I could possibly see it being labeled as a fantasy film... perhaps... I'm not sure. It's hard to categorize experimental films. I was toying with the idea of watching some Buñuel films, but had the same problems with classifying them.

Still, it's a great film! Watched it for a film class last semester.

Watched the The Dungeonmaster aka Ragewar. It was very bad, not that I was too surprised about that. It had a couple redeeming qualities. 1) Richard Moll. I don't really need to say more about that. 2) It was on VHS.

I occasionally watch the odd VHS movie. Sometimes it's only available that way (which it was in this case), sometimes it's quicker to get the VHS and when it's for a challenge I don't have time to wait for the DVD.

I don't honestly mind VHS too much. It's rare enough I watch that format and it always reminds me how much quality has improved. Even a great copy is fuzzy and unclear in spots. This one, the picture jumped about. Anyone remember the little button you would move to clear that up? I wish my player still had that!

But yeah, the film. Well, it qualifies for the challenge!

Sharknado: What has been seen cannot be unseen!

Brent Spiner has often tweeted about how frequently it's been aired on TV. It's a sort of running joke for him, I guess. Back in the late 90s, a friend and I went to a Star Trek convention where John de Lancie was the guest. The first thing he said after greeting us was that he was happy to talk about any subject that interested us...as long as it wasn't Star Trek. Someone asked about his thoughts on Independence Day. He groaned under a facepalm and muttered something to the effect of, "That was utter bullshit."

I can't even express how much I love that show/movie. Just yesterday, DC Comics published the first issue of a comic book based on that era, called Batman '66. That alone makes 2013 one of the best years on record.

If I'd not looked at that issue yesterday I'd almost agree. While the story was fairly good and is *very* reminiscent of the half-hour program in style/pacing (I heard *all* the proper voices in my head while reading), the attempt to "replicate" the look of 60s comics is horrible. At first I thought the registration on the copy I had was off. By the 4th page I'm looking for my 3D glasses. By the end I was just annoyed. I purchased *lots* of comics in the 60s and *none* looked as bad as that issue! Another problem are the attempts to mimic the humor of the TV show. Those absolutely fell flat for me. It just wasn't there. I put it back in my file to re-read next week and make a final decision but right now it's not looking like it'll find a home on my shelf. That makes me sad as I really want to like the book.

What's made 2013 the batyear for me is the Eaglemoss '66 Batmobile, which is absolutely stunning! What I've seen of the October Batman '66 HeroClix is good as well. I don't play the game but I'll be purchasing some of the figures, especially the Batmobile.

My goal is to watch as much live-action Japanese sci-fi as I can this month before the Anime Challenge kicks in. I have tons of Godzilla, Gamera and other kaiju movies, plus a couple dozen TV series in the Ultraman, Kamen Rider and Sentai (Power Rangers) franchises. More than enough to last the next dozen or so challenges. But at night, when I want to watch something without subtitles before going to bed, I'll put in an English-dubbed anime tape like the first "Mobile Suit Gundam" series (1979). That's what I meant by "sidetracked."

The first three issues are out on Comixology already, 99 cents each.

So long as all these new tie-ins mean that the many, many issues surrounding the show are close to being solved, paving the way for the DVDs. SOON.

That makes sense. And that is a lot of Japanese programming...

I forgot to add the most gratingly Super-Patriotic moment, where the President all but literally says "Now the rest of the world has a reason to celebrate our holiday, and thank us for the privilege."

Get out of here with your abominable digital nonsense!

I'm actually working on a blog piece for [another movie website] discussing some movies that pretty much had to have been made in the Clinton 90s. Independence Day is one of them.

Watching Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band, with the the Bee Gees and Peter Frampton singing Beatles songs in a fairy tale story. I like the movie although it is regarded with contempt by most critics.

Steve Martin, Alice Cooper, and the Bee Gees; could it be any more 70s?

