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Marathon Memorabilia: Bunnyman Files (Read 230120 times)
Reply #195 - Apr 11th, 2013 at 7:07pm

da_Bunnyman   Offline
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.....................

We had a new home! (Actually I forget if we knew that or not at this marathon)
Bots over Boston, good theme and a nice t-shirt too. Forbidden Planet returns, can't have a bots theme without Robbie. Metropolis a rather odd but kinda fun anime. Best reaction was a ray Charles song showing up in it. Frankenstein Meets The Space Monster (AKA Mars Invades Puerto Rico) , wonderful schlock with horny aliens, pieces of a cheap transistor radio used as makeup and lots of dull travelog footage. Not a bad monster costume though. Slither was gory fun. Stepford Wives was kind of dull otherwise the recipe line might've caught on. Monster House was okay but out of place in a sci-fi lineup. And the classic Robocop to end the show with lots of action. 
 

I can't complain but sometimes I still do. Life's been good to me so far.
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Reply #196 - Apr 14th, 2013 at 1:21pm

L.A. Connection   Offline
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Nothing was guaranteed, but, I recall Ian saying that the Marathon was going to be back at the Somerville the next year - and, hopefully then on out. It was certainly a relief after the vagabond years!

Unfortunately, the schedule itself was the kind of mish-mash that has marked the Somerville years.

Nominally, a "robot" themed event, there were some definite highlights - ROBOCOP (even more violent than I had remembered!), the unnanouced "suprise" BLADE RUNNER (nice seeing the original cut one more time on the big screen), and the 'I could watch it just about every other Marathon' classic FORBIDDEN PLANET.

There was some fun schlock with CHOPPING MALL & FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE SPACE MONSTER (I got to interview the co-writer for a magazine piece). METROPOLIS was a so-so anime but not bad, and it's always fun to see FLASH GORDON at the Marathon (although the edited feature format kind of defeats the whole cliffhanger appeal of serials). STEPFORD WIVES made its belated marathon debut, and as indifferently paced and obtusely plotted as it is, the movie remains fascinating on a sociological level coming as it did during the height of the woman's movement. SLITHER was a fun little gorefest.

On the downside was the 'sneak preview' premiere of Larry "I'll beat any cliched joke into the ground" Blamire's awful TRAIL OF THE SCREAMING FOREHEAD. The other "Premiere" was the ok if bland PUZZLEHEAD. Director James Bai attended and got into a contentious Q & A session with a few of the Marathoners. He hasn't made a film since. MONSTER HOUSE was the unnecessary "kid's film" forced into the lineup - it's a decent film, but without the 3D it lost some of what made it enjoyable on the big screen. And, as good a film as DARK STAR is, this Marathon repeat was obvious last-minute filler booked to fill a slot. It was too bad that the loooooooooooooong overdue WESTWORLD wasn't booked despite its suiting the theme AND having a nice 35mm print available.

Overall, the appeal of returning to the Somerville outweighed some of the drawbacks of that year's Marathon.

da_Bunnyman wrote on Apr 11th, 2013 at 7:07pm:
[img][img][img][img][img][img][img]

We had a new home! (Actually I forget if we knew that or not at this marathon)
Bots over Boston, good theme and a nice t-shirt too. Forbidden Planet returns, can't have a bots theme without Robbie. Metropolis a rather odd but kinda fun anime. Best reaction was a ray Charles song showing up in it. Frankenstein Meets The Space Monster (AKA Mars Invades Puerto Rico) , wonderful schlock with horny aliens, pieces of a cheap transistor radio used as makeup and lots of dull travelog footage. Not a bad monster costume though. Slither was gory fun. Stepford Wives was kind of dull otherwise the recipe line might've caught on. Monster House was okay but out of place in a sci-fi lineup. And the classic Robocop to end the show with lots of action. 

 
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Reply #197 - Apr 15th, 2013 at 11:01pm

David the Projectionist   Offline
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L.A. Connection wrote on Apr 14th, 2013 at 1:21pm:
Unfortunately, the schedule itself was the kind of mish-mash that has marked the Somerville years.....
Overall, the appeal of returning to the Somerville outweighed some of the drawbacks of that year's Marathon.


