Here's where to post reactions to this year's marathon.

I thought it went well despite the Happy Accidents mishap. Good crowd if still not up to old attendence numbers

Yes, good lineup for the most part and crowd enthusiasm was close to normal. Could have done without Future Kill. And who doesn’t love two Arnold movies in one 'Thon?
See you next year!!!

We left a bit earlier than we have in the past because we decided to drive down and drive back to NH rather than taking the bus, so we left in the middle of Godzilla, just before 1am. 

We watched Beyond the Time Barrier and Happy Accidents at home on Monday.

We enjoyed all of the movies that we saw - there were no turkeys, but there were no notable standouts either. 

Stargate was very enjoyable even though we had seen it recently.  Good pacing, interesting characters. 

Escape from the Planet of the Apes was surprisingly good for a such a low budget production.  There were parts that did not work like the humans reactions to the obviously intelligent apes and the shopping sequences.

Terminator 3 was fun and kept the action moving.  There were some difficult to take seriously chase scenes, however.

We missed the beginning of After Yang and that might have helped.  Overall, we found it difficult to get into this one, which is more about the characters.

Back to the future 2 was fun if overacted and one dimensional. 

Happy Accidents, which we watched at home, was a good movie with interesting characters and a plot that kept you guessing.  Would have liked to have seen this one at the thon.

Bill & Ted Face the Music was fun if you accept that it is going to be a silly, fun movie and not try to take it seriously.  It's a bit more difficult to get into main characters who behave the same way as middle aged adults as they did as teenagers, but it wouldn't have been a Bill & Ted movie otherwise.

We only saw the first half of Godzilla but it was well done given the technology of the time.  It certainly can't stand up to CGI.  The romantic plot didn't seem to be very connected to the movie, but without that it was really just a LOT of model sets being destroyed one after another.

Beyond the Time Barrier turned out to be a movie I had seen once or twice before.  It has it's issues, but it's more obscure than it really should be.  Most obscure 50's and 60's sci fi movies are pretty terrible, but this one is actually pretty good and should be considered one of the classics.

My thanks to everyone involved.  Also, that projectionist tip jar is hard to find!  We hadn't seen it in previous years and had to look for it 2 or 3 times this year before we finally found it.

What ended up happening to take the place of Happy Accidents?

BrianInNH wrote on Feb 21^st, 2023 at 12:07pm:

What ended up happening to take the place of Happy Accidents?

nuttin honey. the marathon ended at 11:30 a.m. we had longer breaks. the conspiracy theorist in me think that due the marathon being behind schedule, happy accidents was dumped.

after yang:
sentimental hogwash.

BrianInNH wrote on Feb 21^st, 2023 at 12:07pm:

We left a bit earlier than we have in the past because we decided to drive down and drive back to NH rather than taking the bus, so we left in the middle of Godzilla, just before 1am.  We watched Beyond the Time Barrier and Happy Accidents at home on Monday. We enjoyed all of the movies that we saw - there were no turkeys, but there were no notable standouts either.  Stargate was very enjoyable even though we had seen it recently.  Good pacing, interesting characters.  Escape from the Planet of the Apes was surprisingly good for a such a low budget production.  There were parts that did not work like the humans reactions to the obviously intelligent apes and the shopping sequences. Terminator 3 was fun and kept the action moving.  There were some difficult to take seriously chase scenes, however. We missed the beginning of After Yang and that might have helped.  Overall, we found it difficult to get into this one, which is more about the characters. Back to the future 2 was fun if overacted and one dimensional.  Happy Accidents, which we watched at home, was a good movie with interesting characters and a plot that kept you guessing.  Would have liked to have seen this one at the thon. Bill & Ted Face the Music was fun if you accept that it is going to be a silly, fun movie and not try to take it seriously.  It's a bit more difficult to get into main characters who behave the same way as middle aged adults as they did as teenagers, but it wouldn't have been a Bill & Ted movie otherwise. We only saw the first half of Godzilla but it was well done given the technology of the time.  It certainly can't stand up to CGI.  The romantic plot didn't seem to be very connected to the movie, but without that it was really just a LOT of model sets being destroyed one after another. Beyond the Time Barrier turned out to be a movie I had seen once or twice before.  It has it's issues, but it's more obscure than it really should be.  Most obscure 50's and 60's sci fi movies are pretty terrible, but this one is actually pretty good and should be considered one of the classics. My thanks e finally found it. What ended up happening to take the place of Happy Accidents?

