Vicefan7777 Posted October 2, 2022 Report Share Posted October 2, 2022 1 hour ago, ViceFanMan said: To celebrate the 1st of October & the time of year for spooks, I watched my all-time favorite scary movie—HALLOWEEN (1978), while drinking a Sam Adams Octoberfest! There’s a personal reason/terrifying incident that happened to me during the very first time I ever watched this film that will forever cement this as my favorite...but there are multiple other aspects, as well. I’ve said this before in past years, but one of my favorite things about this movie is it’s pure & beautiful...simplicity! There’s no real wild or bizarre special effects, strange or gothic locations, or not even that much blood or gore. It’s small town, Midwest life in the late 70s as they get ready to celebrate Halloween. Little & younger kids trick-or-treating; teens doing stupid stuff with parties, drinking, pot, and sex; and the adults having their own parties & get-togethers. But, what they don’t realize or bother to pay attention to—because they’re so caught up in their own lives & take what’s thought to be small town safety for granted, is that evil is all around them! It’s so smack-dab right in front of them, they don’t even see it. Personifying evil in the form of ‘Michael Myers’ (although there are sadly many different evil people & predators in society) was very creepily, terrifyingly, and very effectively done! This aspect is very realistic to me...I grew up in small town Midwest, and back in the 70s & 80s it was very much like how Haddonfield is portrayed in the movie. Back then everyone thought everything would be just fine all the time...they didn’t have to worry about anyone or anything—but, it wasn’t always that way. The characters, plot, and locations were just beautifully done, and the realistic simple-ness actually helps “make” the movie! I have many home video versions of this film...starting back with the 1995 re-issue VHS put out by Blockbuster (as before that only the original 1981 issue VHS was the one available & getting harder to find by 95), the first DVD from 1999, the 25th anniversary edition DVD from 2003 (which has the most & best special/bonus features, in my opinion)...and I’ve now acquired the new 3-disc Collector’s Edition set put out by Scream Factory! Disc 1 is an all new 4K Ultra UHD, Disc 2 is the all new 4K scan Blu-ray, and Disc 3 is an HD Blu-ray with the original color timing! I don’t have a 4K TV nor a 4K player...but I got the set for Discs 2 & 3, as the 4K scan for the Blu-ray is all new & better than previous versions. I also want to compare it to Disc 3...with the original color timing. I have to say, this new 4K scan Blu-ray is SUPERB!! The picture quality, depth, sound, and colors are amazing!! I’m very pleased with the results. I’ve also since acquired the new Scream Factory Collector’s Edition UHD & Blu-ray sets of Halloween II, Halloween 4: Return of Michael Myers, and Halloween 5: Revenge of Michael Myers. I can’t wait to watch those 4K Blu-rays! The rest of the original “Halloween” movies will be released in this format/edition by Scream Factory soon. The new reboot “Halloween” movie trilogy comes to an end on October 14th, with Halloween Ends (following Halloween-2018 & Halloween Kills-2021) being released to theaters. But, I’ve not been as impressed with the new movies...the original movies will always be the best, in my opinion. A cool new reunion, of sorts, from the original 78 movie is that recently director John Carpenter was reunited with the actual Ford station wagon used in the film, lol! The 1978 Ford LTD Station Wagon used as the Smith’s Grove Sanitarium vehicle in the movie, that Michael steals & heads to Haddonfield in, was a rental. After filming it was returned to the rental agency. A few years later it was sold off, and the person who bought it used it for several years & then it ultimately ended up in a barn for decades. Recently the owner had it completely restored, once he realized what he had...and Carpenter got to have a freaky reunion with Michael’s “party wagon”! Pictures with captions below...of the new Scream Factory Collectors Edition Blu-ray set, and of John Carpenter’s reunion with the original Ford wagon: All new Scream Factory 4K Collector’s Edition UHD & Blu-ray set! A scene-clip from the film (from IMCDb) of the 1978 Ford LTD Station Wagon (Michael Myers is watching Laurie Strode sitting in her high school literature class). New 2022 “reunion” of director John Carpenter sitting in the newly restored actual 1978 Ford LTD Station Wagon used in the movie! Another photo of John Carpenter recently reuniting with the actual 1978 Ford Station Wagon he used in Halloween! I am with you on this review. I will never forget being in high school when this film came to our local theater. My English teacher Mr. Jason one time asked if any of us had seen the film. He highly recommended seeing this film. I too grew up in a small town and this film scared me! The simplicity of it made it very believable. I too will be revisiting this classic this month. