Marathons

I don’t just review movies here at Bill’s Movie Emporium, oh no I do not. Sometimes I group them together by some sort of theme in a marathon format. This is where you can find links to all of those reviews, as well as a bit of a description for every every category contained herein.

Most people should be familiar with the idea of marathons, or festivals as some others call them. But, for those who are not, here’s a brief rundown. When I say marathon I’m talking about watching a group of films that have something in common. They may share a theme, a studio of production, a genre, or I may have grouped them together for reasons that don’t make much sense. This also means that the films in the marathon are usually arranged in some sort of specific order, ranging from release date to being divided up based on themes within a genre. Some of my marathons may be of the never ending variety, I will always be adding new films to these marathons. Other marathons will be finite, but they can be long, around fifty or so films, or short, think six to eight films. Most of all, I need to call something a marathon in order for it to be a marathon on Bill’s Movie Emporium. For instance I’ve been watching all of Pixar’s catalog, and while I am reviewing them in chronological order I never made that a marathon so it’s not actually one and thus won’t turn up on this page. You also might notice that I have no problem skipping over a film in a marathon if it is not readily available and then coming back to it later. I know this may not work for everyone, but it’s my blog and my marathons, so yeah. I think that sufficiently explains everything, so let’s get going with the marathons.

Bill Knows Best Marathon

The second in a trio of joint marathon’s between myself and my ex-wife. This marathon is another easy concept. I had given my ex-wife a large grouping of films and from that grouping she chose seven films. The caveat was that I had seen all seven films, she had seen none and these are some of my favorite films that I am trying to expose her to. This is a finite marathon consisting of seven films, and here they are, though the marathon ended with the relationship and film number four on the list.

#1: The General (1926)
#2: Once (2006)
#3: Efter Brylluppet (After The Wedding, 2006)
#4: Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy (Unrated, 2004)
#5: Double Indemnity (1944)
#6: Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
#7: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Bill’s Wife Knows Best Marathon

Easy concept, my ex-wife watches movies too and these are a few of her favorite movies that she wanted to expose me to for the first time. This was a finite marathon, consisting of seven films, and here they are,

#1: Foxfire (1996)
#2: The Last Unicorn (1982)
#3: Now And Then (1995)
#4: Lost And Delirious (2001)
#5: Into The West (1992)
#6: Lola Rennt (Run Lola Run, 1998)
#7: Girl, Interrupted (1999)

Comica Obscura Marathon

This is another joint marathon with my good friend Edgar. As usual I post a review on my site and he posts a review at his site, Between The Seats. Then a week later I post a rebuttal to his review and he does the same for my review. This is the fourth joint marathon Edgar and I have entered into, and if I don’t say so myself they keep getting better in every regard. Comica Obscura is an idea I’ve had for a while now and it only seemed natural to partner up with Edgar so we could hopefully generate some interesting discussions. Each of the six films in this marathon are based on a comic book or manga of some sort. They are not however based on widely known material and the journey down the less trodden path of comic book based movies is what most interested me about this marathon. This is a finite marathon consisting of six films. The format for listing our joint marathons is a bit different, but it should make sense.

Ka-POW!
#1: The Rocketeer (1991)
Review
Rebuttal
#2: Kozure Ôkami: Ko Wo Kashi Ude Kashi Tsukamatsuru (Lone Wolf And Cub: Sword Of Vengeance, 1972)
Review
Rebuttal
#3: Fritz The Cat (1972)
Review
Rebuttal
#4: Mo Gong (Battle Of The Warriors, 2006)
Review
Rebuttal
#5: Road To Perdition (2002)
Review
Rebuttal
#6: Shurayukihime (Lady Snowblood, 1972)
Review
Rebuttal

Disney Animated Marathon

I love animation and I grew up on the works of Disney. That’s why when a group of members at a message board I used to belong to decided they were going to do a massive never ending marathon of every Disney animated feature I had to be on board. Sadly, since it was such a massive undertaking slowly but surely most of the participants dropped off the marathon. But, I trudged on and some other people stayed the course or chimed in from time to time as well.  I formatted this marathon in chronological order, I also tossed in one film that isn’t quite an animated feature, and it is a never ending marathon. Here are the films I have reviewed for the Disney Animated Marathon so far,

