Alrighty, I think I'm sufficiently rested to give a proper rundown - much as I ever am, I suppose.
First: ApologiesApologies to anyone that I may have annoyed and/or offended this year, including but not limited to:
- Anyone subjected to my anti-Abrams rant in line
- Anyone offended by my anti-Shatner rant in the auditorium
- Anyone generally annoyed by my occasional running commentary
(For the record, if I ever do manage to bother someone significantly, just smack me upside da'haid a few times. I'll figure it out, I promise.)
Second: ThanksAs always, a huge thanks to Bruce and Jeff for putting on this madness every year. Sci-Fi has always been and will always be my first love of the two marathons, and every year I'm reminded of just how much these events mean to me. I fell in love with them at SF04, and I've never regretted it. You never forget your first girl.
I'd like to give a big personal shout out to the projectionist, who (for the second year in a row) has been spot-on both fixing minor projection issues quickly and getting the intermission discs into the player. I'll add in a second thanks to Bruce for the tireless efforts and not-insubstantial costs involved in acquiring and putting together the trailers for such a huge event. It's not easy, or cheap, and he manages to pull it off every year.
I'd like to give a very special thanks to Jen and her mother for manning (womanning?) the t-shirt desk - especially since it meant Bruce didn't ask me to do it.
And finally, a big thanks goes out to the Drexel staff, who regularly manage to keep a concession stand going at odd hours that I'm sure are not in their employment contracts, as well as the volunteers always willing to fill the gaps.
Alright, enough with the sycophantic praise ...
Third: The LineupAttack the Block - I'd had three prior opportunities to see this at marathons and festivals the year before and missed them all, so it was actually one of the films I was most anticipating. Let me tell you, it did
not disappoint. The film's well worth seeing, relatively simple but a good idea well executed.
The dialog is fast and the accents are a bit difficult, but in the end none of that matters. The film keeps its pace well and turns out to be an enjoyable exploration of the anti-hero. I was really glad that it played the opening slot.
Brainstorm - I hadn't seen this on the big screen since it opened, but I've always loved this movie. Granted, there are some oddities in the script (the aforementioned "robot slapstick" for instance), but it's most definitely a Douglas Trumbull vision film.
I think the film works, and works very well ... and I was happy to see that there was a strong audience response to it. It's also a film that you don't see played on 35mm often, so I'm glad to see it back making the rounds. Plus, y'know ... Walken.
The Captains - Oh, my ... where to begin on this one. I will say, I thought this was a decent enough booking considering it made a nice counterpart to last years
The People vs. George Lucas. I've suspected that Shatner's latest attempt at cashing in on the Star Trek legacy was a big self-serving enterprise, but ... wow.
I seriously didn't think you could fit that much ego in 30 frames per second.
It wasn't just the incredibly amateurish, first-year art student directing, editing, and production work (one more fast-pan around the Learjet and I was gonna leave the theater.) It wasn't just the fact that Shatner's, well, basically a *$@^. It wasn't even the fact that he's a
terrible interviewer. What truly did me in was just the sheer transparency of how self-serving a project this really was.
Every question was
painstakingly redirected to be all about Shatner, Shatner, Shatner.
Having said that, I know a lot of Trek fans were looking forward to this, and I hope they got enough out of it to make it worth their while. I truly enjoyed seeing the other actors, Scott Bakula is great, Kate Mulgrew was right back in Shatner's face (I swear, I'd pay good money if she decked him in the interview.) Heck, I even loved Avery Brooks ... he may be seriously out there, but he's happy doing what he's doing, and who am I to argue with that? I only wish they had managed to actually make the film about
them.
Anyway, I'm not a huge fan of the documentaries anyway, so maybe I'm biased. But if this is what our "annual documentary" is going to be like, I'd really just as soon skip it.
Electroma - Oh, boy. Talk about "out of the frying pan." From Shatner to Daft Punk. This was not a pleasant afternoon.
Here's the thing, I have absolutely no beef with Daft Punk. I have no general problem with impressionist, avant-garde cinema. I don't even have any issues with the idea of a film as a succession of music videos, an attempt to marry sound and image in a pleasing and entertaining way.