The Adjustment Bureau is a brilliant film. Matt Damon is really good; the idea is fascinating, clever and well shown; Terence Stamp turns up; many of the special effects have clearly been filmed in real locations... Really, really good film.

The featurettes are interesting, too. I've been a little disappointed that many recent films have been sorely lacking, but this one had deleted scenes, a piece on New York and a bit about Emily Blunt dancing. None of which are earth-shattering, but all of which are worth watching at least once.

Everyone knows the story of Orson Welles' War of the Worlds broadcast in 1938. So I didn't expect to hear much of novelty in the documentary The Day That Panicked America. However... things I have learned (that are allegedly the case):

• Were it not for Nelson Eddy singing a widely-disliked song on NBC...
  • a) Fewer people would have heard the broadcast on CBS
  • b) Much of the audience would have listened to it from the beginning, rather than tuning in late.
• Buck Rogers' debut in print had him named "Anthony Rogers" - "Buck" was coined for the comic strip
• The New Jersey ''crash site'' for the Martian craft was close to the crash site of the Hindenberg... which actually crashed the previous year.

And on a more trivial note, the Russian 1924 silent Aelita: Queen of Mars (which I watched earlier this month) is set in the future... I didn't get that impression at all!

Yeah that's the point in the film where I get up to grab some scooby snacks. The whole rally the troops speech is pretty annoying.

Speaking of War of the Worlds I watched the 1953 version the other day and I was struck by the overtly religious tone the film took toward the end. It wasn't a good or bad thing, I just wasn't expecting it.

I think I'm going to watch The Captains today (thank you shadokitty for posting about it).

Saw that during its theatrical run. It actually introduced me to Beatles music, so I've always kind of had a fondness for it. Good ol' Billy Shears!

The Asylum version that came out in 2005, the same year as the Spielberg movie, has a huge religious angle. For an Asylum movie, it's not done that bad actually.

Does watching the movie serial Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe from 1940 and then watching the Flash Gordon movie from the 80's count as watching a film and its remake/reboot?

I wish I had the space for everything I want to own, but do agree with you. I will never go full digital, but use it when stuff goes on sale that I sort of kind of want.

And one big advantage of digital over physical besides the obvious space savings is the sometimes phenomenal prices. Multiple ~600 page Eisner award winning graphic novels for $4 right now.

I'll say yes.

I couldn't quite decide it it was pro- or anti-, given that the martians DO attack a church while the people within pray for salvation...

I tend to assume that "remake/reboot" includes "re-adaptation," which is really what that is.

I watched that earlier this month for the challenge and really enjoyed it also. It's one of my favorite films I've seen this month.

I had wanted to see it when it was initially released in the theater, but just never made it. It had sat in my unwatched pile for at least a year, so I had to make it a priority this year and am glad I did.

I remember the White House Correspondents Dinner speech President Obama gave that year:

"Just the other day Matt Damon - I love Matt Damon - said he was disappointed in my performance. Well Matt, I just saw The Adjustment Bureau so right back 'atcha buddy!"

I loved Aelita: Queen of Mars! I streamed it a couple years ago from Netflix. What imagination! I also adored all the allegories to the Russian Revolution. Historical propaganda intrigues me.

I think it's pretty clearly pro-. Who else but a minion of Satan would attack a church?

I purge my libraries semi-regularly. I don't have the budget to get just anything that interests me, so I trade in things that lose their luster and use that money to get more things. Space is therefore not much of an issue. Plus, I don't have anything other than my computer on which to read a digital comic and that's far less than ideal. If that ever changes, maybe I'll reconsider digital comics.

Graphic novels that interest me, I can usually get through my library. They've been growing their selection handily the last couple years, plus there's always the inter-library loan system. You can also request DVDs and CDs through that, too, incidentally. Or at least, I can do that here.

The voice-over at the end placed it squarely in the pro category as it talked about how God's little microbes led to the alien's downfall. You get the impression that all that praying actually worked...