The Ohio Sci-Fi and Horror Marathons

May go into more detail later. Just a quick view of what I thought of the movies and the marathon in general. Going to post quick and then edit since no one else has started a thread yet.

Pretty good crowd. Not packed, but I think near to what we have had at the East before. Also seemed like a number of new faces and a little more racial diversity, which is nice to see. It also seemed like more women. The horror usually has more women than the scifi, but this years scifi, to me, seemed to have more women than some other years. Just so long as they didn't try to command I had no problem with it.

The weather for the line was awesome. The wandering artist was interesting, I don't think she ever came in to the marathon, but she provided some free entertainment.

Decorations seemed a bit scaled back, but I am okay with that. I think some of it was some of the decorators from years past were not there or at least I missed them. The art on stage was nice and if I could figure out a place to put it, I might have gotten one of those pieces. Man I wish I would have had the money and space back when Jenny Reeder was doing them.

Bathrooms. Great job.

Missed the cafe. A lot. The pizza was okay, but I am kinda picky about my pizza so I am not a great judge. The smoothie addition was nice.

Costume contest. Apparently money isn't everything. Nice variety this year. I really admire the guy I think of as Ro-Man though he was the Fly this year. When he saw how well the dancing robot was doing he adapted. Resisted the temptation to yell out a "Kill th Kid" for old times sake. Mostly because he wasn't annoying. And maybe I am getting soft in my old age. I do think when I finally bring Sergei I need him and Aaron to go together and do some theatrical combat practice in.

Projection had a few issues here and there, but with the exception of the lead in into Reptilicus, they were handled promptly. And I am sure that were working hard on that one, it just stuck out as being longer.

The between movie music was very well done, a lot of thought went into the song selections. Having DJ'd many years ago I appreciate the hard work Dave/VitruvianZeke puts into that.

NOON - ATTACK THE BLOCK

Good way to start. Almost need subtitles. Nice, if predictable, story with some social commentary that wasn't too overbearing. The actors were, for the most part good to very good.

2:15 pm - BRAINSTORM

Nice 80s flick. Had seen it before, in more ways than one, but a nice way to slow the pace before Captains.

4:30 - The Ohio Premiere of THE CAPTAINS

Oh, what to say. William Shatner's continuing mission to get to his question for Patrick Stewart. I enjoyed it I think more than some, but I'm a bigger fan than some of the folks around me. I particularly enjoyed his conversations, even though they were, at times, uncomfortable with Kate Mulgrew. The Avery Brooks section were mostly disappointing, in part because DS9 was my favorite of the various series. Any word if the Number Twos by Jonathan Frakes is in production yet?

6:45 - The Columbus Premiere of ELECTROMA

It was worse than City of Lost Children. If there was a film editor, he was overpaid. It was better than Automatons. Actually I think as a 20 minute short it would have been much better. I think the filmmakers could have still told the story they wanted to tell. It really seemed like someone was paid by the hour or frame of film. I think we need Kanye West to sample the movie and make a better one.

8:30 - THE GREEN SLIME

As weird as it sounds, I am putting palette cleansing and slime together in the same sentence. Twice. Green Slime did a nice job of cleansing the palette for the rest of the marathon. I might have flipped it with Last Push, to get a general increase in tempo, but I wonder if that would have hurt reception for The Last Push. Green Slime was what it was advertised to be.

10:40 - The Ohio Premiere of THE LAST PUSH

Thoughtful, well acted and well done, especially given the budget. I think hearing from the director made the movie for me. I kept waiting for him to quote Sally Field. Seriously, he sounded genuinely pleased with the reception and hopefully he will make it as a guest some time.

12:30 - BATTLE ROYALE

I paint with a broad brush but, to me, many Korean and Japanese horror directors seem to be some messed up individuals. Interesting, if unbelievable premise. Loved the over the top training film. Also liked the realism of some of the characters. I wish the class had been smaller so we got a little more development time on some of them. The couple jmping off the cliff together reminded me a bit too much about the WTC jumpers.

2:45 - The Ohio Premiere of MANBORG

This is what happens when you play to much Mortal Combat growing up. Didn't like it. I will say it did not try to be something it wasn't, but what it was was not that enjoyable for me.

4:30 - SOURCE CODE

Meant to see it. Mean to see a lot of movies these days but life intrudes. I enjoyed it even though I saw most of what was coming.

