March, 2022 Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge Discussion Thread
02-28-22, 01:38 PM
#1
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March, 2022 Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge Discussion Thread
Last minute, but here we go! Per standard challenge guidelines the challenge will start at dusk on 28 February and run until dawn on 1 April. If it has to do with action, adventure, crime, or mystery, it's on-topic for this challenge.
You'll find the list thread here.
You'll find the list thread here.
02-28-22, 01:50 PM
#2
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Re: March, 2022 Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge Discussion Thread
I didn't mean to host this year. I was so caught up participating in the Romance/Music/Musicals and Oscars challenges that I was oblivious to there not already being threads for this challenge until Lisa said something in the "Official" Challenges Compendium thread yesterday. I like checklists so if I'd known I was going to assume hosting duties I'd have done it in enough time to craft a checklist. I've always thought of this as the Bogie Challenge, because I think pretty much any movie he made qualifies for it. (You might want to dispute Sabrina but I ask you if there's a greater mystery in his entire filmography.) I haven't even had time to brainstorm viewing objectives. I've been itching to go back through the Bond movies so I might do that.
02-28-22, 02:30 PM
#3
Re: March, 2022 Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge Discussion Thread
And I was going to hold off purchasing the last couple of Thin Man movies hoping for a Target B2G1 sale in which to pick them up... May have to get them anyway...
02-28-22, 02:56 PM
#4
Re: March, 2022 Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge Discussion Thread
This is the 11th Challenge.
The last time we had a checklist (as far as I can tell) was 2019 (8th Annual Challenge); here it is:
Think I'm gonna watch Holiday in Spain aka Scent of Mystery (1960) tonight.
The last time we had a checklist (as far as I can tell) was 2019 (8th Annual Challenge); here it is:
Spoiler:
Think I'm gonna watch Holiday in Spain aka Scent of Mystery (1960) tonight.
02-28-22, 06:13 PM
#5
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: March, 2022 Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge Discussion Thread
Thanks for stepping in and hosting this. I have a bunch of titles that double-count for the Oscar Challenge that I've been waiting to watch.
02-28-22, 08:15 PM
#7
Re: March, 2022 Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge Discussion Thread
Darn this one really snuck up on me this year. I blame it on the short month of February. Not sure what I'll be watching but I just got a Roku and am amazed at all the stuff that is available for free. I may check out The Godfather trilogy on Blu. It's been a long time since I saw the first one and I never did see any of the sequels.
02-28-22, 08:54 PM
#8
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Re: March, 2022 Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge Discussion Thread
Thanks, Travis! I feel like this particular hosting baton has been passed around a few times, so it’s no one’s fault that it wasn’t posted earlier. What matters is that it’s ready before the month starts!
We have almost a full month of Oscar overlap so I’m planning to hit a bunch of those, plus continuing my DS9 rewatch.
We have almost a full month of Oscar overlap so I’m planning to hit a bunch of those, plus continuing my DS9 rewatch.
02-28-22, 10:22 PM
#9
Re: March, 2022 Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge Discussion Thread
Finished my first watch of Holiday in Spain (1960), a fun mystery/travelogue shot in Cinerama (simulated curved screen for home viewing). Denholm Elliot quips his way through the movie with Peter Lorre in tow as comedy relief. Just tons of gorgeous scenery on view throughout the whole movie.
03-01-22, 10:05 AM
#10
Re: March, 2022 Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge Discussion Thread
Fortunately, I've been watching my newish copy of Mission Impossible (TV series) on BR so just continued with it last night rather than try to pick a movie out of the pile of unwatched material. I'm thinking it's going to be my primary "filler" material this month...
03-02-22, 03:01 PM
#11
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Re: March, 2022 Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge Discussion Thread
As a compliment to my series set of The Transformers , a couple days ago I ordered the complete series of the Sunbow episodes of GI Joe , which is due to arrive tomorrow. And I already had both the movie, as well as both seasons of the DiC episodes, so I will have the complete series.
03-03-22, 12:18 PM
#12
Re: March, 2022 Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge Discussion Thread
My plans were derailed by my 18yo grandson. He's never seen Game of Thrones and came over a few weeks back asking if we could watch it. After watching the first 5 episodes last week he took a break but showed up Tuesday night wanting to continue watching. So we did. He's been thoroughly amazed by the series and it looks like we'll keep watching. Somehow he's managed to avoid spoilers for the series and only "knows" John, Dany, and Tyrion make it to the end.
All I've told him is "No one has Plot Armor"
Even knowing how it all plays out and having watched it in its entirety twice (and some seasons as many as 10 times) I'm really enjoying watching it again. His presence just makes it that much better, especially since he's going in spoiler free.
Spoiler:
All I've told him is "No one has Plot Armor"
Even knowing how it all plays out and having watched it in its entirety twice (and some seasons as many as 10 times) I'm really enjoying watching it again. His presence just makes it that much better, especially since he's going in spoiler free.
