The Crow (1994)

The penultimate Gothic fairytale that is "The Crow", starring Brandon Lee (son of Martial arts legend Bruce Lee) and directed by Alex Proyas, is a tale of love, loss and vengeance. Based on a Graphic Novel by James O'barr, who wrote the story while dealing with the tragic death of his girlfriend at the hands of a drunk driver. He introduces emotional depth and complexity where it usually absent in the medium, so you may ask, how could a film (especially a mid-ninties action film) possibly capture the darkest tones of this morbid yarn? We shall see.

Our story starts with Hammy enough dialogue introducing the legend of the crow and how "people once believed..." (actual first line) "that when someone dies, a crow carries their soul to the land of the dead..." this goes on to set up what's happening in a nutshell. What follows is a dark and moody tale that at times is a moving and emotive piece (as much as the genre will allow), while at others, cheesy, over the top and outright silly. The story of how one man can come back from the dead in order to avenge his and his fiancée's death is a poignant topic that deals with remorse, regret, loss, revenge and absolution, but it's easy-to-hate, one dimensional villains let the story's credibility down.

Lee infamously died during the production, this gives the film it's second tragedy in it's long and sordid history. While watching Lee on-screen it's hard to separate the story you're seeing to an eerie sense of morbid fascination (more recently felt when watching Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight), it was his highest grossing film and his defining role. Was Lee a great actor? Not from what I've seen. Could anyone have played the role better? I highly doubt it. His passion for the project is clearly seen in the interview included on the DVD, his enthusiasm for this film to succeed is something I rarely see in most star interviews, so maybe it's only right this was the film his name will forever be so closely attached to.

Does the film work? At times, the emotion often hitting it's highs. The humour? Not so much. The action was pretty "so so" for the time period as-well. Where this film wins out is the style, it's the perfect balance of dark and intensive themes seen in Tim Burton's "Batman" (1989) and the stylised and surreal feel of Robert Rodriguez's "Sin City" (2005). The style is what makes this such a resounding and as of yet, unbeatable Gothic masterpiece, not perfect, but full of heart. 7/10

The Green Mile

The Green Mile is the second of what I suppose you could call a trilogy of films adapted from Stephen King stories by Frank Darabont. After the critical and commercial success of the film that is currently sitting on top of IMDBs Top 250 (Shawshank Redemption), The Green Mile is another human, emotional journey, with an added fantastical edge. Set in a 30s detentions centre for those on death row, the green mile is the last place those committed to die call home.

Despite a mammoth three hour run time, it never seems to drag. The characterisation of the main characters, and the performances from Hanks and Clarke Duncan, are fantastic, both showing strength and insecurity in equal measure. The film dares to show those on death row, particularly Michael Jeter's character, who have been condemned to die for terrible crimes, as incredibly humane and hinged characters. The real villain is Doug Hutchison's Percy, who has to be one of the most despicable, hated characters in film history.

Despite the overall positivity of the piece, it can be fairly grim stuff. The subject matter becomes increasingly dark, sometimes shocking, which ups the stakes and the drama by a couple of notches. The film confronts you with the worst of human life, and gives us a light at the end of the tunnel in John Coffey. However, there is no real message or morality tale here, if nothing else it seems to be simply that bad things can happen to good people, and that magic would be cool if it actually existed. It wasn't a tale of personal triumph like Shawshank, this is just a fairytale, but you have to say, a very good one. But, when would you really be in the mood to watch it again?

8/10

Leon

Leon is a very famous, very well thought of, very influential film. But is it, in fact, any good?

Yes, mostly. Occasionally amazing, thanks to two fantastic lead performances. The dynamic between the quiet hit man Leon and the twelve year old Mathilda is multilayered and complex. It takes your assumptions of what the dynamic should be and throws them away, giving you something fresh yet familiar, loveable yet occasionally nauseating. I won't go in to too much detail, but having watched the aptly named 'Long Version', you'll be shown a picture of a relationship that will split opinions. I personally did not have any problems with the subject matter, however run time was an issue, something I feel a little guilty for having a go considering the afore mentioned version. Regardless, I think the film sags in the middle. The relationship, while interesting, arcs quickly and once the meat of the story is over, we're left trudging through familiar ground. In other places, the story is quite by the numbers, a tale of revenge. Gary Oldman is fantastic as the psychotic antagonist, with a lovely identity twist early on. It was the kind of performance that really leaves an impression.

The action sequences are great, the pay off is rewarding, and there is a lot to like, but as I have all ready said, the subject matter and occasionally overtly surreal moments may be a little of a turn off. Stylish, emotional, but an acquired taste.

7/10