Movies you have seen recently

[RedDragon86]

"Come and See" 1985.

Quite possibly the most haunting and disturbing war film of time.

It’s extremely powerful and haunting film of how costly war is for humanity, where in the epilogue we learn that this incident is only one of 628 Byelorussian villages were massacred and burned during WW2. A+ 10/10

[ViceFanMan]

Watching An American Haunting (2005) tonight…somewhat loosely based on the supposed true story of the Bell Witch.

An immensely popular Tennessee legend for over 200 years, the Bell Witch was an evil, mostly unseen entity that tormented & viciously attacked the Bell family from 1817-1821 (although I think the movie moved the time period to the 1840s). It supposedly returned again a few years later.

From disembodied voices out of nowhere saying horrible things & tormenting the family, but also sometimes appearing as bizarre “shapeshifting” animals, destruction of the family home & farm, and brutal physical attacks (pulling/ripping hair out, slapping, punching, kicking, yanking some into mid air levitation to slap & punch, etc…), it supposedly mainly focused on the patriarch John Bell, Sr. & his daughter Elizabeth “Betsy” Bell.

Many versions & tales have been created & told over the decades/centuries, and are all pretty wild! Many theories of what the entity or witch was & what conjured it up have also been put forth.

This film is based on one of those theories…however, that theory of the cause or trigger of the witch/entity is not based on much historical fact, more on rumors of the time when the occurrences of the haunting were starting to be made known in the area. Back then, anything like that would have been devastating for the family as to how the surrounding community would have reacted. Although some family friends & church folk did try to help.

A superb cast, lots of really creepy & scary moments , amazing performances by all, and an interesting end & modern twist thrown in (which is not part of the actual legend—just added for the film & drama purposes) An American Haunting is a really good effective “period” scary movie!  Some pics below: 

Edited September 23, 2023 by ViceFanMan

[RedDragon86]

On 8/20/2023 at 6:08 AM, OCBman said:

I've recently started reading "Heat 2", the novel by Michael Mann (with Meg Gardiner) and one of the plot points that has stuck out so far is, a young Vincent Hanna (living in Chicago) is chasing down a home invasion crew that uses a valet parking attendant at a hair salon to target their victims, very much like in season one's "The Home Invaders".

Did you notice Michael borrowing that line from "Killshot" Kelso says "what do you want?" Chris "the keys to the kingdom" 

Edited September 23, 2023 by RedDragon86

[Matt5]

2 hours ago, RedDragon86 said:

Do you notice Michael borrowing that line from "Killshot" Kelso says "what do you want?" Chris "the keys to the kingdom" 

Yes — great line.

[ViceFanMan]

Has anyone ever seen the 1988 crime drama Kansas, with Andrew McCarthy & Matt Dillon? If so, what do you think? I’ve actually not seen this one before, but thinking about checking it out…

[wolfie1996]

On 7/10/2023 at 2:41 PM, ViceFanMan said:

Thanks!  Not sure “watchable” warrants me taking the time & money to acquire it, but I’ll see. 

I prefer him in Long Hot Summer and Cold in July.

[OCBman]

7 hours ago, RedDragon86 said:

Did you notice Michael borrowing that line from "Killshot" Kelso says "what do you want?" Chris "the keys to the kingdom" 

I didn't make the connection to Morales' line in "Killshot" until you mentioned it. 

Great catch!

[jpaul1]

been rewatching Mad Max 2. and George Miller is definitely the car chases king. and one of the inventors, if not the inventor of the post modern apocalyptic theme. a good Mad Max, where you don't get bored

Edited September 27, 2023 by jpaul1

[Kladdagh]

Mad Max 2 is my favorite of the trilogy ... i don't count the one with tom hardy.

And YES @jpaul1, the final chase is incredible 

[Vicefan7777]

On 9/27/2023 at 2:20 AM, Kladdagh said:

Mad Max 2 is my favorite of the trilogy ... i don't count the one with tom hardy.

And YES @jpaul1, the final chase is incredible 

I fondly remember seeing this film the first time and was blown away at the chase scenes.  No CGI.  Pure adrenaline practical effects.  I remember reading the stunt man on the motorcycle who flew a long way during his crash missed the safety mat and was badly hurt.  A terrific film. 

[ViceFanMan]

A couple nights ago I watched a wild, freaky, if not somewhat humorous horror flick called The First Power (1990). I’ve had a DVD for probably 12-15 years.

