Re: The 18th Annual Sci-fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

One of my favorite movie watching days of the year is during the July Sci-Fi challenge!

Today I'll be watching a Charlton Heston trilogy of Soylent Green, The Omega Man and The Planet of the Apes.

Re: The 18th Annual Sci-fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

This could work this or next month. I was at Dollar General this morning and they had an 8 movie collection of DCAU movies, consisting of such gems as The Killing Joke, Batman v Ninja Turtles ​​​​​​, and even The Death of Superman. There was no price tag, and being right by the checkout anyway, I asked the cashier if she could please scan for the price. $10. I jumped at it since it was not much over a buck a movie.

Re: The 18th Annual Sci-fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

In the same vein, WB dropped a bunch of DCAU movies on youtube that can be watched for "free" (ads of course). Still, if you don't have them and can put up with the ads, it's better than not seeing them at all. This is a partial list of what's available; if you don't see a movie in the list try searching for it. Hopefully they'll stay around for a couple of months, at least.

Re: The 18th Annual Sci-fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

They took these off of Max to put on YouTube. I originally got Max for the DC content and the more they keep removing, the closer I'm getting to cancelling.

Re: The 18th Annual Sci-fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I saw Jurassic World: Rebirth today and quite enjoyed it. It's great at what it is-a summer blockbuster. Lots of action, no real romance, lots of danger and of course, lots of dinos. I'd recommend it if you like the franchise. One mention of Alan Grant, but other than that, no real ties to other than a few minor references to the park. Very much a stand alone and no real connection at all to the Chris Pratt movies that I remember/caught.

Re: The 18th Annual Sci-fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I'm going to see this Thursday, along with Superman. Looking forward to them both.

Re: The 18th Annual Sci-fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Saw the Superman trailer and it looked interesting. A little lighter than the Justice League ones that have come up more recently. You'll have to say how it is.

Re: The 18th Annual Sci-fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Picked up the 4k of Sinners and watched it today. It occurred to me that this film will be eligible for about half the challenges we have here: Horror (yep), Sci-Fi/Fantasy (yep), Historical Appreciation (probably), Make-Your-Own (of course), Action/Adventure (yep), and Musical (yep). Hopefully it will be eligible for the Oscar Challenge too.

Re: The 18th Annual Sci-fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

It's a bit of a mixed bag. Overall, I really liked it. I was never a fan of how Zack Snyder portrayed the characters, but I think the portrayals in this one, particularly with Lois and Lex, were pretty much how the characters were in the comics. Michael Rosenbaum is still my favorite Lex, but Hoult did pretty well. Rachel Brosnahan was great, much better than Amy Adams, who I always felt was miscast. Brosnahan looked like Lois Teri Hatcher and Erica Durance are probably still my favorites, but she was damn close. And Krypto. He's a dog who doesn't know he's superpowered, so that gave me a chuckle a couple of times. I think Jame Gunn has a handle on who these characters are supposed to be, so I have no worries about the overall universe he started here.

Re: The 18th Annual Sci-fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Thanks! I didn't realize Krypto would be in it. It's definitely caught my eye, but I think I'll wait until I can watch it at home. (Also, agreed that Michael Rosenbaum is the best Lex.)

Re: The 18th Annual Sci-fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I read yesterday that Superman basically had the blessing of the Reeve Estate. So that alone increased my interest. Admittedly, other than some parts of Returns, I haven't cared much for any Superman after Quest for Peace.

Re: The 18th Annual Sci-fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 



Re: The 18th Annual Sci-fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

My viewings are going to cut down significantly for the next week as my youngest grandson (11yo) and son are at my house for a "Board Game Week." We *do* have a few movies on tap but... My grandson specifically wants to watch Jaws as he's never seen it before (I have and would rather not have to watch it again but... On top of my not liking it at all is that it doesn't count as SF/Fantasy). We just started Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, one I've seen several times and he's seen once before. We're using it as "filler" while waiting for his 2nd cousins to come over and play a game with us. They have to do "chores" first and there's no telling how long of a wait we'll have... He's never seen the 1968 original so I'm hoping to squeeze it in at some point.

Re: The 18th Annual Sci-fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Sounds like a fun time! I'm in a similar type of deal. My family and I go to the lake every year and we just got here today. We play games, do puzzles, watch a lot of random tv/movies (most of which doesn't count) and swim a lot. Might be a cooler year temp wise, so feeling like we'll be spending a fair amount of time inside. I did bring a bunch of movies to watch at night since I'm more of a night owl, but I was not thinking...I don't have a portable BR player and everything I grabbed only has that. I do have access to my Fandango (Vudu) account, but I was hoping to get some of the physical TBRs off the list. Oh well, I'll just have to make it up when I get home.

We did watch Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny tonight-my mom's pick. It does count for the ending at least. Not my favorite Indy movie, but it wasn't as bad as I remembered it being.

