6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
07-01-13, 12:12 PM
#226
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
I agree, for the record I like the old counting system better myself. I acknowledge the change and don't want to obstruct anything but should a counting system review be in place at a later time I want to have said my peace against the "everything counts as one" system.
07-01-13, 03:54 PM
#227
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
Just a quick recommendation/question about a bonus feature to the WDT: Tomorrowland. In it is a great interview (run time ~24 min) with Ray Bradbury. Title is: The Optimistic Futurist: an Interview with Ray Bradbury. It's very interesting. The main focus is, of course, Walt Disney, but along the way they discuss why Sci-fi got so big in the '50s, Bradbury's childhood and other things that do apply to the challenge.
My question is, in the rules it says I can't use this a as a list mark, but can I use this as a checkmark? Particularly the one about Ray Bradbury.
Either way, it was a good watch and am glad I finally did view it.
My question is, in the rules it says I can't use this a as a list mark, but can I use this as a checkmark? Particularly the one about Ray Bradbury.
Either way, it was a good watch and am glad I finally did view it.
07-01-13, 04:39 PM
#228
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Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
I agree, for the record I like the old counting system better myself. I acknowledge the change and don't want to obstruct anything but should a counting system review be in place at a later time I want to have said my peace against the "everything counts as one" system.
07-01-13, 05:05 PM
#229
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Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
I'm not running it next year, so whoever runs it, can do whatever counting method floats their boat.
07-01-13, 05:31 PM
#230
Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
Guess I hadn't read the OP too carefully and just noticed the change to the "easy" counting method this year. Not trying to be a rebel, but I'll stick with the way we've done it in the past for my list. I like to compare how I'm doing with previous years. If I remember, I'll try to do an "easy count" total at the end of the month.
One question--I don't usually watch any short films. But why would those be treated differently when counting? Seems odd to say everything counts as one but then to place a restriction on those.
One question--I don't usually watch any short films. But why would those be treated differently when counting? Seems odd to say everything counts as one but then to place a restriction on those.
Like you, I'll keep my list using the "normal" counting method. If required for stats I'll give an "easy count" total at the end but otherwise will not bother.
07-01-13, 05:41 PM
#231
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Thread Starter
Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
Just a quick recommendation/question about a bonus feature to the WDT: Tomorrowland. In it is a great interview (run time ~24 min) with Ray Bradbury. Title is: The Optimistic Futurist: an Interview with Ray Bradbury. It's very interesting. The main focus is, of course, Walt Disney, but along the way they discuss why Sci-fi got so big in the '50s, Bradbury's childhood and other things that do apply to the challenge.
My question is, in the rules it says I can't use this a as a list mark, but can I use this as a checkmark? Particularly the one about Ray Bradbury.
Either way, it was a good watch and am glad I finally did view it.
My question is, in the rules it says I can't use this a as a list mark, but can I use this as a checkmark? Particularly the one about Ray Bradbury.
Either way, it was a good watch and am glad I finally did view it.
07-01-13, 05:43 PM
#232
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Thread Starter
Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
I didn't notice that change either and I've been reading the thread all along! I also just picked up the checklist and noticed several changes from what's in many lists posts.
Like you, I'll keep my list using the "normal" counting method. If required for stats I'll give an "easy count" total at the end but otherwise will not bother.
Like you, I'll keep my list using the "normal" counting method. If required for stats I'll give an "easy count" total at the end but otherwise will not bother.
07-01-13, 06:21 PM
#233
DVD Talk Gold Edition
07-01-13, 06:31 PM
#234
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
I was supposed to go out to the movies tonight. Instead we're watching a Spielberg double feature of the Director's Cut of Close Encounters of the Third Kind and A.I. Artificial Intelligence, both first timers for him. I don't know how many Spielberg movies I'll watch this month but I want to restrict it to ones he never saw before.
07-01-13, 06:35 PM
#235
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07-01-13, 06:40 PM
#236
Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
I started last night with Day of the Triffids (1962), an adaptation of the novel by John Wyndham. A meteor shower leaves all who witness the event blind. Of course there are a few survivors otherwise we'd have no story. Our "hero" was in the hospital with his eyes bandaged (scheduled to come off the next day) and missed the spectactular event so wakes the following day to a whole new world. This is bad enough but the meteor shower brought with it the Triffid, a carnivorous plant which can uproot itself and move about looking for prey. It's a low budget affair with special effects fairly typical of SF "B" films of that time period. In spite of that it's actually a pretty good film with mostly good acting and production values. The plot echoes other SF films but that doesn't stop it from being a fun ride. And yes, like most book adaptations, it takes many liberties with the source material.
