Two Hundred and Ninety-nine - The Crow, "On Devil's Night, Wronged Dead Souls Can Rise."

Being a fan of the Gothic persuasion in the late 80's/early 90's was glorious. There was Hellraiser, Sandman, Hellblazer, and... of course... The Crow (both the comic and the movie).

I mean, thinking back, I remember three types of people in that era of my generation: the Goths, the Grunge, and the Gaps. I'm sure there were dozens, if not hundreds more, subtypes or categorizations for youth culture at the time, but those were it for me. I certainly didn't fall in the latter, but I was definitely a closet case of the former two, the lack of personal control over outward appearance forcing my Gothy Grungyness to remain in hiding. What can I say, my parents were strict and I was a coward.

Anyways, The Crow was a defining film for folks like me. It sated our desire for so many things: eternal love, bloody vengeance, dark makeup and leather jackets. It was like Alex Proyas made a film just for us based on a comic made just for us. It was magic, it was amazing, it was tragic.

Yeah, tragic... because, if you didn't know this already, Brandon Lee died filming this movie. It caused a big hullabaloo at the time and I have no doubt that the press surrounding the mysterious death of Bruce Lee's son contributed to the film's box office, even though it was a good enough film to stand well on its own.

The setting for The Crow is a bleak, surreal landscape of urban America. The ghettos are hollow and crime-ridden, where everyone is out for themselves and just trying to survive save for a few do-gooders like Eric Draven and his fiance, Shelly Webster. It's in the opening moments of the movie where we're witness to the aftermath of their double murder, brutalized and killed for speaking up against the slumlord trying to evict them.

A year later, Eric is miraculously resurrected to wreak havoc against those who wronged him and his lady love, given powers of regeneration, clairvoyance, and empathic transference. He is turned into a one man ESPer killing spree and sent off in the direction of his killers by his spirit animal, the eponymous Crow, which guides him both to his enemies and his allies.

I really love how solid this cast is. Brandon Lee is great, but the supporting cast is where it's at, including Michael Wincott, Ernie Hudson, and a face that we've grown more familiar with during our Spooktacular viewings of Twin Peaks... David Patrick Kelly (who plays Jerry Horne in Lynch's prime time soap opera).

The film is also great for its soundtrack... being one of the best compilations of dark, emotive rock and hardcore industrial from the likes of Nine Inch Nails, The Cure, Stone Temple Pilots, Rollins Band and more. This CD, along with Lost Highway and Natural Born Killers respective discs, was amazing (and all featured Trent Reznor and NIN, the latter two heavily).

As ghost stories go, The Crow is immensely satisfying, only showing rough edges when it comes to Lee's lost lover, Shelly. Played by Sophia Shinas, I never really feel any natural chemistry between them in the flashbacks. Still, I heartily recommend the film as a classic of spooky cinema. There's nothing ever scary about it as it's more action than horror, but it's a great Halloween flick!

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Fifty-four - Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, "The Hammer is My Penis."

During the Writer's Strike of '07/'08, an event which forced the shutdown of just about everything entertainment related and, notably, caused the destruction of the very promising comic book television series, Heroes, Joss Whedon and company had the idea to put on a small musical comedy that was inexpensive to produce and would appeal to their particular geek fanbase.

The result was Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.

Filmed over several days in Los Angeles and featuring a cast of geek notables such as Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day, and Simon Helberg, Dr. Horrible tells the story of tragic anti-hero Billy, who dreams of taking over the world and getting together with his secret crush only to be foiled time and time again by his nemesis, Captain Hammer (Fillion).

I think that Dr. Horrible was a convergence of all the right nerd elements to produce the perfect viral musical. Joss, et al., had already cut their teeth on musicals in Buffy the Vampire Slayer with "Once More, With Feeling," so they had that, but there was also the great cast to go with it. NPH is perfect to play the lonely, disaffected nerd thanks to his work on Doogie Howser and Nathan Fillion was no stranger to the overblown characters that Joss has been known to write, having worked with him on both Buffy and Firefly.

The wildcard for me was Felicia Day. Sure, she had a small role on Buffy, but most her work, while popular on the net, hadn't really broken her out. I think her sweet performance as Penny really did wonders for her geek cred and made her the darling of conventions for years to come.

