LJG765

Any objections to adding Peter Jackson to the director list? Counting series as one, I saw 8 films he directed that would qualify.

mrcellophane

I would be in favor of cutting the ratings section down to the five main ratings: G / PG / PG-13 / R / Unrated. I think that would fulfill the objective of the checklist while removing some complicated entries, especially since various sites sometimes modify outdated ratings to reflect our current system. Also, you could forgo the "watch x of x" rule for that section.

I wonder if there is a way to cycle entries through automatically. Actors could appear every couple of years or something. That could allow for some diversity. I don't know. That seems like a suggestion that requires a lot of work for someone who is not me! I will say that I really enjoy the checklists even thought I rarely finish them. I have OCD so having a checklist allows me to hyper-focus on the challenge and gamify my month's viewing.

BobO'Link

OK... now I just feel rather stupid... I was so focused on getting everything I totally didn't notice the X of Y bit for sections, even though that's been there every year so I should know, right!?!.

In my defense I'll just say I've not done the checklist for several years as it both takes my focus away from getting stuff out of my unopened pile and my OCD tendencies tend to take over with a "gotta get all the checks" mentality.

davidh777

Between MYOC and this, I thought this might be the year I finally go deep into B5 or finish The Prisoner, but I decided to dive into my HBO backlog. I just finished Doom Patrol s1, and though I like the comic, I found the season a bit hit or miss. I started Watchmen and liked it, but I’m tempted to get back into Westworld and finish the first season. Also watching Doctor Who in spurts.

Getting a little tired of dark, murky TV series, though, so might spin some movies for a while.

LJG765

No worries! It happens. Don't tell anyone, but I do things like that too; skim over something you're familiar with and miss what you're looking for!

ade3333

I think it would be good to slim the ratings section down, struggling a little with NC-17 & X, also, because I'm in the UK our ratings system is slightly different it interesting to see the different ratings for the US compaired to the UK

LJG765

Anyone else want to weigh in on the ratings? I have 2 votes for slimming it down to the current basic fields.

Originally, when everything on the checklist was required to finish, the rating system had: G, PG, PG-13, R. It also had NC-17 (and maybe X) as optional for those who would want to complete the set. If I change the ratings, this is would I would go back to, I think.

Sound good?

davidh777

Sounds good to me. I still need to attack the checklist but the rare ratings were not something I’d chase.

Travis McClain

A friend of mine has talked up the Netflix original series Dark since some time after she first watched the first season. I knew something was up when she admitted she'd ended up streaming the entire first season in a single binge session. She scarcely permits herself that much screen time in a week! Given that its third season just dropped a month ago, I figured I'd finally catch up. My first impression is that it's Twin Peaks but without a sense of humor. It lives up to its title, going in some brutal places. I've avoided learning anything beyond the few scraps my friend already gave me, which she kept ambiguous enough that it wasn't until something happened that I worked out that was what she had alluded to. The cast is terrific, though I keep getting distracted placing them with English speaking lookalikes.

I'm mixed about the narrative. The soap opera drama of the townspeople and their interwoven, highly dysfunctional, lives appeals to the Dallas viewer in me. There is something enjoyable about the key question not being, "What are we going to see them do next" but rather "What are we going to learn they did next?" I'm not big on time travel, though, and this long form exploration of it underscores why that is. There was a moment some time in the third episode when I realized that pretty much the entire story is going to involve just a few families. That would be fine, except I have an increasingly hard time accepting that no one in one era seems to know anything about big things that happened in a previous era. Not because of a discontinuity in the timeline (i.e., us seeing a past that differs from the past of the characters), but too many things seen to remain tidily confined to one era. I just finished the first season, and I'm definitely gonna finish this series if not by tomorrow, then the day after.

popcorn

Cheers to anyone who can blackout the challenge list without multiple entries. I don't have time to do singular entries for every challenge!

Cardsfan111

I've been fitting in a few sci-fi films and shows, though I'm not sure I've commented yet. One such film that I caught which I'd never seen before was Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Kind of embarrassed not to have seen that one yet, since it's probably viewed as a classic and has been available for so long. Anyone else admit to a highly-regarded sci-fi movie that you're almost ashamed to admit you haven't gotten to yet?

BobO'Link

So... which version did you watch? The original theatrical, the "Special Edition," or the "Director's Cut" (aka Collector's Edition). And what did you think of it?

As far as myself, I can't think of any "classic" SF/Fantasy films I've not yet seen.

numbercrunch

Another brutal watch - Avalanche (1978). I like Roger Corman and I like cheesy low budget fare, but this disaster epic was a real stinker.

coyoteblue

Watched Hellboy (2019) tonight and thought it was fine. Almost gets an automatic pass just for the Lobster Johnson cameo. A lot of people took a piss on it because it wasn't the third del Toro/Perlman movie, but that's not fair to any of the Hellboy movies. They all hew pretty close to the comic; certain eras of the comic. The upped graphic carnage was a nice change of pace and it's always good to see Baba Yaga (in a manner of speaking). The filmmakers certainly expected a sequel, whether we'll see one, who knows?

Cardsfan111

Had to double-check. It was the Collector's Edition, which I've owned on DVD for quite some time. Is there a superior option I should look for, or is that the preferred cut?

I liked it. I found myself wondering what it would have been like viewing it much closer to when it was released as opposed to waiting this long to get to it. I am anxious to re-visit the film..

LJG765

Sounds interesting but complicated...

