loft. Meanwhile, Sarah visits her drug-addicted mother, Darla, who is dating a heroin-peddling psycho named Funboy.
Arriving at his former home, Eric finds it now abandoned, a dismal shadow of what it had been. Suddenly, a huge rush of images floods through Eric's mind, his body responding in kind. He relives every moment of that terrible night, and the resulting anger grows, filling every part of his being. Trying to jump out the window, he cuts himself, and his wounds heal immediately. He now understands why he was sent back: to make those who stole his life pay with their own. Fashioning a new clownlike persona, he begins his quest of vengeance.
Seeking out Tin Tin - the first of the four who killed he and Shelley - Eric battles him in a knife fight, turning the crook's own weapons on himself, including the death blow. This grabs the attention of T-Bird, the leader of the four, who all work for a local mob boss, Top Dollar. Ordered to investigate, T-Bird is joined by his partner Skank, a petty thief and perennial "lap dog" of underground society. Meanwhile, Eric pays a visit to Gideon, a pawnbroker under contract with Top Dollar. After trashing his shop, Eric is told by the frightened businessman about Funboy and the others. Setting the place ablaze, Eric survives the explosion without a scratch, while Gideon is badly burned during his escape.
Soon after, Eric is approached by Albrecht, the honest cop who originally took charge of he and Shelley's murders. In the year since that event, Albrecht's been demoted for asking too many questions. Trying to arrest Eric, he is distracted briefly by some looters, and is suprised when Draven simply disappears. Later that night, Eric fights and kills Funboy, with the frightened Darla as a witness. Using his powers to cure her drug addiction, she runs out into the streets, in search of Sarah.
This second killing really gets under Top Dollar's skin, who orders his agent Grange to check into Eric's gravesite; it's empty. At the same time, T-Bird is blown up in his own car by Eric, who leaves behind a flaming crow design on the street. This makes Skank the only member of the four who's left, and Top Dollar realizes that Eric will soon come looking for him. As predicted, Eric crashes a meeting of the local drug lords, getting shot many times in the process. But you can't kill someone who's already dead, and so he battles Top Dollar's men, until only Skank is left. While Eric completes his "mission", the kingpin and his aides make a quick exit.
Having seen Skank's body fall from the window of Top Dollar's club, the police invade, and Eric barely escapes their pursuit, returning to the graveyeard so he can reunite with Shelley. There, he's approached by Sarah, who finally is able to say her goodbyes. But on her way home, she's kidnapped by Top Dollar's assistant, Grange, and taken to a local church. Eric is soon alerted to this by a vision from the crow, and runs toward his friend to save her. But when Top Dollar shoots him, Eric discovers a shocking truth: by killing Skank, his supernatural powers have vanished, and he is now mortal. Chasing after Grange, Top Dollar, and his half-sister / lover Myca, Eric is joined by Albecht, who was visiting the church to pay his respects. The cop is soon wounded, but Grange and Myca are killed in the battle.
Alone, Eric approaches Top Dollar on the roof, who has Sarah as his prisoner. Eric agrees to let the gangster go free, if he leaves Sarah alone...but when Top Dollar pushes her off the roof, Eric is forced to fight. Sarah cries for help, while Eric is beaten by the sadistic crime boss. Nearly dead (again), Eric is told of the truth behind everything: Top Dollar ordered he and Shelley killed that night. His powers returned, Eric imparts all of Shelley's pain and fear to Top Dollar, who falls to his death from the roof. Rescuing Sarah, Eric brings her to the injured Albrecht...and disappears again. Heading back to the graveyard, a weakened Eric is escorted into the afterlife by Shelley's spirit, while the mystical crow gives her wedding ring to Sarah.
REVIEW
The tale of "The Crow" begins almost fifty years ago, with the birth of the man who'd later become its creator...self-taught writer and artist James O'Barr.
Born in a trailer to an unwed, alcoholic mother, the baby boy wasn't taken to a hospital until almost a week after his birth. James later recalled, "She was so drunk and out of it, she couldn't remember the exact day I was born." Told by his mother it was between Christmas and New Year's Day, the local authorities gave him the birthday of January 1st, 1961.
Growing up in an orphanage, James wasn't adopted until he was seven years old. He was often "loaned out" to various families for the weekend, as was a common practice in those days. Upon his adoption by hard-working blue-collar Southerners, James rapidly became a self-imposed loner, who preferred to spend his free time absorbed in horror films or his burgeoning artwork. But his parents differed, seeing art as the equivalent of playing cards: a hobby, nothing more. James would later say, "It got so bad that I was forbidden to draw in the house." Working different jobs at auto-body shops or nursing homes, he stayed within himself, becoming what he would later describe as a "brooding and sarcastic" person.
