LJG765

Watching A Knight in Camelot-the one with Whoopi Goldberg. I usually enjoy Disney movies, but this one was pretty bad. It had many cringe worthy moments. I enjoy the original story, but this was almost a parody of it. I do not recommend it at all. I'm not sure who thought that the script was a good one, but I have a feeling they lost their job.

NoirFan

Son of Kong really, really sucked. That's all I can say about it at this point.

terrycloth

after failing at a few netflix titles couple days ago and been watching a few horror titles to take a break but gonna catch conan on netflix now to get back in the swing

jmsmath

Watched The Box (2009) tonight and really enjoyed the first half. Second half takes some turns that really left me scratching my head. Overall, I think I liked it, but it's definitely not as good as the other Richard Kelly films I've seen. I do have a question for anyone who has seen the film:

Ash Ketchum

When we were kids, the quirks of TV programming at the time (late '50s) meant that we saw SON OF KONG well before we got to see KING KONG. We loved it and couldn't wait to see KING KONG when Million Dollar Movie finally got around to running it. Years later, as an adult, I revisited SON OF KONG and was astounded to see how loooonnnng it took Carl Denham and his crew to get back to Skull Island and the monsters there. It's a short film as it is (70 min.) and I can't recall at what point in the running time we finally see a stop-motion animated creature. What great attention spans we had as kids! Today, I'd recommend skipping to the last 15 or 20 minutes, when all the good stuff happens. Even so, it's a pale echo of KING KONG.

Still, that image of the hand in the water holding Denham aloft is quite indelible.

shadokitty

Watched The Atomic Brain yesterday afternoon, and last night I was able to get in a couple more episodes of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Killers of the Deep, and Deadly Creature Below!. The monster in DCB was not bad looking actually, when you consider the effects at the time.

mrcellophane

I just returned yesterday evening from an Internet-less stay with my grandparents. While I was away, I started Babylon 5. I went against all of the advice I read on the Internet and started with the pilot film. I’m glad I did, because several interesting components were examined and I was able to appreciate the way the creators were already spotting and correcting missteps. I’m only six episodes into the first season and am already finding myself drawn to the episodes that either indulge in world-building or exploring the politics and relationships between the various alien races. These are much more compelling than the “OMG, something bizarre just landed on the space station” episodes.

I also watched William Cameron Menzies’ Invaders from Mars and the 80’s remake. Both were interesting in their own right and were obviously going for completely tones. While I liked the original better, you just cannot help but enjoy a film where Karen Black runs about in high heels and a white coat. Brilliant!

I'll skip that one then. A couple of years ago, my local Hastings had a copy that was never cheap enough for me. Now, I'm glad! However, I did find a copy of Mighty Joe Young cheap enough to buy and watched it yesterday. It was an interesting conglomeration of seeming random movie cliches and set pieces. It wasn't exactly good, but it was definitely watchable.

indiephantom

Ok, some Steve Austin (as in Colonel) is in order for today.

MrTerrific

The other day I had the misfortune of watching The Astronaut's Wife. I did get a laugh out of Depp and Theron having the same haircut.

LJG765

Son of Frankenstein for me right now. I got a handful of DVDs from the library and that was one of them. Also received Brazil, Metropolis and World Without End. Stopped in Big Lots and did find a copy of Escape from New York, so that will be on my watch list soon as well.

I'm curious as to which is the best version of Brazil to watch; the final cut or the love conquers all version?

The Man with the Golden Doujinshi

I like the final cut but it's different enough from the other version that it's not tedious to watch both, back to back.

gp1086

Have been on vacation so going to finally start my list today. My first title - Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace. Wasn't as bad as I had expected. The stuff with Jar Jar Binks and his posse were incredibly boring to me, but I found all the storyline with young Anakin Skywalker, Han Solo, Qui-Gon Jinn, and Yoda to be great. Pod racing scene was fun and the ending was exciting.

I put the following two prequels at the top of my Netflix queue, so going to watch them in this challenge as well.

BobO'Link

On Brazil, I prefer the "Final Cut" as it's what Gilliam intended and the version I've seen the most. The first time I saw the film was the "Love Conquers All" version and haven't seen that version since the original release. This in spite of owning a copy of the 3 disk 2nd print Criterion set, so I truly don't know just how it would stand up to the "Final Cut". I just now pulled it out us use the "Love Conquers All" version for the Gilliam checklist item.

For a bit of trivia, the "Love Conquers All" (aka syndicated television) version runs 94 minutes and was done by the studio with all the changes Gilliam refused, from a different beginning to a happy ending and is full screen. The "Final Cut" runs 142 minutes and is wide screen.

That's a nice selection of films. Which version of Metropolis did you get?

LJG765

Hmm, now I'm torn. Was going to watch Brazil tonight, but the final version seems to be more liked but it's a bit longer than I wanted to spend to watch it. May have to put it off until tomorrow instead of watching the other version. Though I do like happy endings!

I made sure to get the newest 2010 version of Metropolis with its lost footage. I haven't watched it before, though I know its history, so wanted to make sure I got the most inclusive version. Though I have heard the one version from the '80s is pretty good-with the special soundtrack with the Rockers. I remember it starts with a M, but can't think of the name right now.

