Barking Space

Hey everyone! Welcome to the 10th year of our annual 24-Hour Movie Marathon! The tradition proudly continues as we all converge on Ottawa to partake in this fun “festival” (and probably cause a sure in shares of the company that makes Visene). Like last year, this current lineup is a good one, and we are all very much looking forward to it

Sadly, this year, I am nowhere near as prepared as I was in previous years. I am actually writing this article scant minutes before the beginning of the marathon. I may or may not blog anything about it, but rest assured that we will be posting our usual photo and video tributes. Keep tuning in, as this will be updated as we move down the list.

We have already gone out for our usual McDonald’s run, we have consumed our morning coffee (the first of many), and we have all of the furniture set up – so we are ready to go. Please note that you will see place-holders for videos and photos throughout this article. Additionally, since kids seem to be able to use iPads and stuff, note that due to the content of some of the movies we watch, videos and words in the following entry may not be suitable for some.

10:00 – Jaws

It has been a long time since I have seen this film (though I did take a gander at part of it thanks to an episode of Mythbusters that covered one of the action moments). For those of you that didn’t have childhoods, the film is about a massive great white shark that terrorizes a small island community. Of course, a small group of dudes set out to stop it.

I’m pretty sure that I have seen this movie several times – but we’re a half hour into the movie and a significant part of what we have watched is not remotely familiar to me at all. One thing is certain, though: the acting in this movie is far from good.

Another interesting thing about this movie is the sound design. In many films, there is great transitional microphone work to draw attention to specific dialogue – but in Jaws it seems like there is nothing like that at all. Instead, all of the different conversations seemed to have equal weighting in terms of microphone input, leaving some people to yell out their lines while others whisper. Oddly enough, it ends up being quite effective.

Dave falls victim to a giant rainbow shark with an overbite and no dorsal fin. Tragic.

Who can deal with the shark?

Our Roy Scheider horror test shot.

12:21 – Some Like it Hot

I think I watched this movie a long time ago. I was in university and it was late one night – I was also half asleep. Needless to say, I don’t think I remember it at all. This movie is about two musicians who witness a mob hit and leave the state disguised as members of an all-female band. I wonder what our photo will be like for this one.

There is a hilarious scene where Jack Lemmon’s character (disguised as a woman) is under the covers in his bed in the train car, and Marilyn Monroe’s character appears at his bed, thanking him for sticking up for her earlier (she doesn’t know he’s actually a man). Shortly after, she crawls into bed with him to innocently snuggle up…

Jorge: Does he get a chub in this scene?
Rebecca: Men didn’t get chubs in the 40’s.
Dave: That’s right. They called them “stiffies” back then.

When you spend a little time thinking about it (like, 2 seconds) this movie is horrible. There is nothing great about this at all. The fact that a dude takes advantage of a lady while totally selling his friend out is…well…ugh. There are a few progressive messages in the film – but they don’t do enough to nullify what amounts to douchebaggery.

Dave and Chris transform into Daphne and Christina…ugh…

Some quick change thinking by the boys.

14:45 – The Raid 2

The Raid played very well at one of the previous movie marathons. This time, Rama, the hero, goes undercover to bring down all of the corrupt people – which seems to be his entire country, apparently. Man, I thought that the previous movie was horrible in terms of violence – nope. The Raid: Redemption is merely interest on the deposit of violence in The Raid 2. I have been re-sensitized.

It sucks when you’re interrupted in the middle of something important…

Rama faces his deadliest enemies yet…

17:30 – Out of Sight

George Clooney plays a bank robber who breaks out of jail and ends up getting along really well with a US Marshall that he has kidnapped. I have never seen this movie. If you are planning on watching this movie, you should know that it jumps around a lot (timewise).

This film was a lot of fun. The chemistry between Clooney and Lopez is palpable, and the humour that has been injected plays very well in the film. Definitely a cool movie.

Jorge Clooney, the conniving prison escapee, holds the attractive US Marshall hostage in the trunk.

Jorge isn’t too happy with a job offer.

19:56 – Life Itself

This documentary all about the life and career of Roger Ebert. The beginning of the film shows him in the various stages of his life, and the dude’s work ethic blows me away. I have never really paid much attention to Ebert, really (except when he ranted on video games one time – and even then I didn’t really read it). It’s pretty amazing how much he shaped criticism as a profession.

All of the testimonials in the film are obviously heartfelt and warm. I think I really admire him for his body of work. He is certainly one of the best writers of criticism (and certainly an amazing writer in general). We chose to do just a picture expressing what we felt about the film, without a fan video.

Our thoughts about this movie.

22:20 – Whiplash

I saw this movie twice recently on the airplane to and from a vacation destination. It is one of the best movies that I have seen recently. It’s certainly not an easy watch, as it is all about manipulation – but it is also about perseverance, and it has a kick-ass soundtrack.

