Welcome to the 8th annual(ish) 24 Hour Movie Marathon! It has been about a year since MM7, and we’re back at it! The lineup, like last year, looks pretty good – and just might be our best lineup yet!
Weeks have gone by, packed with busy activities as the movie elves stitched together this event. Last year I ended up giving up on live-blogging the event, which really saved my sanity and brought a level of enjoyment to the MM that was unmatched (with the exception of some of the earliest ones). It’s challenging to attend the MM, as I fly from Toronto and also have to ensure that I have scheduled enough articles to keep this site running – but it’s all worth it.
So, with not too much pre-writing to do, I can focus on the films and on ideas for our tribute videos. Please note that you will see place-holders for videos and photos throughout this article. Additionally, due to the content of some of the movies we watch, videos and words in the following entry may not be suitable for some.
Oh yes. And this year we actually have a sponsor. It’s a good thing I put the disclaimer on before this next video. Why I decided to host it, I’ll never know…
And here we go…
10:00 – In Bruges
This film, from 2008, is about a hit gone wrong. Ray and Ken, two London-based hit men, are told by their boss to lie low in Bruges, Belgium; there, they are to await further instructions. While waiting in Bruges, both men undergo changes. Will the hit men ever be the same again? What will their angry boss think? Honestly, I have never heard of this movie, but my friend Chris tells me it is pretty good – and I never take his opinion lightly. Based on that, I’m very much looking forward to this.
Aaand we’re done. This movie was a complete surprise for me. I don’t necessarily like Colin Farrell; but he’s awesome in this movie (and frankly, he’s also awesome in Seven Psychopaths). Now…onto the fan film…er…somehow…
Dave gets a call from his boss…who fuckin’ likes Ottawa.
12:05 – Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel
This film is about three outcasts who are thrown into a time-travel paradox…in a British pub. Anna Faris is in this, so it’s probably partially awesome. We just started this movie – and it kind of reminds me of some conversations that I have had with my friends.
The movie starts out pretty slow but quickly picks up. I’m really liking this movie as well. Pretty amazing. There are a lot of movies that deal with time travel and time paradoxes – but this one is probably the most fun and entertaining.
The three friends hop back from the future to figure out what started it all…
13:55 – Double Indemnity
This 1944 gem is all about the crooked business of insurance and seduction. Phyllis plans to kill her husband and pitches the idea to Walter, an insurance salesman. They hatch a plot to get twice the amount of money back thanks to a double indemnity clause. The police conclude that the husband’s death is accidental. It seems that Walter and Phyllis are going to get away with it; of course, this is a movie, and you know that it could never possibly be this simple…
The best thing about this movie are the clipped, terse conversations. Those conversations and the clothes that make everyone’s bums look longer than Droopy dog’s face. You know that these conversations are going to make their way into the fan flick.
Dave and Jorge take a break from insurance to talk about ordering dinner…
16:10 – This Film is Not Yet Rated
Have you ever wondered about the process behind rating movies? Well, this documentary is a pretty interesting exposé of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). Dircetor Kirby Dick takes a hard-hitting look at one of the most powerful forces in the motion picture industry. There are a ton of awesome filmmakers in this movie that talk about the oddly random judgements of the MPAA.
The film is interesting insofar as it attempts to show how the MPAA is doing a disservice to a lot of film makers. However, the investigative techniques are ridiculous and completely amateur.
The Canadian Toy Rating Agency (CTRA) has a go at the latest products…
18:14 – Grave of the Fireflies
This movie is about a young boy and his little sister trying to survive in war-torn Japan. I haven’t heard of this movie; but everyone else in the room are really gearing up to watch a tear-jerker. The fact that this looks like it’s going to be a very emotional film is intriguing, and I am looking forward to seeing it for that very reason. I’m hoping the English dub is actually good.
Wow. What a powerful movie. I think that everyone should watch this movie at least once. It is important, I think, for people to understand that every war has two sides. Really, nobody wins in war.
20:39 – The Raid: Redemption
This action movie is about a SWAT team raid gone wrong. A force, led by Lieutenant Wahyu, invades an apartment building in an attempt to take down a cruel drug lord. However, they are spotted and trapped on the seventh floor with limited ammunition and no backup (because this is a secret operation). Will they be able to survive against a very well-armed enemy?