BrianInNH wrote on Feb 21^st, 2023 at 12:07pm:

What ended up happening to take the place of Happy Accidents?

We weren't that far behind schedule.  It was just a corrupted disc.. No mystery.  No conspiracy

Just back home. I will be posting a more full recap soon.

For now, just wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone involved. And, a very humble APPRECIATION for receiving the Shannon Malony Trophy. 

Just finished putting together our latest podcast episode that we recorded at the marathon chronicling our on-the-spot reactions to all the great movies... and our exhaustion.

This was our first time being live and in person at the Somerville Theater for the marathon in five years and it was a bit of a struggle. We're out of practice!

Just as a heads up, since we were recording on the scene we had to use some dodgy microphones and find what relatively quiet space we could so sound quality definitely isn't up to our preferred standards but hopefully it's still enjoyable:

https://www.cinemaspection.com/2023/02/boston-science-fiction-marathon-sf48.html

Thanks to everyone at the Somerville Theater and everyone at the fest who keep this happening! And here's to us getting into better shape (and getting better microphones) for next year!!

First of all, again a thank you to everyone involved and especially to those who came up to chat. It was a great honor to represent the Marathon spirit by receiving the Shannon Malony Award. It was much appreciated.
The crowd was smaller than hoped for, but energetiic and enthusiastic (but, I do wish the "Door" thing would wither away). Let's hope for a bigger audience as pandemic fears recede. On to the movies!

In Memorium -- A nice recap of those we lost over the past year. Bittersweet to see names and images of several people I have personally worked with over the decades. RIP

Eosphere (2022) - Decent short film even if it never fully takes off (shown because it was bumped from the festival)

Duck Dodgers - I was still abuzz fromt the Award ceremony, but it was great seeing this one after two years "off"

STARGATE (1994) - Hadn't seen this one since it came out. It still has a decent concept, but, Emmerich and Devlin do little with it. It has good production elements and the 35mm film print was good.

ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES (1971) - Still the most enjoyable of the original sequels even if it eventually plunges into some pretty dark territory. McDowall does wonders under all of that makeup, Montalban is a treat and Goldsmith's score is a winner combining some of his themes from the first film with more 'modern' elements. The print was clean, but, sadly, faded.

TERMINATOR 3 (2003) -Another I had not seen since its original release. It's more jokey than I had remembered. Arnold is spitting out one liners faster than Don Rickles at his peak. Most fail to land, even if a few are amusing. Clare Daines is hapless in a poorly written role, and Loken is asked to do little but look hot. The big action sequence is in the middle leaving the ending to just sort of peter out. It does doevetail nicely with the first film in the series. Never have watched any of the three subsequent sequels. Missing much? The 35mm print was exquisite.

AFTER YANG (2022) - The best sci-fi film from last year. Saw it in theaters, so I headed out for dinner.

BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II (1990) - The middle of a trilogy is often a difficult task, especially after an enormous success. Here, Zemeckis and his writers take the easy way out and make it as lite-weight as possible. Combined with shooting this back to back with the third film makes this little more than a stopgap. It does have some amusing bits and it's fun to see how 2015 was portrayed. Wait....maybe it DID happen that way but I ended up in a rogue DeLorean?  :o  The 70mm print showed off the best aspects of that medium with it's glowing luminescence.

BILL AND TED FACE THE MUSIC (2020) - Some ok ideas, but Keanu and Winter simply waited too long to do a third movie. I laughed a couple of times at their jokes, but, they rely almost totally on nostalgia even for those. The two daughters perk things up and, frankly, they would have made for a more interesting storyline. Anthony Corrigan (TV's Barry) is a hoot as the self-conscious robot. 