Re: The 18th Annual Sci-fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I watched Dial of Destiny early in the challenge in a first time viewing. I really enjoyed it and felt it ended the series well. FWIW, I've liked all of the Indy movies - far more than most people and critics.

Re: The 18th Annual Sci-fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I liked Dial of Destiny quite a bit! (But thought that the part towards the end where it goes full-on sci-fi/fantasy was perhaps the weakest part of the movie.)

Almost halfway through the month and I finally posted a list. :lol:

Blobfest was this past weekend, but I had other obligations and only made it to one film: Gremlins 2, shown in all its original 35mm glory. Joe Dante taped a quick intro specifically for my theater to show before the movie -- he has a gorgeous big floofy dog, and (35 years on from its premiere) exactly the attitude about this film that I would expect him to have. This was one of those movies that I saw (pieces of) a million times one summer when it was playing on repeat on one of the movie channels, and it's still just dumb, meta fun.

The weekend before, my sister and brother-in-law and I introduced their four kids (ages 5-11) to Labyrinth at the same theater. The 5yo got a little scared a couple times, but the rest of them loved it. It's nice having niblings that are as weird as my siblings and I were when we were kids. :lol:

Re: The 18th Annual Sci-fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I rather like the weird ending but the beginning gets me. Close up, the CGI is fine, but as soon as they pull away, you can very easily tell it is not Harrison Ford and it's very obvious to me. I just wish the ending was a bit longer, more involved. Temple of Doom is my favorite, but if you think about it, every movie has just a little bit of weirdness/sci-fi to it. I think Dial's ending threw me a bit because it wasn't as set up as it should have been and felt really random to me.

Better late than never! Welcome back to the challenge! How fun to get to introduce kids to the classics! I know I always loved doing that with my nieces. Now they're too old to think it fun, but hopefully they'll grow out of that phase too. :)

Re: The 18th Annual Sci-fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

How is everyone's challenge going? It's the half-way point already! I've been managing about one watch a day, but will likely pick up again after I get home. I've been in the mood to watch this year.

Any surprise watches? Either bad or good surprise?

Re: The 18th Annual Sci-fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I just finished re-watching Pushing Daisies and that show ages quite well. It's still quirky and fun. Going to watch S2 of Sandman and do a Matrix trilogy re-watch this weekend. Things are moving right along.

Re: The 18th Annual Sci-fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Since Tarzan's Magic Fountain has a "Fantasy" tag at IMDB I'll be using it for a couple of check list entries. AFAIK it's the *only* Tarzan film to have such a tag.

Re: The 18th Annual Sci-fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I watched the first two episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and I'm very happy to welcome this show back. The 2nd episode had me smiling ear to ear. Just my opinion, but this is fan service done right.

Re: The 18th Annual Sci-fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Have you seen the newest one? I've seen the originals once but didn't love them, but was wondering if it'd be worth getting Resurrections?

Yeah, I bought a fantasy pack last month and it had a couple of the Tarzans, but weren't labeled as such, so watch list only it was. I'm a bit torn on them, tbh, which is why I ok'd them for the watch list, just not the check list. I feel like they are more of a fantastic fiction as they are very unlikely to happen but it's not like anything in them has events that couldn't happen, if that makes sense. I feel like most people consider them to be fantasy though I'd classify them more solidly in the adventure category.

I haven't seen this series yet. One of these days, I'll have to sub to Paramount and binge watch to catch up. I did find the shorts on sale on Amazon last week and hope to watch them this challenge. I'm pretty sure I've seen at least a few of the shorts at some point though as they looked familiar.

Re: The 18th Annual Sci-fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I hit the 60's on the15th so I'll probably make my 100 by or before the end of the month. I've been managing one movie a day mostly with about one double feature a week and alternating sf and fantasy movies which has worked out pretty well. I'm not bored or burnt out or been particularly stumped about what to watch next (yet). That and the summer season anime, mostly fantasy titles, and whatever other TV piques my interest. Been working my way through Ijon Tichy: Space Pilot again and it's still lots of fun. Thinking about Lupin the 3rd this weekend, The Mystery of Mamo (1978) probably and then something from this century I haven't seen that qualifies.

Re: The 18th Annual Sci-fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Nice! I've tried to hit 100 but I get pretty burnt out by the end of the month. I'm doing pretty steady right now and will likely pick up a bit for the next week, but I doubt I'll get too close to it this year either.

I've only seen Lupin III Castle of Cagliostro. Can't say that I really got into it but I like the idea of it.

Re: The 18th Annual Sci-fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I have seen the newest one and I will say this, the films get progressively less interesting to me as the franchise moved along. The first one is spectacular, the second one has some wonderful moments, the third one is a mess, and the fourth one was a cash grab. If you've seen the first three, then go ahead and watch the fourth one but set your expectations low.