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.
From the rain-slicked streets of Prohibition Chicago to a snow-silent Stockholm night, this round of picks cuts across decades and genres without apology. Swords, scales of justice, tommy guns, and something ancient hiding in the cold.
American History X
Edward Norton is absolutely terrifying and magnetic here, giving one of those performances where you understand why people still talk about it decades later. But the film’s real punch is not just the rage — it’s the regret, the damage, and the ugly way hate poisons everything around it. Not a fun watch. Not an easy watch. But a necessary one.
For the shelf? This is the kind of disc you own because it matters, not because you’re revisiting it every Friday night. Powerful, brutal, and still sadly relevant. Does it deserve a 4K release? Hell yes.
The Untouchables
THE UNTOUCHABLES is De Palma doing big, stylish, old-school crime cinema with a tommy gun in one hand and a glass of opera-level drama in the other. This thing moves like a gangster myth, not a history lesson — all shadows, staircases, slow motion, and men in beautiful suits making very dangerous decisions.
And yes, another great De Palma film, very stylish — I mean come on, Giorgio Armani made all the suits. Everybody looks like they’re about to either save Chicago or ruin someone’s entire week. Kevin Costner brings the clean-cut lawman energy, Sean Connery gives the movie its bruised soul, and Robert De Niro? Best Al Capone. No one else. Stop arguing with me, please.
You can get either the Blu-ray or 4K, but the 4K is a really gorgeous transfer.
Excalibur (Limited Edition 4K)
EXCALIBUR in 4K from Arrow Video? Oh yes, this is the kind of release that makes the shelf glow like someone just pulled a sword out of a rock in the middle of your movie room. John Boorman’s Arthurian fever dream has always looked like mud, steel, fog, magic, and theatre kids with swords — and now Arrow gives it the royal treatment.
I actually saw this in the cinema when I was just five years old, and I still remember my dad covering my eyes because, yeah, I was way too young for some of those adult scenes. That kind of thing sticks with you. No wonder Zack Snyder geeks out whenever this movie comes up EXCALIBUR is basically fantasy cinema turned up to mythological volume.
This movie is weird, grand, sweaty, mystical, and completely committed to being MYTH in all caps. The armor shines, Merlin goes full magnificent lunatic, Helen Mirren brings dangerous sorcery energy, and the whole thing feels like Shakespeare, Wagner, and a fantasy painting got locked in a castle together. The limited edition is stacked too: both the theatrical cut and TV version, commentaries, documentaries, a booklet, poster, and art cards.
Tango and Cash
This is a gloriously silly buddy-cop nonsense, and I say that with a little love. Stallone and Russell together? Come on. That is already half the purchase justified before the disc even spins. This is the kind of late-’80s action movie where logic gets handcuffed, thrown in the trunk, and driven through an explosion.
Sly is fun here because he plays against type as the smoother, cleaner, more polished one, while Kurt Russell brings the scruffy charismatic chaos you absolutely want from Kurt. The plot is ridiculous, the villains are cartoon-level evil, and the whole thing feels like it was built in a lab for maximum cable-TV rewatchability.
Let The Right One In
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is quiet, cold, sad, and absolutely gorgeous — the kind of vampire film that doesn’t come crashing through the window, it just stands outside in the snow and slowly gets under your skin. This isn’t cape-and-fangs horror. This is loneliness, childhood pain, and something ancient hiding behind a very small face.
And yeah, I agree with that Washington Examiner pull-quote: “Best. Vampire Movie. Ever.” Big claim? Sure. But I’m not fighting it. The real question is: what’s the worst? For me, I can tell you right now…. Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu. Sorry, folks. I know some people worship at that shadowy altar, but give me Let the Right One In any day.
The Scavengers
For me, this is more of a cult-curiosity peek than a “must-own masterpiece.” I can see why collectors of rough-edged exploitation cinema would want it, especially if they’re digging through Lee Frost’s weirder corners, but casual viewers should approach with caution and maybe a shower nearby. Nasty little artifact? Absolutely. Fun Friday night comfort watch? Oh heavens, no.
This is mean, grimy, uncomfortable, and proudly disreputable, the kind of film that makes your shelf look at you and say, “Really? We’re going here today?” The film was released in 1969 and centers on renegade Confederate soldiers taking over a frontier town.
Primal Fear
PRIMAL FEAR is the movie where Edward Norton basically walks into American cinema, smiles nervously, blinks a few times, and then quietly detonates the whole room. What a debut. Riveting, layered, creepy, vulnerable, and genuinely shocking, the kind of performance that makes you go, “Oh, this guy is not going anywhere.”
Richard Gere is solid as the slick defense attorney trying to stay two steps ahead of the mess, while Laura Linney and Frances McDormand bring the grown-up weight around him. But let’s be honest — this is Norton’s movie.
If you’re a die-hard fan with a few extra bucks to spare, go for the limited edition 4K version.