As a musical, it's amazing how intricate the lyrics can get in terms of meter, rhythm, and rhyme. There's a lot of modern Broadway that's present here and to great effect. Sure, some of the instrumentation is rudimentary, relying a bit too much on the synthesizer, but it's quick and painless for the most part and relays a certain naivete inherent to Billy's character. Standout's for me were "Brand New Day," "Slipping," and "Everything You Ever," which is so hauntingly sweet and depressing at the same time.

The production quality is rough, but extremely forgivable considering the shoestring budget that they were working with... plus it sort of adds to the charm in its own way, lending a bit of subtle surreality necessary for a universe where villains like Bad Horse and Moist coexist with self-righteous heroes like Johnny Snow and Captain Hammer... a sort of vapid, modern-day dystopia.

I also want to give a quick shoutout to the background action during "My Eyes." Seeing Billy show up as a disgruntled Soup Nazi late in the song made me laugh so hard and long that I had to rewind the episode to catch what I'd missed while ROFLing.

Dr. Horrible is a great bit of comic book tomfoolery with a terrific cast and fun songs. My only regret is that there's no sequel as of yet (though speculation and teases from Joss and company have been running rampant for years). It's definitely worth the watch and is one of those films that you can come back to over and over again really rather easily... and, as such, will remain in my queue for easy access until the sad day when it get's pulled... IF it gets pulled.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Thirty-eight - Dredd, "Now THIS is what modern action movies should be."

Came down with a bit of the ague today, so I took a sick day... much to the annoyance of my boss, no doubt... and, while it was unfortunate for my daily routine it was rather fortunate for my Netflix queue as, thanks to the guy trimming the hedges around the apartments with a chainsaw, I wasn't able to sleep away my sickness.

So, on to today's Couchbound pick, which just happened to be newly released on the Instant Stream, and it was Karl Urban's take on Dredd.

No, not the 90's Stallone vehicle that was more comical farce than gritty scifi dystopia, this version of Dredd never takes off the mask and is all business, all "The Law," all of the time... and I find myself much happier for it, very glad there's no Sly or Rob Schneider.

Set in the vast urban sprawl of Megacity One after the fall of society thanks to nuclear war, Dredd follows the eponymous Judge, Jury, and Executioner on an assessment tour for rookie beat Judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), a powerful psychic who is being pushed into service despite failing her entrance exams.

The two of them are sent to a Megablock Tower called Peach Trees where three gangbangers were tossed off a ledge from hundreds of stories up. While investigating the murders, they happen upon a mid-level banger who could ruin his gang's whole operation and that sets into motion a total lockdown of the Tower on the orders of the gang's vicious leader, Ma-ma (Lena Headey).

From there, the movie is one blood-soaked battle after another as the two isolated Judges try to survive wave after wave of bullets, bangers, and even a few corrupt Judges called in during act three to fight fire with fire.

To say that I love this film is an understatement. It's brutal without being gratuitous, stylistic without being heavy-handed, and full of subtle little touches that cause the comic book geek in me to squeal in delight.

I mean, honestly, seeing Anderson pause at that "No Muties" graffiti for half a second before moving on with the mission is a tremendously well done nod to the status quo of Megacity One. Such a perfect little humanizing moment for her (ironic, considering) and one that isn't lost as her Mutant status is used to great effect during several key scenes.

It's not a perfect movie... as there are no leads or subtle hints to the corrupt judges at any point previous to the moment Ma-ma sends for them during the second to third act transition, but I'm willing to forgive a few oversights considering how well placed other running themes and clues were laid out... particularly concerning her mousey tech genius (Domhnall Gleeson).

When it comes to effects, pretty much all of the gunplay is spot on, with even the normally laughable CGI bloodspray being really quite believable. The same can be said for the high-speed camera effects that pop up several times during the movie as the visual high of the drug Slo-Mo that the Ma-ma clan is producing. While you can't see it as much on the Stream, the 3D version that I saw in theaters was just that much more dazzling.

Last, but not least, I really want to point out Urban's portrayal of Dredd. I think he very much embodied the spirit of the character. Whereas Stallone was always "Sly in Dredd's Uniform" (and, even then, only for a small portion of the movie before he's disgraced and defrocked), Urban most definitely wears the mantle so well that I never saw him as Karl Urban... only as the man, the monolith, Judge Dredd. Much kudos to him.

If you're any kind of fan of action, I'd very much recommend Dredd to you... especially over tongue-in-cheek, almost parody movies like The Expendables. Dredd gives you everything you want from an actioner and never lets up. I really hope that it's cult status and DVD sales will lead to a sequel, cause I'd rather have one from Urban, et al., than yet another Riddick.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~