     Tony, you need to work on your English, because it sure sounds like youre blaming the Somerville Theatre for Garen's odd scheduling choices.
     Put the blame where it belongs.  We dont book the marathon!  Angry

 

I have seen the future, and it is sucky digital....
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Reply #198 - Apr 15th, 2013 at 11:38pm

L.A. Connection   Offline
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David, only you would jump to these conclusions. Stop taking any post about the Somerville so personally.

And, Mr. "I Don't know how to punctuate properly" shouldn't be throwing stones about language........

To wit:

David the Projectionist wrote on Mar 24th, 2013 at 5:20pm:

     Well, youve finally given me the opening I need to point out that you should....And italicizing your error doesnt help!


or

David the Projectionist wrote on Mar 24th, 2013 at 5:12pm:
  The first marathon I ever ran, & I didnt know squat!
     Ive learned a thing or two since then....


There's a little thing in the English language called an Apostrophe.

The English, she is difficult, eh? 

Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue Tongue

Notice all the missing apostrophes?

David the Projectionist wrote on Apr 15th, 2013 at 11:01pm:
L.A. Connection wrote on Apr 14th, 2013 at 1:21pm:
Unfortunately, the schedule itself was the kind of mish-mash that has marked the Somerville years.....Overall, the appeal of returning to the Somerville outweighed some of the drawbacks of that year's Marathon.
     Tony, you need to work on your English, because it sure sounds like youre blaming the Somerville Theatre for Garen's odd scheduling choices.    Put the blame where it belongs.  We dont book the marathon!  Angry



Oh, and "dont" is missing yet another..........


Grin Grin Grin Grin Grin Grin Grin Grin Grin Grin Grin Grin Grin Grin Grin Grin Grin Grin

Maybe this article will help: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/apostrophe
 
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Reply #199 - Apr 18th, 2013 at 8:13pm

da_Bunnyman   Offline
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Flyer for SF33. Two years in a row at the Somerville Theater.  Maybe we had found a place to settle down again.
 

I can't complain but sometimes I still do. Life's been good to me so far.
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Reply #200 - Apr 20th, 2013 at 9:00pm

da_Bunnyman   Offline
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........................

SF33 The Future Is Passe theme. Only the second year back and the Somerville was feeling like home. The unannounced special turned out to be Cloverfield. Fun to see it again with the marathon crowd. King Dinosaur was incredibly cheesy and cheap even by Bert I. Gordon standards so I enjoyed it. Last Mimzy I had missed in theaters,  so enjoyable because it was new. Ever Since The World Ended was a good idea but not great execution. Neat seeing one of the Mythbusters in it though. A Boy And His Dog stands up remarkably well.  Black Sheep was bloody fun. 1984 depressing but very well acted.  Sound of Thunder just horrible. War of the Worlds a classic as always.
 

I can't complain but sometimes I still do. Life's been good to me so far.
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Reply #201 - Apr 21st, 2013 at 2:57pm

L.A. Connection   Offline
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SF/33 was pretty good, with a couple of hiccups.

The main problem happened when somehow SOMEWAY the Somerville Post Office couldn't figure out where the Somerville Theater was! LQ Jones' personal restored print of A BOY AND HIS DOG made it all the way from L.A. to Somerville, but they didn't deliver it the last couple of miles to the Theater in time. Garen and Ian pulled some strings and got the Post Office to open on a Holiday and secured the print. Unfortunately, the schedule had to be altered and WAR OF THE WORLDS and BOY flipped in the order. Also, the planned phone hook-up with LQ failed, but, fortunately, I had a back-up and we played an audio recording I conducted with LQ at the L.A. premiere of the restored print.

I don't recall another time that we showed a movie still in the midst of its prime release, but, so it was with the jerky cam extravaganza CLOVERFIELD (we missed out on a chance to sell dramamine pills at the concession stand!).
2001
was great as always, but, this time I noted that the 40 year old special effects had finally begun to show a tad of creakiness (still pretty remarkable that they remained close to cutting edge for soooooooo long!). IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON was another fine NASA documentary (they seemed to have inspired many).
1984
held up well many years after its deadline title date, although it is an incredibly dark and depressing film. As I noted afterwards, WAR OF THE WORLDS really shined for me that year in a way it hadn't despite several earlier viewings. KING DINOSAUR was a Z-movie delight even if the audience didn't seem to get into it - it should have been as fun a screening as this past year's REPTILICUS. BLACK SHEEP was a very good middle of the night B movie schlockfest - there were more than a handful of "they're not really gonna go THERE!" moments - and they did! A BOY AND HIS DOG still remains one of the more unique films in the SF canon, even if a bit of its satire has lost some bite over the years.