However, that began to change when, at age 16, he met a young woman named Bethany. Described by James as a "bright light" who "never said a word against anyone", their connection was apparently the embodiment of the phrase "opposites attract". When James would verbally assault someone, Bethany would point out their good or positive attributes. It was a balanced relationship that James clearly loved and cherished. They were together for three years, and planned to marry after graduation.
But then, tragedy struck. While crossing the street one night, Bethany was killed by a drunk driver. James was not present at the time; he was later told by her father. The emotional stability that James had once craved was now gone in his life, and shortly afterward, he enlisted in the Marines, where he hoped the regimented lifestyle overseas would help him vent his anger. Instead, it only made him feel worse. Drawing combat manuals by day, James would immerse himself in nightly barfights, hoping that one of them would end his life as well. Upon his return to the States, James had one intention: to kill the driver who'd taken Bethany from him. But when he discovered the driver had died from natural causes, his anger and rage threatened to destroy him. Desperate for some kind of cathartic release, he channeled his pain and hatred into his artwork as a form of personal therapy. Explaining years later, he said, "It was a lot cheaper than seeing a therapist or something."
Honing his artistry, James opted against using comic books as his inspiration, citing common illustration methods as "an exaggeration of an exaggeration...twice removed from life." Instead, he studied ancient paintings and marble statues of the human form. However, James was uncomfortable sketching scenes of himself, so to better express his inner darkness, he created an avatar named Eric. The role was visually reminiscent of James' enjoyment of hard rock music, with bands like Joy Division, The Cure, and Iggy Pop all serving as cultural models for the character's appearance and mannerisms. In the pages of his "therapy", Eric often spoke in lyrical statements and poetic flair. But his temperment was not so subtle: he was a deadly avenger of untold violence, with little compassion to speak of, if any at all.
The story which eventually became "The Crow" was first put to paper in 1981. However, due to the immense pain and anger James felt, he could only complete so much of it at a time. The book was finally finished in 1989, eight years later. In it, the story is that of Eric and his love, Shelley, who are murdered by ruthless gang members when their car breaks down on a desolate road. Eric is mortally wounded, powerless to intervene as Shelley is raped and killed by the sadistic criminals. But Eric's soul does not rest, and one year later he is resurrected as an immortal being with one agenda: those who destroyed he and Shelley's lives will die. No trials, no appeals, none of what mass society would consider proper justice...only death. James would later intone, "There is pure anger on each page."
Sadly, the completion of "The Crow" didn't really grant James the peace he had hoped for; instead, it made him more angry and depressed, in various ways. But another shift took place when he was working as a T-shirt artist in a comic shop. The owner liked his work very much, and aksed if he had any comics at home. On a whim, James presented "The Crow", and the owner asked for permission to publish it under his emerging company, Caliber Comics; James agreed. Within two years, offers were being made from various studios, who were interested in filming the project. But things got progressively worse as the higher-ups of American cinema desperately sought to rework the concept. Having sold the film rights, James had very little say in the matter; at one point, producers even suggested the film as a musical, with Michael Jackson as Eric and Julian Temple directing. It looked as if the film would bear little resemblance (if any) to O'Barr's work...until director Alex Proyas stepped in. Soon, another talent was brought into the mix, who was a self-described fan of the book, and wanted to preserve it as closely as possible. This was actor Brandon Lee, son of famed martial artist Bruce. At Lee's and Proyas' insistence, the film was reined in, and returned to an approach more in line with James' original story. James and Brandon would foster a close friendship over the course of the production...but tragedy would soon strike again.
As Proyas' film of "The Crow" neared its final days of principal photography, a terrible disaster shook everyone involved. During the filming of a flashback scene to Eric and Shelley's murders, Brandon Lee was to enter the apartment with a bag of groceries. Conatined in the bag was a "squib", or a small bag of fake blood rigged with a tiny, remote-controlled explosive. Actor Michael Massee (who played the villain "Funboy") was to fire in Brandon's general direction, and the squib would be detonated to simulate Eric being shot. But instead, Lee crumpled to the floor, and when he didn't get up, the crew realized the unthinkable had happened: Brandon had been shot for real. Twelve hours later, he died in the hospital from internal bleeding. Even more painful was the timing of his death: he was set to wed his long-time girlfriend, Eliza Hutton, just two weeks after filming wrapped.