03-03-22, 10:21 PM
#13
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Re: March, 2022 Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge Discussion Thread
As for my challenge, I started by revisiting the magnificent Charade in that sweet overlap of the end of the Romance/Music/Musicals challenge and the dawn of this one. (It also fetched an Oscar nomination for Original Song, giving me triple credit!) It's not a movie that immediately comes to mind when I think of favorites, but I think I'm maybe two or three more viewings away from it becoming one. It's a pure delight from start to finish. Tonight, I finally checked out Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Also a pure delight! The action sequences are exciting, but they're also aesthetically captivating. The story hits on classic archetypes, the performances are terrific, the music is wonderful, and I didn't feel like I was watching someone else play a video game, which is how most 21st century action movies leave me. I'll definitely want to revisit this one some time later.
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BobO'Link (03-03-22)
03-06-22, 04:44 PM
#14
Re: March, 2022 Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge Discussion Thread
I watched Kill Bill Vol 1 & 2 this afternoon in first time viewings for each. The more films I see from Tarantino the more I like him as a filmmaker. They're interesting on several levels.
03-06-22, 04:49 PM
#15
Re: March, 2022 Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge Discussion Thread
The other day I was checking Amazon to see what movies free with Prime would be good for this challenge and discovered that the first five Mission: Impossible movies are available. I've avoided seeing any of these since I've never been a Tom Cruise fan and I was a fan of the TV show and I didn't appreciate that they turned what was basically a weekly caper story into Big Dumb Action movies. (I don't dislike action movies, it was just that I liked the series so much the way it was.) But this is the month for Big Dumb Action movies so I gave the first one a watch last night. And I didn't hate it. I appreciated the nods to the TV show, especially the use of the theme music and that there was still some of that caper feeling in parts of the film. Granted there was a big, really dumb action climax but overall the movie wasn't too bad. I plan to check out one or two more of these before the month is over. Other things I noticed on Amazon were the first Die Hard movie and a couple of the sequels (yeah, I never saw any of those too), a mid 1950's version of Robinson Crusoe directed by Luis Buñuel, and quite a few crime and noir films.
03-07-22, 03:49 PM
#16
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Re: March, 2022 Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge Discussion Thread
A few days ago I got a DVD player in the mail, so watching them is now more convenient for me than playing on a video game console. Lately, I’ve been working my way through season 1 of The Transformers , the only series worthy of the name in my opinion. I am also including the Japanese series in that group as well.
Being someone who grew up in the 80s, I have a great fondness for the action cartoons of that era. I don’t even have to rely on streaming to watch Voltron anymore, because I got the box set of the complete series in the mail today. And an added bonus is that Fleet Of Doom is also included in the set. When I was a kid, it was only aired on tv one time, on a Sunday evening in prime time.
Being someone who grew up in the 80s, I have a great fondness for the action cartoons of that era. I don’t even have to rely on streaming to watch Voltron anymore, because I got the box set of the complete series in the mail today. And an added bonus is that Fleet Of Doom is also included in the set. When I was a kid, it was only aired on tv one time, on a Sunday evening in prime time.
03-08-22, 04:02 PM
#17
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Re: March, 2022 Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge Discussion Thread
I caught The Batman at a drive-in with a friend over the weekend. We loved it. It's very much the film noir mystery film they've promoted, and that's my favorite kind of Batman story. It took me back to the early 90s and reading Legends of the Dark Knight and Shadow of the Bat, and that's about the highest praise I could offer a Batman movie. I balked at the three hour run time going into it, but I'll admit it didn't feel that long at all while we were watching it. I will add, though, that its audio track is largely too quiet for sitting outside at a drive-in unless you're using earphones.
03-08-22, 04:21 PM
#18
Challenge Guru & Comic Nerd
Re: March, 2022 Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge Discussion Thread
The highlight of the Challenge for me so far has been Peacemaker. Best show I’ve watched in a couple years.
03-08-22, 06:15 PM
#19
Re: March, 2022 Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge Discussion Thread
Mine has been watching Game of Thrones with my grandson. I'm still rather astounded he's managed to remain spoiler free on this series but based on his reactions to events I fully believe he has. It's quite fun watching with someone who hasn't a clue about what's going to happen.
Last night we watched the episode where
As it went to black he looked at me and said "OK... what was that!?!?" To which I replied:
He did not like my response as he fully expected me to fill in the blanks. Nope... haven't done it yet and am not about to start.
Also, when
he said "Wow! You were right about no one having Plot Armor!!"
Little does he know... or should I say "You know *nothing,* John Snow!" (and we're right at that point in the season)
Last night we watched the episode where
Spoiler:
As it went to black he looked at me and said "OK... what was that!?!?" To which I replied:
Spoiler:
He did not like my response as he fully expected me to fill in the blanks. Nope... haven't done it yet and am not about to start.
Also, when
Spoiler:
he said "Wow! You were right about no one having Plot Armor!!"