EVER SINCE THE WORLD ENDED was one of those It's Been Sitting on a Shelf for Several Years "premieres", but it was decently mediocre (the funniest gaffe was depicting the documentary within the movie on VIDEO, but showing film cans and film reels as the source! That's something the yahoos would deride an older film for, but "forgive" the newer title). JOURNEY TO THE 7TH PLANET was Solaris-very, very lite on a B movie budget. THE LAST MIMZY was yet another - Let's force a kid's film into the lineup entry. It wasn't bad, but to think of all the significant films that have never been shown in favor of this....? Roll Eyes 

SOUND OF THUNDER was probably suggested by the same folks who thought BATTLEFIELD EARTH would be a marathon laugh riot - bloated big budget disasters are NOT funny!

Overall, not a bad show, with some major reservations.


da_Bunnyman wrote on Apr 20th, 2013 at 9:00pm:
[img][img][img][img][img][img][img][img]

SF33 The Future Is Passe theme. Only the second year back and the Somerville was feeling like home. The unannounced special turned out to be Cloverfield. Fun to see it again with the marathon crowd. King Dinosaur was incredibly cheesy and cheap even by Bert I. Gordon standards so I enjoyed it. Last Mimzy I had missed in theaters,  so enjoyable because it was new. Ever Since The World Ended was a good idea but not great execution. Neat seeing one of the Mythbusters in it though. A Boy And His Dog stands up remarkably well.  Black Sheep was bloody fun. 1984 depressing but very well acted.  Sound of Thunder just horrible. War of the Worlds a classic as always.

 
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Reply #202 - Apr 28th, 2013 at 7:33am

da_Bunnyman   Offline
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...

And off we go again. Our third event back at the Somerville. Looks like we had found a home. The theater itself evolves a bit each time we are back with interior re-painting and restorals and new projection equipment.
« Last Edit: Apr 28th, 2013 at 10:40pm by da_Bunnyman »  

I can't complain but sometimes I still do. Life's been good to me so far.
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Reply #203 - May 3rd, 2013 at 9:36pm

da_Bunnyman   Offline
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.....................

Our fourth event back at the Somerville Theater. Yeah it's feeling like home and we're starting to really settle in here.
Alien trespass was a pretty funny curtain raiser, not outstanding but fun. It Came From Outer space in 3D at the Somerville it's as close as you can get to time traveling back to the fifties. Chrysalis, all setup really not much of a payoff. Logan's Run, a long awaited debut from what was the ultimate seventies sci-fi. It's actually aged better than I thought it would. Alien Raiders a good low budget pic, set in a supermarket it has a nice feeling that there is a lot more going on than you see. The original Thing From Another World, always welcome. Repo Man a great 80's time capsule with catchphrases galore. Lots of fun. Killer Klowns an insane concept that works well. I love this film. I Married A Monster From Outer Space silly title but fantastic film, another fifties classic. Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan, oh come on, we were all just waiting to shout KHAAAAAAN! in unison.
Man, this was a really fantastic lineup.
 

I can't complain but sometimes I still do. Life's been good to me so far.
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Reply #204 - May 5th, 2013 at 6:38pm

L.A. Connection   Offline
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A pretty good Marathon.

The trio of "premiers" were mediocre as usual, but, relatively painless. ALIEN TRESPASS gets off on the wrong foot when it claims to be a "lost" 50s film - but, uses modern day CGI from the get-go (not to mention that Director Goodwin came off as pretty Blamire-like in interviews - "I love these movies, but I'm so much better than them" -#$$# you, dude!). ALIEN RAIDERS was a decent straight to video entry and director Ben Rock was a cool guest. The most poorly received of the trio, CHRYSALIS, was a bit better than it got from the crowd. The Demetri Martin shorts were meh. Not Sci-fi, but I guess we were the first to see them in a theater FWIW.

Any marathon that includes the great original version of THE THING has a solid foundation. REPO MAN is such a personal film for me since it captures the time and place of 80s L.A. that first greeted me. Not to mention the fact that I worked with a lot of the folks involved. A great and fun time capsule (just released on Blu Ray by the way).

