#SF48 Paper Airplane Contest

    This is a classic event that took a break for a few years, and came back a couple years back. Our three participants showed off style a distance, with the fellow in the middle gettting the most applause for his long throw. ^_^

#SF48 Le Jetee

    Another ‘great’ choice for a film to keep you awake, not. It is certainly unique, being in French with English subtitles, and being a series of black and white stills stepped through while a narrator tells the story. It seemed like an interesting film, though not at this time of night. Moving on to Fred Ward and Cindy Williams in Uforia. ^_^

#SF48 Atomic Fireball Challenge

    Time for another audience participation activity, this time for those with a high tolerance for mouth pain. From my experience, the Atomic Fireball Challenge is a recent addition to the Thon. Of this large selection of challengers, one dropped out, and the rest were awarded az winners. Congrats all. ^_^

#SF48 Future Kill

    Ooops, I forgot to take a picture of this odd film about frat boys making a poor choice to go to a section of town with people protesting nuclear research by painting themselves like mutants, oh and the violent psycho who is pisssd at being damaged in a nuclear accident, or something like that. You didn’t miss much. It is sleepy time of the day, and they aren’t helping with their choice of films. La Jetee is next. ^_^

#SF48 Tim Foil Hat contest

    Lest you think I missed the Tin Foil Hat contest, fear not. Chatting, blogging, and buying tickets have only delayed my post. As you can see, there were only three contestants, and the applause-o-meter indicated an audience preference for the right most contestant. There is a paper airplane contest planned for later. Our next movie? Future Kill, which may be hard to stay awake for. Zzzzzz ^_^

#SF48 Godzilla

    Man, black and white underwater scenes can really be hard to stay awake during, particularly with no subtitles. Nevertheless this is a classic sci fi movie, and will surely be back at a future Thon. Ken and I had some challenges using Venmo to buy tickets for next year, though I succeeded for both of us. Speaking of Ken, he and Phil hit the road at the start of Godzilla, and Adam was asking about where to nap, so they will be here for a while longer. ^_^

#SF48 Bill & Ted Face the Music

    Bill and Ted in the future. If you aren’t faniliar with the Bill and Ted movies, I wouldn’t be surprised, as they are not high art, or even good movies. Rather on the silly side, and don’t even think about following the time travel. Still no word on what might fill the sliding gap in the schedule due to a bad disk. The next movie in our schedule is Godzilla, the original in Japanese. I may need caffeine before it is over. ^_^

#SF48 Back to the Future 2

    Marty McFly tries to raise Doc Brown on his walkie talkie, as the cliff hanger ending to this sequel leaves us waiting for the third and final film in this series. I enjoy the Back to the Future movies, and having not seen the second and third movies in a while, I should plan to see the third now.

    We have been told that the disk for “Happy Accident” is bad, so next up will be Bill & Ted Face the Music. ^_^

#SF48 After Yang

    This is a recent film, in a possible future, and a family’s relationship with their robot, seen in the picture above. I don’t want to spoil anything, and I found it quite enjoyable, so check it out when you get a chance. Getting back to one of this year’s themes, Back to the Future 2 is up next. ^_^

#SF48 Terminator 3 : Rise of the Machines

    If you are looking for non-stop destruction action, then like the other Terminator movies, you get it with this one as well. A female next gen robot comes back in time to take out future John Connor’s team, since they lost track of him. And Arnold comes back to protect John Connor and his future wife. Much like the Fast and Furious franchise, trying to out do the mayhem and destruction in subsequent movies gets harder each time. As we continue our science fiction journey, we get to see a new film, After Yang. ^_^

#SF48 Escape from the Planet of the Apes

    One in a series of sequels to the original Planet of the Apes, with some chimpanzees returning to the late 70s, somehow traveling back through time in one of the original human space ships. They remain silent for fear of what may happen to them if their knowledge of the future becomes known, which turns out to be right on target. There is an opening for a sequel obviously. Roddy McDowell and Kim Hunter as the proud parents, and a “bad guy” science advisor, it is clearly reflective of when it was made. Next up, Terminator 3 : Rise of the Machines, with Arnold. ^_^