It stars Lou Diamond Phillips, Tracey Griffith, and Jeff Kober. It deals with evil and possession, as a stressed out cop catches a serial killer…then against the advice of an anonymous psychic, helps bring about the death penalty (probably the last time California actually used its gas chamber ).

But, that’s just the beginning…as supposedly the serial killer has been granted the “first power” (resurrection) by Satan…to return and wreak havoc, death, and destruction on everyone. He can possess any weak or non-believing person…including a rather humorous bag-lady , and other cops who are dirty or are out to ruin Lou Diamond Phillips’ character.

Full of lots of wild action, crazy stunts, freaky possessed scenes, even “dark” humor…it’s pretty cool for someone not really looking for some serious scary movie, or Academy Award material. 

In all honesty the acting is pretty bad …but for the plot and what the film entails, it’s actually a fun and entertaining horror movie! 

(Note: Mykel T. Williamson also is in the movie, and as we all remember both he & Phillips had guest star roles on MV.)

Edited September 29, 2023 by ViceFanMan

[Vicefan7777]

Well it's Spooktober again and today I watched the classic 1960 film PSYCHO.  This film directed by the genius Alfred Hitchcock stars Janet Leigh who goes on the run after stealing $40,000 from the company she works for.  She ends up stopping for the night at an empty motel that is cared for by Anthony Perkins and his mother.  The Bates Motel is a lonely and creepy place.  This film brought horror to a new level as the main character is killed off 1/3 of the way into the movie. Actor Perkins was known in Hollywood as one of the nicest guys to work with. He nails the role of the mentally unstable Norman Bates.  He is totally controlled by his domineering mother.  This is a thriller murder mystery at its finest.  This film has the famous shower scene and the reveal of Norman's mother is a terrifying shocker.  The last scene of Norman sitting in a chair looking at the camera with the voice over, "he wouldn't hurt a fly" is a fantastic ending to this classic.  Decades later several sequels were made and I will be re watching them also. 

 

[ViceFanMan]

50 minutes ago, Vicefan7777 said:

Well it's Spooktober again and today I watched the classic 1960 film PSYCHO.  This film directed by the genius Alfred Hitchcock stars Janet Leigh who goes on the run after stealing $40,000 from the company she works for.  She ends up stopping for the night at an empty motel that is cared for by Anthony Perkins and his mother.  The Bates Motel is a lonely and creepy place.  This film brought horror to a new level as the main character is killed off 1/3 of the way into the movie. Actor Perkins was known in Hollywood as one of the nicest guys to work with. He nails the role of the mentally unstable Norman Bates.  He is totally controlled by his domineering mother.  This is a thriller murder mystery at its finest.  This film has the famous shower scene and the reveal of Norman's mother is a terrifying shocker.  The last scene of Norman sitting in a chair looking at the camera with the voice over, "he wouldn't hurt a fly" is a fantastic ending to this classic.  Decades later several sequels were made and I will be re watching them also. 

 

One of my all time favorites! Absolute superb with everything! To me it’s more psychological than horror…but the sequels were definitely more along the 80s lines of slashers. However, Psycho II is one of the best sequels to a masterpiece, in my opinion…it and Halloween II (1981) to the original film.

With the end, it was purposely done this way, almost “subliminal”—but in that last scene as Norman looks into the camera you barely see his face turn to a skull in the last second or two.

A couple years ago they released an “extended” director’s cut version that hadn’t been seen since it was originally released in 1960. All the other re-releases, TV airings, and previous home video releases had a cut/edited version. The extended version isn’t that vastly different, but there are a couple/few minutes of some scenes that had been cut in the edited version. Have and love all the “Psychos”!! 

[Vicefan7777]

2 hours ago, ViceFanMan said:

One of my all time favorites! Absolute superb with everything! To me it’s more psychological than horror…but the sequels were definitely more along the 80s lines of slashers. However, Psycho II is one of the best sequels to a masterpiece, in my opinion…it and Halloween II (1981) to the original film.

With the end, it was purposely done this way, almost “subliminal”—but in that last scene as Norman looks into the camera you barely see his face turn to a skull in the last second or two.

A couple years ago they released an “extended” director’s cut version that hadn’t been seen since it was originally released in 1960. All the other re-releases, TV airings, and previous home video releases had a cut/edited version. The extended version isn’t that vastly different, but there are a couple/few minutes of some scenes that had been cut in the edited version. Have and love all the “Psychos”!! 