What really made the marathon special was the looooooong overdue inclusion of LOGAN'S RUN. No classic by any means, the film has been stubbornly out of distribution on 35MM for decades (and now with #$$%ing digital, will likely never be again). A
gigantic
thank you to Bruce for locating this truly rare treat!

Marathon repeats I MARRIED A MONSTER, the '78 INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS and KILLER KLOWNS made welcome reprises, although only MARRIED came off even better this time around (I like the other two, but, they don't hold up as well as they initially did). RUNAWAY was a fun 80s throwaway, and Gene Simmons can really chew up the scenery!

I truly didn't know that ALIEN TRESPASS was such a direct snark on IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE when I scheduled them back to back - made for a neat coincidence. And, it's always fun to experience retro Red/Blue 3D (and Mr.Goodwin - IT CAME is a better film than yours!  Tongue You're wacked if you have any delusions that your film will be showing anywhere 50+ years after it was made!) It's also a better film than that 2 1/2 hour waste of Marathon time, TRANSFORMERS. At least I went out and had a decent breakfast during its interminable running time. And to think there were actually folks that recommended this for the 'thon! WTF?!!  Angry

Ending with STAR TREK II was a nice touch. Thanks to Garen for tracking down a print on relatively short notice after Ricardo Montalban's passing. And, a shout-out to Caleb for tracking down the audio for Ricardo's "Corinthian Leather" commercial!

All and all, a pretty solid marathon in retrospect.


da_Bunnyman wrote on May 3rd, 2013 at 9:36pm:
[img][img][img][img][img][img][img]

Our fourth event back at the Somerville Theater. Yeah it's feeling like home and we're starting to really settle in here.
Alien trespass was a pretty funny curtain raiser, not outstanding but fun. It Came From Outer space in 3D at the Somerville it's as close as you can get to time traveling back to the fifties. Chrysalis, all setup really not much of a payoff. Logan's Run, a long awaited debut from what was the ultimate seventies sci-fi. It's actually aged better than I thought it would. Alien Raiders a good low budget pic, set in a supermarket it has a nice feeling that there is a lot more going on than you see. The original Thing From Another World, always welcome. Repo Man a great 80's time capsule with catchphrases galore. Lots of fun. Killer Klowns an insane concept that works well. I love this film. I Married A Monster From Outer Space silly title but fantastic film, another fifties classic. Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan, oh come on, we were all just waiting to shout KHAAAAAAN! in unison.
Man, this was a really fantastic lineup. 

 
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Reply #205 - May 10th, 2013 at 1:02pm

da_Bunnyman   Offline
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The marathon turns 35 and the Somerville Theater is our home. We're considered the closing act for the Sci-Fi Film Festival at the theater. But that's fine. Anyone who attends knows we're the main show. 
 

I can't complain but sometimes I still do. Life's been good to me so far.
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Reply #206 - May 17th, 2013 at 5:36pm

da_Bunnyman   Offline
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.....................

SF35 and no theme. Moon, shows that a good story can overcome a miniscule budget. Colossus The Forbin Project, the story is still great but technology has passed it by. Still a good drama proving science fiction is not all special effects. 9 a controversial choice, some said it was more fantasy than SF, I liked it. Giant Gila Monster super schlocky effects and a story that wanders, enjoyable even with the leads singing. Labyrinth, okay this is fantasy, a fun film combining Jim Henson characters with some Monty Python writing. Famous Monster; Forrest J. Ackerman, good documentary about one of the people that helped create fandom. His mag Famous Monsters was a favorite of mine growing up for the rare pics of older films that made me search them out. Seemed like he saw them all. District 9 shows how a world can become bored even by the discovery that aliens exist. John Carpenter's The Thing, still super creepy, Carpenter was a little ahead of his time in films and they suffered for it. I still think this bombed because they released a film about freezing cold in the middle of summer. Night of the Creeps/Comet two different films that shared a weird attitude towards its creatures. Creeps was creepy, those damn little buggers seemed to be everywhere. Comet suffered a bit by being so in tune to it's time. It'll be a good time capsule soon. Rabid, history does not repeat itself as the crowd does not flee like they did when They Came From Within screened back at SF3. This was nowhere near as sick a film as that. Day the sky Exploded, one of those films where stuff happens but not much really happens, I don't even remember this now.
Another pretty eclectic lineup, made for a fun time.
 