Police officials later ruled Brandon's death an accident, explaining that a "dummy bullet" (powderless shell casing) had become lodged in the barrel of the gun which Massee had held. When powder was inserted for a close-up scene so the weapon would flash, both ingredients combined in a deadly manner. For everyone involved, Lee's death was heartbreaking beyond words...and of them all, the four who likely took it the hardest were Lee's mother Linda, his sister Shannon, fiancee Eliza Hutton, and James O'Barr. To James, it was like Bethany being killed all over again, and infinitely worse. To add further insult, Miramax Films failed to pay full royalties to O'Barr; what little cash he made from the project, he donated to charity, considering it "blood money". Offered the chance to scrap the film if he so chose, director Alex Proyas consulted Linda Lee, who asked it be finished in Brandon's memory. Released in 1994, the movie became a box-office smash, due to both the visceral, emotional story, and the media-fueled notoriety brought about by the death of its star.
But for James, he felt worse than ever. After fighting Miramax for the money he was rightfully owed (which still has not been delivered in full), James began making his living as a "starving artist", touring the convention circuit, selling custom sketches and small memorabilia based on the book. He later married, and now has two young children. While his character has been reinvented multiple times in sequels and spinoffs, O'Barr has seen none of the rewards (save for a small amount from Miramax, and a minor contract job for the third film's soundtrack). Today, he says, "I'm actually happier than I've been since I was 16 years old", in reference to his wife and family. At nearly 50 years of age, he continues to make the rounds at conventions, now residing near Granbury, Texas.
For those who don't know me, my name is Josh. I'm a 32-year-old "born and bred" Texan, though I don't have a thick accent. I love movies in general, though I've become more selective in recent years. I spend most of my time every day online, and messing around with Photoshop. I am a Christian, though I try my best not to beat people over the head.
Anyway, I started writing reviews as a hobby a few years ago, but I haven't done a new one in a while. I figured starting off with some older ones would give folks a feel for my writing style, so hang on...
THE CROW (1994)
Starring: Brandon Lee, Ernie Hudson, Michael Wincott, Tony Todd, & Rochelle Davis
Directed by Alex Proyas / Rated R
SUMMARY
October 30th. Most consider it the night before Halloween, but in this forsaken city, its known as Devil's Night. Gangs run amok, torching residences and businesses without mercy or pity. The sickening "tradition" has existed for longer than anyone can remember, and most people have learned to simply play it safe. But one couple is different. Struggling musician Eric Draven and his lovely fiance' Shelley Webster decide to fight back against the mobsters who've targeted their home for eviction. All seems normal in their lives...until Devil's Night takes on a horrific new meaning.
Eric arrives home to a sight he can barely believe: his beloved Shelley screams in fear, while a group of murderous thugs beat and rape her. Eric rushes to her defense, but is cruelly stabbed and shot for his concern. Dying, he is thrown from the loft of their high-rise apartment. Shelley later succumbs to her injuries, under the watchful care of police officer Daryl Albrecht and the couple's streetwise surrogate daughter, Sarah.
One year passes, and the monsters responsible for this despicable crime still thrive, evading justice thanks to high connections and a (mostly) corrupt poilce force. Sarah visits the graves of her friends, briefly taking notice of a single crow which perches itself atop Eric's headstone. Later that night, during a massive thunderstorm, Eric is returned to the world of the living, with the strange bird as his guide. Almost by instinct, Eric follows the crow back to his old loft. Meanwhile, Sarah visits her drug-addicted mother, Darla, who is dating a heroin-peddling psycho named Funboy.
Arriving at his former home, Eric finds it now abandoned, a dismal shadow of what it had been. Suddenly, a huge rush of images floods through Eric's mind, his body responding in kind. He relives every moment of that terrible night, and the resulting anger grows, filling every part of his being. Trying to jump out the window, he cuts himself, and his wounds heal immediately. He now understands why he was sent back: to make those who stole his life pay with their own. Fashioning a new clownlike persona, he begins his quest of vengeance.
Seeking out Tin Tin - the first of the four who killed he and Shelley - Eric battles him in a knife fight, turning the crook's own weapons on himself, including the death blow. This grabs the attention of T-Bird, the leader of the four, who all work for a local mob boss, Top Dollar. Ordered to investigate, T-Bird is joined by his partner Skank, a petty thief and perennial "lap dog" of underground society. Meanwhile, Eric pays a visit to Gideon, a pawnbroker under contract with Top Dollar. After trashing his shop, Eric is told by the frightened businessman about Funboy and the others. Setting the place ablaze, Eric survives the explosion without a scratch, while Gideon is badly burned during his escape.