J.K. Simmons is spectacular in this film, conveying so much emotion with his face and his body language. If you haven’t seen this movie, you really should. It’s brilliant.

Terrence Fletcher is relentless, trying to get his new spoon player to excel.

Fletcher is a tough band leader.

00:32 – Empire Records

Empire Records is a really neat movie about a group of weirdos that get together every year to watch movies in Dave’s house. Oh wait. No. It’s about a bunch of weirdos that work at a record store that is going to become part of a chain soon. Over the course of a very short time, everyone that works in the store learns about each other.

I don’t know if I’d classify it as a “feel good” movie so much as a strange movie about the power of odd friendships. Oh wait. We’re back to the Movie Marathon again.

Dave’s choice of soundtrack is not appreciated.

Customer service at Empire Records is…well…

02:22 – Chronicle

Chronicle is a story about three friends that go to a party and discover a weird object that gives them strange powers. The story unfolds through found footage – but it does so very effectively. It’s kind of neat as the friends go through the initial excitement of discovering their powers, only to have their friendship tested later as they begin to explore the more sinister aspects of their abilities.

Once we start to hit post-midnight movies, things get a bit dicy when it comes to fan films. Some people are actually asleep (and we don’t want to make too much noise) so we usually forego fan vids – also, we’re lazy. That being said, I only did a photo of my awesome powers.

Behold my abilities!

03:45 – The Babadook

We usually play a horror or thriller film in the wee hours of the morning, turning the lights off to add to the sense of dread and fear. Sadly, this is also the time when most people tend to be very tired, and while fatigue can tear away at our defenses, it can sometimes shore it up. I find that when I am really tired, I don’t get as freaked out by scary movies, as a veneer of cynicism seems to be applied to my processing of anything – unless the movie is really good. Sadly, The Babadook was not good at all, and I spent half of the movie drifting in and out of sleep.

None of us could be bothered to create any pictures or videos for this film – partially because we didn’t have a top hat.

05:35 – The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

Buckaroo Banzai is what you might call a renaissance man. He’s a rock star, a samurai, a brain surgeon, and many other things. His crowning achievement, though, may be a device that he perfected that allows him to travel through solid objects by shifting into the 8th dimension. Of course, this irks some weird extra-dimensional beings that live there, and they seem to want to take control of his device for their own use. By now you’ll have probably figured out that this story was probably written by someone on the peyote.

I saw this movie a long time ago, and it didn’t really impress me. After the first 15 minutes or so, I made a judgement call to use this film as a napping opportunity. Hilariously enough, so did everyone else. Cathy took some photos of us sleeping the movie away, so I will include those here.

Snoozin’ away…

Rebecca brought the movie – so she didn’t need to stay awake for it.

07:24 – Snowpiercer

For me, Snowpiercer was the only wild card in the bunch. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it or hate it (I was sure that I was going to like the Babadook, so after that disappointment, the prospect of watching Snowpiercer made me nervous). However, I really dug this movie a lot. It’s a well-shot film with plenty of action and some interesting messages about society. Based on a French graphic novel, Snowpiercer is about an experiment gone wrong, resulting in the almost total destruction of the human race as the Earth is plunged into the most severe ice age in history. Only a relatively small number of survivors exist on a train in which the rich people inhabit the front cars while the poor live in the rear.

If you haven’t seen this film, I would recommend that you do so at your earliest opportunity. Note, though, that it is not a happy film, and is a pretty condemning commentary on the way things might be in the future if we continue down the path we are currently on.

Finito

We ended up finishing off the marathon a half hour ahead of schedule, so we spent the rest of the time watching various YouTube videos, specifically a Vine compilation of the works of Thomas Sanders, taking us a little past 10:00. As always, it was a really fun time. The viewing of awesome movies was enhanced by the bringing (and making) of various snacks and yummy dishes by some of those in attendance, as well as the drinking of delicious bevvies. Sadly, a few of the regulars couldn’t make it due to extenuating circumstances – but we still powered on (and they were with us in spirit/voodoo dolls).

The motley crew does it again!

Big hugs to Dave and Sarah for hosting yet another great event. Hosting a bunch of weirdos is not easy – but they do it with grace, and we all have a wonderful time. Looking forward to MM11? Now that we have viewed a longer-than-average film in a line-up, this might open up opportunities for some interesting titles being chosen and voted in…

Filed under: Friends, Interest, Special Events | Tagged: 24 Hour Movie Marathon, Chronicle, Empire Records, Events, Jaws, Life Itself, Out of Sight, Snowpiercer, Some Like it Hot, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, The Babadook, The Raid 2, Whiplash |