Totally agree with your assessment of this great film. I can never forget the first time I saw the second sequel.  I was with my girl friend and asked her what she wanted to do for a date.  She eagerly told me she wanted to go see the new Psycho film.  Up to that point I never realized she was a fan of horror.  We both enjoyed it!  As for the ending of PSYCHO Norman's LOOK still brings chills to my spine. I never knew there was an "extended" cut.  I also agree that Halloween II was a lot of fun. 

[ViceFanMan]

1 hour ago, Vicefan7777 said:

Totally agree with your assessment of this great film. I can never forget the first time I saw the second sequel.  I was with my girl friend and asked her what she wanted to do for a date.  She eagerly told me she wanted to go see the new Psycho film.  Up to that point I never realized she was a fan of horror.  We both enjoyed it!  As for the ending of PSYCHO Norman's LOOK still brings chills to my spine. I never knew there was an "extended" cut.  I also agree that Halloween II was a lot of fun. 

Below is the back of the Blu-ray, that explains the two versions. It’s not “mind blowing” in additional content , but there’s a few scenes/minutes that for some reason were cut after the original release in theaters…I think for time purposes or something. It’s just interesting to have the full original version again.  
 

(Note: speaking of Halloween…I recently acquired a special “Mister Sandman” deluxe version Blu-ray of both Halloween & Halloween II combined into one awesome film…and it integrated all the deleted & added scenes from both into it as well! I haven’t had time to watch it yet, but I can’t wait to view it, and see what that version is like! )

The back of the Psycho Blu-ray that includes both the original uncut version, as well as the edited later version that most of us know. 

Edited October 6, 2023 by ViceFanMan

[ViceFanMan]

Need I say more? Other than it is definitely still one of the most disturbing, terrifying, but captivating movies ever made! 

With the new Exorcist: Believer movie (which I have not seen yet) out right now on the 50th anniversary of the original film, I decided to go through the “Exorcist” franchise again…which I have not done in probably 10-12 years.

 I don’t feel I need to go into much about the original 1973 movie…it will always be one of the most shocking, memorable films & is now considered a classic. I have both the original theatrical release & the extended director’s cut, that was released for the first time in 2000. I love the extended version best, but both are amazingly gut-wrenching & fascinating at the same time!

However, the first sequel, “Part II: The Heretic”, is absolute, pure garbage…a bizarre, confusing, cluster-poop disaster!!   The music & background themes are more humorous in an annoying way, the plot is too confusing & ridiculous, despite the powerhouse cast the acting (except for Linda Blair) is pretty bad, and the whole thing just makes you cringe! 

”Part III: Legion” is better, and includes more characters from the original film, but played by different actors (although Jason Miller did reprise his role as Damian Karras). However, it is more freaky & has better acting performances than II.

Then there’s the prequels: “Dominion” was filmed first, but was then shelved…“The Beginning” was then filmed & released instead. However, a few years later “Dominion” was then released as well, to home video. Both are okay, and give an interesting view into Father Merrin’s younger years & start as an expert in exorcism.

However, none of the sequels/prequels even come close to the original movie! I doubt the new movie (which is ignoring all the previous sequels & is a direct new sequel to the original film) will either…but, I still plan to check it out.  

Edited October 11, 2023 by ViceFanMan

[RedDragon86]

15 hours ago, ViceFanMan said:

Need I say more? Other than it is definitely still one of the most disturbing, terrifying, but captivating movies ever made! 

With the new Exorcist: Believer movie (which I have not seen yet) out right now on the 50th anniversary of the original film, I decided to go through the “Exorcist” franchise again…which I have not done in probably 10-12 years.

 I don’t feel I need to go into much about the original 1973 movie…it will always be one of the most shocking, memorable films & is now considered a classic. I have both the original theatrical release & the extended director’s cut, that was released for the first time in 2000. I love the extended version best, but both are amazingly gut-wrenching & fascinating at the same time!

However, the first sequel, “Part II: The Heretic”, is absolute, pure garbage…a bizarre, confusing, cluster-poop disaster!!   The music & background themes are more humorous in an annoying way, the plot is too confusing & ridiculous, despite the powerhouse cast the acting (except for Linda Blair) is pretty bad, and the whole thing just makes you cringe! 

”Part III: Legion” is better, and includes more characters from the original film, but played by different actors (although Jason Miller did reprise his role as Damian Karras). However, it is more freaky & has better acting performances than II.

Then there’s the prequels: “Dominion” was filmed first, but was then shelved…“The Beginning” was then filmed & released instead. However, a few years later “Dominion” was then released as well, to home video. Both are okay, and give an interesting view into Father Merrin’s younger years & start as an expert in exorcism.