I can't complain but sometimes I still do. Life's been good to me so far.
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Reply #207 - May 24th, 2013 at 9:44pm

L.A. Connection   Offline
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Ah, that long ago year of 2010!

Besides my disappointment at NOT showing the movie
2010
(even though a print was available), SF/35 was marked by some fairly scattershot programming.

The jewel was a brilliant archive print of COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN project which looked and sounded better than it had at its two prior Marathon appearances. The tech is dated, but, the drama still works. Also, the very good PBS production of Ursula Le Guin's LATHE OF HEAVEN made its Marathon debut, albeit on a faulty home-burned DVD. MOON worked even better the second time around. Call me what you want, but, I still think it's a better piece of SF than that year's overblown AVATAR.

The NIGHT OF THE COMET & NIGHT OF THE CREEPS B-movie double bill was entertaining, along with Cronenberg's RABID starring none other than Marilyn Chambers (who had passed away a few months prior). More fun schlock was had with GIANT GILA MONSTER starring Don Sullivan (who provided the subject for a Rondo Nominated article I co-authored). Although a rare find in 35mm, DAY THE SKY EXPLODED wasn't as much fun.

LABYRINTH was the odd fantasy addition to the schedule, featuring a young Jennifer Connoly and David Bowie's...uh...little Davy. The animated film
9
was beautiful to look at, but, betrayed the fact that it originated as a short.

A heartfelt documentary on Forrest J. Ackerman, FAMOUS MONSTER, stirred the oldsters in the audience. I feel fortunate to not only having seen Forrest in person a number of times and toured his Acker-Museum guided by the man himself, but attended screenings where we sat together for such screenings as FREAKS, THE INVISIBLE MAN and OLD DARK HOUSE. Truly a dream come true for any fanboy of a certain age.

Two of the most overrated SF films of all time pleased those who think differently, Carpenter's THE THING and the hard to believe it was actually nominated for Best Picture, DISTRICT 9. WTF was the Academy thinking?

The marathon closed on a high note with the "Premiere" of SLEEP DEALER (even though it had already played theaters nationwide). It was an interesting and thought-provoking Mexican film, sadly shown on blown out Blu Ray (although 35mm prints existed). Plus, at 10am, it was a bit of a chore to read subtitles.

So, all in all, SF/35 was a mixed bag with some highs, lows and a lot of in-betweens.


da_Bunnyman wrote on May 17th, 2013 at 5:36pm:
[img][img][img][img][img][img][img]

SF35 and no theme. Moon, shows that a good story can overcome a miniscule budget. Colossus The Forbin Project, the story is still great but technology has passed it by. Still a good drama proving science fiction is not all special effects. 9 a controversial choice, some said it was more fantasy than SF, I liked it. Giant Gila Monster super schlocky effects and a story that wanders, enjoyable even with the leads singing. Labyrinth, okay this is fantasy, a fun film combining Jim Henson characters with some Monty Python writing. Famous Monster; Forrest J. Ackerman, good documentary about one of the people that helped create fandom. His mag Famous Monsters was a favorite of mine growing up for the rare pics of older films that made me search them out. Seemed like he saw them all. District 9 shows how a world can become bored even by the discovery that aliens exist. John Carpenter's The Thing, still super creepy, Carpenter was a little ahead of his time in films and they suffered for it. I still think this bombed because they released a film about freezing cold in the middle of summer. Night of the Creeps/Comet two different films that shared a weird attitude towards its creatures. Creeps was creepy, those damn little buggers seemed to be everywhere. Comet suffered a bit by being so in tune to it's time. It'll be a good time capsule soon. Rabid, history does not repeat itself as the crowd does not flee like they did when They Came From Within screened back at SF3. This was nowhere near as sick a film as that. Day the sky Exploded, one of those films where stuff happens but not much really happens, I don't even remember this now.
Another pretty eclectic lineup, made for a fun time.   

 
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Reply #208 - May 31st, 2013 at 8:54pm

da_Bunnyman   Offline
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.....................