Honestly, though,
Electroma really never manages to be any of these things. For one thing, there's just not enough music. Frankly, I like to have a little music in my music videos. For another thing,
there's no Daft Punk music. So, ultimately I felt like the film was trying to be a vehicle for something but had no idea what it wanted to convey; except for the obvious cliches.
But it did have
In Dark Trees by Brian Eno, totally meaningless and out of place, but I love that song.
The Green Slime - I was a bit worried about showing this one on standard-def DVD, but I have to admit my fears were unfounded. No, it's not the crisp, sharp focus, high-grain detail that I would have wanted, but (as much as I hate to say it) it didn't look half bad.
The film is a long-standing cheese-classic, more serious than people had been led to believe given the camp flavor of its (oddly popular) theme song. But the transfer that Warner Archives ded really is stunning, from a pristine print, and I'm glad this one finally made it on to the marathon screen.
The Last Push - I had thought this would be a somewhat mediocre premiere offering, but I'm happy to say it went over way better than I expected. The subject's been done before, obviously, but this was a pretty good run at it and the principle actor did quite an impressive job.
Plus, having Lance Hendricksen
never hurts the cause. And I have to say, hearing the crowd's support of the director (and his appreciation for the marathon opportunity, and especially staying up for the phone call) was exactly the sort of thing I like to see with premieres.
Ok, this is getting way tl;dr, so I'll aim for a bit more brevity ...
Battle Royale - This one also did not disappoint, though I knew going in that it wouldn't. I will say, in this case I think the presentation was hampered by being shown on BluRay. The resolution was better than
The Green Slime, but somehow the scan-lines bothered me more. I'm probably just over-sensitive to it or something.
Manborg - Hated this one. Hated, hated, hated. When I'd seen the trailer, I asked myself "Are they
seriously thinking of booking this film?" Wretchedly bad, without any sort of clever angle, fresh idea, or witty dialog to redeem itself. I gave it a half hour, then I took my own advice and napped the rest of the way. For once, my advice actually paid off; I managed to stay awake for the remainder of the films. Let this be a lesson to you all -
know your limits and watch what you want to watch.
Source Code - You know, I really like this film. I liked it when it came out, I liked it when I revisited it on DVD, and I liked it again here. It has a bit more of a Hollywood cliche feel to it than
Moon did, but Duncan Jones has yet to disappoint. I don't think we needed another "very recent" film in the lineup, (we already had
Attack the Block) but this was still a worthwhile film to show.
Reptilicus - Hey, I dig the film but even I'll admit it's pure cheese. This was a heck of a great print, though, and for that reason alone it was worth seeing. Granted, the cheese-tastic goodness isn't for everyone, but I'll wager that the majority of the audience hadn't seen it, and this was a really good opportunity. Never turn down the chance to see Sci-Fi you haven't seen before, especially on 35mm, and
especially an archival print.
They Live - I make no apologies for it, this is really not my favorite Carpenter film. I really want this film to be better than it is (it has flashes of brilliance, to be sure), but it's just not the Carpenter I know and love. It has flaws that rob it of its potential and take it from "great" to "just OK". Unlike
Prince of Darkness, this one didn't fare as well for me upon re-watching.
But the audience has been calling for the film for a long time, and it is a good combination of classic Carpenter and Big Dumb Fun. It has some great dialog and I figured it would play out well. It certainly kept a healthy portion of the audience in their seats till the end, which is always a wonderful thing to see. Plus, I'll never turn down an 80's classic in the lineup.
ConclusionHad a fantastic time, as always. The lineup didn't resonate as well has some have in previous years, but it was certainly a solid, fun time. I did miss the Radio Cafe, and (though it cut out too early) the pizza was certainly top-notch. The company was generally pleasant, once the high-volume solitary snarking subsided, and (like always) it left me wanting for more.
Which I will be getting come October, and thank-you-very-much Joe for what is already going to be a great starting lineup at Horror.
Hope everyone enjoyed themselves, and I definitely look forward to seeing you all at the Grandview this Fall! You will be there, right? Cause that place just
rules.