Hey folks, Vornoc here! Welcome to my almost-every-other-day dive into the movies I’ve been watching, collecting, and obsessing over, one Blu-ray, 4K, or box set at a time.
The work never ends, folks. Movies keep calling, discs keep stacking, and I keep watching. Here are the latest Vornoc picks that almost made the cut.
Heat
Pacino is huge and volcanic, De Niro is ice cold and controlled, and when they finally sit across from each other, the movie basically becomes cinema royalty having coffee. Then you get that downtown shootout, which still sounds like the sky being torn open. No fancy nonsense, just pure pressure, sound, movement, and consequence.
And yes, grab the 4K. It is often not that expensive compared to other collector upgrades, and for a film this stylish, this moody, and this rewatchable, it is the version I would put on the shelf.
Dressed to Kill (4K)
Dressed to Kill is stylish, slippery, and completely obsessed with watching people watch other people, which is peak De Palma. It is part thriller, part fever dream, part Hitchcock love letter wearing darker sunglasses.
The 4K is only about ten dollars more than the Blu Ray, go with the 4K I say.
Do The Right Thing
Spike makes the neighborhood feel like a real ecosystem, with every character adding another spark to the fire. Mookie, Sal, Radio Raheem, Da Mayor, Mother Sister, Buggin’ Out, everyone has their own rhythm, their own pride, their own frustration. The movie feels casual until you realize it has been tightening the screws the whole time.
My favorite scene has to be the Air Jordan 4 White Cement moment. Buggin’ Out getting his clean Jordans stepped on is hilarious, painful, and weirdly perfect. Any sneakerhead knows that kind of disrespect hits straight to the soul.
I have the Blu-Ray Criterion and of course, the shoes from this movie (Air Jordan 4 White Cements).
JFK
Donald Sutherland’s monologue is one of the big reasons this thing still grabs me. He just sits there and calmly unloads a whole universe of dread, and suddenly the movie feels ten times bigger and more unsettling.
For the shelf, this is absolutely worth investing in the collector’s edition. Whether you agree with every angle or not, JFK is a monster piece of filmmaking, ambitious, messy, gripping, obsessive, and totally Oliver Stone at full volume.
Alexander (Alexander Revisited Final Cut)
It is still messy, still huge, still very Oliver Stone, but this cut gives the story more shape and makes the whole thing feel less like a chopped up history lesson and more like a tragic epic about a man trying to outrun the size of his own legend.
The Final Cut is the one to own. If you are going to watch Alexander fall apart in glorious historical fashion, this is the way to do it.
Face Off
That intro scene with Cage still bothers me today. The doves, the slow motion, the gun ballet, the family drama, the villain performance inside the hero performance. Face/Off is peak big swing action, and I will defend its glorious nonsense any day. Go grab the 4K which comes with a Blu-Ray version and it is really cheap.
The Deer Hunter (4K)
Michael Cimino takes friendship, working-class America, war trauma, and one impossible-to-forget nightmare sequence.
Christopher Walken’s haunted face alone could carry an entire tragedy. A brutal classic, and one of the heaviest American films of the 70s.
The 4K version right now is very affordable, plus it comes with a Blu-Ray version.
TENET (4K)
First viewing: confusion.
Second viewing: partial confidence.
Third viewing: you start pretending you understand it so your brain does not file a complaint.
The action is insane, the concept is wild, and the whole movie feels like a spy thriller built inside a broken clock.
4K is the way folks.
Fargo (4K)
What I love is how the movie is funny, cold, strange, and deeply human all at once. It laughs at stupidity, but it never laughs at kindness. That is the magic. Under all the murder and snowbank misery, Fargo still believes a good person with common sense can cut through a whole blizzard of nonsense.
And now that the Shout Select 4K is more affordable, this is a great time to grab it for the shelf. A Coen classic.
Midnight Run (4K)
This is comfort food with handcuffs. Funny, sharp, warm without being soft, and still one of the most rewatchable buddy movies ever made. A total Vornoc pick, the kind of disc you put on thinking you will watch ten minutes, then suddenly it is midnight and you are still smiling.
Thank you Shout Select for making this affordable!