#1: Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1937)
#2: Pinocchio (1940)
#3: Fantasia (1940)
#4: Dumbo (1941)
#5: Bambi (1942)
#6: Saludos Amigos (1942)
#7: The Three Caballeros (1944)
#8: Make Mine Music (1946)
#9: Fun & Fancy Free (1947)
#10: Melody Time (1948)
#11: The Adventures Of Ichabod And Mr. Toad (1949)
#12: Cinderella (1950)
#13: Alice In Wonderland (1951)
#14: Peter Pan (1953)
#15: Lady And The Tramp (1955)
#16: Sleeping Beauty (1959)
#17: One Hundred And One Dalmatians (1961)
#18: The Sword In The Stone (1963)
#19: Mary Poppins (1964)
#20: The Jungle Book (1967)
#21: The AristoCats (1970)
#22: Robin Hood (1973)
#23: The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh (1977)
#24: The Rescuers (1977)
#25: The Fox And The Hound (1981)
#26: The Black Cauldron (1985)
#27: The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
#28: Oliver & Company (1988)
#29: The Little Mermaid (1989)
#30: The Rescuers Down Under (1990)
#31: Beauty And The Beast (Special Edition, 1991)
#32: Aladdin (1992)
#33: The Lion King (1994)
#34: Pocahontas (1995)
#35: The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (1996)
#36: Hercules (1997)
#37: Mulan (1998)
#38: Tarzan (1999)
#39: Fantasia/2000 (1999)
#40: Dinosaur (2000)
#41: The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)
#42: Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
#43: Lilo & Stitch (2002)
#44: Treasure Planet (2002)
#45: Brother Bear (2003)
#46: Home On The Range (2004)
#47: Chicken Little (2005)
#48: Meet The Robinsons (2007)
#49: Bolt (2008)
#50: The Princess And The Frog (2009)
#51: Tangled (2010)
#52: Winnie The Pooh (2011)
#53: Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
#54: Frozen (2013)
#55: Big Hero 6 (2014)

Music Music Music! Marathon

At my ex-wife’s urging this marathon sprang into existence. My ex-wife had some musicals she wanted me to watch and then write about. She handed me a long list of suggestions and I whittled it down to a manageable six. This is a finite marathon, and away we go,

#1: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (2007)
#2: Guys And Dolls (1955)
#3: Grease (1978)
#4: Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)
#5: Singin’ In The Rain (1952)
#6: The Sound Of Music (1965)

Rambo Marathon

Unlike my other marathons which are for the most part solo efforts, the Rambo Marathon was a joint venture with my good friend Edgar. The way it worked was I would post a review at my site and he would post a review at his site, Between The Seats. Then a week later I would post a rebuttal to his review and he would do the same for my review. Typically the marathons I run with Edgar are a bit smaller in scope, but we tend to dig into the movies themselves a little deeper. We also try to only pick marathon topics that will interest us and provide for some interesting discussion. The Rambo Marathon is actually the second joint marathon Edgar and I have done, and it is a finite marathon of four films.  The format for listing our joint marathons will be a bit different, but it should make sense.

#1: First Blood (1982)
Review
Rebuttal
#2: Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
Review
Rebuttal
#3: Rambo III (1988)
Review
Rebuttal
#4: Rambo (2008)
Review
Rebuttal

Shootout At High Noon Marathon

A marathon with a simple premise and a whole lot of killing. I love Westerns, Edgar loves Westerns, we decided our third joint marathon would take us to a time when women were women, men were men, and you could shoot a guy in the middle of the street and nary a soul would bat an eyelash. The only caveat we employed for this marathon was no films from Sergio Leone, because frankly people have covered Leone to death and I’ve already reviewed most of his movies. The order was chosen at random, and this is a finite marathon of eight films.

Giddy Up!!!
#1: The Wild Bunch (Director’s Cut, 1969)
Review
Rebuttal
#2: The Proposition (2005)
Review
Rebuttal
#3: The Quick And The Dead (1995)
Review
Rebuttal
#4: Joheunnom Nabbeunnom Isanghannom (The Good, The Bad, The Weird, 2008)
Review
Rebuttal
#5: Pale Rider (1985)
Review
Rebuttal
#6: The Shootist (1976)
Review
Rebuttal
#7: Open Range (2003)
Review
Rebuttal
#8: Ravenous (1999)
Review
Rebuttal
The Wild Wild West Need Not Apply Awards

Star Wars Marathon

Apply everything I said in my brief description of the Rambo Marathon I did with Edgar, but make it a million times cooler because this is the Star Wars Marathon! Edgar and I love Star Wars, we’re both nerds for it, and thus this marathon was born. Don’t forget to check out Edgar’s site, Between The Seats, for his half of the marathon. There’s not much else to say, it’s a finite  marathon of six films and follow the links below to all the reviews and a couple other goodies.

