Recent content by Tarkin The Ewok

I'll be at work with Bach on the headphones.

Psycho This classic movie still works, although nothing can match the first viewing of it. This time, it seemed to lose a little steam during the second part. The scenes with no Norman and little or no great Bernard Herrmann music dragged a bit compared to all the rest. Maybe some of that was...

Aliens Outside of a dream sequence, it takes about an hour for the first aliens to show up. The movie takes its time in introducing us to the characters and their relationships, and this pays off later in the action scenes. We are invested in Ripley, Hicks, Newt, and the others, so we are more...

Scream 2 (first time viewing) 8/10 Scream 3 (first time viewing) 6/10 The ratings pretty much tell the story. The first sequel was strong, and the next one struggled. Neither of them is particularly scary, but the second one still had an interesting plot.

Fantasia has some amazing sequences in it. However, it does tend to drag in the middle (Rite of Spring, Intermission, and Pastoral Symphony), and Deems Taylor's introductions are less valuable on repeat viewings. My secret to making the movie better is enjoying it with some wine (or the chapter...

Friday the 13th (1980) (first time viewing) I cannot understand how this movie was the basis for so many sequels. It was incredibly boring. The deaths were not surprising or frightening, and there was no humor or drama in the camp scenes that worked. My apologies to Kevin Bacon, but the only...

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) (first time viewing) Wes Craven and his team created a fantastic, inventive horror movie for the ages. I was fully invested in the story of Nancy and Freddy. I don't fully understand the ending. Going just from the information given in the film, it doesn't make...

King Kong (1933) I really like King Kong, but I think I would have found it more amazing in 1933. Back then, the ending was unknown, and the effects were completely state of the art. Today, I appreciate what was done, but I can't immerse myself in it or be scared by it. The sequence with the...

Frankenstein (1931) Boris Karloff has the perfect combination of pathos and menace as Frankenstein's creation. Frankenstein and Fritz are also very well played. The look and style of the film are perhaps the best of Universal's classic monster movies. The way the villagers are shot during the...

Paranormal Activity - first time viewing This was pretty underwhelming after hearing so much buildup from other people. The scene in the attic was the most tense part of the movie, primarily due to the claustrophic area and extreme zoom. The foley effects and simple camera tricks did not serve...

Dracula (1931) This movie has a great, creepy atmosphere at the beginning in Castle Dracula. Once they reach London, however, the film fizzles out. Lugosi has some nice moments as the title character, but the shots of him with his face completely still with the strange light on his eyes are not...

Twilight Zone - "The Lateness of the Hour" This is the one where the daughter of a reclusive couple is upset with the routine of their life and worries that their robotic servants have led them into a deadly complacency. This installment has plenty of juicy ideas to ponder, including the role of...

First time viewings are in bold. 10/2: Twilight Zone - "The Lateness of the Hour" :tu: 10/3: Dracula (1931) 5/10 10/4: Paranormal Activity 3/10 10/5: Frankenstein (1931) 8/10 10/5: The Wolf Man (1941) 8/10 10/5: Scream 9/10 10/9: King Kong (1933) 8/10 10/10: A Nightmare on Elm Street...

This is a favorite of mine. I wish Disney would have kept the original logo at the start. I love getting a feel for when a movie came out by which logo was used at the start.

I'm using a Sony Bravia HDTV and LG BD-370 Blu-ray player with Profile 2.0.