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The 18th Annual 24 Hour Science Fiction
Movie Marathon |
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OK, so my good friend John Dranschak and I went to the Drexel 24 hour marathon on April 8 (noon) through April 9 (noon), 2000. The following is a chronicle of the movies that we saw, and a general review of what we thought. Please keep in mind that I wrote these reviews as we went along, so the last reviews may make less sense since I only slept through one movie.
If you want to know a LOT more about movies and awards, see LOTS of entertaining lists and stuff, please check out John's site, Tiny Little Details. When it comes to film, he is THE KING!!! (If you came here from his page, well we do have a little mutual admiration society going. What's really wrong with that?) I have included very basic information on each of the films. If you are looking for anything more specific please feel free to email me for director/producer/actor information. |
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The films we saw were: |
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12:45 pm April8
The Incredible Shrinking Man Release Date: April, 1957 John and I agree that it was a really good print of the movie. Neither of us had ever seen this movie before, and it was one of the main reasons that we subjected ourselves to this thing. I liked it a lot and enjoyed seeing a really old movie. The special effects for the time were cutting edge, but there was a lot of really bad blue screens going on. John liked the movie a lot. We were both amused when they showed us the preview for the Incredible Shrinking Woman, and many of the scenes they were using in the previews came directly out of The Incredible Shrinking Man. We would definitely recommend this movie as a rental, particularly for the younger folks, as this will expose them to the amazing things that have changed in movies since the 50's. (Nothing like suffering a bit of the past to appreciate the present a bit more.) John's quote: Incredible special effects for the time. Back to top |
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3:30 pm April 8 (We are already running very behind based on the original program, but Sci-fi folk can't get anything to work on time)
The Iron Giant Release Date: August 6, 1999 John and I have both already seen this movie (as a matter of fact this is the second time we have seen it together), and we both thought it stood up to the test of multiple viewings. It has very good moments, and no bad ones that we could think of. We really recommend this movie for rental, the whole family can enjoy this one together. Back to top |
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5:30 pm April 8
Planet of the Apes Release Date: April 3, 1968 A real classic, a great film, a terrible, awful, horrid print. We think we may have had the first print they struck. There were some terrible places where film was broken and edited, and we saw a lot of pink screens. This was theoretically the best print they could get, and we are hoping to never see the worse ones. This was John's first time for this movie, and he saw the end coming. For those of you who have not seen this film we highly recommend that you run out and rent it tonight. A true classic in every sense of the word. Back to top |
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8:03 pm April 8 Gravity Release Date: 1983 The real reason for our Sci-Fi marathon was this public service announcement, where our good friend Jiminy Gravity informs us that there is a great gravity shortage starting, and that we can all help by always carrying helium balloon, and staying downstairs. This was the only short that we are going to see due to the fact that we are running so late. Please note that this short is not suitable for small children, and "big sister" is in the Sci-Fi hall of fame. A must see for all avid Sci-Fi fans (preferably at next years marathon.) Back to top |
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8:20 pm April 8
Top of the Food Chain Release Date: March 10,2000 The first movie that John and I disagree on. I left asking "Why God, why was any time or money put into producing this?" John says It's a great D movie. So preposterous it was fun. This movie was released Canada earlier this year, and we were "fortunate" enough to be at it's Midwest premier. Just to make sure there is no confusion, John has also said that he does not think he would see it again, but once, as part of the marathon experience, was certainly fun. I just keep hoping that it does not get any worse than this. We still have 2 more premiers to go. Back to top |
