The Ohio Sci-Fi and Horror Marathons

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PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 6:43 pm 
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So, some brief thoughts as we decompress:

This was my 44th Movie Marathon experience, between the various Drexel-related/inspired marathons and the few I've made it up to CWRU for. And by virtue of bringing my daughter, it was probably one of my favorites.

But before I get into a film-by-film breakdown, I would like to thank Joe Neff and Bruce Bartoo for making this gathering possible all these years. Bruce, enjoy your retirement. It is well-deserved, and I cannot thank you enough for the enjoyment of film you have brought into my life. I hope that we still see you at the events, even as you step away as Host Organism. And Joe, thank you for keeping the flame alive.

Back to the Future: It's been a long time since I've watched this. I forgot how tightly put together it is, and how fun. Watching it with the Marathoid Crowd, and having Mira see it for the first time? A fantastic way to kick off the event. Aaron's Ranking: 3rd Mira's Ranking: 3rd

Beneath the Planet of the Apes: Slow. Bleak. With a notable downgrade in SFX make-up from the first one. Glad I revisited it - so I can know not to any time again soon. :) Aaron's Ranking: 8th Mira's Ranking: 7th

Predestination: This is everything a time-travel film should be. Tightly paced. Compelling performances. And a timeline that is consistent even as it leaves you scratching your head. I wish I'd seen it before. I'm glad I've seen it now. Aaron's Ranking: 1stMira's Ranking: 1st

Costume Contest: I need to accept that having great costumes isn't enough, because I lack the ability to play the crowd. But apparently my daughter does.

12 Monkeys: We took a dinner break here, because Mira thought it looked too creepy.

La Jetee: My head was nodding a lot on this one, which unfortunately affects how I feel about it. I think it's probably fascinating to see when you're more awake. Mira liked it more than I did. Aaron's Ranking: 7th Mira's Ranking: 6th

The Time Machine, The Navigator: A Medieval Odyseey, Donnie Darko: I took Mira home during these movies. I originally planned to drop her off and come back, but the lure of a comfy couch won out, and I stayed here with her, waking her up in time to make sure she'd be back for Looper, and thank goodness we did since the order got swapped.

World Without End: I had just seen this at CWRU, so didn't care much to see it again (and we did miss half of it). I ended up being less bored with it this time around then I was when I saw it in January. Mira didn't care much one way or the other. Aaron's Ranking: 6th Mira's Ranking: 8th

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure: In some ways, for me, the polar opposite of BTTF, in that I found myself enjoying it less than I expected based on my memories. It was still fun, and I'm glad it aired, but it doesn't hold up as well as I thought it would. Mira got a huge kick out of it however. Aaron's Ranking: 5th Mira's Ranking: 4th

Looper: I missed this the first time around, and it was (and still is) age-inappropriate for Mira to see, but this was a neat little film. A little less tightly put together than Predestination, but still an enjoyable flick. Glad I finally caught it. Aaron's Ranking: 4th Mira's Ranking: 5th

Time After Time: I first saw this a few years ago at CWRU, and I remembered loving it, but thinking it was a tad slow. And I was right. But the strength of the performances overrides any bit of slowness, IMO. A great film to end the Marathon with. Aaron's Ranking: 2nd Mira's Ranking: 2nd

We had a great, great, great time. Thanks so much to everyone involved, and everyone who made Mira feel like a part of this family. Our desire to return next year (or possibly sooner)? Mira: 110% Aaron 100%


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 Post subject: Re: Splashdown!
PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2018 10:18 am 
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I don't go to these as often as I use to. As I get older, I find it harder and harder to stay awake the entire 24 hours. And it usually takes me a week to catch up on my sleep. But a time travel theme during a weekend where we lose an hour ... I couldn't miss it. Now knowing that it was Bruce's last, I'm especially happy I went.

Back to the Future: This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Last time I saw this on the big screen was 1985. Holds up well and never gets old.

Beneath the Planet of the Apes: Love the original, this one not as much. It just didn't have the same wonder as the original. That being said, I'm glad it played the marathon.

Predestination: It was my first time seeing this. It was beautifully written. Love Ethan Hawke. Complex time travel elements. My favorite movie of the marathon by far.