#SF48 Stargate

    My family and I have watched and enjoyed the Stargate TV series, though my wife has yet to see the movie, and it has been a while since I have seen it. I was curious to see any differences, and I did see a few. The characters were pretty close, and the series followed the movie well. Traveling across galaxies through a worm hole with affects like a Doctor Who opening scene makes visiting other planets easy, though it is a bit sus science wise. ^_^

#SF48 But first

    You can’t start a Boston Science Fiction Marathon without Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2 Century, which many folks know word for word. Adam and his friend Jeff, are newbies, and are learning some of the rituals as we go along. I introduced them to Rice Chex / Wheat Chex, which they quickly joined. Now it’s time for Stargate. Been a while, though I have watched the series not too long ago. ^_^

#SF48 We Are Off

Ken & Phil

    The films are off to a late start, as there have been several additional items, including an extended memorial for Doug Trumbal, as well as an interesting short from earlier in the festival, Esosphere, and a thank you from the producer of the short. We had a karaoke of the Flash movie theme and during intros, Garen noted there is a documentary being done on the Thon, so we should share our stories. And we have Stargate kicking us off. ^_^

#SF48 Arrival … At the line

The line at the Thon

    As you can see, I have arrived at the line for the Thon, about 30 minutes later than I had planned, and yet it is shorter than pre-pandemic lines. After the line started moving and I entered, I found plenty of seating, particularly in the balcony where I usually sit. I blocked out as best I could seating for the three other folks I am expecting, Ken, Adam, and Phil, then headed back down stairs to see if I could get a new ray gun. I have several partially working blue ray guns from previous years, and I seem to have lost my one working one. They did not have the blue ones this year, and sadly the ones they do have are much quieter, and disappointing. I decided not to try and hit the local CVS to get Nantucket Nectars, as I am unsure when folks will arrive, and I’m unsure if they have them, as Market Basket did not. ^_^

#SF48 El Line-up

    Pardon the poor play on language in the title, as I am in Barcelona, Spain writing this post, and thought I would mix thngs up. I wasn’t planning to blog from Spain, though now that I think about it, I probably should have considered it. All that said, it is time for the point of this post, which is that the line up for the 48th Boston Science Fiction Marathon has been announced on social media, and though the details of what goes when are still to be determined, there is a lot to look forward to here.

In Memoriam, directed by Dan LeBlanc

On celluloid
Stargate – (35mm)
Escape from Planet of the Apes – (35mm)
Terminator 3 – (35mm)
Uforia – (35mm)
Future Kill – (35mm)
Alien (35mm)
Back to The Future 2 (70mm)

The Sing-a-Along With Perry Persoff
The Tin Foil Hat Contest
The Atomic Fireball Challenge
The Paper Airplane Chase

Happy Accidents
Total Recall
La Jetee
Bill & Ted Face the Music
After Yang
Godzilla (original Japanese version).
Bevond the Time Barrier and some surprises.

    As usual, there are classics, 50s, sequels, and several in 35mm. And the traditional events regulars and newbies alike look forward to, such as the Tin Foil Hat contest, Atomic Fireball Challenge (ouch), singing, and kicking things off, In Memoriam to recognize all those we lost since the last Thon. While I am not in a rush to leave my vacation in Barcelona, I am looking forward to the Thon in a week. ^_^

#SF48 Soon

    Here we are in the middle of January, which means that the Boston Science Fiction Marathon is about a month away. As part of the broader Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival, which this year includes, in addition to the Marathon, a Time Traveler’s Ball as part of the week long activities. I’m still concerned about COVID, and wish they had hybrid offerings, though I currently plan to attend. My daughter on the other hand is not planning on attending again this year, some of which is COVID related.

