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.
This is Tarantino’s screenplay running hot and Tony Scott directing like the camera just drank rocket fuel. Fast, stylish, romantic, violent, and somehow sweet in that wonderfully messed-up ’90s way.
One of the great American love stories, even if it comes wrapped in bullets, bad choices, and neon chaos.
And the cast? Come on. Everybody shows up ready to steal the movie, even if they only get a few minutes. That’s the magic here every character feels like they wandered in from their own insane movie, gave it everything, and left smoke behind. A total blast.
Three commentaries from Slater, Patricia, Scott, and Quentin alone make this one of the most substantial releases any fan could hope for. Arrow did a tremendous job packaging this film gem.
Alfonso Cuarón’s science fiction masterpiece looks even more extraordinary on Blu-ray the invisible visual effects work becomes, in high definition, a sustained act of cinematic astonishment.
Watching it again is still a genuinely surprising experience. I wish they will release a 4K version soon!
Having this film in the best available presentation 4K, Blu-ray, the whole shiny shelf-worthy package is honestly justification enough.
Perfect film? Not really.
But I still saw it twice the summer it came out, mostly because both of my girlfriends at the time had a massive crush on Matthew. So there I was, back in the theatre again, pretending it was all about the cinema. Sometimes collecting memories is just as weird as collecting discs.
Neil Marshall’s British horror-action film about soldiers hunted by werewolves in the Scottish Highlands is a genuine cult classic sharply written, efficiently directed, and featuring a werewolf design of real menace.
This film basically taught me that survival isn’t always about running faster or finding a better hiding spot. Sometimes the real move is making sure the thing chasing you can’t chase anymore.
Bleak lesson? Absolutely. Useful cinema wisdom? Weirdly, yes.
Instant werewolf classic movie. This 4K edition is a must have.
A deeply enjoyable Spike Lee film perhaps his most purely entertaining feature centred on an ingenious perfect crime in which nothing is stolen and nobody is hurt. Clive Owen, Denzel Washington, and Jodie Foster form one of the great three-way chess-match ensembles in recent crime cinema.
Why on earth this is not in 4K yet?
This is Godard doing 24 hours in the life of a married woman and somehow making every glance, pause, and contradiction feel electric. Compared to Revolutionary Road, this thing feels like it’s breathing sharper, stranger, more visually alive.
Not exactly a warm hug of a movie, but if you’re already on the Godard train, this is essential viewing. Desire, boredom, marriage, identity all sliced up with that cool French New Wave precision.
A throwback action film with predictable pleasures executed with appropriate self-awareness. Dolph Lundgren is, as always, entirely watchable in this particular mode.
Silly and fun in exactly the right proportions.
Stephen Frears gives us a British gangster film that isn’t just about crime, but about fate, fear, and what happens when your past finally catches up wearing a very sharp suit. John Hurt is great, Terence Stamp has that cool haunted presence, and young Tim Roth shows up like, “Hello, cinema, I’m here,” with one hell of a debut.
Criterion finally giving this one the treatment feels long overdue. You get a full commentary, plus a 1988 TV interview with Stamp, which is exactly the kind of extra that makes a release feel properly shelf-worthy. A genuinely great film, finally dressed for the occasion.
Is it good? Oh heavens, no. Is it fascinating in that “found in a cursed box at the back of a video store” kind of way? Absolutely. The whole thing feels grimy, unpleasant, and weirdly committed to being as disreputable as possible. For serious cult-film collectors, this is shelf curiosity material. For everyone else? Maybe just peek from a safe distance and wash your hands after.
I guarantee you will quit smoking weed after seeing this.