HAPPY ACCIDENTS (2000) got derailed by a bad disc. As I noted on stage, it's available on DVD and you can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkL8S8u3a-M&t=12s


GODZILLA (1954) - The greatest Kaiju film and one of the finest Sci-Fi movies ever made. Revisiting it is always a stark reminder of how dark and terrifying Inoshiro Honda's film is. Made less than a deade after the twin nuclear bombs were dropped on the country. The scenes where radiation victims, accompanied by babies crying and Akira Ifukube's brilliant score is almost too much to bear. Yes, Godzilla gets to crunch some fine minatures, but even his death scene isn't cause for celebration, but sober reflection. A classic.

FUTURE-KILL (1985) From the sublime to the ridiculous. The H.R. Giger poster (and home video) art suckered some folks into seeing this one which resembles a: What if Troma ripped off THE WARRIORS with a little TOXIC AVENGER tossed in?! The fantasy quotient is minimal as are the attempts at humor and social commentary. The best review I saw recommended to pick up the cover art, admire Giger's work -- and then put the VHS Box/DVD case back down unwatched! The 35mm print was decent, but, the low budget production values still keep it pretty dim looking.

La Jetee (1962) In 28 minutes Director Chris Marker creates an entire universe that transcends time and space. Using mainly only still photographs, narration and sound, it's a remarkable achievement which has lasted the test of time.

UFORIA (1985) - Quirky tale about true believers, UFOs and a strange sense of what was to be the 80s generation. The three main cast members have all passed on in the past few years, giving it an even stronger sense of the bittersweet which is inherent in the material. Because of it's offbeat storytelling and music rights issues, it has never been properly released on home video (just an old P&S VHS). This nice 35mm print not only preserved it's proper widescreen framing, but also its full song score. THIS is what makes the Marathon great.

BEYOND THE TIME BARRIER (1960) Edgar Ulmer's low budget film is like an extended Twilight Zone episode with a jet pilot going forward in time to the horrifying year of 2024! Next year promises to be full of mutants and inverted triangle designs! Please send the pilot back to prevent that!It's a decent B movie which cleverly makes use of a 'futuristic' display at a state fair, as well as an abandoned air field.

ALIEN (1979) - Not much more can be said about Ridley Scott's sleek and polished original entry in the Alien series.  That's a bit of a double-edged sword. As well made and effective as it is, there really isn't much to reward repeated viewings. It's extremely well made production-wise, the creature design was unique at the time and the cast of veterans is flawless. Of course, it was the breakthrough film for Weaver; that underwear scene would never fly today! Still, for all that, there isn't much there to really delve into thematically. It's "just" a good creature feature. Unfortunately, the 35mm print was in pink-o-vision.

TOTAL RECALL (1990) - Time has made this one look sillier and sillier. Few of author P.K. Dick's themes survive the Arnold treatment that Verhoeven and his writers fashioned. The garish digital print does the visuals few favors and the bulging eye bit is laughable. But, as entertainment, it does pass the popcorn test. Never bothered witht the 2012 version, because the reviews were so bad.

And, that was that. We ended about 45 minutes early because of the unHappy Accidents thing, but, with the preshow - it stll was 24 hours+!

The crowd was a hearty bunch with a pretty high staying awake quotient.  I thought it was very enjoyable overall even if it seemed a little lite overall.

On to 2024 and SF/49!

yes. the schedule may have been a tad lite. stuff like back to the future lacks intensity and panache. i suggest queen of outer space and team america for next year.

UncleTim wrote on Feb 28^th, 2023 at 5:43pm:

Just finished putting together our latest podcast episode that we recorded at the marathon chronicling our on-the-spot reactions to all the great movies... and our exhaustion. This was our first time being live and in person at the Somerville Theater for the marathon in five years and it was a bit of a struggle. We're out of practice! Just as a heads up, since we were recording on the scene we had to use some dodgy microphones and find what relatively quiet space we could so sound quality definitely isn't up to our preferred standards but hopefully it's still enjoyable: https://www.cinemaspection.com/2023/02/boston-science-fiction-marathon-sf48.html Thanks to everyone at the Somerville Theater and everyone at the fest who keep this happening! And here's to us getting into better shape (and getting better microphones) for next year!!