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10:15 pm April 8 Frequency Release Date: April 28, 2000(Yes, that is in the future) We both walked out of this one and said "We gotta wait till April 28 to see that again?!?"(edited for younger readers) That's right folks, we just did a PREMIER before the movie is released, and it was AWESOME. Frequency was definitely the highlight of this marathon. This was a WONDERFUL movie. The premise is amazing, and the story is well written, the acting is phenomenal, and the entire thing makes you leave going OOOOHHHHH. John and I are of the opinion that they play fast and loose with the paradox of time lines, but it was well worth it. They kept the same concept through the entire movie, and it worked. I can't say enough good things about this movie. We (the entire audience) laughed, were anxious, cheered, and were completely enthralled. 200 people who have been watching movies together for 12 hours now sat completely enthralled during the entire movie. It is the first in this marathon where no one was talking out loud through the movie. We were all entranced. This is my new favorite movie for the century, even if you think the century doesn't end till Dec 2000. This was it. Wow. John says Dennis Quaid's best performance in years. Jim Cavaziel delivered the promise that he showed in the Thin Red Line. A wonderful script from Tobias Emmerich. A taught twisting freefall of a ride (Stick that one in your magazine and publish it.) In case you haven't guessed, this movie gets four thumbs up and a triple snap from both of us. The proof that this was a real premier is that this was a finished movie, final soundtrack, but there were no end credits! Back to top |
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1:15 am April 9 Tron Release Date: 1982 The marathon is about 2 hours and 45 minutes off the published schedule right now. We hope to get it back on track by cutting the breaks between movies shorter and trying to keep the speeches before the movies shorter. I am noticing that my keying is a little slower and I have to think about what I am saying before I can actually type it. John slept through most of Tron, but we have both seen it before. We recommend that if you haven't seen it, you should go out and rent it. This is a movie that the entire family can watch without problems. Good stuff. I liked seeing again and I think that I should be set for the decade. Back to top |
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3:30 am April 9 (Getting better, only 2.5 hours behind now.) X Release Date: 1999 This is a Japanese anime that was supposed to be a Midwest premier of Progeny, but the print on it is lost somewhere in Brussels, or between here and there as the case may be. But all of this is really a moot point. It turns out John and I like anime about the same amount, which is none at all. John contends that he was awake for about 20 minutes of the movie, I am not sure that I got through the trailers they are showing before each of the movies. The audience really seemed to like it, but it is definitely NOT a children's movie (I was awake for the last 10 minutes or so, and it is the most violent thing we have seen yet today.) Back to top |
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5:45 am April 9 (supposed to start at 4:00 am, you do the math, I am too tired) Men in Black Release Date: July 2, 1997 What can I say? Zed, J, and K run around and save the universe from the worst scum of the universe. If you haven't seen this one, I am not sure there is any way that you can be saved. I would recommend that you go out and get this movie and watch it several times. John slept through the entire movie again (he seems to usually wake up for the breaks for a cigarette), but he, like I, has seen this movie too many times to count. Sufficed to say I stopped counting at 20, and that was the year the movie was released. John's quote I slept through it. Back to top |
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8:00 am April 9 (scheduled start time 5:50 am) Death Race 2000 Release Date: 1975 Another fine job by Sylvester Stallone and David Carradine. If you have always valued REALLY bad D movies, this is the one to see. No suitable for really anyone, lots of violence, full frontal nudity, and more violence. John's quote: Zzzzzz (If he doesn't get his 6 hours a night he gets cranky.) Back to top |
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9:15 am April 9 (scheduled start time 7:30 am) The Fifth Element Release Date: May 9, 1997 Another movie that John and I have both seen, but that we were excited to see again. This movie has levels that are interesting even the 6th time you see the movie. This is an amazing screenplay by Luc Besson & Robert Mark Kamen, and even Bruce Willis did a good job with this one. John's quote: Definitely worth seeing on the big screen. (upon further questioning, like how will people do that, this quote was modified to Definitely worth seeing.) Back to top |
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11:30 am April 9 (scheduled start time 9:40 am) Fantastic Voyage Release Date: September 7, 1966 John had seen this one, and I had not. (I think this may be the first one where it worked out that way.) I am of the opinion that this movie was slow enough, and old enough, that it should have been earlier on in the weekend. As it was the last movie, most of my thoughts on this were please, let it end. Mostly I just wanted to end it finally and go home, which we finally did at 1:15pm. This movie was not really the best at the convention and would definitely a "don't need to rent" list for me. John was too tired to really discuss this one with me, so we'll have to get his opinion on it later. Back to top |
| We saw lots of previews for movies that are coming out, and there were several of them that are coming out later this year that look good. I hope that you all have a great year of movie going experiences. |
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And that ends The 18th Annual Ohio 24 Hour Science Fiction Marathon wrap-up and review for me. I am going to go to bed now and get some sleep. Perhaps I will wake up in time for work tomorrow.
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