I watched the "Cheesy Flix" DVD. While it's the best print I've seen it's not without some issues. The most glaring is Cheesy put their logo on the print during the first 5 or so seconds. There's no reason for this other than to partially "protect" their print (it's in the PD). At least no other bugs/logos show up in the remainder of the film. While it *is* a WS version, it's a flat transfer that is slightly washed out looking. Other than that it's in pretty good shape.
07-01-13, 06:48 PM
#237
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07-01-13, 07:02 PM
#238
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Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
It'll get better. Most of us really are easy to get along with.Sorry if I pissed you off though. That wasn't my intent.
07-01-13, 08:38 PM
#239
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Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
Today is a momentous occasion. It marks the 15th Anniversary of Armageddon:
http://badassdigest.com/2013/07/01/h...day-armageddon
To celebrate I'll be watching The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension.
http://badassdigest.com/2013/07/01/h...day-armageddon
To celebrate I'll be watching The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension.
07-01-13, 09:08 PM
#240
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Thread Starter
Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
I just watched the 2003 remake of the Eye of the Beholder episode of The Twilight Zone on Chiller. It was actually a pretty faithful adaptaion of the original episode with Donna Douglas.
07-01-13, 10:07 PM
#242
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
Cool!
I started last night with Day of the Triffids (1962), an adaptation of the novel by John Wyndham. A meteor shower leaves all who witness the event blind. Of course there are a few survivors otherwise we'd have no story. Our "hero" was in the hospital with his eyes bandaged (scheduled to come off the next day) and missed the spectactular event so wakes the following day to a whole new world. This is bad enough but the meteor shower brought with it the Triffid, a carnivorous plant which can uproot itself and move about looking for prey. It's a low budget affair with special effects fairly typical of SF "B" films of that time period. In spite of that it's actually a pretty good film with mostly good acting and production values. The plot echoes other SF films but that doesn't stop it from being a fun ride. And yes, like most book adaptations, it takes many liberties with the source material.
I started last night with Day of the Triffids (1962), an adaptation of the novel by John Wyndham. A meteor shower leaves all who witness the event blind. Of course there are a few survivors otherwise we'd have no story. Our "hero" was in the hospital with his eyes bandaged (scheduled to come off the next day) and missed the spectactular event so wakes the following day to a whole new world. This is bad enough but the meteor shower brought with it the Triffid, a carnivorous plant which can uproot itself and move about looking for prey. It's a low budget affair with special effects fairly typical of SF "B" films of that time period. In spite of that it's actually a pretty good film with mostly good acting and production values. The plot echoes other SF films but that doesn't stop it from being a fun ride. And yes, like most book adaptations, it takes many liberties with the source material.
I got nostalgic and watched Don Bluth's All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989), a pretty non-Disney entry in Bluth's checkered solo career. I had this film on VHS, and I have watched it countless times. The film starts with mutt Charlie (Burt Reynolds) escaping the over-zealous pound only to be quickly snuffed out by Carface, his cigar-smoking business partner. He goes to heaven, but returns to 1930s New Orleans to seek revenge on Carface. This is a Bluth film, so there is a kid (and an orphan to boot), and this one speaks to animals. Like a lot of children's fare of the time, this makes little logical sense, using songs and fast pacing to cover over plot holes (how exactly does heaven and omniscience work) or complete randomness (at one point tribal mice and an alligator suddenly pop up). However, it is a fun fantasy ride and mostly holds up (except for the songs which are not good at all), especially when it comes to the spectacular animation.
Years later, there was a sequel which I never saw, but it was on the disc with the original so I decided to get it out of my unwatched pile. All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 (1996) - we don't even get a cutesy subtitle - is typical sequel fare. Everything gets a downgrade, especially the animation. Backgrounds are done in drastically different style, character design is lazy and unfocused, and the line design features those homogenous thin lines that plagued animation throughout the 90s. Add to this a convoluted plot, the unwarranted demonizing of felines, and songs I cannot remember mere hours after watching, and you get a terrible, forgettable mess. But it's out of my unwatched pile so I will never have to watch it again. Yay silver lining!
07-02-13, 05:14 AM
#243
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
I finished the day by watching The Lost World (1992) and Return to the Lost World (1992), based on the novel be Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle’s novel is one of my favorites, and I’ve seen a few of the other film adaptations as well as the television series. I was introduced to the novel by a friend who first placed a collection of Sherlock Holmes stories into my eager fourteen-year-old hands. I loved the adventure genre and quickly devoured the novel. (I tried to read The Poison Belt, Doyle’s follow up, but didn’t really like it.)