Soon after, Eric is approached by Albrecht, the honest cop who originally took charge of he and Shelley's murders. In the year since that event, Albrecht's been demoted for asking too many questions. Trying to arrest Eric, he is distracted briefly by some looters, and is suprised when Draven simply disappears. Later that night, Eric fights and kills Funboy, with the frightened Darla as a witness. Using his powers to cure her drug addiction, she runs out into the streets, in search of Sarah.
This second killing really gets under Top Dollar's skin, who orders his agent Grange to check into Eric's gravesite; it's empty. At the same time, T-Bird is blown up in his own car by Eric, who leaves behind a flaming crow design on the street. This makes Skank the only member of the four who's left, and Top Dollar realizes that Eric will soon come looking for him. As predicted, Eric crashes a meeting of the local drug lords, getting shot many times in the process. But you can't kill someone who's already dead, and so he battles Top Dollar's men, until only Skank is left. While Eric completes his "mission", the kingpin and his aides make a quick exit.
Having seen Skank's body fall from the window of Top Dollar's club, the police invade, and Eric barely escapes their pursuit, returning to the graveyeard so he can reunite with Shelley. There, he's approached by Sarah, who finally is able to say her goodbyes. But on her way home, she's kidnapped by Top Dollar's assistant, Grange, and taken to a local church. Eric is soon alerted to this by a vision from the crow, and runs toward his friend to save her. But when Top Dollar shoots him, Eric discovers a shocking truth: by killing Skank, his supernatural powers have vanished, and he is now mortal. Chasing after Grange, Top Dollar, and his half-sister / lover Myca, Eric is joined by Albecht, who was visiting the church to pay his respects. The cop is soon wounded, but Grange and Myca are killed in the battle.
Alone, Eric approaches Top Dollar on the roof, who has Sarah as his prisoner. Eric agrees to let the gangster go free, if he leaves Sarah alone...but when Top Dollar pushes her off the roof, Eric is forced to fight. Sarah cries for help, while Eric is beaten by the sadistic crime boss. Nearly dead (again), Eric is told of the truth behind everything: Top Dollar ordered he and Shelley killed that night. His powers returned, Eric imparts all of Shelley's pain and fear to Top Dollar, who falls to his death from the roof. Rescuing Sarah, Eric brings her to the injured Albrecht...and disappears again. Heading back to the graveyard, a weakened Eric is escorted into the afterlife by Shelley's spirit, while the mystical crow gives her wedding ring to Sarah.
REVIEW
The tale of "The Crow" begins almost fifty years ago, with the birth of the man who'd later become its creator...self-taught writer and artist James O'Barr.
Born in a trailer to an unwed, alcoholic mother, the baby boy wasn't taken to a hospital until almost a week after his birth. James later recalled, "She was so drunk and out of it, she couldn't remember the exact day I was born." Told by his mother it was between Christmas and New Year's Day, the local authorities gave him the birthday of January 1st, 1961.
Growing up in an orphanage, James wasn't adopted until he was seven years old. He was often "loaned out" to various families for the weekend, as was a common practice in those days. Upon his adoption by hard-working blue-collar Southerners, James rapidly became a self-imposed loner, who preferred to spend his free time absorbed in horror films or his burgeoning artwork. But his parents differed, seeing art as the equivalent of playing cards: a hobby, nothing more. James would later say, "It got so bad that I was forbidden to draw in the house." Working different jobs at auto-body shops or nursing homes, he stayed within himself, becoming what he would later describe as a "brooding and sarcastic" person.
However, that began to change when, at age 16, he met a young woman named Bethany. Described by James as a "bright light" who "never said a word against anyone", their connection was apparently the embodiment of the phrase "opposites attract". When James would verbally assault someone, Bethany would point out their good or positive attributes. It was a balanced relationship that James clearly loved and cherished. They were together for three years, and planned to marry after graduation.
But then, tragedy struck. While crossing the street one night, Bethany was killed by a drunk driver. James was not present at the time; he was later told by her father. The emotional stability that James had once craved was now gone in his life, and shortly afterward, he enlisted in the Marines, where he hoped the regimented lifestyle overseas would help him vent his anger. Instead, it only made him feel worse. Drawing combat manuals by day, James would immerse himself in nightly barfights, hoping that one of them would end his life as well. Upon his return to the States, James had one intention: to kill the driver who'd taken Bethany from him. But when he discovered the driver had died from natural causes, his anger and rage threatened to destroy him. Desperate for some kind of cathartic release, he channeled his pain and hatred into his artwork as a form of personal therapy. Explaining years later, he said, "It was a lot cheaper than seeing a therapist or something."
