Barking Space

Welcome to the 9th 24 Hour Movie Marathon! This proud tradition has survived (some may say “persisted”) for some time now, and it is an annual event 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 from the years before will be mostly absent, giving way to bouts of typed weirdness of stream-of-consciousness crap. That being said, I might choose not to do anything – we will see what flows from the mind and the fingers! Of course, the usual tableau photographs and fan films will be made available for public consumption as we continue with the evening – so make sure you keep your eyes on this space!

This year, I was a bit more prepared, scheduling articles on this site to ensure that there will be no distractions. Incidentally, you can click on any of the images for an enlarged version.

I should have technically started this post last night; but Dave and I are a well-oiled machine, and have already set everything up, so I’m just typing this up as he gets all prettied up before we head out for our usual traditional pick-up of the breakfast of champions. 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.

Our sponsor from last year, “Lube”, has mysteriously gone missing (since the last marathon). However, lube will be here in spirit, so I feel that it is fitting (in this instance) to recycle. I am, after all, trying to be more environmentally friendly…

Incidentally, Dave is covering this as well, and you can see his post here.

So without further ado…

10:00 – The Goonies

Who hasn’t seen this movie? This is one of the greatest films from when we were kids. The story is all about following your dreams. A group of misfit kids are trying to figure out a way to get money to help save their homes from foreclosure. I can’t remember the last time that I watched this movie, but it’s amazing how much I remember – right down to the score.

While we were watching this movie, we started looking at the net worth of the different actors from the movie. Did you know that Sean Astin’s net worth is higher than Josh Brolin’s? Crazy!

Hungry Hippos and One-Eyed Willy.

12:10 – The Magnificent Seven

The Magnificent Seven is a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. It’s about a Mexican village that’s constantly raided by bandits. The villagers think about getting guns and ammo to defend themselves but end up hiring some gunslingers to defend themselves instead. It’s a pretty cool story (all three iterations – including Samurai 7, an awesome anime-styled retelling of the story).

Some interesting dialogue springing up early during the film…

Cathy: Well they must be in Mexico because all of the houses are made of clay and everyone is wearing hats.
Chris: What?
Cathy: Mexican hats. That’s how you know they’re in Mexico.

There is so much overacting in this movie that it’s probably on par with The Goonies.

Dave undergoes the Banana Test.

14:50 – Bronson

Bronson is a fictionalized biography about one of Britain’s most violent criminals. I read a little bit about this on Wikipedia. Michael Peterson has spent most of his life in prison, and wasn’t sure about how Tom Hardy was cast to portray him. Once he met Hardy, though, he was impressed with Hardy’s impression of him, and how Hardy managed to build his physique. He was so impressed, in fact, that he shaved off his own moustache (a trademark) so that Hardy could use it in the film.

Worst dating video ever.

16:30 – The Thin Man

The Thin Man is a comedy/detective movie. I’m not sure if anyone cares about this movie as Shelley just arrived and it is about 20 minutes in and nobody is paying attention. Regardless of what’s going on, I really like the chemistry between the main characters.

So, this is probably the worst pick and it does not get a fan film.

18:45 – Mystery Team

Ages ago I discovered Derrick Comedy, a group of folks that did a pile of comedy for College Humor. Mystery Team is movie about a group of guys at the end of high school that have never stopped living their dream of being a team of detectives. Of course, they started this dream when they were kids (and they have never grown up).

This movie is not for everyone. A lot of the humour is juvenile, and the plot is ridiculous – but I still find the movie somewhat charming and hilarious. There are some really good lines in here (you’ll never look at cold cuts the same way again) and there is a horrible scene about reaching into a toilet.

The Puzzle Squad goes down the toilet.

20:50 – American Movie

American Movie is a documentary about an aspiring filmmaker who is attempting to make a film that he has dreamed about making for a long time. It is an interesting movie, and it is very painful – because you want this guy to achieve his dream, but he just really doesn’t have a clue. It’s too bad, because he is quite knowledgeable about the process. Everyone talks like the mom from Bobby’s World.

