Johnny Rollerfeet's Echo Chamber

Thanks to @HeadGeek666 for inviting Becky and I to his 24-hour birthday movie marathon, once more. I’m not saying it’s our last one, but next year we hope to be managing a 5 month old at this time. We’ll probably be practiced up on sleep deprivation, but it would be odd if we both skipped out for a dozen movies in a row. We’ll tackle that as we come to it, but here’s a summary of this year’s selections including (35mm trailers), [special BNAT video intros] and Q&As.)

• Tim League kicked off the festivities with the usual poke at Jeff Mahler by saying that they had accidentally cut up Jeff’s favorite movie, Teen Wolf, and they were just going to splice it into different parts of the night. This is a running gag for BNAT, and this year they topped it by slipping in a dozen or more 1-2 second clips of the movie between trailers. The joke never got old. 
• [Quint of Ain’t It Cool News has been on set of the Hobbit movie and sent a video card from New Zealand including cameos from Peter Jackson, Orlando Bloom, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis and Terry Notary. At the end Gandalf magicked Quint from NZ to the theater with several real fire pot explosions. He brought with him the trailer that premiers this weekend, and — as it was too great a burden for him to do alone — he called for someone from the audience to help him carry it to the projection booth. (Many time BNAT attendee) Elijah Wood offered his assistance, but we weren’t able to watch it initially due to data corruption.]
  • (Stunt Rock) - This trailer always opens BNAT. Don’t let the trailer fool you. It’s a snore fest of a movie.
  • (Teen Wolf Too)
  • (An American Werewolf in London)