6:40 - WAR OF THE SATELLITES* I think I would have taken this over MANBORG or ELECTROMA.

8:15 - REPTILICUS

Gorgeous print. Didn't mind the uncut nature. I wish they wouldn't have shaded it, or whatever they call that process.

10:10 - THEY LIVE

Great way to end. Another 80s classic. Given the nature of the Occupy Wall Street movement (and please don't make this thread political) it seems everything old is new again.

I think we had one too many premieres. Of course I have the luxury of hindsight to say that. Hopefully heading to bed soon.

_________________
The wages of sin are royalties.

I don't think I'm going to be coherent enough to comment until later this evening, but I wanted to give an official "rubber stamp" to this thread and sticky it so people could share their thoughts.

Many thanks, Dennis, for starting it up. Now if you'll all excuse me, I'm going back to bed.

_________________
David A. Zecchini; Creature of the Wheel, Lord of the Infernal Engines
"Damnati Im Ludum" (VitruvianZeke@att.net)

Well, really sucks that I came down with flu-like symptoms and had to leave around 8pm. Electroma got better, right? Or was it my fever that caused the 10 minutes I saw to feel like an eternity?

A few thoughts on what I did see. The weather was not good for the line. Some of us are very fair skinned and don't deal with heat well. That is a benefit of having the marathon earlier in the year, much less chance of it being hot as it was this year. Frankly, I would've rather stood in line during a pouring rain than what we had yesterday. All this to say; why not let us in earlier?

The cafe was missed a great deal. I had a slice of pizza that had a really rubbery crust, not sure how long it had been in there. The cafe had actually quite good food.

Now the movies.

Attack the Block - had seen this a couple months ago at home, but actually enjoyed it a bit more this time. Home theatre, no matter how good, can never recreate the communal experience of the theatre, particularly the marathon. I think it helped that I understood the dialog better from seeing it at home. This was the biggest presentation flaw that I saw (I don't count the film breaking since old acetate film can be extremely brittle), masking should have been planned better. All in all, probably the perfect start (fast paced, funny, great characters, etc). How many write-ins did Moses get for the Hall of Fame?

Brainstorm - not as good as I remember it being. Great ideas but some poor execution (all the stuff with the security guards and robots at the end, how exactly was Louise Fletcher in some of her memories?). Print quality was only ok, seemed to be a bit out of focus.

I really like the Walken contest. Good way to bring something new to the marathon.

The Captains - again, I've seen this recently at home but enjoyed it in a whole different way. As a Trek fan, and having seen all but Pine at conventions, I can tell you this is the way they come off in person. Avery Brooks really is a whack job. It did go on far too long, something I didn't notice at home.

The costume contest... really? A kid with a cardboard box dancing? For me, it would've been the fly with Rorschach in second place. Maybe it's just that I don't particularly like kids.

Electroma - ugh, can't really say since I only saw about 10 minutes worth; but I was getting the feeling that Automatons had competition for most hated marathon film.

At that point, my head was throbbing so badly I just wanted to shut my eyes and I left. Hopefully

I too am to tired to go into detail, but I have to say "Worse than "City of Lost Children"!!! Such a weird and borderline insane statement. Even though you hate CoLC, it has a story, dialogue, characters, and beautiful cinematography. A. City of Lost Children is a beautiful and moving film. And B. The only films in contention for worse than Electroma are Automatons and Manborg. More later.... They Live, I sleep....

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"I came here to chew bubble gum and kick a**. I'm all out of bubble gum."

I just wanted to point out quickly that ELECTROMA is available in it's entirety for free on YouTube. Just in case anyone wants to, you know, relive what sounds like it must have been a delightfully fond memory.

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Aliens? Us?
Is this one of your Earth "jokes?"

The film came out originally in 2000, so should be pre-WTC I believe. I read the manga (not the original 1999 book) so I don't remember if that particular scene was in there...

I personally love Battle Royale...so I was delighted to see this film this year Also, perhaps some of you spotted them, but in case you didn't, Shuya Nanahara was played by Tatsuya Fujiwara who went on to do the Death Note films (based on some really great manga which I highly recommend over the movies) and Takako Chigusa (yellow tracksuit girl) was played by Chiaki Kuriyama who went on to do the role of Gogo Yubari in Kill Bill Vol 1 and recently released an album: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FXJ3lzOCaQ

/ends nerding out

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Six side is heaven/Nine side is go

I was unable to stay the whole time due to two broken ribs.