    Despite the regular social media postings from the Boston Sci-Fi team, I haven’t noticed any specific titles yet for the Thon, and there are some titles noted for the Festival. As we get closer, hopefully there will be more Thon details, and as always, I plan to blog my way through the 24 hours. I may be alone this year, for the first time in many years, as at least one of my friends who regularly attends has COVID concerns and will be away then, and my other regularly attending friend may also be away. And as noted earlier, my oldest will not be attending. I’ll have to cogitate on that a bit and see if it impacts what I bring or do. 😉

#SF47 Love and Monsters

    The last movie of a Thon usually leaves you with the strongest impression, and from my experience, affects whether you leave feeling it was a good Thon or a not so good Thon. And with the current world situation, who wants to leave with a less than good or better memory of the Thon. Fortunately, I left with a good feeling, as Love and Monsters was an up beat, at least about most people treating each other well, post apocalyptic film. While I felt the lead character overused the “yeah I did it right, OK not really” self deprecation a little too much, overall the characters were likeable, and the story straightforward. I think the premise for the apocalyptic event could have been tweaked to be better, though that is minor nitpicking on my part. If you are looking for a fun movie, add this to your list. It’s relatively recent, so I hope I have successfully avoided spoilers. Being the last movie of this years Thon, my next post, hopefully soon, and apologies for this one being late :-), will be a post mortem, to remind myself of the good, the bad, and the ugly. I often look back at these posts in prep for the next Thon. And yes, I bought my tickets for next year at the in-person special price. ^_^

#SF47 Superman II

    Ah Christopher Reeve as Superman. Or Superman II as it turns out. 😂 This is a nostalgic movie for me, reminding me of my younger days. And I remember this one better than The Omega Man. Quite a product of it’s time, and very different from recent Superman movies.

    Now Garen Daly is doing the wrap up review, thanks yous, and other notes, like the festival having won 14 awards. They are always looking for judges and other volunteers. And then on to our last film, Love & Monsters. ^_^

#SF47 The Man who Saved the World

    Ow what did I just see, besides endless space battle scenes from differnt parts of Star Wars repeated, theme music taken from multiple movies, including the afore mentioned Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Flash Gordon, and others. Then there are the lengthy monologues, when there is dialogue, and the constant cheesy fights against even cheesier monsters in cheap masks and costumes. Oh yeah and lots of jumping. I needed another hit of coffee to get through that. Did I mention all the karate chops? I didn’t think they ever end. Back to a normal movie with Superman II next. ^_^

#SF47 Laserblast

     Despite having a few familiar faces, Laserblast was a stinker. Too much dramatic music for long stretches, terrible effects, and weak acting. Tough time of night for poor movies, if you plan to stay awake, though fine to sleep through, which Ken has been doing off and on. Let’s see if The Man Who Saved the World picks things up. ^_^

#SF47 The Omega Man

    Movies like this remind me of the falability of my memory, as I have seen it, and remembered key elements, though not in the right place or order. Like Outbreak earlier in the Thon, this one had a virus, and a military doctor trying to do the right thing, though Outbreak might seem a bit more realistic. Plenty of bare chested, and gun-toting Charleton Heston. Next up, Laserblast. ^_^

#SF47 tin foil hats

    Why yes, another contest was held, the tin foil hat contest, and we had some interesting entries this year, including the one on the left who won the most applause. Let’s hear it for late night creativity. ^_^

#SF47 I, Robot

    I have read most if not all of Isaac Asimov’s robot books, and the Susan Calvin in this movie is nothing like what I remember from the books, which is too bad. As action movies go, this is one. I’m noticing that I really won’t need the layers I brought, as the heat at the theater has been warm all night, unlike all other years here in Somerville. Next up, The Omega Man. ^_^

#SF47 Interstellar

    Yikes, most of the movies so far I have seen before, or could spare some mental cycles. I had not seen I, Robot before, which puts my blog posts behind schedule, as I was focused on it and not this post. Interstellar is a great movie, and well worth seeing again, though like many recent scifi/fantasy films it is long. Next up, or rather at this point just finished, I, Robot. ^_^