The 36th year begins with a big name recent film the 2009 Star Trek reboot. Good action and good casting. Scotty has a real Scottish accent now. The 1916 20,000 Leagues is kind of dull but a unique experience. Might be another 90 years before it ever shows again. Metropia is pretty bad looking like a commercial for some product you'd never want to buy. The original Battlestar Galactica movie is fun for awhile but it just ain't the same without Sensurround. Mystery Science Theater 3000; The Movie, after waiting forever for this to show up at the marathon it gets scheduled around dinner time so a large portion of the crowd is gone for it. Pretty funny and some good in-jokes even if it does take on a semi classic sci-fi film in This Island Earth. The Host, amazing film from Korea with a good attitude and an exciting climax. Monsters, a dividing film, I've heard people bad mouthing this film and others calling it classic. Main thing seems to be folks wanting more monsters in the film. I enjoyed it a lot. Videodrome, weird, in many ways ahead of it's time in others it just has not aged well. Lady Terminator, insanely bad film that was a riot to watch. Mothra, classic Kaiju, I'm sure I was not the only one singing along with the twins. Zonad a nice surprise, even if not technically science fiction it was pretty funny and a good ending film. 
Good lineup, some nice surprises, a couple of long requested films and only one real disaster.
 

I can't complain but sometimes I still do. Life's been good to me so far.
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Reply #209 - Jun 7th, 2013 at 4:46pm

L.A. Connection   Offline
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Has it been over 2 years already?

STAR TREK affirmed the impression that it was a worthy re-start to the series (this year's sequel also did for the most part, but, it's time to move on from too much winking and nodding to the originals). It was great to see the fine print of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA - a great film? No, but fun nostalgia. MONSTERS was a cool underseen indie from the year before. Solid on a low budget, but, a bit under-developed in retrospect. THE HOST is a Korean film that went a bit under the radar (mainly, because it was Korean). Not as great as its reputation, but, very interesting and that ending would never fly with a big U.S. studio!

THE QUIET EARTH is one of the most underrated SF films of the past couple of decades - too bad the print was incomplete; thanks to Frank for providing the DVD and Dave for pulling off the 35mm to DVD transition. Time has healed some of the disappointment that the MST3K crew took on THIS ISLAND EARTH for their film to mock -it's pretty darn amusing, but, as Bunnyman noted, a shame that so many left for din-din. I enjoyed the silent 20,000 LEAGUES, particularly with Jeff Rapsis' live music.
METROPIA was the year's unnecessary 'Animated Film Slot' filler. Corman's LAST WOMAN ON EARTH is more interesting than it's rep. Seeing the fully Japanese edit of MOTHRA was cool - and yes, those cute Twins' song is infectious! Cronenberg's VIDEODROME is a fascinating, frustrating mess that is both dated AND still relevant.
Aside from QUIET EARTH, my other highlight was the gonzo Malaysian schlock masterpiece LADY TERMINATOR. It really looks like they started off with a bizarro sex fairy tale and then, mid-shoot, decided to rip-off T2 as well. You either love this stuff, or, you just don't get it.
ZONAD was one stupid movie! Fitfully, funny, though. A cheeseball ending to a pretty good marathon. And, sometimes you just need a little cheez to cap off the evening, right?



da_Bunnyman wrote on May 31st, 2013 at 8:54pm:
[img][img][img][img][img][img][img]

The 36th year begins with a big name recent film the 2009 Star Trek reboot. Good action and good casting. Scotty has a real Scottish accent now. The 1916 20,000 Leagues is kind of dull but a unique experience. Might be another 90 years before it ever shows again. Metropia is pretty bad looking like a commercial for some product you'd never want to buy. The original Battlestar Galactica movie is fun for awhile but it just ain't the same without Sensurround. Mystery Science Theater 3000; The Movie, after waiting forever for this to show up at the marathon it gets scheduled around dinner time so a large portion of the crowd is gone for it. Pretty funny and some good in-jokes even if it does take on a semi classic sci-fi film in This Island Earth. The Host, amazing film from Korea with a good attitude and an exciting climax. Monsters, a dividing film, I've heard people bad mouthing this film and others calling it classic. Main thing seems to be folks wanting more monsters in the film. I enjoyed it a lot. Videodrome, weird, in many ways ahead of it's time in others it just has not aged well. Lady Terminator, insanely bad film that was a riot to watch. Mothra, classic Kaiju, I'm sure I was not the only one singing along with the twins. Zonad a nice surprise, even if not technically science fiction it was pretty funny and a good ending film. 
Good lineup, some nice surprises, a couple of long requested films and only one real disaster.

 
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