Attack the Block was ok, but none of the characters had any redeeming value at all outside of the girl who got mugged. Generally speaking I was rooting for the aliens.

Brainstorm was pretty decent. Loved some of the Walken bits and even though it wasn't full on Walken. I've never seen a movie that seemed more like it changed writers in the 3rd act. Serious movie...serious movie...ZANY BROKEN FACTORY HIJINKS...serious movie. Weird. Thought I was tripping.

Electroma was NOT better than Automotons. Needed more radar. And a plot. And dialog. And acting. And...well...anything that defined it as a movie. Things like this are why people hate The French.

Green Slime. So glad to finally see it. Lots of fun. Lots. It was exactly what I was hoping it would be. That guys hair was IMMACULATE. I did hate the sound The Green Slimes were making. The speakers in the theater we have the thon in seem to be especially shrill later in the evening but that's probably just me.

I'll have to fly into town to go to the Thon next year, but I'm already looking forward to it and hope I have no broken bones to destroy my endurance.

svarney: Moses got two write ins for Hall of Fame. Good point about the sun. I was close enough to the front I could duck in the shade of the entrance. I'm not that fair skinned, though balding, so I was a little concerned. I've been in snow and rain and I'll take the sun. Hope you are feeling better. I've almost left early a few times when I've had some nasty bug at a marathon. It definitely takes some of the joy out of it.

MEATFETISH: City of Lost Children. I was unfair putting it in the same paragraph with ELECTROMA. I know some folks really liked COLC, which is why I sometimes throw it in posts just to get a reaction. I don't hate it, I actually watched it again a few years ago. It is a nice film, it just is in the category of films I am not sure is right for a marathon. But goodness knows I am not the end all, be all of picking films, since I like the documentaries that some hate, I liked Lost Skeleton which others think is 90 minutes or so of the same jokes over and over again.

kurosora: I wasn't saying they did it because of 9/11. It could have been made in 1980 and it would still have brought to mind for me the image of the couple jumping together. I lived in DC during 9/11 and at that point we were going back and forth between looking out the windows of my office at the smoke from the PEntagon and watching the TVs in the of folks jumping from the WTC. The jumpers will always been burned into my brain. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

hutch: Geez, people are falling apart this year. Hope you get better. Electroma vs. Automotons. vs Manborg? Automatons had a plot and an agenda. They didn't like US foreign policy and they made a movie to express that fact. Over and over and over again. Automatons also might have been better served if it was only 20-30 minutes long. Where it was long it was pointless to be long there. The reason I bring in Manborg is because Manborg knew it was done on a limited budget and it embraced that for the most part. Maybe Automatons tried to do the same, but the message was so preachy, it lost most, if not all, sympathy with the audience, including, it seemed, many who may very well have agreed with it politically.

Electroma, on the other hand was pleasant. No jarring sound, for the most part. Yes, way too long for most scenes. About the only thing that seemed close to the right length was them walking around the town in their human masks and then getting chased. Even that could have been tightened up. But I do have to admit I have been thinking about this film more because they left out so much. Had there been humans before? Where were they or where did they go? Why did these two want to be human? Silver drove, but Gold almost always was a step or so ahead when they were walking. The only time that wasn’t the case was when they were in their human masks. Thanks to the You Tube clip I was able to scan through to verify that. By the end it was clear that Silver was constantly trailing, but I did wonder if it was that way before. Considering they perform in those masks all the time, I assume they can see fairly well and the walking order wasn’t a function of the limited vision of the costume.

_________________
The wages of sin are royalties.

One other comment I forgot in my original write up. Nice job from the folks who handled processing us as we came in. Once the doors opened, the line went quick. They had the stamping down and I got my own custom stuffed program.

_________________
The wages of sin are royalties.

Alrighty, I think I'm sufficiently rested to give a proper rundown - much as I ever am, I suppose.

First: Apologies

Apologies 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: Thanks

As 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 Lineup

Attack 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.

Conclusion

Had 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.

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David A. Zecchini; Creature of the Wheel, Lord of the Infernal Engines
"Damnati Im Ludum" (VitruvianZeke@att.net)

Here goes in random order my take on the 29th Science Fiction Marathon.

Films:

I would go out and say that The Captains started out good and crash and burn at the end. The self serving ego of William Shatner was painful to watch. I was very vocal on how this so called film was ending up as some sort of ego trip. The last third of the film it didn't have a point to it. William Shatner just rambles on about himself. I think at the end of the film people were clapping just because it was over not because it was good.

