I never read the written review ... I remembered the show review with Siskel:

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I misremembered the ultimate thumbs up from Ebert (it was Siskel with the thumbs down) ... though the bit where he conceded it was a well-made movie, but one he would not recommend any friends to see, stuck with me

Ebert was always my "go to" critic as well. I don't always agree with him (what other person would you always agree with anyway?). But even when I disagree, I respect how he articulates his opinions. And while I've sometimes heard people on the internet attack Ebert for being biased against certain genre (horror, sci-fi, fantasy, cult, exploitation) movies, his actual reviews show he's anything but biased. In fact, he's gone out of his way to sometimes champion movies most mainstream critics wouldn't even admit liking (like Last House on the Left, Dawn of the Dead, Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer).

You just need to see Primer about six more times and it will all be clear! I just did my fifth viewing!

It's very true that a lot of critics, they get this elitist belief that they are somehow 'above' horror films and dismiss a lot of them as dreck.

I agree. I'd wondered about that final comment (mainly thought it was humorous) as I don't really recall many (any?) scenes in Aliens I'd consider gross enough to make one feel sick. While it takes quite a lot visually for me to even remotely feel a bit queasy The Fly remake came closer than just about any other film I've ever seen. That film is quite gruesome at times. I'd guess Ebert never saw The Fly or he might have had a different end for that review but then it does fit in well with the rest of the review and his admitted reaction to Aliens. If he saw, and reviewed, The Fly remake I've not been able to locate a copy.

I'm sure you all already know it (and equally sure I've made mention of it some time or other on this forum), but one of the co-writers of Alien was Dan O'Bannon, who had Crohn's disease. It eventually killed him a few years ago. Anyway, some of what made it into the story were allegories for his experiences with Crohn's. The most notable, of course, is the iconic chest-bursting Alien. I briefly dated a woman last year. She was a big fan of the franchise and insisted I finally see it. Throughout the whole movie I kept pointing to the screen and remarking, "Crohn's!" at various allusions.

Very interesting! He also worked on Total Recall, I believe. Might also explain the head in the guys stomach.

I still haven't seen Total Recall, but that description alone is enough to convince me you're right!

So I'm doing my part to win back some of my geek cred around here by watching the classic monster movies.

I re-watched Dracula so I could better compare the original with the Spanish Version. It was like watching the same film twice but not quite. In some parts the films were shot-for-shot identical but in other parts the films seemed completely different. The Spanish Version has more camera movements than the original but Lugosi's performance was a tad better.

throughout The Bride of Frankenstein my mind kept flashing back to Young Frankenstein. I've always thought Brooks's homage was awesome but now I understand just how freaking brilliant the film really is. Bride was interesting though I think the ending was a bit abrupt and the poor bride herself is only in the film for a hot minute.

Dracula's Daughter is quite an effective sequel if you don't ponder how Dracula could actually have a child. I think the humor in the film worked but it's really out of place given the tone of the first film. For some reason I really liked Contessa's assistant Sandor, he was just a ray of sunshine...while the Contessa was trying to be optimistic about beating the curse, Sandor was all gloom, doom, and death.

I didn't even recognize Lugosi as Ygor in Son of Frankenstein. I guess obsession runs in the family. Another decent sequel though I'm not sure if the remaining films will maintain the same quality.

Though its cliche now, Dracula's Daughter struck me as portraying vampires as conflicted and emotionally tortured (with Sandor more the real villain). And its a little surprising they could get away with the lesbian undertones (by this time the Hayes code was cracking down on Hollywood).

You were talking about Young Frankenstein earlier. For me, Son of Frankenstein is the movie I can't watch now without thinking of the comedy. And it's hard now not to giggle when watching the old movies during certain scenes (like the Hermit scene in Bride, and whenever the constable with the fake arm shows up in Son).

Like most series, you get diminishing returns as it goes on. But I don't think the series ever becomes bad. I think Universal was smart enough to realize that the idea well was dry for Frankenstein movies after the next one (Ghost), because the remaining movies he appeared in were mash-ups with other monsters.

Best reason to have a great Disney library? They really help with these challenges. Had no intention of watching Wall-E this month, but since it crosses off two check marks (cybernetic revolt/post apocalyptic) and is under 2 hours long, it wins. However, it has some of the worse packaging I own. Who thought pulling the disc out on a tray with a flap pointing inward was a good idea? Took me longer than I care to admit to open it without damaging it (I think something got snagged.)

Funny you mention that. I was chatting with a friend of mine just recently and referenced that scene. He automatically assumed I was talking about Young Frankenstein, which I have never seen, when in fact I was referring to Bride of Frankenstein - which he has never seen!

Those would make a great double feature! Whenever the inspector in Son was on screen I flashed back to Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove when his mechanical arm does the Nazi salute. I don't think the inspector wasn't supposed to be a humorous character but I just couldn't help the association. Moments of pure unintentional comedy.

I finished my evening with Transformers: The Movie which I enjoy way more than Michael Bay's versions. In the animated version the autobots and decepticons have personality and you can tell who's who when they fight each other. Plus there aren't any step-n-fetchit robots like in Revenge of the Fallen - seriously, I don't think I can forgive Bay for that bs. I was a huge fan of the cartoon and my parents took me to see the movie when it was released and I was just totally wrecked when (the film is over 25 years old but you never know) That an Bambi were just horrible viewing experiences for me as a child. I really hope they do a decent restoration of this film and release it on blu soon.

