I saw the online trailer to Ju-on yesterday. I thought the chalk-white gibbering naked (presumably?) dead people that the characters kept stumbling across were scary enough, but when someone lifts up the sheet they're sleeping under and one of them is under it right in their face?

Eeeeeeeeeeeek!!!

So I just saw the original Manchurian Candidate. Dude, such a great movie. I love how it just lets itself unfold, so there are all these "Oh my God!" moments throughout, but they never call attention to themselves; the movie gives the audience enough credit to be figuring out the plot as it goes along. I also wasn't sure how well regarded Frank Sinatra was as an actor (how many successful singer-actors are there?), but I was pretty impressed.

(Nutty, I loved the hydrangeas scene as well. And I really wonder why "Why don't you pass the time by playing a little Solitaire?" hasn't become a more popular catchphrase.)

My main quibble is with the climax, which reminds me a lot of the scene in "Serenity" where we're made to believe Jayne is going to shoot Mal, so he keeps the crosshairs on him until the final moment. It's there to fool the audience, and with Jayne, I can fanwank that he's just playing around. But here, I don't see why Raymond would keep the crosshairs on Ben all that time if he weren't going to shoot him; why not keep them on Johnny? I guess he was supposed to be having conflicts with his programming, but I didn't see that reflected in the acting.

Still, great political thriller, and now that the remake has Jessica's Seal of Approval, I'm anxious to see it.

Before I had seen the Manchurian Candidate or read A Tale of Two Cities, I always got confused about who was playing solitaire, and who was knitting. I knew each of them had a woman doing something ominously....

Speaking of Tombstone and Silverado, another great modern western is Barbarosa, with Willie Nelson and a young Gary Busey.

It's just a shame the only DVD version available is a crappy pan&scan copy with no extras. Maybe one day they'll get Fred, Gary and Willie to sit in a booth and do a commentary for it. I don't know why but I think that could be a cool conversation/discussion.

I also wasn't sure how well regarded Frank Sinatra was as an actor...

Frankie was as good an actor as he was a singer. He got an oscar nom for Best Actor for The Man with the Golden Arm and won the Supporting Actor oscar for his role in From Here To Eternity.

And I really wonder why [Rosebud-is-a-sled-level-spoiler] hasn't become a more popular catchphrase.)

I think it's just not something that drops easily into most conversations. (Unlike, say, "I'll be back" or "Let me 'splain. No, there is too much -- let me sum up," which one can work in almost anywhere.)

...the scene in "Serenity" where we're made to believe Jayne is going to shoot Mal,...

What scene was that?

Mal's going to meet Patience to sell the cargo he retreived, and Jayne sights his rifle on Mal's head.

And I really wonder why [Rosebud-is-a-sled-level-spoiler] hasn't become a more popular catchphrase.)

Heh. I don't think it's that big a spoiler. Really, it's probably not a spoiler at all. But it's one of my favorite pieces of the movie, and I had no idea it existed, so I like to keep it that way for other people.

Does the remake have him play it on the computer? That'd be amusing.

Heh. I don't think it's that big a spoiler.

That's what I meant, actually -- it's something of no consequence to the plot that almost everyone already knows about.

The remake dispenses with solitaire altogether, and uses a different verbal trigger.

(Whitefonted even though it's given away in the trailer because it is a very nice reveal moment.)