Electroma gives the new meaning of film padding. No plot. I would give some of the cinematography was great when it comes to the human face scenes.

I'm glad that the video projection of The Green Slime look great. Nice to see it in widescreen and the projector didn't crop the picture. Good campy fun

Brainstorm Nice to see it on 35mm. Watching it switching from 1.33:1 to 2:35 makes the flow of the film a lot better than on the DVD copy playing it back on a 16:9 tv. Now if one have a 21:9 tv then it should look the same.

Manborg My fondess of bad direct to VHS science fiction films when I used to rent from Blockbuster didn't dissapoint. It was supposed to be bad. That was the point of the film. Pure fun

Battle Royale Great film

In my opinion that this year's Automatons is a tie between The Captains and Elctorma.

I was dissapointed that the food was subpar this year. Miss the cafe.

Totally agree that was the worst part of Automatons. The political allegory was like getting hit over the head with a brick. Couldn't have been less subtle if they cut to someone staring into the camera and yelling "I hate George Bush, get out of Iraq! " Over and over again (both sentiments I agree with but try a little subtlety for crying out loud). That coupled with the cheapness of it and the 20 different endings...worst marathon ever.

_________________
"I came here to chew bubble gum and kick a**. I'm all out of bubble gum."

Did they even show Space Boy? If so, I must have been asleep. As one of the (seemingly) few people who actually really enjoys it, I was kind of disappointed.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed this year. The highlights for me would definitely be Attack the Block, the Last Push, and Battle Royale, though I didn't really hate any of the films (that I managed to stay awake for. I must admit I gave up on Manborg 10 minutes in when I realized it looked like an early 2000's video game). True, the Captains was mostly just Shatner talking about himself and making situations awkward and uncomfortable, but at least it was amusing. Electroma was nowhere near as bad as Automatons, though I agree it would have been much better as a short.

Who else thinks that there most definitely needs to be "Beyond the Last Push: Whales in Space"?

Wow. It's the first movie marathon my girlfriend and I have done together. In fact it's the only true movie marathon we've done. What a BLAST! Everyone was extremely friendly and inviting. I know some places don't like "newbies" and you have to earn your way into a clique (if you can even get the opportunity). We found that there are certainly more things to do that lead up to the next marathon that seems like fun and worth the 2 hour drive EVERYTIME. While I've never lived in Columbus, it's been a part of my childhood. First it was music and food. I remember from the age of 13 on (I'm 38 now) making pilgrimages to the land of Used Kids, Magnolia (when both of them had 2 storefronts and much bigger ones at that) to when I was in college (many of my friends went to Ohio State - so I was in on many weekends) and now. I regret not being able to partake in many of the marathons. I either couldn't do them or didn't know about them. I can't stress enough how warm, kind and friendly all the marathoners are. I plan to show up next time with (hopefully) many people in tow as I have started to spread the word of how awesome it is.

Before I get to the movies:
First the good - The Drexel Theatre is AWESOME. I am not sure if you guys know how lucky people in Columbus are to have theaters like The Drexel and Grandview. I know that I'm lucky to have the Paramount, but it's more of a stage rather than movie theatre. The movies I've seen at the Paramount aren't as fun and entertaining (I'm talking to you - crowd!), and the chairs at the Drexel are more comfortable over a long period of time. I really enjoy the fact that Jeff and Bruce were kind enough to take the time to talk to me about where I was from and asking for my contact information as I was leaving. I have some interesting things to bring up to them.

The Bad:
As a person who struggles with weight (I'm at a much healthier weight now - but a bit over a year ago I was at a very unhealthy weight) - the concessions: pizza, popcorn, pretzels, hotdogs and candy. There weren't any sort of semi-healthy options. The unlimited drinks were nice (diet sodas for a while - but luckily I was able to switch to water - all that soda was making me ill). I read about the cafe and it sounds like I would have gotten something there instead. And guys - yes I ate a donut and a half - but I felt REALLY bad about it. Jolly Pirate is a huge weakness of mine (and we do have a few around where I live). It had been nearly 1.5 years since I've had a donut!!!! It could have been nearly any other donut place and I would have been okay not having any.

The Ugly: Not getting enough rest for the marathon. I think I would have liked to sleep more prior to the marathon, plus I heard someone else talk about taking Monday off - that's a good idea!