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
Spoiler:
07-02-13, 08:21 AM
#244
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Thread Starter
Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
I was in the mood to watch some Dairugger, but couldn't locate the DVD case, as it wasn't where I thought it was. So I ended up settling for the dubbed version of Vehicle Voltron instead.
07-02-13, 08:34 AM
#245
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
Today is a momentous occasion. It marks the 15th Anniversary of Armageddon:
http://badassdigest.com/2013/07/01/h...day-armageddon
To celebrate I'll be watching The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension.
http://badassdigest.com/2013/07/01/h...day-armageddon
To celebrate I'll be watching The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension.
Originally Posted by mrcellophane;11750872I got nostalgic and watched Don Bluth's [I
All Dogs Go to Heaven[/I] (1989), a pretty non-Disney entry in Bluth's checkered solo career.
It's funny; just yesterday I found myself in a conversation about how when I was a kid, McDonald's legitimized movies. Whichever kid movie had the McD's tie-in seemed vetted and trustworthy. All Dogs Go to Heaven's fast food tie-in was at Wendy's. Wendy's! That should have been the red flag. But my baby brother loved dogs. He would watch anything with a dog in it. And so we had to go see All Dogs Go to Heaven.
I get that it's an "anti-Disney" film and that it set out to give us something different. That's a perfectly fine starting point. But at no point did I ever like or care about a single character. I wanted someone to call child protective services to take care of the little girl and when it became obvious that wasn't even a consideration, I pretty much quit caring what became of her, too. The songs are generic, but even worse only snippets of them seem to be performed. It's as though Bluth felt obligated to use songs but had no interest in them so he interrupts them all to get back to the bleak narrative. He shouldn't have even bothered with songs. He showed even less patience with songs in Rock-A-Doodle.
I could go on with my contempt for that film but I really don't want to come off as bashing what anyone else digs. I'm just really bad about keeping my trap shut when it comes to how much I hate that one!
07-02-13, 08:57 AM
#246
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
Regarding the rules changes, it's not very fair to shadokitty to pitch a fit now. The discussion thread started well in advance of yesterday and there was more than ample time for anyone to raise any questions. Counting method is always a point of contention but really, unless there is a prize being awarded based on how much anyone watches - and in this year's challenge, there isn't - what difference does it really make?
One of the things that participating in the Criterion Challenge has really taught me is that I'm not competing with the other participants. I'm competing with myself. Some participants can watch movies where they work. Some have three kids, two jobs, night classes and 90 minutes a week where they can try to squeeze in some viewing. The "Watch 100 Movies in a Month" template that launched the Horror Challenge has pretty well died off as a formal goal because it's simply not practical for a lot of forum members. That's okay.
Because you're competing with yourself, you can choose to go for that 100 Movie threshold if you want. You can choose to restrict yourself only to feature films and eschew all TV content and short films. You can do that and take pride that you've done it old school. I get that. But really, who else will ever know or care that you did? No one. I'm not saying that to be snotty. I'm saying it to make my case that it's liberating to only compete with oneself. And if you're competing with just yourself, it shouldn't bother you how my competition with myself goes.
shadokitty is right to emphasize *content* over technical issues. To that end, I have to say that this year's checklist expansions were all wonderful ideas (and I'm not just saying that become some of them were mine!). Hugo/Nebula Award Winners? Bradbury? These things should have been there all along. And remember, the checklist is always optional. As far as what's eligible for viewing, there haven't been any new exclusions (like we tried with this year's Historical Appreciation Challenge). You can still watch the exact same stuff you could always watch in this challenge.
I don't see any real legitimacy to the few complaints that have been lodged in the last day or so. "Compete with yourself, discuss with the community." That should be the focus of every challenge participant in every challenge we have on this forum, and there's nothing to impede anyone doing that here.
One of the things that participating in the Criterion Challenge has really taught me is that I'm not competing with the other participants. I'm competing with myself. Some participants can watch movies where they work. Some have three kids, two jobs, night classes and 90 minutes a week where they can try to squeeze in some viewing. The "Watch 100 Movies in a Month" template that launched the Horror Challenge has pretty well died off as a formal goal because it's simply not practical for a lot of forum members. That's okay.
