As you know, Frank has kept up contact with Rochelle Davis since we learned of all the legal issues she was going through last year. As we reported last week, she is on the road to getting her life back on track. Frank contacted Rochelle recently about doing an interview. She has agreed! We want to solicit questions from fellow fans to ask her (to be approved by her manager of course). So we need you to get those questions in to me at aboyandhisbird@gmail.com . We will use as many questions as we can. This is going to be a great opportunity for fans to catch up with one of the most beloved actors/actresses from the first film.

The Crow: City of Angels (or COA as most fans refer to it as).

What I said then………..

I make no apologies for saying that I enjoyed this movie. However, I feel that production was rushed and important elements were not examined thoroughly enough. The theater run-time of only 84 minutes speaks loudly to this. The filmmakers never explored the Sarah/Ashe relationship in detail. Expansion of that element would have set COA apart from the first movie and given it more emotion. A better use of the flashback scenes between Ashe and his son Danny would also have improved the film. The majority of flashbacks concentrated on their murder, not their love. I thought Vincent Perez did an excellent job in his portrayal of Ashe, as did Mia Kirshner who played Sarah. In my opinion, fans that could not distinguish between the fact that Perez’s Ashe Corvin was a totally different character from Brandon’s Eric Draven, judged Perez too harshly. There is so much about COA that is very good. The yellow/green tint, used throughout the movie, was both original and effective. It gave the feeling of a barren, dry, dream-like Los Angeles. The premise of an avatar falling in love, after coming back, was very intriguing. The attempt to make a different movie was there, but somewhere along the way, originality was compromised for the sake of staying with a known successful formula. The following quote is from Frieda Noone who does reviews for Cinescape. I saw this quote on the site “A Dead Man Visits You”, and I think it sums up COA perfectly: “If you accept that the CROW: City of Angels is not really a movie, then it’s quite possible to enjoy it. More a visually intense tone poem than a film, City of Angels resembles a lavish picture book - which is the medium from which the CROW films sprang.” Very well said indeed.

Rating - 3 Crows

What I say now……………

Again, like the first film, this one has not lost any luster with me over the years. If anything, I have grown to appreciate it even more for what was attempted, but ultimately damaged by too many fingers in the post production cookie jar. Looking back, I think they should have made the Sarah character a person who had a connection to the dead, not a connection to the Crow or the previous film. COA, more so than any of the other sequels, has grown in legend for what was NOT featured on screen. Fans have long pined for the deleted footage to be put back in and the film assembled in the original form and context that Pope had intended. Would this change the minds of those that to this day have to reach for the Pepto at the mere mention of COA? Personally, no. I think if you hated the film then you would hate it with the deleted footage restored and the context Pope intended. I think it would win over some fans that didn’t necessarily hate it, but all in all, if you hated it in 1996, you would hate it today even restored to what it was intended to be. I have personally seen 4 or 5 cuts of this film and I just don’t think there is enough that would bring the masses of haters over to our side. I think all in all this film came out too soon after the original and the concept was lost on many fans and for that matter, lost on the suits in the production offices. Tim Pope had a vision of a truly tragic and Gothic romance and unfortunately the ghosts from the previous film had not been laid to rest and many fans saw it as an inferior clone of the first film, no doubt helped along by post production tinkering by producers that all but ripped the guts out of the film and laid it out in the sun to rot. The one thing I think the deleted footage would help fans appreciate more is the excellent performance from Vincent Perez. There was some absolutely great stuff deleted, such as his self-destructive moment with Spider Monkey and the original intended tragic ending. To this day I cringe when I see the pseudo happy/sad ending that made it to the final cut. I will say that one required re-shoot was a wise decision and that was the original Kali/Ashe fight which in it’s original form was very week. The re-shoot is one of my favorite scenes from the film, though the deleted confrontation on the street after the fight between the mortally wounded Kali and Ashe is deeply missed. I have found that with the passing of time, more and more people are coming to appreciate COA more than they did back when it first came out.

Still a solid “3 Crow” rating in my book, maybe even 3 1/2 Crows.

