Wasn't Legend the movie with Tom Cruise as an elf?

Yep (what Beverly said). It also has Tim Curry in a stunning "Devil" make-up job.

Plus, it's the only movie with Cruise that I'll watch.

but it really makes the success of the original three seem more and more sheer luck.

I think Star Wars did what it did because it was so unique for it's time. Empire and Jedi did what they did because of Lawrence Kasdan.

With Episodes 1, 2, and 3, Lucas is suffering from the Rick Berman/Brannon Braga problem -- it's *MY* franchise! No one else can write it! (no really guys.... let other people who make better movies than you do help)

Or possibly, the Japanese don't feel that they need to abide by the same rules for horror movies as the Americans.

What Jess said, but there is a current trend in Japanese horror to just say screw exposition - less talk, more creepy! See Ringu.

Fucking creepy-ass scenes though. Some of the scariest visuals and THE scariest sound effects ever.

Yes, this. Creeped the hell out of me. And the ghosts dove give a crap if you're good, or nice, or want to help. If they take an interest in you, you're screwed.

Wasn't Legend the movie with Tom Cruise as an elf?

But it has THE ultimate "If I become a goth, I get pretty dresses!" scene.

Would you consider the score from Ladyhawke Vangelis-y? It's strange, but even as widely anachronistic as that music is, I have a serious love of seeing Rutger Hauer galloping across the land with that thumping synthesizer track in the background

I just saw this movie this summer, at my hostel in Edinburgh! This Canadian guy and I were snickering through the entire thing, trying to figure out which parts would've been taken seriously at the time, and what we were supposed to know by which point. Like, is it supposed to be a surprise that Michelle Pfeiffer is the hawk? And then Matthew Broderick was totally playing medieval Ferris Bueller with a totally weird accent. And then two Korean girls came in, and we tried to explain the plot up to that point, and they were all like, what? Because why? How? What?

It was great.

aghast at the blasphemy!

"You mock my pain, Princess!"

I love Ladyhawke. From Alfred Molina to Leo McKern, I love it. (Except for the music. But connie likes even that, so).

But connie likes even that, so).

Now, this is freaky. The first time I wander into this thread in eons, and I find out that Bev has means of summoning me.

Yep, I like the "Ladyhawke" soundtrack. But then I'm notoriously plebian and uneducated and low-brow in my tastes. I found "Moulin Rouge" both boringly predictable and jarring. When someone starts singing "Roxanne," I'm thinking Sting, not Parisians.

Also, remember that it's not a standalone -- it's part 3 of a trilogy

Do you mean part 1? Or do you really mean part 3? I've got Ju-On 2 sitting here also, but I'm not sure I'm going to watch it.

Does the rest of the trilogy explain how the boy and the cat became the same entity? Or why the ghosts kill some people immediately and leave others alone for weeks? Or why sometimes they kill people and you can find the body, but sometimes they just suck the person into another dimension? Or how police officers can be killed, with their files about the haunted house out on their desks, and no one takes an interest or seemingly notices?

Looks like the Raimi remake is going to be pretty much shot-for-shot, a la The Ring.

What Jess said, but there is a current trend in Japanese horror to just say screw exposition - less talk, more creepy! See Ringu.

This also applies to the Italians at times (for further reference see the films of Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci among many, MANY others). And in both cases, depending on the era, lotsa gore.

The current Japanese trend seems to be more for the creepy than for the gory, however.

Looks like the Raimi remake is going to be pretty much shot-for-shot, a la The Ring.

Raimi remake? The Grudge is by the same director as Ju-On.

Raimi just produced the remake. However, getting the original director doesn't always mean good things (e.g. THE VANISHING, NIGHTWATCH, etc.)