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Breaking Bad: Ozymandias (2013)
Welcome to Breaking Bad's Red Wedding.
"Red Wedding".
If you are a fan of "Game Of Thrones", you already know where this is going, because yes - like that episode (official title "The Rains of Castamere"), BB's "Ozymandias" is so hellishly perfect - not only with its raw emotional power, but with its placement in this series as major loose ends begin to tie as Vince Gilligan has oh-so-cleverly woven them to. It is here that we realize what this amazing television drama has had planned from its start - and really have never seen before - in terms of character evolution. It's like a game of chess where you KNOW your king is doomed, checkmate is inevitable, yet you want to keep playing anyway - there is soon something to be experienced you feel you mustn't miss - even amid a sense of such horrifying loss and dread.
All I can say is, if you've been a true, emotionally-involved fan of this series - prepare yourself as your eyes will widen, your jaw will drop, your mouth will be covered by your hands, and you may even catch yourself muttering "Oh My God" a time or two, as you will witness scenes that although fictitious, will come close in comparison with emotional wallop to what you may remember unfolding on the TV news, that fateful Tuesday morning in September of 2001. This really is visceral, searing, and unforgettable drama on your television, in a class by its perfect self.
Again: if you're a fan of "Game Of Thrones", you already know why I titled this review as such. If not, you owe it to yourself to experience that as well.
Ozymandias: 10/10.
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
The badder, the better!
★★★★☆ 4.5 out of 5 stars. Like most of Lynch's brilliant, often genre- defining films that raise the bar for inspiring film-makers, TPFWWM gets better with repeated viewings. So multi-layered with so many lines to read between, not like most of the near-brainless popcorn crap that sadly most audiences love to flock to, this has become a real cult gem in 24 years. In 1992 Cannes festival-goers booed it, and I was particularly intrigued how it was once brazenly marketed with Siskel & Ebert's famous "TWO THUMBS DOWN!" in letters on a poster larger than the title itself. FWWM was never designed to appeal to the masses - par for David Lynch and par for me. Sheryl Lee's performance is superb, and the newly available 90 minutes of deleted scenes on Blu-ray enforce this performance, ESPECIALLY Bob's possession sequence with Laura's slowing widening toothy smile - one of THE downright creepiest cinematic scenes you will ever see. 9/10
Alien (1979)
I named my orange tabby cat after this.
I've seen and collected thousands of movies over the years, and ALIEN has withstood an ongoing test of time (35 years now, as of this re-write of my review) as staying my all-time favourite. I'm one of those guys who'll watch good movies over and over again, until I remember and can recite it word for word from the beginning dialogue: "I am cold."..."Still with us Brett?"..."I feel dead"..."Anybody ever tell you you LOOK dead?"... I kid you not. Since it's VHS release, I've owned every available North American released home video version, up to and including the new 35th Anniversary Blu-ray set.
At least a dozen times per repeated viewing, I find myself reminiscing how I felt and how I was affected by different scenes when I first experienced them. I was a 15-year-old lad when I first saw this, on its opening weekend in Winnipeg Canada, at the newly renovated Capitol Theatre. I went by myself, and to be honest I only saw two thirds of the film - my eyes were closed behind my hands for the other third. I was 15! I walked out of that building just vibrating, knowing I had experienced a new threshold of fear, and other patrons were visibly shaken as well. I didn't know movies could BE that scary... and I've been a horror fan ever since, and have seen a LOT of VERY scary movies - but nothing ever came close to experiencing the kind of frights I got that Saturday afternoon in the Capitol Theatre in 1979.
So it's nice that the FOX marketing department agreed, in calling this "the scariest movie ever made", in their ad campaign prior to the Director's Cut re-release. Because that statement is true. ALIEN has been often imitated, but never matched in its raw ability to frighten one into fits - period. If you've never seen it, make plans to. It's bar-raising, game-changing, cinematic history. If you entirely disagree and many of you may, unfortunately it's a "you had to be there" scenario - you've only enjoyed the experience of seeing what you think are better and scarier movies because ALIEN set the standard for them in the first place. THAT'S why this will always remain my fave - we love movies after all because of their emotional effect on us, and for myself this will always be the most blatant example.
This isn't just a movie, it's an event. My all-time favorite flick: a 10. And Jones, my cat, agrees.
"This is Ripley ........ signing off ... come on, cat."
Silver Streak (1976)
This one has it all
I first saw this movie in 1976 when I was all but about 13 years of age, with some friends in my home town (Dryden, Ontario) at the local "Royal" theatre, as it was known then. I just finished watching my VHS copy of it, which brings my total number of viewings up to 30-something...
Why do I like this film so much? It was the first movie I've seen that had it all: action, suspense, romance, a lot of laughs, but most of all - adventure. All of this helped manufacture a great storyline. In short, one of the most memorable movies I've ever seen, and I enjoy myself greatly with each repeated viewing. It made me a big fan of the Wilder/Pryor combination. It made me a huge fan of train travel. It made me a "road movie" fanatic.
A classic in my book. 9/10