The Collectors DVD release of this film is good, but like the first film, lacks some important features. The “making of” is VERY informative. The commentary track is frank and open. Alex McDowell (production designer for the first two Crow films) all but spells out the butchering that the producers did to the film, commenting many times about how their vision and Tim Pope’s vision were worlds apart and ultimately the film lost its soul in the editing. The DVD-rom features a rare find for many fans, the full Chet Williamson novelization of the film, which is very hard to find in any stores. Of course the omitting of deleted scenes as well as none of the music videos featured on the VHS release make this DVD, like the film, a great concept but in the end lacking everything to make it a full viewing experience. Hopefully when this makes it to Blu Ray these omissions can be taken care of and maybe even some righting of wrongs and allowing Tim Pope to put together a TRUE director’s cut, not the supposed Director’s Cut that the DVD box claims it is today.

Thanks to Frank for this update on Bai Ling. Here is the latest. Let’s hope this is the last we see of her in trouble.

Also an update from Frank on the latest with Rochelle Davis (Sarah from the first film). She is doing well with plans to marry. She has gone through a lot of stuff over the last year but it appears things are on the right track. I spoke with Robert Zuckerman and let him know about the issues Rochelle was having last year. He was able to make contact and I know he reached out with a lot of love to her. Our personal wishes and prayers are with Rochelle and hope for nothing but the best for her and her son and the new life they are about to have.

 Hello everyone. As I mentioned the other day, while things are slow on the news front, we thought it would be interesting to revisit our reviews from years back and see how opinions may have changed (good or bad) or not even at all, over the years. One thing you will notice about these reviews, they are pretentious free! I am absolutely tired of these 3 and 4 page reviews that spend the majority of the review giving you the background of why the reviewer has the opinion they have, explaining their love or admiration for the source material or for like-movies or just simply go on some rant about this and that and finally by page 3 you get the review and by then could care less. We setup the reviews in a very basic format with a quick synopsis of the story and then my review. I am not posting the original synopsis, because, well, you more than likely wouldn’t be here if you didn’t already know about what I am talking about :)

Below is an explanation of the rating system I use. It isn’t high-tech by no means, but works for me:

1 Crow: Bad, can’t recommend it.
2 Crows: Not the worst, but boarding on a total waste of time
3 Crows: Average, check it out but don’t pay full price
4 Crows: Excellent, highly recommend you check it out
5 Crows: Outstanding, perfection personified!

If you see something that has a ½ added to it that means it is a notch above the whole number rating, but not quit the next higher number. So if something is rated 3 ½ crows, that means I rate it higher than a “good” project, but not quit excellent.

So let’s get to it. The first film we will look at is what started the franchise in the first place, the original film from 1994, “The Crow”.

What I said then:

This is one of the best movies based on a comic I have seen. The performances, across the board, were excellent. Alex Proyas, acting as director and visionary, was able to recreate the look of O’Barr’s alternative and gothic Detroit. Brandon Lee was elevated to God-like status for his portrayal of Eric Draven, but even more so because of his real-life death while making the film. The film was not shown until a year after his death. I remember being hesitant about watching the movie. I felt that it would be an almost sick voyeuristic peek at the life and death of Brandon Lee. I was finally able to overcome my initial reluctance to see the film. The story, which calls upon the basic premise of setting the wrong things right, touched a chord within me. I have long enjoyed movies that played on the revenge theme. However, I did not expect to ever see a movie filled with violence to be so poetic and beautiful. What sets this movie apart from other movies of this genre is the concentration on love and the extremes it takes us to. It is what continues to bring new fans to it even after 7 years. 4-Crows

My thoughts today:

Nothing much has changed about my feelings for the film 14 years later. I would say it probably isn’t the best comic to film adaptation I have seen, especially given films like Spiderman 2 and Sin City, but all in all, the film has held up for me. I don’t watch it as much anymore as I used to, but when I do, it still has a great affect on me. There are some films that you look back on and wonder how you ever thought you enjoyed it as much as you thought you did. There are many films I remember from when I was a teenager that I thought were just absolutely great and now, MANY years later, I watch them and go “meh, it is OK”. Not this one. It still remains one of my top 10 favorite films of all time and probably will stay that way. 4-Crows all the way.