Making a Canadian Movie.

22:45 – Ip Man

Ip Man is the story of a master of Wing Chun (the teacher of Bruce Lee, in fact), who was supposedly the best in Fo Shan. There are definitely a lot of moments in the movie that are embellished, though I’m not really sure which ones. Part of me really hopes that parts of it were actually things that happened. Of course, nobody will ever really know.

This is one of the better martial arts movies have come out recently. Sammo Hung did a great job with choreography and Donnie Yen always delivers. It was a good film that provided some great inspiration for our tribute film, which was a multi-part masterpiece.

Ip Man is looking for a new job…

01:00 – Dark City

02:35 – Impromptu Addition: Lights Out

Shelley decided that she was going to go to bed before Hellraiser started, and Mark had to leave, so I thought that I would share this little gem with everyone. It was an entry in the BC Horror Challenge and it is freaky as hell. It is an awesome masterwork of suspense. Be sure to watch it at night with all the lights out.

Wear diapers when you watch this.

02:45 – Hellraiser

I saw bits of this a long time ago when I was in university or high school. The bits and pieces that I remember were all right, I guess. I remember thinking that it was silly; and now my original feelings feel validated. The whole premise was kind of cool, but I just couldn’t take the whole thing seriously because of the special effects and the music.

I think that fan films early in the morning don’t always work, especially since some people are sleeping upstairs; plus our brains are normally not working properly and the captured ideas may not be very well understood (although the general quality of our videos may be up for debate).

04:30 – The Conjuring

And so, we move onto what should be the scariest movie of the night (although Lights Out was pretty damned scary), and it’s just Dave, Chris and I. I have read a fair amount of literature concerning Ed and Elaine Warren (the couple that investigates paranormal occurrences) and the Perron family (who were driven out of their home).

Overall, the movie wasn’t really all that scary; it was more thought provoking. Whether you believe in the spirit world or not, the prospect of having to deal with supernatural creatures that can inhabit your body is an alarming idea. I am glad that this one was in the line-up this year.

06:26 – Big Trouble in Little China

I have been pretty wiped lately, so I chose to sleep during Big Trouble in Little China, which I have seen before. Unbeknownst to me, the disc that Dave bought was flawed, so the movie never made it past the 25 minute mark. Dave and I would talk about the part in this movie where there was a Raiden look-alike (Raiden from Mortal Kombat). As I was falling asleep, I was slightly regretting the fact that I would be missing that part – but I guess it didn’t matter!

08:00 – Gravity

I saw this film in the theater, and it was spectacular. It wasn’t my favourite movie, but it was definitely well-made and was terror-inducing to someone like me (I’m mildly claustrophobic). I was originally planning on napping through this movie, but because Big Trouble in Little China didn’t play its full length, I ended up sleeping through most of Gravity anyway.

I woke up near the end, which is just fine.

The End

And so we made it to the end of another movie marathon. A good set of films played this year, and some pretty fun fan films. I think that I am most proud of our Ip Man video, which was made using YouTube’s editor. It was more powerful (and far easier) than I thought it would be, and the result is not half bad! Regret for this year: no Rebecca. Sadly, the schedules didn’t really jive, so Rebecca had to sit this one out (it’s her birthday, after all), so we were missing one of our crew – but hopefully everyone will be able to make it out for MM10!

Big thanks to our hosts, Dave and Sarah, for putting up with us and feeding us. Big thanks to Chris, who bought me breakfast on the Sunday morning. Looking forward to more hijinks next year!

Filed under: Friends, Interest, Special Events | Tagged: 24 Hour Movie Marathon, American Movie, Big Trouble in Little China, Bronson, Dark City, Events, Gravity, Hellraiser, Ip Man, Light's Out, Movie Marathon, Movies, Mystery Team, The Conjuring, The Goonies, The Magnificent Seven, The Thin Man |