12 Monkeys: Good performance by Bruce Willis, great performance by Brad Pitt. I've seen this movie so many times, I could probably go the rest of my life without seeing it again.

La Jetee: Was not really a big fan of this one. I didn't like the visual style they went with. Then again, I never went to film school. :lol:

The Time Machine: A sci-fi classic. I originally saw this at one of the first 24 hour sci-fi marathons back in the late ‘80s. Love this movie.

The Navigator: A Medieval Odyseey: This movie started off incredibly slow, and to be honest, I slept through most of it. When I started waking up, it felt like the end of the movie just kept going on and on. Must have missed something.

Donnie Darko: I Hate this movie. 2 slow paced movies in a row in the middle of the night did me in. I was fighting sleep the rest of the marathon.

World Without End: It was my first time seeing this. I’ve got a soft spot of old ‘50s sci-fi films. The crazy aliens, the inaccurate science, the over the top acting. So much fun.

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure: Love this film. Great example of ‘80s cinematic fun. Good music, funny, and the ever amazing George Carlin.

Looper: My first time seeing this. It wasn’t bad. Some great Bruce Willis action scenes. I'm glad I got to see it.

Time After Time: I had a really hard time getting into this movie. I'm not sure if it just wasn't my cup of tea, or if I was just too tired at this point to enjoy it. May have to give it another shot after I get caught up on my sleep.

Finally, I just want to extend my deepest gratitude to Bruce. These marathons mean the world to me. I attended the first 4 sci-fi marathons back at the Drexel North. My older sister brought the first one to my attention back in 1987. I was 14 years old and she was 33. Out of 6 children, she was the oldest and I was the youngest, but our shared love of sci-fi gave us a very close bond. She passed away about 10 years ago, but I kinda feel like she still goes to the marathons with me.

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PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2018 2:59 pm 
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Still too tired to say much about this. Suffice to say, this qualifies as one of my favorite marathons ever. Phenomenal line-up, audience seemed to have a blast, went off without a hitch and even got our esteemed Joe choked up at the end.

I hope (as does everyone) that Bruce feels better. I have a feeling we'll still see him around, much as he's able. ;)

I'd do a blow-by-blow but honestly I loved everything in the line-up. Caught 40 winks during WORLD WITHOUT END, mostly because we'd just seen it at CWRU. Kinda wished THE NAVIGATOR could have played earlier, but there's only so many hours in the day ... hopefully people appreciated the chance to see it.

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PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2018 5:52 pm 
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Having seen all but one of the films previously, I am more interested in the event than in the playlist.
Easy for me to say as I was too sick to attend.
Qs.
1. How was attendance?
2. Enthusiasm?
3. Costume contest?
4. The shorts?
5. Technical aspects/prints?
6. Newbie turnout?
7. Old fogy turnout?
8. Any surprise/ Amusing disasters?
9. Actual new stories from Joe? :roll:

I am glad that Aaron & David & MV each saw it as a success. Good work.

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PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2018 8:06 pm 
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pogo wrote:
Qs.
1. How was attendance?
2. Enthusiasm?
3. Costume contest?
4. The shorts?
5. Technical aspects/prints?
6. Newbie turnout?
7. Old fogy turnout?
8. Any surprise/ Amusing disasters?
9. Actual new stories from Joe? :roll:

Just a quick stab ...

1. About the same? I leave the numbers to Joe.
2. Very enthusiastic crowd and enthusiastic response from almost every film. At least from what I could tell.
3. Lots of entrants, some genuinely clever stuff. One or two were very well done. Kid won. :)
4. Several fun shorts including two episodes of PEABODY'S IMPROBABLY HISTORY and GRAVITY. I leave it to others to decide how good they were since I put some of them together.
5. One 35mm print. Everything else was digital. The DCP restorations were really quite good, especially DARKO.
6. Fair amount, about the same as last year.
7. Fair amount, about the same as last year.
8. No disasters. We cut one very small batch of digital trailers to make up some time, but it generally went off without a hitch.
9. New War Stories? Of that you can be assured. :D

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"Damnati Im Ludum" (VitruvianZeke@att.net)


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