We did a full-length review of the Collector’s Series DVD release for this film back in 2000/2001, you can read it here. All in all, I was pleased with the release, but the politics that led to the release missing many items and contributors, mainly Proyas, still remains a sore spot with many fans. However, for all of its faults, you can not get a better edition of the film. They did a great job restoring the sound and images. I can not wait to see this film on Blu Ray. The O’Barr feature is still the definitive interview done with O’Barr. Some items missed by most fans on the DVD, such as the text commentary and script/view option only available via DVD-Rom, with the new technology could be made available via the player rather than having to be a DVD-Rom feature. Like I said back when my original review was posted, I hope that we can get a release of the film on Blu Ray that has all the players involved contributing. I’m not one of those that is clamouring for a director’s cut, I would just like to have the fantastic making of “Crow Chronicles” finally seen by everyone, all the deleted footage brought together and for us to get a director’s commentary. Not a lot to wish for :) I can not even imagine what this film will look and sound like in High-def, it will be great! As of today, no word on when that day will come.
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Take Care…..Come what may

Bai Ling who played Myca in “The Crow” was arrested on Wednesday at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for shoplifting. Click here for more information from MSNBC News.

Click here to read the article from Bloody Disgusting about Jason Statham wanting to play “The Crow”.

Thanks to Jaymo Tristas for passing this along.

Garth over at DarkHorizons ran this story today:

Alex Proyas (”The Crow,” “I, Robot”) will direct “Dracula Year Zero,” Universal’s origins tale about Vlad the Impaler and one of several films about the Romanian royal who inspired Bram Stoker’s vampire tale.

Scribes Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless tell Variety that the goal was to show Vlad when he was still vital and to explore the fact that he’s considered a hero in Romania for fending off the Turks.

The aim was too play off the horror and the sympathy you have for a character that “sells his soul to the Devil to save his kingdom and family.” Michael De Luca produces.

Cuervo Muerto from over at CrowColl alerted us to a new James O’Barr interview caught on video over at Fanboy.tv. It is short, but a really cool listen for fans as James speaks to the new project that is coming out from him.

Another item was sent to us from David Jeffers, also from CrowColl. He sent us over an interview from 2006 with stuntman and friend to Brandon, Jeff Cadiente. That name should sound familiar as he was the main body double for Brandon in THE CROW. He a long with Chad Stahelski (body double for Keanu Reeves in all three Matrix movies) were stunt doubles for Brandon.

Here is the interview with Jeff.

As you know, we have followed the recent troubles that Rochelle Davis (real name Andrea Ruano) has endured since Oct 26th, 2006. The upshot of everything, given all of the charges that were being leveled at her (I saw the transcript and it read like a laundry list from hell), she ended up only being charged with conspiracy and child endangerment. These were far lessor charges than what she could have seen thrown at her.

Recently, Frank spoke to Rochelle’s manager Jaine Flanagan. By her own account, Jaine has been more of a friend than a manager to Rochelle over the last 10 years. Jaine reports that Rochelle suffered a great deal after Brandon’s death. They had become close friends and Rochelle described herself as one of Brandon’s biggest fans. According to Jaine, Rochelle had a hard time after the accident auditioning for other parts. Her heart just was not into it. Though things came to a head on October 26th of last year with her arrest, Rochelle had other challenges that she had endured since her last acting job on The Crow. Finally, it was a lack in judgement which cost her dearly when the people whom she had become friends with turned out to be some pretty unsavory characters. She has learned a valuable lesson through the course of the events that have transpired over the last 8 months.

Will she act ever again? Who knows. Right now, she is just trying to get her life back on track for her and her son Destin. We hope that she will feel up to talking with fans in the coming months. I know that she is loved by the fan base and everyone is pulling for her to get back on her feet. When I was visiting with Robert Zuckerman he mentioned how much he would love to reach out to her now. I hope she knows how much she is loved, by those who know her and by those who have never met her. We are all a family and when one of your family hurts, everyone hurts.

I pray for nothing but the best for Rochelle and Destin.