Little does he know... or should I say "You know *nothing,* John Snow!" (and we're right at that point in the season)
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davidh777 (03-20-22)
03-08-22, 07:09 PM
#20
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Re: March, 2022 Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge Discussion Thread
Other movies I visited for the first week (all first time viewings):
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Pure delight. I particularly loved Chow Yun Fat's arc of going from being burnt out on his vengeance quest to being shaken out of his doldrums by the prospect of a worthy apprentice--who isn't convinced she'll benefit from his tutelage. I'm a sucker for that kind of complicated mentor/mentee thing.
Basic Instinct
Sharon Stone was fantastic. What I appreciated most was that the movie opens by showing us who the killer was and before it was over, I'd questioned what I'd seen. I love a mystery that makes me rethink the evidence I've already been given.
Bloodline
"Audrey Hepburn in a movie with a subplot about snuff films" is not a synopsis that has any business in reality and yet here is this half-baked, poorly-executed mess of a film. She does what she can to make Elizabeth Roffe sympathetic, but there's nothing she could do to make Bloodline engaging.
Topkapi
I first heard of this about 20 years ago when Pierce Brosnan said he was developing a sequel to his remake of The Thomas Crown Affair based on it. It has archetypes more than it has actual characters, but it's a heist flick so I don't mind. Peter Ustinov scored an Oscar for his performance as the Hapless P.O.V. Sap Drawn Into The Caper archetype. The movie overall is okay, but the actual heist is fantastic.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Pure delight. I particularly loved Chow Yun Fat's arc of going from being burnt out on his vengeance quest to being shaken out of his doldrums by the prospect of a worthy apprentice--who isn't convinced she'll benefit from his tutelage. I'm a sucker for that kind of complicated mentor/mentee thing.
Basic Instinct
Sharon Stone was fantastic. What I appreciated most was that the movie opens by showing us who the killer was and before it was over, I'd questioned what I'd seen. I love a mystery that makes me rethink the evidence I've already been given.
Bloodline
"Audrey Hepburn in a movie with a subplot about snuff films" is not a synopsis that has any business in reality and yet here is this half-baked, poorly-executed mess of a film. She does what she can to make Elizabeth Roffe sympathetic, but there's nothing she could do to make Bloodline engaging.
Topkapi
I first heard of this about 20 years ago when Pierce Brosnan said he was developing a sequel to his remake of The Thomas Crown Affair based on it. It has archetypes more than it has actual characters, but it's a heist flick so I don't mind. Peter Ustinov scored an Oscar for his performance as the Hapless P.O.V. Sap Drawn Into The Caper archetype. The movie overall is okay, but the actual heist is fantastic.
03-20-22, 04:02 PM
#21
Re: March, 2022 Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge Discussion Thread
Earlier in the challenge I watched two movies featuring one of my favorite pulp characters The Shadow (both available on YouTube). The first one I watched was International Crime (1938) starring Rod La Rocque as Lamont Cranston. It was disappointing since The Shadow wasn't a character, only a name used by Cranston for his crime focussed newspaper columns and radio broadcasts. The next day I watched the earlier film The Shadow Strikes (1937) which did have The Shadow as a crimefighting character, the alter ego of lawyer Lamont Granston (yeah, with a G) played by La Rocque again. Both films were based on stories from the pulp magazine. Since neither film was The Shadow of the pulps or the radio show I assume that it was the mysteries that were taken from the stories and not much else. I liked the earlier movie better since it did have a decent looking Shadow pop up twice although it is slower moving than the later film. Besides missing The Shadow character, International Crime also featured a very ditzy female companion Phoebe Lane who was not particularly funny and too much time was spent with banter between her and Cranston. Both movies were produced by Grand National pictures, one of the poverty row studios, so production values were no great shakes. I think these were the earliest Shadow films. The Columbia serial which was pretty good and had Victor Jory as a great looking Shadow came out in 1940.
03-23-22, 11:25 AM
#22
Re: March, 2022 Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge Discussion Thread
My grandson and I watched the last 5 episodes of Game of Thrones S3 last night. He had several *Holy Crap!* moments, though wasn't as surprised at the events of the "Red Wedding" as I expected. He claims to have been "kind of expecting it"... He's planning to come over tonight and start S4... I can't wait to see his reaction to Joffrey's wedding events...
03-25-22, 04:36 PM
#23
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Re: March, 2022 Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge Discussion Thread
With my dog going downhill I haven’t had the time to watch a lot lately. I plan to get quite a bit in on this last week though and will start tonight. I need something to get my mind off of Brandy, since I made the unimaginable decision today and take her tomorrow morning.
03-25-22, 07:07 PM
#24
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: March, 2022 Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge Discussion Thread
With my dog going downhill I haven’t had the time to watch a lot lately. I plan to get quite a bit in on this last week though and will start tonight. I need something to get my mind off of Brandy, since I made the unimaginable decision today and take her tomorrow morning.
03-26-22, 12:15 AM
#25
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Re: March, 2022 Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge Discussion Thread
With my dog going downhill I haven’t had the time to watch a lot lately. I plan to get quite a bit in on this last week though and will start tonight. I need something to get my mind off of Brandy, since I made the unimaginable decision today and take her tomorrow morning.