On to the films:

As a preface, I'm a movie trailer junkie. Bruce and Jeff did not disappoint. It had me looking for more trailers. I love that some were scratched up. I love the intermissions items. I've collected many of the Something Weird titles just for that. I have found some interesting ones (for example a Giovanni's Pizza commercial from the 70's located in Lexington, KY).



Attack the Block - Unfortunately, I didn't get to see enough of this. I plan on showing up much earlier for the horror marathon and get a good seat. I have owned this for nearly a year now, but for some odd reason, I hadn't watched it. Guess I'm going to have to watch it now. It looks great. I am a huge fan of Nick Frost and Edgar Wright anyway.

Brainstorm: I haven't seen this movie since I was a kid (maybe around 10). It didn't hold my interest much - even though back then I still liked Christopher Walken -- but didn't quite know why yet. I was one of those kids who would sneak TV late at night when my parents were asleep - I got exposed to movies like A Clockwork Orange and The Tin Drum waaaay to early in life. But, that also made a huge impression on me that even today, my love of cinema shines. Back to Brainstorm, I really enjoyed the interaction between Walken, Wood and Fletcher. It took me a couple of seconds, but recognized Fletcher from the Showtime series "Shameless". I really liked the "virtual reality" aspect of it more than the 90's virtual reality movies. "Go to Hell" just has more meaning now.

The Captains:

I had seen this one prior to this screening. I didn't know until much later that it was coming. Luckily my girlfriend hadn't seen it so seeing her reaction about all things Shatner was worth it alone. When I watched this the first time there was so much Shat-ego it was too much to bear. It was more obvious on the big screen with Patrick Stewert. That was enough to make it all worth while. I've always liked Avery Brooks, but that goatee, among other things was out of control. Scott Bakula came off as the most approachable, and I liked Kate Mulgrew more than her Voyager persona. I do remember the Shat for other things like the Twilight Zone and movies such as Impulse (where he's the "bad" guy). I didn't think there was a movie screen big enough to contain his ego...and I still believe that. It was much more fun seeing this movie with an audience.

Electroma:

I saw this movie when it came out back in 2006. I even tried to warn some people that there was NO Daft Punk music at all. In fact there's not much of anything in this movie. I actually thought this would be my sleeper movie - but the crowd kept me awake. I'm a huge Daft Punk fan (especially Homework/Discovery). I did have a LOT more fun with this movie that I thought possible.

The Green Slime

I bought this when it first became available via Warner Archives. I still haven't watched that copy yet. The colors were great, but that song at the beginning...still not sure about that. It was bloodier than I expected, but still tons of fun. The only real problem with the Green Slime? Cover art (wonderful advertising) no spacegirl.

The Last Push:

I really liked this more than I expected to. I like many of the things Lance is in, so that was a plus. It was really a good looking film considering the budget. The thing that really pushed me over was the call to the director. It seemed very genuine. It made the marathon all the more special.

Battle Royale:

I've seen this one quite a few times before, but while good, doesn't seem as shocking as when I first watched it. I remember it being more violent, but I guess over time you remember some parts differently. I've had the same feeling with other movies so it's slightly disappointing.

Manborg:

Now this is what I'm talking about. Cheese. Not your highfalutin Brie with truffle oil, this is Whiz or squeeze cheese. I had certain expectations going in. Basically a low end credit card balance can buy you this! It's exactly what I was in the mood for. I saw so many influences in this...I just enjoyed it for what it is. I'm looking forward to seeing Astron-6's Father's Day.

Source Code:

I really wanted to watch this, but sleep overtook me for most of it. Sorry David Bowie's son.

Reptilicus:

Seeing this print made me excited. It's the first time I've gotten to experience such an event. It was gorgeous.

They Live:

I love this Carpenter flick. It's the second time I've gotten to see it in the theaters. The big fight was ridiculous.

If there was one thing I didn't like - The trailer for the Host. I'll always think of the 2006 Korean monster movie.


Since this was my first marathon, I have nothing to compare it to. Therefore, I can only say it was one of the funnest movie experiences I've had in at least 2 decades. We will be making more trips to see other events that will get us through until the next marathon.

So glad that you enjoyed your first Marathon! It's always great to have new blood in the audience, so we're more than happy to have you on board.

Also, for all of you veterans, check out the Archives section of the Sci-Fi main page. There's a cavalcade of new pix from this past weekend's Marathon to be seen.