TUESDAY TOY REVIEW: Hot Toys' "The Crow" Eric Draven 1/6 scale figure

Now, although I do despise the crowd it's become appealing to thanks to stores like Hot Topic, "The Crow" has always been one of my favorite films. I'd say it's in my top four of all-time. I saw the film back in 1994 when it came out, and although I was rather young at my age to be seeing such a dark and graphic film, I fell in love.

Something that most people know about me is that I'm a big collector of movie stuff and high-end action figures. If you're gonna spend, might as well spend big, right? Well, after about 12 years of collecting, and finally a worthy figure from "The Crow" has been unleashed by none other than the mad people over at Hot Toys. So of course, naturally, I purchased it. If you knew me, you'd know how much I have to have this figure. This marks my 12th Hot Toys figure too!

Now, I heard some complaints around the web about things that some people don't like about this figure, some of which I can understand, some of which I don't, and disagree. You gotta understand that there's just some collectors out there who you cannot please. They think that because they're spending $200 on an action figure that it's going to be a clone of the person the figure is of. That is not the case. I expect high-end collectibles that are easy on the eye and worth the money, nothing more. And that is what I've got.

This guy stands 12" tall and has over 30 points of articulation. So he's capable of just about any realistic pose you could want to put him in, which is always awesome. He also has three different sets of hands, a guitar, stand, and a crow that can either sit on him or be made to look like it's flying. And if you get the exclusive edition, like me, you get a weather vane as an accessory for if you wanted to pose him like he was towards the end of the film.

Fresh out of the box I was impressed! The outfit is spot on, and the Brandon Lee likeness is damn good. While I'll admit, and agree with others, it doesn't look as much like him as it could, we've seen better from Hot Toys. But still an impressive sculpt and paint job. And regardless, it's the nicest Eric Draven figure in the world.

I also like the crow itself. It's very rich in detail. There's very subtle things that make me enjoy this collectible, such as Shelly's ring on the necklace around his neck, and how it's actually sculpted. Up until now, all the toy companies were to lazy to actually sculpt her ring like Hot Toys did. Everyone else just puts a gold ring on a necklace, no attention to detail. And it's reasons like that as to why I collect Hot Toys.

Complaints would have to be that I'd like to have seen a more weathered look to his makeup, instead of it looking so fresh. But, I'm hoping that Hot Toys is saving that for a second figure release in the near future. Although the makeup looks fresh, the paint job is impeccable! A friend of mine who saw my figure was afraid to touch it for fear that he'd "rub the makeup off". So yeah, it actually looks like makeup, and it's applied well. I just think a more weathered look would have been great for more detail.

I also think that they could have gone bigger with his stand/base. Most figures nowadays get big diorama looking bases, and this one got the standard nameplate stand. Which again leaves me to believe that Hot Toys was just testing the water with this one to see how big the market is for a figure from "The Crow". It's funny, because I remember signing a petition for Hot Toys to make an Eric Draven figure years ago with a group of other collectors. And now here it is, in my hands. It's a cool feeling for the geek in me.

Anyway, if and when another figure is made, I'll be sure to grab it, just like I did this one. Hopefully they'll go a bit bigger next time. But until/if that happens, I'm just fine with this one.

For those of you interested in purchasing one of these, just click here.

4 out of 5 stars

Next Tuesday's toy review

ROBOCOP isn't the same machine

RATED- R
RUN TIME- 117
WRITER(S)- Joshua Zetumer, Edward Neumeier, and Michael Miner
STARRING- Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, and Michael Keaton
DIRECTOR- Jose Padila



Synopsis taken from IMDb
In 2028 Detroit, when Alex Murphy - a loving husband, father and good cop - is critically injured in the line of duty, the multinational conglomerate OmniCorp sees their chance for a part-man, part-robot police officer. 




I'm going to start off this review by stating that unlike most people, I do not hold the original 1987 "Robocop" in high regard. I mean, I like it, but it's no "The Terminator". So, going into viewing this, I wasn't worried about them sullying a film that I hold in high regard. I was however, completely turned off by the black suit. Even I was face-palming at how they made Robocop look like Cobra Commander from the awful "G.I. Joe" films that have came out as of late.

Like most reboots and remakes, there's things I like and dislike about this telling of the tale. I think that they were on the right track with the idea but, about halfway through the film, it seems it was just pieced together however it would fit. And of course, like most movies nowadays, there was little-to-zero character development. I appreciate the fact that they tried to give backstory with Alex Murphy and his family, but it wasn't enough to ever make me really care for the character. I was just looking for cool effects about midway through, when I gave up on the story improving.

