The Holiday Movie Marathon

[Diane CBPFC]

One of my favourite things about Christmas, is picking one of the days between Christmas and New Year and having a 12 hour LOTR movie fest whist wearing jammies and eating snacks instead of meals.

I was talking to someone about this and she said it doesn’t have to be LOTR, there are lots of good movie trilogies that would work.
Instead of outright dismissing the idea out of hand, I did come up with Terminator #1, #2, #6

Do you guys have any ideas of movies that would make a brilliant movie fest day?

[Tarquin Thunderthighs lll]

Well, the new(ish) traditional Christmas fare over here in Blighty is the Die Hard movie collection, Diane - 5 of them, spread over 25 years, and taking up at least 9 hours and 55 minutes of your binge day.

But if it was me, I'd go for the Toy Story quadrilogy, at 6 hours and 16 minutes, which you could extend a further 105 minutes by adding on the excellent Buzz Lightyear Movie.

Or if you want to go for the big test of endurance, no less than TWELVE Muppet movies will keep you 'entertained' for 19 hours and 13 minutes... Good luck!

[Diane CBPFC]

We often watch the first Die Hard over Christmas and ALWAYS the Muppets Christmas Carol :-)

The kids grew up with Toy Story so that's a contender, thanks Tarqs

It would be great to find something new - for instance I only watched the Godfather movies for the first time about five years ago, much better than I thought they would be. 

[Roger Kettle]

I had to look up LOTR!
I haven't seen any of The Lord of the Rings movies. I haven't seen any of the Star Trek movies. I saw the first Star Wars movie and left it at that. I haven't seen any of the Mission Impossible movies. I haven't seen any of the Fast and Furious movies.
In short, Diane, I have no suggestions!

[Diane CBPFC]

There are so many good movies out there, the trick is to find a set that the whole family will like.

I feel a bit sorry for you Roger for never having had a LOTR day in your pjs with a turkey sandwich.

When I was a child Jason and the Argonaughts was on TV every Christmas for most of my growing up years, this was before the VCR even. We are so lucky these days to be able to stop and start movies as we like.

[Mince]

I haven't seen any of The Lord of the Rings movies. I haven't seen any of the Star Trek movies. I saw the first Star Wars movie and left it at that. I haven't seen any of the Mission Impossible movies. I haven't seen any of the Fast and Furious movies.
In short, Diane, I have no suggestions!

Maybe twenty years ago, I would have said something ambiguous like "No wonder you turned out how you did."

Today, with the exception of Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan, my only response to that is "You haven't missed anything."

[Tarquin Thunderthighs lll]

I really quite enjoy the Star Trek movies, especially the most recent 'reboot/prequal' ones with Chris Pine playing William Shatner playing Captain Kirk. Great fun!

LOTR? Not for me, sorry. I fell asleep about 20 minutes into the first one, and never woke up to any more.

Here's a small variation on a theme, which may or may not appeal. What about three different movies of the same film? I did this during Lockdown with an old favourite, 'Goodbye, Mr Chips' and thoroughly enjoyed all three versions that I found. Timewise, they're well spaced out, and although the plot is essentially the same, there are three very different treatments: The original black & white movie with Robert Donat as 'Chips' (he won the best actor Oscar for his performance) and Greer Garson; the musical version in 1969 with Peter O'Toole and Petula Clark; and the 2002 TV series starring Martin Clunes and Victoria Hamilton, and which has been stitched together to make one film-length version available on YouTube. I enjoyed all three very much, and I won't say which was my favourite in case anyone wants to watch and we can compare notes afterwards. And it will only cost you 6 hours and 50 minutes of your viewing time.


PS... Whilst checking the exact details of the above, I discovered a 7-part TV series of the same story filmed in 1984 with Roy Marsden and Jill Meager, all episodes available on YouTube. Deep Joy - that's my treat for today!

And if anyone's thinking "why watch the same story three (four) times", my answer to that would be "how many times have you seen 'The Great Escape' or 'It's A Wonderful Life' or 'Love Actually' at Christmas? At least those I've mentioned above are three different films. And I'm the guy who's seen 'Apollo 13' at least 13 times now... still affects me every time.

[Roger Kettle]

I had a couple of pints and an Italian meal in Glasgow with Roy Marsden once. Just thought I'd throw that in.
I'm glad Mince backs me up when he says I haven't missed much by skipping all those films. For me, most of those movie franchises have little appeal. I also find the concept of "binge-watching" unappealing. I get bored very easily and sitting for a few hours watching television is beyond my patience threshold.
This week, I will be mostly watching old episodes of The Simpsons. Y'know, intellectual stuff.

[Tarquin Thunderthighs lll]

My greatest claim to fame is that I am the only person in the history of mankind over the age of three who has never watched a full episode of The Simpsons (there have been a few others who have attempted to claim the same distinction, but I just don't believe them).

[Tarquin Thunderthighs lll]

Same with Star Wars, by the way.

[Diane CBPFC]

My greatest claim to fame is that I am the only person in the history of mankind over the age of three who has never watched a full episode of The Simpsons (there have been a few others who have attempted to claim the same distinction, but I just don't believe them).

I will raise you, I have never watched a Simpsons OR a Friends lol

[Diane CBPFC]

Here's a small variation on a theme, which may or may not appeal. What about three different movies of the same film? I did this during Lockdown with an old favourite, 'Goodbye, Mr Chips' and thoroughly enjoyed all three versions that I found. Timewise, they're well spaced out, and although the plot is essentially the same, there are three very different treatments: The original black & white movie with Robert Donat as 'Chips' (he won the best actor Oscar for his performance) and Greer Garson; the musical version in 1969 with Peter O'Toole and Petula Clark; and the 2002 TV series starring Martin Clunes and Victoria Hamilton, and which has been stitched together to make one film-length version available on YouTube. I enjoyed all three very much, and I won't say which was my favourite in case anyone wants to watch and we can compare notes afterwards. And it will only cost you 6 hours and 50 minutes of your viewing time.


PS... Whilst checking the exact details of the above, I discovered a 7-part TV series of the same story filmed in 1984 with Roy Marsden and Jill Meager, all episodes available on YouTube. Deep Joy - that's my treat for today!

And if anyone's thinking "why watch the same story three (four) times", my answer to that would be "how many times have you seen 'The Great Escape' or 'It's A Wonderful Life' or 'Love Actually' at Christmas? At least those I've mentioned above are three different films. And I'm the guy who's seen 'Apollo 13' at least 13 times now... still affects me every time.

I watched two versions of 12 angry men in a row sometime this past summer even though I've seen them in the past - it was interesting to watch them close together and see how the different actors dealt with the story. 

[Roger Kettle]

By the way, I haven't seen any of the Harry Potter films either.
As for The Simpsons, well, there's no doubt that it is now running on fumes. After about 35 years, I guess that's understandable. However, some of the earlier stuff is gloriously funny. It's never too late, guys!

[Diane CBPFC]

One thing I have seen with the Simpsons are memes were they show that the program foresaw future historic events. 

[Mince]

By the way, I haven't seen any of the Harry Potter films either.

That's actually been proven to be good for you.

I tend to keep myself healthy by not reading the Twilight books.