A Galaxy Far, Far Away…
#1: Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (Extended Version, 1999)
Review
Rebuttal
#2: Star Wars: Episode II – Attack Of The Clones (2002)
Review
Rebuttal
#3: Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge Of The Sith (2005)
Review
Rebuttal
#4: Star Wars (Special Edition, 1977)
Review
Rebuttal
#5: Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (Special Edition, 1980)
Review
Rebuttal
#6: Star Wars: Episode VI – Return Of The Jedi (Special Edition, 1983)
Review
Rebuttal
The Once In A Lifetime War In The Stars Awards!

These Animals Talk! Marathon

My oldest daughter sure does love movies where animals talk a lot and happened to be heroes of some sort. I happen to love my daughter and I love watching movies with my daughter. It was my ex-wife who came up with the idea of this finite marathon of six films, and here they are,

#1: Underdog (2007)
#2: Cats & Dogs (2001)
#3: Stuart Little (1999)
#4: Racing Stripes (2005)
#5: Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993)
#6: Charlotte’s Web (2006)

World War II Marathon

This is the first marathon I started all on my own, even if I did get the idea from a message board I used to frequent. The title should be very self-explanatory, I love the topic of World War II and I decided to do a marathon on movies dealing with said topic. I picked movies from various eras and dealing with various facets of the war, and I think that gives this marathon a very well rounded feel. The World War II Marathon is a fifty film finite marathon, here are all the reviews so far.

#1: Casablanca (1942)
#2: Lifeboat (1944)
#3: The Rats Of Tobruk (1944)
#4: Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
#5: A Walk In The Sun (1945)
#6: Roma, Città Aperta (Rome, Open City, 1945)
#7: Sands Of Iwo Jima (1949)
#8: The Desert Fox: The Story Of Rommel (1951)
#9: Stalag 17 (1953)
#10: Biruma No Tategoto (The Burmese Harp, 1956)
#11: The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)
#12: Letyat Zhuravli (The Cranes Are Flying, 1957)
#13: Ningen No Jôken (The Human Condition I, 1959)
#14: Ballada O Soldate (Ballad Of A Soldier, 1959)
#15: Nobi (Fires On The Plain, 1959)
#16: The Guns Of Navarone (1961)
#17: The Longest Day (1962)
#18: The Great Escape (1963)
#19: The Hill (1965)
#20: Ostre Sledované Vlaky (Closely Watched Trains, 1966)
#21: The Dirty Dozen (1967)
#22: L’armée Des Ombres (Army Of Shadows, 1969)
#23: Patton (1970)
#24: Catch-22 (1970)
#25: Kelly’s Heroes (1970)
#26: Lacombe Lucien (1974)
#27: Midway (1976)
#28: A Bridge Too Far (1977)
#29: Cross Of Iron (1977)
#30: The Big Red One (Director’s Cut, 1980)
#31: Das Boot (The Boat, Director’s Cut, 1981)
#32: Idi I Smotri (Come And See, 1985)
#33: Au Revoir Les Enfants (Goodbye, Little Children, 1987)
#34: Empire Of The Sun (1987)
#35: Hotaru No Haka (Grave Of The Fireflies, 1988)
#36: Hei Tai Yang 731 (Men Behind The Sun, 1988)
#37: Schindler’s List (1993)
#38: Stalingrad (1993)
#39: The Tuskegee Airmen (1995)
#40: Hong Ying Tao (Red Cherry, 1995)
#41: Underground (1995)
#42: Saving Private Ryan (1998)
#43: Aimée & Jaguar (1999)
#44: Amen. (2002)
#45: The Pianist (2002)
#46: El Alamein – La Linea Del Fuoco (El Alamein – The Line Of Fire, 2002)
#47: Der Untergang (Downfall, 2004)
#48: Napola – Elite Für Den Führer (Before The Fall, 2004)
#49: Indigènes (Days Of Glory, 2006)
#50: Letters From Iwo Jima (2006)

I try to keep at least one marathon going at a time. Plus, as I discussed previously some of my marathons are never ending, so make sure to check back here often for updates!

Cheers,
Bill