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new DVDS! only a couple this time, tho...
Oct. 4th, 2005 12:30 pmWent DVD bargain hunting at Best Buy last night. I didn't come away with the haul of 4 or 5 that I usually do, mainly since I couldn't afford to spend that much while I was spending it. I had to put back a few DVDs I was considering buying, like FARGO and TWELVE MONKEYS, just because cheap as they were I haven't seen them so long I don't remember if I still love them enough to own them. And while I do need to add EVIL DEAD II to my collection eventually, there's no rush. I also came seriously close to buying the Superbit transfer of one of my favorites, GATTACA, but as my current entertainment system sucks ass, it doesn't seem entirely worth it. Not till I have my mid-life crisis and install a theatre screen and projector in my den, at least.
But I didn't come away empty-handed. I got the first SPIDER-MAN for dirt cheap, and while it's a movie that gets kinda worse with each viewing, especially in comparison to the moving brilliance of SPIDER-MAN 2, it's still a must for my collection. Despite the flaws, it still does the important things right and while its own sequel, X2, and BATMAN BEGINS have certainly raised the bar, the original SPIDER-MAN is what really set it. A good film, but not the two jewels I bought that have deserved a place in my collection for a long, long time now.
JOHN CARPENTER'S THE THING is still the scariest movie I think I've ever seen along with the best special effects I have ever seen. I don't think this film could be made even half this well in this day and age. The lazy person's way to sum this up is to imagine a combination of ALIEN, INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, Cronenberg's THE FLY (now out on DVD, must own the super special edition!) and TWELVE ANGRY MEN. Only instead of the voice of Piglet, you have the even-more-cuddly Wilford Brimley! Seriously, though, this movie never fails to disturb the shit out of me. Carpenter may have more misses than hits in his catalog (I still think HALLOWEEN is grossly overrated), but he will always be a master of horror to me for this one film. This film is rightly regarded as a classic, unlike the final DVD I bought.
When I discovered that PSYCHO II was finally being released on a decent DVD, even a bare-bones CD, I was so bloody happy. I've mentioned this film on this journal in the past, but for those who are scratching your head and thinking "PSYCHO FUCKING TWO??" all I can say is that it's not PSYCHO. And that's a good thing. This isn't a sequel that tries to live up to its predecessor. It tries to be a great movie. And wow, does it succeed. Much, maybe most, of that credit belongs squarely to Anthony Perkins, one of the most underrated actors of the century. While it is a shame that Norman Bates is the role he will forever be remembered for, there is a reason for it- he is absolutely brilliant.
Quentin Tarantino recently held a horror movie festival and for the first film he presented PSYCHO II and proceeded to rave about the film's excellence. Quentin, unable to escape the deliciousness of Norman Bates and Anthony Perkins' performance, said that PSYCHO 2 has one of the all time great line readings in history. He couldn’t remember the exact line, it is more around the reading of a word, so he made up a sentence. Perkins and Meg are sitting down for a sandwich and Bates asks if she'd like some "Cutlery", and he said that that line reading trumps all the Hitchcock shit right there. Quentin greatly prefers PSYCHO II to the original, blasphemy as that may be. I hear Roger Ebert teaches a film class where they spend an entire day dissecting every second of the original PSYCHO. I wish I could take that. I'm gonna have to sit and watch I and II back to back and weigh them together.
Meantime, I shall be happy with my new icon here. I am very proud that I am able to combine Norman Bates, Ben Folds, and William Shatner all on one icon.
But I didn't come away empty-handed. I got the first SPIDER-MAN for dirt cheap, and while it's a movie that gets kinda worse with each viewing, especially in comparison to the moving brilliance of SPIDER-MAN 2, it's still a must for my collection. Despite the flaws, it still does the important things right and while its own sequel, X2, and BATMAN BEGINS have certainly raised the bar, the original SPIDER-MAN is what really set it. A good film, but not the two jewels I bought that have deserved a place in my collection for a long, long time now.
JOHN CARPENTER'S THE THING is still the scariest movie I think I've ever seen along with the best special effects I have ever seen. I don't think this film could be made even half this well in this day and age. The lazy person's way to sum this up is to imagine a combination of ALIEN, INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, Cronenberg's THE FLY (now out on DVD, must own the super special edition!) and TWELVE ANGRY MEN. Only instead of the voice of Piglet, you have the even-more-cuddly Wilford Brimley! Seriously, though, this movie never fails to disturb the shit out of me. Carpenter may have more misses than hits in his catalog (I still think HALLOWEEN is grossly overrated), but he will always be a master of horror to me for this one film. This film is rightly regarded as a classic, unlike the final DVD I bought.
When I discovered that PSYCHO II was finally being released on a decent DVD, even a bare-bones CD, I was so bloody happy. I've mentioned this film on this journal in the past, but for those who are scratching your head and thinking "PSYCHO FUCKING TWO??" all I can say is that it's not PSYCHO. And that's a good thing. This isn't a sequel that tries to live up to its predecessor. It tries to be a great movie. And wow, does it succeed. Much, maybe most, of that credit belongs squarely to Anthony Perkins, one of the most underrated actors of the century. While it is a shame that Norman Bates is the role he will forever be remembered for, there is a reason for it- he is absolutely brilliant.
Quentin Tarantino recently held a horror movie festival and for the first film he presented PSYCHO II and proceeded to rave about the film's excellence. Quentin, unable to escape the deliciousness of Norman Bates and Anthony Perkins' performance, said that PSYCHO 2 has one of the all time great line readings in history. He couldn’t remember the exact line, it is more around the reading of a word, so he made up a sentence. Perkins and Meg are sitting down for a sandwich and Bates asks if she'd like some "Cutlery", and he said that that line reading trumps all the Hitchcock shit right there. Quentin greatly prefers PSYCHO II to the original, blasphemy as that may be. I hear Roger Ebert teaches a film class where they spend an entire day dissecting every second of the original PSYCHO. I wish I could take that. I'm gonna have to sit and watch I and II back to back and weigh them together.
Meantime, I shall be happy with my new icon here. I am very proud that I am able to combine Norman Bates, Ben Folds, and William Shatner all on one icon.
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