In all actual truth, I don't think that there are many things that this movie improved on aside from the design of the suit, and the special effects and cgi. There's more negative to say than positive. Such as, Joel Kinnaman doesn't do as good of a job playing the half-man, half-machine cop as well as Peter Weller once did. However, I think part of that has to do with how the story seemed to rush any emotional scenes, so I blame the writing, not the acting. Had there really been time invested in getting to know the character, I might have said otherwise.

"Robocop" also seems to be a bit dulled down, besides having a cool looking suit (when it's not black). He just didn't come off as much of a bad-ass as he did in the 1987 movie. He isn't as tough or resistant, and his fighting isn't as impressive. He tends to need more help, and is hurt easily. I figured it was because in modernizing the film, they wanted to ground it and make it as realistic as possible. But, it didn't better the film. It took the some fun out of it to be honest.

I really enjoyed seeing Michael Keaton playing a villain. Hell, I've always liked Keaton. But even he couldn't save this film from becoming just another popcorn flick for the kids to watch. See, I don't mind that it's not taken seriously, and I don't mind it being a popcorn flick, but when the original motion picture is a serious Terminator-esque R rated picture, it really pales in comparison.

The movies main twist isn't nearly as impactful, and it's not as political or meaningful as a film overall. The deception angle is weak, and it just came off as too easy and simple. There was no complexity to anything, it is just cut and dry, fun. Nothing more. I find this an unnecessary reboot for such a mediocre story. Should have left "Robocop" series sleeping until something better came along as a worthy reason of awakening it.

So, aside from the fact that I can say "hey, that was a fun movie. Cool effects and some good laughs", there's nothing to praise this movie for. I remained entertained, but that's not nearly enough.

2 out of 5 stars

OLDBOY (2013)

RATED- R
RUN TIME- 104 Mins
WRITER(S)- Garon Tsuchiya, Nobuaki Minegishi, and Mark Protosevich
STARRING- Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, and Samuel L. Jackson
DIRECTOR- Spike Lee



Synopsis taken from IMDb
Obsessed with vengeance, a man sets out to find out why he was kidnapped and locked into solitary confinement for 20 years without reason. 



Now, being fair, I'm not going to do as some movie critics do and judge the film at hand on how much they like/dislike the director. In this case, Spike Lee being widely disliked for many reasons was, I believe, the reason for so many bad reviews for this flick. Being totally unbiased as usual, I can admit that the guy makes good movies, so my personal feelings towards him don't effect my opinion of his films.

It took me at least two viewings of the original Korean "Oldboy" before I got its appeal. Now, I'm a fan of the movie, like most. But, it took a little getting used to for me. However, since I've grown to like the original movie, it made it really easy for me to like this American remake, since it stays very true to the first film. But, there are differences, and some of them aren't for the better.

One of the things that made the 2003 motion picture so interesting  to me, was the revenge element. I'm not a fan of torture films typically, but there are exceptions. And I really enjoyed watching the vengeance part, and seeing the truth be chipped away at. However, what I didn't like about the original Korean film was the incest. In fact, it's the reason I had to watch the film a few times before I was able to soften up to it and see what all the hype was about.

Funny thing is, in this rendition of the story, Joe Doucett (Josh Brolin) really doesn't get a good and healthy overdose of revenge. The hammer scene isn't as impactful, and is totally changed for that matter. I was expecting to see teeth being pried out, like in the other version. But nope, not this time. Instead, the torture is dulled down to a bare minimum, but still enough to keep me watching. Where things really got out of hand in my book, was the incest. And I thought the family relations in the original film were bad!

Turns out, they upped the incest element by a lot. They dulled down the torture and gore, as I stated above, and really went for the gross strings with the incest. So, the things that I liked about the 2003 Korean film are completely flip-flopped in this one. There's hardly any torture, which disappoints me. And the fact that this film seems to be made solely for the shock value by raising the stakes of the family "bonding" seriously takes the wind out of my sails.

I will give it the credit of never getting boring, or dragging out too long. That was a main concern of mine. I didn't want it to really lack in things that the original didn't. Luckily it dodged this bullet and managed to keep me entertained the entire time. Only thing is, I was hoping to be excited, not just entertained. It doesn't take long before it picks up and throws you in the middle of things, and I do like that. Now, if only this flick had some meat on the bone, instead of just bone, we would have really been onto something.

On the other hand, the acting was very well executed. Josh Brolin, Samuel L. Jackson, Elizabeth Olsen, and Sharlto Copley give top-notch performances that are definitely worth remembering. It's a powerhouse of acting, for a story that needs to have it's balls reattached.

With this film not having the guts it needs to pull off such a twisted and demented story, it ends up being ridiculed by fans of the Korean film. And to be honest, I can't really defend it, nor will I. Even though I enjoyed the film, I didn't love it. So, I'm going to give it a passing grade, but I'm not going to act like it deserves a great rating, because it doesn't. Sad thing is, it really is one of the better American remakes! Still not impressed.

3 out of 5 stars

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