Honing his artistry, James opted against using comic books as his inspiration, citing common illustration methods as "an exaggeration of an exaggeration...twice removed from life." Instead, he studied ancient paintings and marble statues of the human form. However, James was uncomfortable sketching scenes of himself, so to better express his inner darkness, he created an avatar named Eric. The role was visually reminiscent of James' enjoyment of hard rock music, with bands like Joy Division, The Cure, and Iggy Pop all serving as cultural models for the character's appearance and mannerisms. In the pages of his "therapy", Eric often spoke in lyrical statements and poetic flair. But his temperment was not so subtle: he was a deadly avenger of untold violence, with little compassion to speak of, if any at all.
The story which eventually became "The Crow" was first put to paper in 1981. However, due to the immense pain and anger James felt, he could only complete so much of it at a time. The book was finally finished in 1989, eight years later. In it, the story is that of Eric and his love, Shelley, who are murdered by ruthless gang members when their car breaks down on a desolate road. Eric is mortally wounded, powerless to intervene as Shelley is raped and killed by the sadistic criminals. But Eric's soul does not rest, and one year later he is resurrected as an immortal being with one agenda: those who destroyed he and Shelley's lives will die. No trials, no appeals, none of what mass society would consider proper justice...only death. James would later intone, "There is pure anger on each page."
Sadly, the completion of "The Crow" didn't really grant James the peace he had hoped for; instead, it made him more angry and depressed, in various ways. But another shift took place when he was working as a T-shirt artist in a comic shop. The owner liked his work very much, and aksed if he had any comics at home. On a whim, James presented "The Crow", and the owner asked for permission to publish it under his emerging company, Caliber Comics; James agreed. Within two years, offers were being made from various studios, who were interested in filming the project. But things got progressively worse as the higher-ups of American cinema desperately sought to rework the concept. Having sold the film rights, James had very little say in the matter; at one point, producers even suggested the film as a musical, with Michael Jackson as Eric and Julian Temple directing. It looked as if the film would bear little resemblance (if any) to O'Barr's work...until director Alex Proyas stepped in. Soon, another talent was brought into the mix, who was a self-described fan of the book, and wanted to preserve it as closely as possible. This was actor Brandon Lee, son of famed martial artist Bruce. At Lee's and Proyas' insistence, the film was reined in, and returned to an approach more in line with James' original story. James and Brandon would foster a close friendship over the course of the production...but tragedy would soon strike again.
As Proyas' film of "The Crow" neared its final days of principal photography, a terrible disaster shook everyone involved. During the filming of a flashback scene to Eric and Shelley's murders, Brandon Lee was to enter the apartment with a bag of groceries. Conatined in the bag was a "squib", or a small bag of fake blood rigged with a tiny, remote-controlled explosive. Actor Michael Massee (who played the villain "Funboy") was to fire in Brandon's general direction, and the squib would be detonated to simulate Eric being shot. But instead, Lee crumpled to the floor, and when he didn't get up, the crew realized the unthinkable had happened: Brandon had been shot for real. Twelve hours later, he died in the hospital from internal bleeding. Even more painful was the timing of his death: he was set to wed his long-time girlfriend, Eliza Hutton, just two weeks after filming wrapped.
Police officials later ruled Brandon's death an accident, explaining that a "dummy bullet" (powderless shell casing) had become lodged in the barrel of the gun which Massee had held. When powder was inserted for a close-up scene so the weapon would flash, both ingredients combined in a deadly manner. For everyone involved, Lee's death was heartbreaking beyond words...and of them all, the four who likely took it the hardest were Lee's mother Linda, his sister Shannon, fiancee Eliza Hutton, and James O'Barr. To James, it was like Bethany being killed all over again, and infinitely worse. To add further insult, Miramax Films failed to pay full royalties to O'Barr; what little cash he made from the project, he donated to charity, considering it "blood money". Offered the chance to scrap the film if he so chose, director Alex Proyas consulted Linda Lee, who asked it be finished in Brandon's memory. Released in 1994, the movie became a box-office smash, due to both the visceral, emotional story, and the media-fueled notoriety brought about by the death of its star.
But for James, he felt worse than ever. After fighting Miramax for the money he was rightfully owed (which still has not been delivered in full), James began making his living as a "starving artist", touring the convention circuit, selling custom sketches and small memorabilia based on the book. He later married, and now has two young children. While his character has been reinvented multiple times in sequels and spinoffs, O'Barr has seen none of the rewards (save for a small amount from Miramax, and a minor contract job for the third film's soundtrack). Today, he says, "I'm actually happier than I've been since I was 16 years old", in reference to his wife and family. At nearly 50 years of age, he continues to make the rounds at conventions, now residing near Granbury, Texas.