Thinking of taking a bit of a break from the challenge today to focus on documentaries and outdoor sporting shows like shows on the hunting and fishing channels.

Last night, Travis and I really started getting into season 3 of ST:TOS. This is how our conversations proceeded for the most part. "My eyes! They burn!!!" Okay, perhaps those weren't really typed, but they should have been.

Other than one okay episode, "The Enterprise Incident," the other 4 were fairly horrible. Between some of the bigotry and how different races, sexes, you name it were treated, it was pretty bad. But then, they'd swing to the other direction and say those people are good. Bad plot lines, bad dialogue, you name it, it's just bad. I'm hoping we can get through this season quickly and just get it done!

Meanwhile for the checklist, I still have a handful left to go, so I should be working on that...

So I'm making my way through Nolan's Batman trilogy and I'm still plagued by a completely random issue with The Dark Knight that I've had since I saw the film in theaters.

While S3 *does* have some pretty bad episodes ("And the Children Shall Lead", "Spock's Brain", "Let that be Your Last Battlefield", to name a few) with possibly the worst good to bad ratio of the 3 seasons it also has some series highlights in "The Enterprise Incident", "Day of the Dove", "The Tholian Web", and "All Our Yesterday's" to name some of the better ones and there are several more good to very good ones left.

You're in for a bumpy ride of good/bad/good/bad for most of the season. You have a couple more rough ones (one of which I consider to be the worst of the series) coming up followed by short string of farily good episodes. Overall the season doesn't really deserve its rap of being the worst of the series but those first 3 *really* bad episodes tend to color perceptions of the rest of that season.

I'm in that same position on the checklist. I have 2-3 left and it'll be finished but I'll have to dig into the collection and I really want to focus on the unopened pile these last few days. It's very possible I'll not get it complete for that reason alone.

So can I have a week extension on the checklist?

I rewatched Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and Beauty and the Beast (1946). Both are just as beautiful and awesome as I remember. I'm glad I picked up the BD of Beauty because the picture quality is amazing.

I watched Cloud Atlas, so awesome in its scope that I didn't even notice that it runs for 3 hours. To quote Roger Ebert, "Even as I was watching "Cloud Atlas" the first time, I knew I would need to see it again." The individual stories are brilliantly acted and directed, with the same actors portraying different characters in each segment; I'm just unsure of the larger aims of the film as a whole. I do know that it is brilliant, visionary film-making that puts the Wachowskis next to Kubrick and Tarkovsky.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is the opposite of Cloud Atlas in every way; loud, stupid, and vulgar.

Unofficially you're free to watch as much sci fi as you want all year round. Just the list thread won't be stickied.

I hope so! Otherwise it's going to be a long few days, here. The plans are to start earlier tonight (we usually start around 9, but we're starting at 7 tonight) and get a few more done than usual to help us out so we don't run out of time.

I did get in two watches for the checklist this afternoon. One was the X-Men. For me, this is always a good watch. I enjoy the storyline, the action, the actors. The Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court was the 2nd watch. It was an hour long TV movie from 1952 where Boris Karloff plays King Arthur. It was OK, but very theatrical. Also, the copy I have is pretty awful looking. Sometimes it was hard to make out what was on the screen.

I think the hard part for me with the remaining checks is that I'm not a huge fan of those genres so I'm limited in what I have and now that I'm down to the last week, limited in time to get something. Plus, in the beginning you can watch a movie and have it cover 3 or 4 checks but now I find myself having to watch a movie that I don't necessarily want to watch just to cover a particular check mark. I know it's not necessary to finish the checklist, but I personally like to see them finished!

I'm down to: Alternate History, Prehistoric, Kaiju, First Contact, Martial Arts Fantasy. I have movies that can cover 4 out of the 5 (missing a Kaiju) but they are ones that aren't my favorite and I used them last year so am trying not to be too repetitive.

Any suggestions that are easily found online? (I don't have Netflix or hulu). And perhaps cover more than one of these? Thanks!

Yeah ... that last sentence is a bit much

But I recently saw Cloud Atlas too and really liked it. Props to everyone involved for even getting something like this made. After the disappointing Matrix sequels and Speed Racer, a nice reminder that the Wachowski's have talent. I'd like to see them scale back and make something on the level of Bound again. Get away from hype backlash of Matrix completely.

And don't ignore Tom Tykwer, whose style is all over Cloud Atlas (and according to the credits was as much involved, if not more, than the Wachowskis).

OK, maybe my praise was a bit too exuberant, but it really is a fantastic film

Good point.

For a Kaiju, Archive.org has Monster From a Prehistoric Planet which also qualifies as "Prehistoric" for a 2-fer. Hulu has Godzilla Vs. King Ghidorah (1991) for free viewing.

Another 2-fer is Prisoners Of The Lost Universe (1983) at Archive.org which is "Prehistoric" and takes place in a parallel universe so could be considered "Alternate History."

Prehistoric: Several titles on Archive.org - Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet, Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women

For "Martial Arts Fantasy" there's Return of the Kung Fu Dragon, also at Archive.org.

I'd think you've seen at least one Star Trek episode that deals with "First Contact"... Hmmm... "Balance of Terror" from S1 is the first time the Federation has seen the Romulans, "The Menagerie" saw first contact with the Telosians, "The Devil in the Dark" is first contact with the Horta, and you might get to "The Tholian Web" tonight which is also a first contact episode.

Let the write ups get away from me but I am on track for the hundred. Barely.

Have not really had any time to keep up with the main thread here, any good drama?