Well that was pretty damned amazing. Great action scenes and some really great plot twists. It’s a bit of a brutal movie in terms of the violence, but it’s well-choreographed.
One of the drug lord’s minions makes the smart play.
22:45 – Diggstown
Gabriel Caine, freshly released from prison, makes a bet with a business man who owns most of Diggstown. In Diggstown, boxing is the shit. The bet? Gabriel can find a boxer that, in 24 hours, can knock out 10 Diggstown men. The man he chooses?. “Honey” Roy Palmer: 48 and possibly too old to do it. How will this movie possibly end?
This is an old movie, but it’s a good one. I feel like I have seen this one before. Louis Gossett is all kinds of amazing normally – in this movie he is wicked.
Never con a con man…
00:29 – Raising Cain
Dr. Carter Nix is a little bit…shall we say…off. His wife becomes increasingly worried that he is trying to recreate some bizarre personality experiments on children – experiments that Carter’s father started a long time ago.
I realized that I had seen this before but I think I fell asleep in the past. The premise is pretty amazing, and John Lithgow is pretty damned awesome. There is a fantastic interrogation in a morgue in this movie that is creepy as hell. Unfortunately a lot of the movie makes the viewer giggle like an idiot.
No Cain to Lean On.
02:29 – Cabin in the Woods
I have seen this movie already. A lot of people don’t want to see it because they think that it’s scary. But really, once you get past the first 20 minutes, it’s amazing (and truthfully, it’s amazing even before that). The story is a thriller-parody-horror-awesome-monster-amazing-teen flick.
The movie basically plays with the concepts of most horrors and thrillers and is very clever. Joss Whedon and company did a fantastic job of making this concept come to life. It was just as fun to watch the second time – mostly to watch the reactions of everyone else.
Jorge’s number finally came up.
04:10 – V/H/S
This is pretty much going to be the scariest movie of the night. It is a found-footage compilation – but it’s freaky as there are different styles to digest. All the lights are off, and I believe we all have diapers handy. Also, most of the people have either left or gone to sleep.
Well, the first part of it was pretty freaky and a bit unnerving. Unfortunately, the rest of the episodes were just boring and weird. I ended up bailing and going to sleep. I slept through the rest of V/H/S and through parts of The Black Hole. There were no pictures of fan films for the next few movies.
06:10 – The Black Hole
I remember seeing this movie when I was a kid; and I swear that I saw this in school. In any case, it’s a neat Disney film about a small space exploration vessel (The Palomino) that ends up finding a missing ship floating impossibly close to a black hole. On board, they find a mysterious scientist and his crew who has been doing research on the black hole.
This movie came out in 1979 and was pretty good for its time. Really, it is still good today with the exception of about ten percent of the film. The special effects are fairly advanced for the time – and the robots are pretty cool and creepy, especially with the haunting score.
I slept through most of this one as well.
08:07 – Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
Max, a former Australian policeman wanders around the post-apocalyptic Australian outback as a warrior. In his travels, he encounters a community of survivors who have created a home around a gasoline refinery. Some nasty barbarian warriors are looking to own the place. They enlist the help of Max to help them defend themselves.
There is a word for this film; and that word is camp. So much crazy violence and hilarious characters make up the majority of this movie. It is cheesy but fun. I was thinking about napping through this one as well, as I had seen it before, but it appears that Dave has taken that honour. It’s all good. I doubt that we’ll have a photo and fan video for this one.
Fin
And so we have survived another year. We are proud of the fact that there was always someone awake watching movies. It’s most awesome that we have this organic set of rules that results in a ridiculous amount of flexibility. See you next year!
Filed under: Friends, Special Events | Tagged: 24 Hour Movie Marathon, Cabin in the Woods, Diggstown, Double Indemnity, FAQ About Time Travel, Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel, Grave of the Fireflies, In Bruges, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, Movies, Raising Cain, The Black Hole, The Raid: Redemption, This Film is Not Yet Rated, V/H/S |
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[…] that I look forward to quite enthusiastically. A little more than a year has passed since the last movie marathon, and it appears that we have another strong lineup this year. Like last year, the live-blogging […]