1. Hugo (trailer) - We saw this in the theater a couple weeks ago, and my opinion hasn’t changed. It has gorgeous cinematography, and Scorsese really answered James Cameron’s 3D challenge of Avatar in a stunning unique manner. However, the real joys in the movie are only apparent if you’re playing “inside baseball”. To really get everything out of the experience, read/watch 10 Classic Films You Must Watch Before Seeing Martin Scorsese’s Hugo. Clips to the short vintage silent films that launched popular cinema as we know it are included in the article.
2. Le Voyage Dans Le Lune (on YouTube) - Speaking of which, seeing Georges Méliès’s classic on a rare 35mm print with Graham Reynolds providing live score is a treasured experience.
   • (Nightflyers)
   • (The Apple)
   • (War Between The Planets)
3. Just Imagine (opening sequence) - In 1930 they imagined New York as it would be in 1980 and, while we didn’t/don’t have flying cars or legally arranged marriage, we technically do have letters and numbers for names. How many John43’s did you know on AOL in the early ’90s? This science fiction musical is a curio of its time, but it was the low point of the marathon. Thank goodness we got it out of the way early.
   • (The Killer Elite) - Sam Pekinpah direct Robert Duvall and James Caan. I need to add this to my to-be-seen list. Not to be confused with the miserably received De Niro, Clive Owen and Statham release this past fall.
   • (The Spy Who Came In From The Cold)
   • (Top Secret)
4. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (trailer) - Very reminiscent of the spy “thrillers” of the era it portrays (during the Cold War,) I found this to be slow and muddled. It almost feels like the filmmakers made this for people who were already fans of the book (or the 1979 version of the film) in that many characters and plot points go needlessly unexplained, leaving the viewer to fill in the gaps later. This isn’t just a ploy to build suspense or mystery, but more an assumption you already know these people, their lives and their jobs. The best parts of this movie are the performances from the supporting cast. Yes, Gary Oldman spent a lot of time picking out his character’s glasses to help him focus on the role, but Benedict Cumberbatch (BBC’s Sherlock), Toby Jones (the voice of Dobby), and the very manly Tom Hardy steal scenes from him left and right.
   • (The Cheap Detective) - Written by Neil Simon, Peter Falk stars in this detective noir parody released near the end of Falk’s original popular “Columbo” TV movies.
   • (Less Than Zero) - Art predicting life as Robert Downey, Jr plays a drug addict.
   • (Young Sherlock Holmes) - One of my favorite childhood memory movies. I haven’t revisited it as an adult. I’m a little scared to.
   • [Guy Ritchie sent along a video intro with a birthday greeting for Harry.]
5. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (trailer) - Thank goodness RD, Jr got his shit together and has been making some of the finest popcorn movies in recent years. I’m going to say this is possibly better than the original, though I still think Cumberbatch’s Sherlock from the BBC is better written (and performed.)
   • (The Hand) - Michael Caine’s hand in 1981 went on a killing spree.
   • (The Devil’s Hand)
6. The Beast with Five Fingers (trailer) - My favorite part of BNAT is the vintage films I get to learn about. This one co-stars Peter Lorre, and its a great psychological thriller about a master pianist with only one good hand. In his aging days he is surrounded by a nurse who is overwhelmed by his demands, a con man who swindles American travelers as they pass through the Italian village, and a man (Lorre) who has taken over the library with the hundreds of books he believes will let him “solve” astrology. Great effects and sound design with an ending that’s totally Lorre worthy.
   • (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey) - The technical glitches were finally cleared away, and since it was Harry’s birthday we watched this three times in a row. If you have any inkling, go see the trailer attached to TinTin. It’s really very promising.
   • [Capone gave us a brief intro for Tintin.]
   • (The Fabulous World of Jules Verne)
   • (Popeye)
   • (GI Joe: Retaliation) - I fell for the trailer for the first one of these movies, and it’s happened again. This looks awesome.
7. The Adventures of Tintin (trailer) - There are a lot of good things about this movie. The action sequences are pure Spielberg — everything you loved about Indiana Jones. The animation is gorgeous, and the update to the eyes is sufficient that it’s not creepy the way these types of films were previously. That said, I was never a fan of the types of entertainment that are typically offered as good family fare oriented to 10 year old boys. Like the comic strips of the 1930s, it is too straight-forward and wide-eyed for my tastes. I’ve also never bought into stories that heavily relied on constant luck for the protagonist.
   • (The Devil Inside)
   • (Redzilla)
   • (Von Richtofen and Brown)
   • (Spirited Away)
8. Porco Rosso (trailer) - According to Harry (via Moises) they’re remastering several of Miyazaki’s films on 35mm and will be showing them in New York and at the Drafthouse over the coming year. This is another fine example of Miyazaki’s amazing art and story telling, and why his films are elevated above the bulk of anime. Of his narrative features, this is the least and that certainly puts his body of work into perspective.
   • (To the Devil a Daughter)
   • (The Dungeon Master)
   • (Evil Dead)
9. Cabin in the Woods (DO NOT WATCH the trailer) - 2012 is going to be a great year for horror, and Joss Whedon’s next movie is a big part of that. I don’t know what asshole thought this would be a good trailer, but don’t see it. It gives away too much. Simply put, if you like horror movies or Joss Whedon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, “Angel”, “Firefly”/Serenity, “The Dollhouse”) then you want to see this movie, and you want to do it knowing as little as possible. This is the only BNAT film that I can guaranty I will pay to see again in the theaters and again on Blu-Ray.
   • [Several video clips from the making of Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance include the insane limits the directors went to to capture this movie. These are the same guys that directed Crank and Crank: High Voltage, so you know they push the boundaries of *extreme* action.]
   • (Race with the Devil)
10. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (trailer) - This movie delivers on the insane action and effects that the trailer promises, and (unlike the previous Ghost Rider movie) Nicholas Cage’s version of crazy is heavily mixed in to great improvement. That said, I don’t think they’ve captured the real spirit of the comic books and this feels more like a sequel to Drive Angry.
    • During the Q&A with director Bryan Taylor after the movie, he said that Nicholas Cage even showed up on set in-character as Ghost Rider with death skull makeup and that we may get to see the entire movie without the flame effects and just Cage being the best crazy Cage he does.
    • (The Company of Wolves)
    • Butt Drugs - I love Rhett and Link and their commitment to low budget TV commercials.
11. The Grey (trailer) - Hopefully the Academy won’t forget this release due early next year. Liam Neeson helms a great cast in this compelling survival horror about the survivors of a plane crash in the great white north.
    • [Brad Bird sent Harry birthday wishes in a video intro for:]
12. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (trailer) - The best format to see this is: as large as possible. We were taken the IMAX to see the 70mm print that is opening there this weekend. It’s a stunning travelogue with gorgeous shots in Russia and Dubai. I think the original modern M:I is the best, but this one makes a good argument to be second place.