The Third Annual DVDTalk Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge - March 2014
#251
Senior Member
Re: The Third Annual DVDTalk Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge - March 2014
I ended up getting in 153 things last month consisting of 98 TV episodes, 54 movies, and one trailer. 149 of the 153 entries were first time watches. I managed to complete all my goals which included completing the checklist, watching the third season of Game of Thrones and the prequel Spartacus series. I also motivated myself to dig into my anime blu-ray backlog and knocked out Intrigue in the Bakumatsu which was very enjoyable.
Thanks for another fun challenge and the motivation for actually focusing my watching a bit more than usual. I enjoyed reading the comments on the thread and finding some ideas for future viewing even if I got too busy the last couple weeks to participate in the discussion much.
Thanks for another fun challenge and the motivation for actually focusing my watching a bit more than usual. I enjoyed reading the comments on the thread and finding some ideas for future viewing even if I got too busy the last couple weeks to participate in the discussion much.
#252
Re: The Third Annual DVDTalk Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge - March 2014
My total ended up being 106 items consisting of 46 films, 56 TV shows (49 of those being half hour shows), 3 shorts, and 1 commentary. Of these, 99 were first time views.
I really enjoyed my mix of movies and TV shows. Thanks to Ash Ketchum for getting me started on my 1950's TV binge and to all of you for some very enjoyable discussion.
I found two real gems. One was the Fritz Lang film The Testament of Dr. Mabuse. I also watched the silent Mabuse's and enjoyed those as well but Testament had me from the start and wouldn't let go. A very thrilling film. My second discovery was the TV show Decoy starring Beverly Garland as police woman Casey Jones which ran for one season of 38 episodes in the late 1950's. Like Dragnet and M Squad the lead provides narration including some really good scene setting at the start of each episode. I only watched four of the six episodes I have access to but once I finish the other two I will be searching for more.
And thanks to Trevor who got us started, kept us honest, and in general organized a very fun challenge.
I really enjoyed my mix of movies and TV shows. Thanks to Ash Ketchum for getting me started on my 1950's TV binge and to all of you for some very enjoyable discussion.
I found two real gems. One was the Fritz Lang film The Testament of Dr. Mabuse. I also watched the silent Mabuse's and enjoyed those as well but Testament had me from the start and wouldn't let go. A very thrilling film. My second discovery was the TV show Decoy starring Beverly Garland as police woman Casey Jones which ran for one season of 38 episodes in the late 1950's. Like Dragnet and M Squad the lead provides narration including some really good scene setting at the start of each episode. I only watched four of the six episodes I have access to but once I finish the other two I will be searching for more.
And thanks to Trevor who got us started, kept us honest, and in general organized a very fun challenge.
#253
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: The Third Annual DVDTalk Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge - March 2014
Cool! I'll have to pull that out and watch it. I've had the Criterion disc for years but never got around to viewing it. Thanks for the tip! I wonder if I could call it a B-Movie!
#254
DVD Talk Godfather
Join Date: Oct 2003
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Re: The Third Annual DVDTalk Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge - March 2014
I agree about Origins, though, I don't know what the complaints were about. Certainly many of the supporting characters were out of step with their comics counterparts, but the spirit was close enough. And the montage of Logan and Creed fighting in all the wars was just excellent.
Watched a lot of good films this month, and a couple of good TV shows. Somehow, despite being a big fan of the Tintin books, I'd only ever seen bits and pieces of the 1990s show The Adventures of Tintin. Indeed, despite being a big fan, it's only in watching the show that I can better appreciate quite how frequently the same people turn up all over the world and in a variety of places! I knew Rastapopolous and Bianca Castafiore turned up more than once, but didn't realise they kept cropping up almost a dozen times each. Nor did I remember that Muller was the key villain so frequently, etc., etc. I read all the albums a dozen times each, but by reading them from the library in completely random order I missed some of the connections.
The series is very faithful to the books - with minor edits for drinking and smoking, plus more major edits to a couple of episodes - but oddly revises the order on a couple of stories. For no reason that I could ascertain or guess at. So you wind up with odd situations of characters knowing people they've never met, or just recently Tintin meeting Piotr Skut two episodes in a row for the 'first' time (first time in the TV show, then first time in the albums)... and knowing who he was beforehand both times. Odd.
I also watched Spielberg/Jackson's rotoscoped film for the second time and enjoyed it a lot more than last time. Last time I got hung up on the look of it, and the smashed-together plot, but this time I appreciated the care that had gone into blending together disparate plot elements into a reasonably-coherent whole.