Thanks for posting.

Couple of quick points:

1. Yes, HAPPY ACCIDENTS got derailed by a faulty disc. Nothing to do with the length.

2. As to the scheduling. There are a lot of factors including juggling all of the film prints in the booth. If it's mostly all digital, that frees up the order a bit more. But, with this year's committment to film, one must keep in mind what DAK has to maneuver in the projection booth.
And, bottom line, I've been part of the scheduling for years. One thing I've come to fully understand: YOU CAN'T MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY!

Cheers

L.A. Connection wrote on Mar 19^th, 2023 at 1:54pm:

YOU CAN'T MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY! Cheers

i can. more  on this later.

kirok1 wrote on Mar 20^th, 2023 at 6:24pm:

L.A. Connection wrote on Mar 19th, 2023 at 1:54pm: YOU CAN'T MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY! Cheers i can. more  on this later.

Uh. Huh. After 48 years You have the magic formula to make all 400 people totally thrilled with a schedule AND also make the logistics work AT THE SAME TIME.

Uh, huh.

L.A. Connection wrote on Mar 19^th, 2023 at 1:54pm:

Couple of quick points: 1. Yes, HAPPY ACCIDENTS got derailed by a faulty disc. Nothing to do with the length. 2. As to the scheduling. There are a lot of factors including juggling all of the film prints in the booth. If it's mostly all digital, that frees up the order a bit more. But, with this year's committment to film, one must keep in mind what DAK has to maneuver in the projection booth. And, bottom line, I've been part of the scheduling for years. One thing I've come to fully understand: YOU CAN'T MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY! Cheers

1. Ok, so that explains it. We weren't totally sure and to be honest from the balcony it was hard to discern what was being said from the stage so if anyone had announced that, we must have missed it. The timing just proved to be a... wait for it... happy accident.

2. Ok, fair point, but being as exhausted as we were we reserved the right to some mild grumbling, whether justified or not.  ;)

UncleTim wrote on Mar 22^nd, 2023 at 3:35pm:

L.A. Connection wrote on Mar 19th, 2023 at 1:54pm: Couple of quick points: 1. Yes, HAPPY ACCIDENTS got derailed by a faulty disc. Nothing to do with the length. 2. As to the scheduling. There are a lot of factors including juggling all of the film prints in the booth. If it's mostly all digital, that frees up the order a bit more. But, with this year's committment to film, one must keep in mind what DAK has to maneuver in the projection booth. And, bottom line, I've been part of the scheduling for years. One thing I've come to fully understand: YOU CAN'T MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY! Cheers 1. Ok, so that explains it. We weren't totally sure and to be honest from the balcony it was hard to discern what was being said from the stage so if anyone had announced that, we must have missed it. The timing just proved to be a... wait for it... happy accident. 2. Ok, fair point, but being as exhausted as we were we reserved the right to some mild grumbling, whether justified or not.  ;)

It was announced a few times. Maybe your podcast duties got in the way.  :)

And, even though I had input, I wasn't totally on board with the final schedule. BUT, that just proves the point - YOU CAN'T MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY!!

I do think it was pretty good overall. Some biggies on both ends with some lighter stuff around dinner time. Putting Future-Kill in the no man's land etc.

i was watching "Konga" on svengoolie last week and the i think there was an edit in the print that we saw at the marathon. this should NEVER happen at a marathon. the scene wa s near the end where the young blond student (that the professor was hitting on) got her hand caught in a man eating plant. at the marathon ther was only one scene of her screaming as the plant got her hand. but on svengoolie they showed the plant pulling her deeper into it's digestion chamber as she screamed and struggled in vain to free herself. it was disturbing but still it should have been included in the marathon reels. the same ommission happened on a showing of "the last woman on earth". a scene in which the single man was walking on the beach and saw a fresh female cadaver and clearly was considerring necrophelia.