However, none of the sequels/prequels even come close to the original movie! I doubt the new movie (which is ignoring all the previous sequels & is a direct new sequel to the original film) will either…but, I still plan to check it out.  

It's a an excellent horror but I wished it was more subtle, I would have not included the head spinning, pee soup puke scene and Ragan mutilating herself with the crucifix. I think Friedkin did throw everything but the kitchen sink to get a reaction from the audience, in an exploitation sort of way, that deleted spider scene was a perfect example of that but he didn't add it simply because you could see the wires. 

 

[ViceFanMan]

5 hours ago, RedDragon86 said:

It's a an excellent horror but I wished it was more subtle, I would have not included the head spinning, pee soup puke scene and Ragan mutilating herself with the crucifix. I think Friedkin did throw everything but the kitchen sink to get a reaction from the audience, in an exploitation sort of way, that deleted spider scene was a perfect example of that but he didn't add it simply because you could see the wires. 

 

It’s definitely one of the most shocking horror films! However, although a lot was added for shock value (including the head spin & pea soup—which was very shocking at the time), some of the things were actually based off the real life case & what happened with the boy and his family in 1949.

Part of Friedkin’s point was also to show that sometimes evil might start out subtle (such as the strange scratching in the attic & Regan acting strangely) in the beginning…but once it has a full hold on someone, it isn’t “subtle” anymore! It’s going to show its true proverbial colors & “self”. 

Yes, the spider-crawl was originally cut out because they didn’t have the CGI capabilities back then to prevent you from seeing the wires. However, in 2000 when they took the deleted scenes & included them back in, creating the extended director’s cut, they were able to use CGI to take the wires out.

There’s actually several other deleted scenes that Friedkin wanted to include back in as well, but sadly they weren’t able to find the original audio-sound for them…so they are just part of the special features on one of the Blu-Ray sets.

[RedDragon86]

8 hours ago, ViceFanMan said:

It’s definitely one of the most shocking horror films! However, although a lot was added for shock value (including the head spin & pea soup—which was very shocking at the time), some of the things were actually based off the real life case & what happened with the boy and his family in 1949.

Part of Friedkin’s point was also to show that sometimes evil might start out subtle (such as the strange scratching in the attic & Regan acting strangely) in the beginning…but once it has a full hold on someone, it isn’t “subtle” anymore! It’s going to show its true proverbial colors & “self”. 

Yes, the spider-crawl was originally cut out because they didn’t have the CGI capabilities back then to prevent you from seeing the wires. However, in 2000 when they took the deleted scenes & included them back in, creating the extended director’s cut, they were able to use CGI to take the wires out.

There’s actually several other deleted scenes that Friedkin wanted to include back in as well, but sadly they weren’t able to find the original audio-sound for them…so they are just part of the special features on one of the Blu-Ray sets.

The scene where Karras and Merrin are talking on top of the stairs should have definitely stayed in, the "Why This Girl?" scene, Friedkin only put it back in the new release out of respect for Blatty.

I actually prefer "Legion" over the original film as it's a more subtler film.

 

[ViceFanMan]

1 hour ago, RedDragon86 said:

The scene where Karras and Merrin are talking on top of the stairs should have definitely stayed in, the "Why This Girl?" scene, Friedkin only put it back in the new release out of respect for Blatty.

I actually prefer "Legion" over the original film as it's a more subtler film.

 

True…Blatty wanted the Merrin & Karras scene to stay in, but at the time Friedkin was under pressure from studio execs to whittle the movie down some. So that was one scene cut. Thankfully it was restored, along with other scenes, and put back in. He did it out of respect for Blatty, but also he realized there was a huge market now for that kind of thing & there were all new ways to make tons more money off it, as well—including re-releasing the never before seen/extended director’s cut to theaters in 2000.

I definitely don’t prefer any of the other movies over the original…none will ever equal it or have the same impact! “Legion” is okay, and definitely better than “Heretic”…but the acting & overall story isn’t as good as the original film, in my opinion. When I think exorcist & the act of exorcism, I’m not thinking “subtle” at all!  I’ve seen some videos of real life ones, and they are anything but! 

[RedDragon86]

On 10/11/2023 at 2:04 PM, ViceFanMan said:

True…Blatty wanted the Merrin & Karras scene to stay in, but at the time Friedkin was under pressure from studio execs to whittle the movie down some. So that was one scene cut. Thankfully it was restored, along with other scenes, and put back in. He did it out of respect for Blatty, but also he realized there was a huge market now for that kind of thing & there were all new ways to make tons more money off it, as well—including re-releasing the never before seen/extended director’s cut to theaters in 2000.