The series is very faithful to the books - with minor edits for drinking and smoking, plus more major edits to a couple of episodes - but oddly revises the order on a couple of stories. For no reason that I could ascertain or guess at. So you wind up with odd situations of characters knowing people they've never met, or just recently Tintin meeting Piotr Skut two episodes in a row for the 'first' time (first time in the TV show, then first time in the albums)... and knowing who he was beforehand both times. Odd.
I also watched Spielberg/Jackson's rotoscoped film for the second time and enjoyed it a lot more than last time. Last time I got hung up on the look of it, and the smashed-together plot, but this time I appreciated the care that had gone into blending together disparate plot elements into a reasonably-coherent whole.
I saw the first few episodes of The Americans, and it's not bad. Very interesting choice for an American TV series - Russian sleeper agents in 1980s America are the (anti-)heroes - and I keep meaning to look for right-wing reviews savaging it, since I haven't actually heard of any but surely it must be hated in those quarters..?
Then there are *lots* of incredible visuals. Who'd have thought a TV series could be this good! I've even considered purchasing a BR player so I can listen to the commentaries (I purchased the BR/DVD combo sets with the anticipation of purchasing a BR player at some point) - something I normally eschew. It's *that* good...
I can see myself watching this one again on a semi-regular basis. In spite of owning hundreds of TV seasons there are *very* few TV series I feel that strongly about.
I can see myself watching this one again on a semi-regular basis. In spite of owning hundreds of TV seasons there are *very* few TV series I feel that strongly about.
If you want a show to give you an excuse to get a BD player, GOT is it! Not only does it look and sound great, but the interactive features really expand and explain the universe. In addition to the commentaries, in-episode guides remind you who people are and where they're going and why (and they update as the events unfold on screen!), and other features explain each house, each region, histories that aren't covered in the show, etc. It's great stuff and can occupy me for a long time. Season 3 also has an episode-length feature dedicated solely to the penultimate episode. BD players are cheap enough that you don't really need an excuse to get one anyway.
#255
Moderator
Re: The Third Annual DVDTalk Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge - March 2014
hit 80 viewings - my list is complete - took me awhile to edit/finalize it.
#256
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Re: The Third Annual DVDTalk Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge - March 2014
Checklist finalised enough to be COMPLETE.
Totals
FILMS - 96
TV Episodes (30-45m) - c. 44
TV Episodes (90m) - 3
Shorts - approx. 21
Various extras
More thoughts and comments when I have the time, but Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Last Stand were great. The Tourament was fairly good, and Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters was miles better than I'd been expecting!
#257
Re: The Third Annual DVDTalk Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge - March 2014
Finalized my list. I didn't use the official checklist, I just tallied up my viewings in my own way.
Because of all the Power Rangers and Sentai episodes, my list was way more top-heavy in the later decades than in my usual favorite decades, the 1930s to the 1950s. And way more Japanese entries than anything else.
Sometimes I wonder if I'd ever see anything for these challenges from the 2000s and 2010s if I wasn't watching so many Japanese sentai episodes.
Because of all the Power Rangers and Sentai episodes, my list was way more top-heavy in the later decades than in my usual favorite decades, the 1930s to the 1950s. And way more Japanese entries than anything else.
Sometimes I wonder if I'd ever see anything for these challenges from the 2000s and 2010s if I wasn't watching so many Japanese sentai episodes.
#258
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: The Third Annual DVDTalk Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge - March 2014
My list is finalized as well.
#260
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: The Third Annual DVDTalk Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge - March 2014
Not trying to rush you Trevor, but just wondering when the results will be posted. Just curious as I have a Mint Unopened copy of Godzilla vs. Biollante that I offered up as a prize, and I'd like to know who to mail it too.
#261
Challenge Guru & Comic Nerd
Thread Starter
Re: The Third Annual DVDTalk Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge - March 2014
Yeah, I'm a loser. Back when it first ended I went through both years threads and had totals and stats and notes to make a two year results thread. Then I realized that at some point I screwed up my tabs of the list threads and everything I did was wrong. So I ripped up my notes, cried a bit, and then forgot about it until now. I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow, so it'll be next week before I do it.
I'm being slightly over dramatic of course; it wasn't that much work, and I only screamed once, no tears.
I'm being slightly over dramatic of course; it wasn't that much work, and I only screamed once, no tears.