Because you're competing with yourself, you can choose to go for that 100 Movie threshold if you want. You can choose to restrict yourself only to feature films and eschew all TV content and short films. You can do that and take pride that you've done it old school. I get that. But really, who else will ever know or care that you did? No one. I'm not saying that to be snotty. I'm saying it to make my case that it's liberating to only compete with oneself. And if you're competing with just yourself, it shouldn't bother you how my competition with myself goes.
shadokitty is right to emphasize *content* over technical issues. To that end, I have to say that this year's checklist expansions were all wonderful ideas (and I'm not just saying that become some of them were mine!). Hugo/Nebula Award Winners? Bradbury? These things should have been there all along. And remember, the checklist is always optional. As far as what's eligible for viewing, there haven't been any new exclusions (like we tried with this year's Historical Appreciation Challenge). You can still watch the exact same stuff you could always watch in this challenge.
I don't see any real legitimacy to the few complaints that have been lodged in the last day or so. "Compete with yourself, discuss with the community." That should be the focus of every challenge participant in every challenge we have on this forum, and there's nothing to impede anyone doing that here.
07-02-13, 09:12 AM
#247
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Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
Regarding the rules changes, it's not very fair to shadokitty to pitch a fit now. The discussion thread started well in advance of yesterday and there was more than ample time for anyone to raise any questions. Counting method is always a point of contention but really, unless there is a prize being awarded based on how much anyone watches - and in this year's challenge, there isn't - what difference does it really make?
07-02-13, 09:13 AM
#248
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Thread Starter
Re: 6th Annual Sci Fi/Fantasy Challenge
Regarding the rules changes, it's not very fair to shadokitty to pitch a fit now. The discussion thread started well in advance of yesterday and there was more than ample time for anyone to raise any questions. Counting method is always a point of contention but really, unless there is a prize being awarded based on how much anyone watches - and in this year's challenge, there isn't - what difference does it really make?
One of the things that participating in the Criterion Challenge has really taught me is that I'm not competing with the other participants. I'm competing with myself. Some participants can watch movies where they work. Some have three kids, two jobs, night classes and 90 minutes a week where they can try to squeeze in some viewing. The "Watch 100 Movies in a Month" template that launched the Horror Challenge has pretty well died off as a formal goal because it's simply not practical for a lot of forum members. That's okay.
Because you're competing with yourself, you can choose to go for that 100 Movie threshold if you want. You can choose to restrict yourself only to feature films and eschew all TV content and short films. You can do that and take pride that you've done it old school. I get that. But really, who else will ever know or care that you did? No one. I'm not saying that to be snotty. I'm saying it to make my case that it's liberating to only compete with oneself. And if you're competing with just yourself, it shouldn't bother you how my competition with myself goes.
shadokitty is right to emphasize *content* over technical issues. To that end, I have to say that this year's checklist expansions were all wonderful ideas (and I'm not just saying that become some of them were mine!). Hugo/Nebula Award Winners? Bradbury? These things should have been there all along. And remember, the checklist is always optional. As far as what's eligible for viewing, there haven't been any new exclusions (like we tried with this year's Historical Appreciation Challenge). You can still watch the exact same stuff you could always watch in this challenge.
I don't see any real legitimacy to the few complaints that have been lodged in the last day or so. "Compete with yourself, discuss with the community." That should be the focus of every challenge participant in every challenge we have on this forum, and there's nothing to impede anyone doing that here.
One of the things that participating in the Criterion Challenge has really taught me is that I'm not competing with the other participants. I'm competing with myself. Some participants can watch movies where they work. Some have three kids, two jobs, night classes and 90 minutes a week where they can try to squeeze in some viewing. The "Watch 100 Movies in a Month" template that launched the Horror Challenge has pretty well died off as a formal goal because it's simply not practical for a lot of forum members. That's okay.
Because you're competing with yourself, you can choose to go for that 100 Movie threshold if you want. You can choose to restrict yourself only to feature films and eschew all TV content and short films. You can do that and take pride that you've done it old school. I get that. But really, who else will ever know or care that you did? No one. I'm not saying that to be snotty. I'm saying it to make my case that it's liberating to only compete with oneself. And if you're competing with just yourself, it shouldn't bother you how my competition with myself goes.
shadokitty is right to emphasize *content* over technical issues. To that end, I have to say that this year's checklist expansions were all wonderful ideas (and I'm not just saying that become some of them were mine!). Hugo/Nebula Award Winners? Bradbury? These things should have been there all along. And remember, the checklist is always optional. As far as what's eligible for viewing, there haven't been any new exclusions (like we tried with this year's Historical Appreciation Challenge). You can still watch the exact same stuff you could always watch in this challenge.
I don't see any real legitimacy to the few complaints that have been lodged in the last day or so. "Compete with yourself, discuss with the community." That should be the focus of every challenge participant in every challenge we have on this forum, and there's nothing to impede anyone doing that here.