I definitely don’t prefer any of the other movies over the original…none will ever equal it or have the same impact! “Legion” is okay, and definitely better than “Heretic”…but the acting & overall story isn’t as good as the original film, in my opinion. When I think exorcist & the act of exorcism, I’m not thinking “subtle” at all!  I’ve seen some videos of real life ones, and they are anything but! 

The "Heretic" was a disaster possibly the worst sequel of all time lol

The third film is not better than the first but it's a great effort, I think the acting is spot on overall, especially from George C Scott and the story about the Gemini killer is very interesting and gruesome.

Do you remember that confession scene in the church? because I always wondered what the old priest witnessed in horror before he died, was it The Pazuza?

[ViceFanMan]

3 minutes ago, RedDragon86 said:

The "Heretic" was a disaster possibly the worst sequel of all time lol

The third film is not better than the first but it's a great effort, I think the acting is spot on overall, especially from George C Scott and the story about the Gemini killer is very interesting and gruesome.

Do you remember that confession scene in the church? because I always wondered what the old priest witnessed in horror before he died, was it The Pazuza?

Yes, “Heretic” was an unbelievable disaster…I agree, possibly the worst sequel of all time! 

Part III was definitely better than II (“Heretic”), and the acting much better. George C. Scott did a good job, although he didn’t play the character originally, in the first film.

I’ve wondered about the confession scene, too…I think it was the demon/evil inhabiting the old lady with the creepy voice. His shock was her/it coming through the confessional to kill him, as he was not of course initially expecting that.

[Kalci]

I've watched recently this

- Burning Mississippi (1988) - dir. by. Alan Parker , William Dafoe alongside Gene Hackmen and from S3EP16 and LOTR trilogy Brad Dourif has an important supporting role in here.

Love this movie, cinematography and the tense of the whole script is well built so the directing is extraordinary. Alan Parker is a genius. OST by Trevor Jones is straight FIRE

GREAT GREAT PIECE OF CINEMA

[ViceFanMan]

Its been several years since I’ve seen Scream (1996)…so got out the franchise the other night, and started in. I’m currently in the middle of Scream 4 (2011). The only one I have never seen & don’t have yet is the newest one from earlier this year, Scream 6 (2023). But, I purchased a Blu-ray off eBay earlier today.

One of the things I really like about the “Scream” movies, is they have kept most of the same characters/cast.  However, from what I understand Neve Campbell & producers couldn’t come to terms financially for 6, so unfortunately she is not in it…however, I believe Courtney Cox is. It probably won’t be as enjoyable as the others, but I’ll give it a slasher-movie go & add it to the rest of the series.

I’ll never forget the first time I saw the original one, and it was actually after it had come out on video…and I rented it, lol. It was definitely shocking & graphic , but what intrigued me the most was it had character depth & a good plot…it went well beyond the violence & gore. You eventually got into & cared about the characters…which for horror movies, you usually don’t. 

Sadly the full version, aka director’s cut, of the original Scream was never released. Supposedly over 6 seconds of certain gory scenes had to be edited or cut out of the eventual theatrical release in order to have an R rating, over the MC-17 rating they originally were going to be stuck with.

For whatever reason/s, it’s never been released in the U.S…all of the VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K-Ultra HD releases have been the same theatrical, edited/cut R version, and the uncut version has never even been included as a bonus or special feature. 

In 2005 a German company put out a DVD of the uncut version, and not long after that a Japanese one did as well…however, sadly these are both long since out of print, very rare to find, and in turn insanely expensive if you do find one up for sale online. 

But, the theatrical version is still awesome, wild, and definitely iconically impactful to the horror movie genre!  For only 6 seconds, I can deal with what’s there & it’s one of my favorite “scary” movies (which “Scary Movie” was the original working title before it was changed to “Scream”, and the spoof horror movies of that title were made).  

Edited October 21, 2023 by ViceFanMan

[johnnyfarragut]

On 9/22/2023 at 3:59 PM, RedDragon86 said:

"Come and See" 1985.

Quite possibly the most haunting and disturbing war film of time.

It’s extremely powerful and haunting film of how costly war is for humanity, where in the epilogue we learn that this incident is only one of 628 Byelorussian villages were massacred and burned during WW2. A+ 10/10

(SPOILER)Very disturbing movie. The villager's massacre at the end is the most unnerving thing I've ever seen. And this happened for real!

Edited October 26, 2023 by johnnyfarragut