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViceFanMan Posted October 2, 2022 Report Share Posted October 2, 2022 8 minutes ago, Vicefan7777 said: I am with you on this review. I will never forget being in high school when this film came to our local theater. My English teacher Mr. Jason one time asked if any of us had seen the film. He highly recommended seeing this film. I too grew up in a small town and this film scared me! The simplicity of it made it very believable. I too will be revisiting this classic this month. I was too young to see it when it originally was released to theaters...but, I finally got to see it on the big-screen for the first time, digitally remastered, in 2018...for the 40th Anniversary & to help promote the new Halloween movie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalci Posted October 2, 2022 Report Share Posted October 2, 2022 (edited) Yesterday I just watched again (after probably 10years) Client Eastwood's Mystic River which I adore a lot. Generally love Sean Penn and his preformances. Kevin Bacon also does the character really really well and Tim Robbins is also huge in his acting. But there is an other factor I post about this movie. I would be happy if you could help me spot the brand of the sunglasses Sean Penn is wearing in this movie. Thanks in advance. Hope there are somebody in here that recognizes the brand. To me it looks like : SOLAR or something similar written on top Edited October 2, 2022 by Kalci 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augusta Posted October 6, 2022 Report Share Posted October 6, 2022 Eastwood directed films are hit-n-miss for me. Some are very well executed, and some are just too outer-ground for me to be inspired by. And if you close one eye and watch nearly any of Clint's films, they all have a similar "Rawhide cattle drive perspective to them", which is the show Eastwood had his acting beginnings in. Million Dollar Baby, Mystic River, Gran Torino, True Believer, Flags of our Fathers... all intentionally wander through their story so you can't know what's going to happen or where these characters are going---you just have to watch along and see.what unfolds. Just like an episode of Rawhide. I'm not a fan of Seam Penn like I'm not a fan of Robert DeNiro---yet I am a fan of Kevin Bacon and when given a dramatic role that man can deliver more reliably and with more variety to his character's traits than Penn or DeNiro consistently can (and who knows, maybe that's more owing to poor directing or lame stereotyping that DeNiro is likely to get in hes career than Bacon is). Given the RIGHT role, Robert and Sean can impress me to Oscar level, where Kevin might not get that high,... but when you see Kevin in Mystic River or Stir of Echoes (a sweet ingenious variation of a haunted-house movie), you know he's an actor that Hollywood truly wasted opportunities not using. Mystic River made me have disgust for Sean's character, and want to bust Sean in the mouth in public, and made me pray slow Kevin Bacon does his job and follows through. If a movie can make me forget myself and lose my temper on the characters... that's a well done movie. ...But sorry, Kalci. I don't know jack about those sunglasses. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViceFanMan Posted October 7, 2022 Report Share Posted October 7, 2022 Although the epic 1999 film is one of my all-time favorite movies...I also love the 1932 original—The Mummy! For the time, what they had available for special effects & costumes, these people went through their own “curse” to make this Universal classic! Karloff was superb in his performance, and what he had to go through, with his costume & excruciating painful facial work to be the Mummy (Im-Ho-Tep) and the evil secret identity of Ardeth Bay, has me appreciating this movie all the more. Zita Johann was beautiful & intriguing, and the rest of the cast was perfect for the time! The realistic & accurate hieroglyphics & paintings were also interesting & captivating, and added to the “dark” and entertainingly-creepy aspects. Fun and eerie classic, for those who love scary movies...old & new! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicefan7777 Posted October 9, 2022 Report Share Posted October 9, 2022 On 10/7/2022 at 3:14 PM, ViceFanMan said: Although the epic 1999 film is one of my all-time favorite movies...I also love the 1932 original—The Mummy! For the time, what they had available for special effects & costumes, these people went through their own “curse” to make this Universal classic! Karloff was superb in his performance, and what he had to go through, with his costume & excruciating painful facial work to be the Mummy (Im-Ho-Tep) and the evil secret identity of Ardeth Bay, has me appreciating this movie all the more. Zita Johann was beautiful & intriguing, and the rest of the cast was perfect for the time! The realistic & accurate hieroglyphics & paintings were also interesting & captivating, and added to the “dark” and entertainingly-creepy aspects. Fun and eerie classic, for those who love scary movies...old & new! Well said my fellow movie lover! I too loved the 1999 version. It was more an adventure film for me. Plus it was a fun film. Rachel Weisz was a beautiful choice for the leading lady. The 1932 version was classic horror. I do know about the pain Karloff went through in the makeup chair. He was asked to do a sequel and flatly declined. I will be watching this again before Halloween. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViceFanMan Posted October 9, 2022 Report Share Posted October 9, 2022 22 minutes ago, Vicefan7777 said: Well said my fellow movie lover! I too loved the 1999 version. It was more an adventure film for me. Plus it was a fun film. Rachel Weisz was a beautiful choice for the leading lady. The 1932 version was classic horror. I do know about the pain Karloff went through in the makeup chair. He was asked to do a sequel and flatly declined. I will be watching this again before Halloween. Yes, the original versions of Dracula, Wolfman, The Mummy, etc...are definite classic horror & Universal gems! I recently got “The Mummy: Complete Legacy Collection” Blu-ray set...which contain all 6 original “Mummy” movies: The Mummy (1932), The Mummy’s Hand (1940), The Mummy’s Tomb (1942), The Mummy’s Ghost (1944), The Mummy’s Curse (1944), and the goofball comedy Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955). Starting with “Tomb”, Lon Chaney, Jr. took over the role as the Mummy. All are fun, entertaining scare-flicks that would have been popular for Saturday afternoon matinees, and later the 1959 Hammer horror film The Mummy is also very well done! But, the ‘32 original is still the best for the classics. The ‘99 film took the “Mummy” franchise to a whole new, superb level—and spawned two sequels. In my opinion, it will be very difficult to match or out-do...with the characters & the actors who brought them to life! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedDragon86 Posted October 9, 2022 Report Share Posted October 9, 2022 (edited) Watching "The Hidden" I noticed one of Calderone's bodyguard's in the pilot. Playing a law enforcement officer at the end of "The Hidden" Calderone's bodyguard. He also played a bodyguard for Mendez in "El Viejo" Great film by the way, a genuine cult classic (A+) Edited October 9, 2022 by RedDragon86 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyfarragut Posted November 1, 2022 Report Share Posted November 1, 2022 The Big Heat by Fritz Lang (1953). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViceFanMan Posted November 1, 2022 Report Share Posted November 1, 2022 On 2/28/2022 at 10:49 PM, ViceFanMan said: I recently acquired the 1953 crime-film noir The Big Heat, with Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Jocelyn Brando, Lee Marvin, and Jeanette Nolan. In my opinion, this was an amazing movie for its day...very “dark”, realistic, tragic, and even graphic! The acting & performances were in-depth & heartfelt, the plot & corruption of the police department were very realistic—so were the tragic results of one cop trying to do the right thing & then becoming burnt out and going for revenge (I’ll stop there so I don’t give away too much of a spoiler), and the graphic/grotesque torture by a gangster to his moll (one of the pictures below) was totally unheard of in movies for the time! For 1953, audiences must have been shocked...yet fascinated! In one of the special features of the restored/remastered Blu-ray from Indicator & Powerhouse Films, Michael Mann himself gives an interview of what he thinks of this superb, hard-boiled/brass knuckle thriller & possibly how it may have influenced some of the films/shows he’s done. Maybe I’m reading too much into this...but I can see themes from this movie & plot in episodes & characters of MV! If you like hard-boiled, gritty crime noirs, I definitely recommend checking this one out! My post on this superb noir from last February! 4 minutes ago, johnnyfarragut said: The Big Heat by Fritz Lang (1953). Love it...I posted on this film last February—my original post is quoted above! Amazing, gritty noir with shocking graphic violence towards a woman’s face, that was unheard of at the time! The Indicator/Powerhouse Films restored Blu-ray is awesome!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyfarragut Posted November 2, 2022 Report Share Posted November 2, 2022 (edited) I knew Mann was a fan of German Impressionist films from the 20s, but I didn't know he liked The Big Heat so much! I can see an influence on MV, like in the absence of the femme fatale clichè. And there"s definitely a lot of detective Bannion in Sonny Crockett ... Edited November 2, 2022 by johnnyfarragut 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpaul1 Posted November 6, 2022 Report Share Posted November 6, 2022 been watching Death hunt. I love that movie a lot. highly underrated gem IMO. i read some reviews saying it missed few action scenes. personnally i find the rythmn perfect. the plot pacing is close to perfection to me. you never get bored, nor at one point say that thing is here for selling. I love everything in that movie. the plot, a guy tracked down to death because he saved a dog (yep you read it correctly). the characters, all the characters especially the good ones are greatly interpreted. the background, the Canadian sceneries are mindlblowing. especially when you realize the thing had been shot in 81. the greatness of Canadian sceneries are greatly rendered. The ending is like the movie, simple, yet super cool. One of my favorite westerns, if not my favorite 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyfarragut Posted November 7, 2022 Report Share Posted November 7, 2022 (edited) Spies (Fritz Lang,1928) , the grandaddy of James Bond films. Lots of spy film tropes used for the first time: the bad guy bent on world domination, the double agent, the honeytrap, the cool gadgets, ... It's a comedy disguised as a spy film really, very tongue-in-cheek. Edited November 7, 2022 by johnnyfarragut 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalci Posted November 9, 2022 Report Share Posted November 9, 2022 I alwaysd loved this movie @RedDragon86 :P 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalci Posted November 9, 2022 Report Share Posted November 9, 2022 I have seen Karloff's name here earlier and as a hungarian myself I find this scene very funny. This is from Ed Wood(1994) which portrays also Bela Lugosi Love the acting 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicefan7777 Posted November 10, 2022 Report Share Posted November 10, 2022 7 hours ago, Kalci said: I have seen Karloff's name here earlier and as a hungarian myself I find this scene very funny. This is from Ed Wood(1994) which portrays also Bela Lugosi Love the acting My best friend and I sometimes quote this and we always burst out laughing! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicefan7777 Posted November 29, 2022 Report Share Posted November 29, 2022 Watched another Christmas classic tonight. From 1947 Miracle on 34th Street. This film is about a man who claims to be the real Santa Claus who gets hired by the mega store Macy's to portray Santa. One thing leads to another and eventually Santa has to go to court because there are individuals in the store who believe Santa is incompetent. Just when Santa's attorney is about to give up, unexpected help comes from the United States Post Office and Santa wins. The last scene makes one wonder. A truly delightful film. Children and adults will love it. Plus the actor who portrays Santa, Edmund Gwenn, actually won the Academy Award for this role. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavinsky Posted November 29, 2022 Report Share Posted November 29, 2022 I think honesly the last one I had was raising the titanic, as youtube has a bunch of movies for free, and I've been watching the historic travels video on the titanic its amazing how much stuff I didnt know, actually its really kinda crazy the amount of free movies they have on there that have been showing up in my suggestions but its just jesus, you know the basics for years and then well you have him deliver everything and it gives a real sense of scale to the thing also I guess maybe Clue 1984, as I'm not shouting lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedDragon86 Posted November 29, 2022 Report Share Posted November 29, 2022 Gangs of New York. The film starts off well with Liam Neeson but it loses itself in too many characters who say a couple of lines only to vanish without another word. It also loses itself in a binge of violence, where there are so many corpses that we can’t really mourn because we never got to know them long enough when they were alive. The usually meticulous Scorsese lost control of this unwieldy film. Side note, Cameron Diaz accent is terrible and Daniel Day Lewis is over the top. 6/10. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCBman Posted November 29, 2022 Report Share Posted November 29, 2022 (edited) A few days ago, I saw System Crasher, a German film from 2019. It's about a nine year old girl with some serious psychiatric issues and how those around her cope. Edited November 29, 2022 by OCBman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadrian Posted December 11, 2022 Report Share Posted December 11, 2022 I discovered “Nocturnal Animals” on Netflix last night, and I’ve watched it two nights in a row now. It’s not for everyone, but if you truly love film noir, check it out! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViceFanMan Posted December 11, 2022 Report Share Posted December 11, 2022 11 minutes ago, Dadrian said: I discovered “Nocturnal Animals” on Netflix last night, and I’ve watched it two nights in a row now. It’s not for everyone, but if you truly love film noir, check it out! Noir (whether film, neo, or whatever name they come up with) is one of my absolute favorite genres...I’m continually adding to my collection, and always love discovering new ones I’ve never seen! I already have several lined up over the Christmas & New Years holidays to watch. I may have to check this one out. I also like crime/gangster noirs...and just tonight discovered Legend (2015) on Netflix. It’s based off the real-life Kray twin brothers (Reginald & Ronald) that became gangsters & controlled/terrorized a good portion of London in the 1960s. Very well done & acted!! Actor Tom Hardy played both brothers, and he did a superb job! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadrian Posted December 11, 2022 Report Share Posted December 11, 2022 1 minute ago, ViceFanMan said: I may have to check this one out. If you do, please PM me if you need to debrief afterward. It’s a lot to process, and I could use the help. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViceFanMan Posted December 11, 2022 Report Share Posted December 11, 2022 3 minutes ago, Dadrian said: If you do, please PM me if you need to debrief afterward. It’s a lot to process, and I could use the help. Lol...ok, will do. If it’s somewhat open-ended I’m not sure I’ll have the exact answers, but I’ll try. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalci Posted December 11, 2022 Report Share Posted December 11, 2022 I have just watched Boogie Nights(1997) recently. It really catched my ears and also my eyes (some of the performances, costume design and camera movement, cuts, transitioning scenes and flycam shots.) A real Cult Classic and can recommend for everyone that is into Vice and slipped over this in the past 2 and a half decade because the storytelling with music is similar. OST is well chosen. Actors are well chosen. Cannot preach it enough. Set in the late 70s(disco era) early 80s. But that can be easily concluded from the title of course Overall 10/8 but aesthetics are 10/10 for me. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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