For sure. I don't either! If I stumble across someone who has a blackout without repeating an entry, I may give them a bonus entry because that was a lot of work and prep!

Yep. I can't name something off the top of my head, but I know I only saw Encounters for the first time a few years ago. At this point, I know there will always be something that I've missed, but I try to use the checklists to fill those gaps. For awhile, I used the Criterion challenge to watch the missing Hitchcock films. I still have one or two bigger ones, but did got through the majority of them. I also like using the Icheckmovies.com site. The empty check marks make me want to finish off the list!

The last few days, I've tried to finish the checklist. I'm down to 3 categories, directors, rating and language. I think I can do it in 5 more films, which is doable, though I really have been skipping all over the place in film series to try to get as many checks per film as possible. I've watched the first Hobbit film, a Trek film, even an Avengers film. I'm hoping I'll have time to finish up the Hobbit Trilogy and maybe Avengers: Endgame since I watched Infinity War tonight.

I've discovered 2 main things that I think especially needs work.

1) Unless I see an objection, the rating section IS going to be changed. I'm getting rid of those random and outdated ones and sticking with having the optional NC-17/X/Unrated, and the rest will be required.

2) The director list needs more names to change out. Tonight I was looking through trying to find movies that qualify and I've found that there aren't that many unique options. The other option is to drop how many are needed to finish that section, which is doable as well. Any suggestions or ideas on how to switch this section up?

mrcellophane

Good luck finishing up the checklist!

Maybe we could add some older, less prestigious people like Antonio Margheriti, Sam Katzman, and Globus & Golan. Their output is definitely not to everyone's taste, but it could give us more diversity. It's difficult because many of the current people came out of the 70s and 80s and are tied to SF/F franchises. Many of the directors, producers, and writers that I associate with newer SF/F - Alex Garland, Denis Villeneuve, Duncan Jones, etc. - have few qualifying films.

I love the idea of adding Peter Jackson. Maybe Guillermo del Toro could work as a sub?

mrcellophane

I agree. I watched it last month and didn't like it. If you have the Kino Lorber BD, the disc contains interviews with Corman and Robert Forster that are worth watching.

LJG765

Thanks! I wanted to finish it, so as host I could figure out how manageable it was or if it was getting to unwieldy. del Toro is a great suggestion. He doesn't have 100s of titles under his name, but the ones he does have are mostly fantasy and sci-fi related and are definitely recognizable titles.

Travis McClain

Ended up binging Dark S2 yesterday/last night and I figure I may as well knock out the third season today. My retention is a bit weak these days, and with something that has so many moving parts, I want to get it in while I can still remember most of who's who and what they've done. The second season addressed some of my concerns about the first by bringing in a new character from outside the town as a new investigator. He remarks himself how it seems everyone who was born there stayed there, and that that was odd even for a place of its size. He's given an explanation that the nuclear power plant had been a boon and kept so many employed, but it was clearly not a convincing explanation. Having an in-story character ask some of the questions I had was gratifying, though, even if the answers themselves weren't.

However, the second season also doubled down on the thing I found most dubious, parsing down the entire story to just a few families. At least in the first season, we saw town meetings and went to places where life still went on. Throughout S2, though, we only seem to go to places where some new critical piece of information is, and it seems to be the same handful of places each time. I have a theory that a first story is about ideas and sequels are about the first story, and I see that play out here. The first season is about the interconnection of the past, present, and future; and also the interconnection between each of us with one another. The second season is about the interconnection of these specific characters and their specific world. At the beginning of the season, it seems that one character is on a Chosen One path. Dude apparently teaches himself how to operate equipment at a nuclear power plant for an even more advanced purpose than their original design, and is central to most of the time jumps. By the end of the season, though, it comes off as though half the characters are "chosen". I stayed with it because I am into the characters, but I preferred when the show was about an idea and not about itself.

lisadoris

Wait, we can use titles for multiple checklist entries? How did I not realize this until now?

BobO'Link

Spielberg prefers the Collector's Edition. The ""Special Edition" was done because Spielberg wasn't happy with the theatrical release. He'd wanted more time to cut the film but the studio wanted it out "now" so out it went. When Spielberg asked to recut it the studio agreed but only if he'd show the inside of the ship, something he didn't want to do and feels was a huge mistake. To justify the expense it got another theatrical release with the "Special Edition." Spielberg again recut the film in 1998 and removed those interior scenes of the ship.

Roger Ebert liked the "Special Edition" best. I'm not a fan of any of them. It has a great build up but, for me, kind of fizzles at the end with several things that happen. My least favorite is the "Special Edition." While it's a bit tighter and flows a bit better than the theatrical those interior scenes absolutely kill it. When I do watch it I generally go for the "Collector's Edition" but sometimes the theatrical as that's what I saw first. The copy I have has all three cuts.

LJG765

Yep, you can use titles for multiple entries on the checklist. Before I was a host, when I first started on the forum, I asked about it on the first challenge I participated in (back in 2011 or 12) and was told it was up to you how you use the checklist. You could do either, obviously one is harder than the other! I've never had any host ask me about it either.

BobO'Link

That's allowed on all of the challenges. I did this one a few years back by not using any movie for multiple entries. It's quite difficult that way.

popcorn

I’ve officially finished the checklist! No multiple entries. Is anyone else done? I’m going to continue because I have a bunch of 4K movies to open up and watch including Annihilation and 2001 A Space Odyssey. I might save that for the final night.