A few days ago, I went through the checklist and compared it to what I have and to what I needed to check items off. What I didn't have, I ordered from the library. I'm using this challenge as an excuse to see all the movies that people recommend and that are classics that I have not watched yet. Brazil, Metropolis, a bunch of B movies from the 50s and 60s...it's been kind of fun stretching out of my comfort zone of well loved films.

Just finished watching Escape from New York. Better than I thought it would be. I think I've seen at least parts of it before, but I think this is the first time I've watched it all the way through. I enjoyed Kurt Russell in this and Ernst Borgnine fit his role very well. I liked how the technology was pretty minimal-it helps to keep you in the right frame of mind for the movie--though I wonder how many kids have watched this and wondered what a cassette tape is.

I may be over thinking this, but what are some films people use for the alternate history check? Could Escape count or World Without End? They both use common history up until the point the stories start--Escape: crime explodes in the 80s, World: Astronauts go to Mars not the moon. I do have Groundhog Day to fall back on if those two don't count (according to the site I used, at least), but don't really want to watch that one right now.

coyoteblue

I watched Six-String Samurai, for it. In the Fifties Russia nukes the US and 40 years later after Elvis, the King of Las Vegas dies, there's a race to claim the crown. K-20: Legend of the Mask is good, it's a superhero movie set in Japan in a world where WWII never occurred. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is good too. Steamboy is worth a watch. A Boy and his Dog is kinda edgy. You can find all these and more listed in the wikipedia page for alternate histories, but I've limited myself to titles I've seen.

I forgot about Perfect Creature. That would qualify too.

orlmac

I watched "The Jacket" from 2005 which I thought was very interesting. I believe Men In Black 3 would also qualify but I am not certain as I haven't seen it yet.

BobO'Link

I just finished the "Love Conquers All" version. It wasn't too bad and the framing worked the majority of the time. I still prefer the longer, Director's Cut.

Moroder. I've not seen that version and am not sure if I'd like the "updated" soundtrack in spite of the good reviews. I'm somewhat of a purist about silent films and prefer either original soundtracks or music that sounds authentic for the period/style.
While IMDB doesn't list either as "Alternate History" I'd think Escape From New York would count based on what you indicated. Same for World Without End as it's more about what happens on the return trip which should allow it to count for Alternate History and a couple of other checklist items.

I'm leaning toward The Time Tunnel (George Pal - 1960). But there's also Planet of the Apes (1968), 13 Monkees (1995) (arguably Bruce Willis' best film), The Terminator (1984), Back to the Future (1985), and A Boy and His Dog (1975) to name a few of the better ones.

BobO'Link

According to IMDB it does.

LJG765

Hmm, thanks for all the choices! I'll have to see what I can get, though I may just count the World without End. I did enjoy that one; it was a lot better done than I thought it would be (watched that earlier tonight). I've already counted it for mutants, but watched something else first for time travel. I know I have Back to the Future, but I recently watched that and really am trying to focus more on movies I haven't seen at all or haven't seen recently. Six-string Samurai sounds interesting. I'll have to see if I can order that one.

Hmm, I did see MIB 3, though just before the challenge started so I can't count it. I was a bit sad that I missed it by just a couple days, but I had a free movie ticket to use up. Though, to me it seemed like in the movie, it showed that I think I'm going to watch Brazil another day (prob. tomorrow) and watch the longer version of it. Still trying to decide what to watch next before I go to bed, though.

mrcellophane

I'm glad that you are going with the longer version. I feel that the smaller "love conquerors all" version really undercuts the message of the film as well as most of the satire. Gilliam's final cut is one of my all-time favorite science fiction films. True brilliance!

Watched a disappointing film today: Robert Altman's Quintet. Despite terrible reviews, I was hopeful that this film would be one of those insistences where I completely disagreed with popular views. However, it is a muddled film that manages to make a "murder your opponent" game boring.

shadokitty

Had time to watch a few different titles yesterday. Started in the morning with Horrors of Spider Island, and yesterday afternoon I watched The Wasp Woman. Both of those titles were from MC's Sci Fi Classics set. Then last night I watched the last ep on Disc 1 Side A of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, the Phantom Strikes, about the ghostly U Boat Captain. Tonight I think I might break into my Land of the Giants set.

Trevor

Yesterday was one of the exact days that Marty McFly traveled to. I meant to watch Back to the Future and remind you all of the same "This Day in Challenge History" timing, but forgot. Sorry.

BobO'Link

I've always enjoyed The Wasp Woman and would be thrilled if it could get a restoration treatment or even a release made from a better print. But being a Corman PD title there's probably little hope.
So are you finding that many of the titles on that set are truly horrible (not quality wise but really "bad" films)? I've been surprised at how many of the films I know I'll never re-watch. I'm hoping the "Sci-Fi Invasion" set will be a bit better.

NoirFan

I prefer the somewhat similar Leech Woman, but I've always been irrationally partial to Coleen Gray.

shadokitty

I've only seen a few of the films so far, as I am bouncing back and forth between different titles, but so far yeah, a lot of them I could barely finish. The Wasp Woman was a nice change.