A new year means a new annual movie marathon! Here is what my wife and I selected for our annual friends and family movie marathon. It may look like there is no method to the madness, but we are following our usual theme of movies neither of us has seen before, but have always wanted to see, or have heard that we should see.
A detailed schedule is below, along with detailed movie information. If you are one of the usual suspects that are invited to this event, I hope the movie list inspires you to come! If you are a visitor to this website, I hope this list inspires you to hold your own movie marathon!
I’m happy to report that kid-friendly zones we a big hit last year, so we are bringing them back Saturday evening and Sunday morning. From 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM Saturday, we have Shaun the Sheep and Song of the Sea. And at 9:45, for older kids that want to stay late, we have The Dark Crystal. From 8:45 AM to 12:00 PM Sunday, we have Surf’s Up and Ella Enchanted.
Movie Marathon 2016 Schedule Overview
| Start Time | End Time | Title | Runtime |
| 11:00 AM | 11:00 AM | Doors Open | 0 minutes |
| 12:00 PM | 01:57 PM | You Only Live Twice | 117 min. |
| 02:15 PM | 04:13 PM | Roman Holiday | 118 min. |
| 04:15 PM | 06:14 PM | Rocky | 119 min. |
| 06:30 PM | 07:55 PM | Shaun the Sheep | 85 min. |
| 08:00 PM | 09:33 PM | Song of the Sea | 93 min. |
| 09:45 PM | 11:18 PM | The Dark Crystal | 93 min. |
| 11:30 PM | 12:55 AM | High Noon | 85 min. |
| 01:00 AM | 02:42 AM | The Crow | 102 min. |
| 02:45 AM | 04:26 AM | Notorious | 101 min. |
| 04:30 AM | 06:36 AM | The Treasure of the Sierra Madre | 126 min. |
| 07:00 AM | 08:42 AM | Seven Brides for Seven Brothers | 102 min. |
| 08:45 AM | 10:10 AM | Surf’s Up | 85 min. |
| 10:30 AM | 12:06 PM | Ella Enchanted | 96 min. |
| 12:06 PM | 12:06 PM | Finish | min. |
Movie Marathon 2016 Details
You Only Live Twice (1967)
Plot: Agent 007 and the Japanese secret service ninja force must find and stop the true culprit of a series of spacejackings before nuclear war is provoked.
Why watch? James Bond has been a big crowd-pleaser for the past couple movie marathons. We’re going down the list of James Bond films from best to worst.
Roman Holiday (1953)
Plot: A bored and sheltered princess escapes her guardians and falls in love with an American newsman in Rome.
Why watch? Bringing up Baby was a hilarious classic comedy, and well-received at our last movie marathon. We’re going to try another classic comedy with a fantastic leading couple: Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck.
Rocky (1976)
Plot: Rocky Balboa, a small-time boxer gets a supremely rare chance to fight the heavy-weight champion, Apollo Creed, in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect.
Why watch? Yep. We’ve never seen it. Honest. File this one under “required pop culture viewing”.
Shaun the Sheep (2015)
Plot: When Shaun decides to take the day off and have some fun, he gets a little more action than he bargained for. A mix up with the Farmer, a caravan and a very steep hill lead them all to the Big City and it’s up to Shaun and the flock to return everyone safely to the green grass of home.
Why watch? Who doesn’t love Wallace and Gromit? Shaun the Sheep is a Wallace and Gromit spin-off and has a can’t-miss Rotten Tomatoes score of 99%. Here’s hoping the kid-friendly zone opens up with a bang!
Song of the Sea (2014)
Plot: Ben, a young Irish boy, and his little sister Saoirse, a girl who can turn into a seal, go on an adventure to free the faeries and save the spirit world.
Why watch? Song of the Sea and the Secret of Kells were both produced by the same studio and feature a plot based on Irish folklore. The Secret of Kells may be too scary for the very young children at our movie marathon. Song of the Sea is more age appropriate but should be just as beautiful and quirky.
The Dark Crystal (1982)
Plot: On another planet in the distant past, a Gelfling embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of a magical crystal, and so restore order to his world.
Why watch? We missed this key piece of 80s pop culture too. We hear it is a tad dark, so we are playing it right after the kid-friendly zone for any adventurous kids that want to stay up late.
High Noon (1952)
Plot: A marshall, personally compelled to face a returning deadly enemy, finds that his own town refuses to help him.
Why watch? Every movie marathon needs a good western – at least in our family! Some regard High Noon as a candidate for best western ever made. It promises a non-traditional story line, and is John Wayne-free.
The Crow (1994)
Plot: A man brutally murdered comes back to life as an undead avenger of his and his fiancée’s murder.
Why watch? The Crow was highly regarded by some of the comic book and fantasy nerds I went to college with, and yet I’ve never seen it. Time to fix that!
Notorious (1946)
Plot: A woman is asked to spy on a group of Nazi friends in South America. How far will she have to go to ingratiate herself with them?
Why watch? An Alfred Hitchcock movie is required at every movie marathon. We’ve already seen his most well-known films. Notorious is a less well-known film, but has a good reputation, and stars Ingrid Bergman (the leading lady from Casablanca)!
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
Plot: Fred Dobbs and Bob Curtin, two Americans searching for work in Mexico, convince an old prospector to help them mine for gold in the Sierra Madre Mountains
Why watch? If you haven’t caught on already, we’re suckers for certain actors, directors, and genres in our movie marathon. After seeing Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart is one of our weaknesses. This is the latest in a line of Bogart films we’ve seen. I believe this one has a twist, in that Bogart is not the leading “good guy”.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Plot: In 1850 Oregon, when a backwoodsman brings a wife home to his farm, his six brothers decide that they want to get married too.
Why watch? Because sometimes you have a have an exuberant musical in your life. That’s why.
Surf’s Up (2007)
Plot: A behind-the-scenes look at the annual Penguin World Surfing Championship, and its newest participant, up-and-comer Cody Maverick.
Why watch? Leonard Maltin identified Surf’s Up as a great overlooked children’s movie in his Maltin on Movies podcast. I think Happy Feet came out around the same time and audience only have so much capacity for talking penguins.
Ella Enchanted (2004)
Plot: Ella is under a spell to be constantly obedient, a fact she must hide from her new step-family in order to protect the prince of the land, her friend for whom she’s falling.
Why watch? Ever since Roger Ebert wrote a positive review of this movie, I’ve wanted to see it. It seems to be a Shrek-like take on fairy tales, with some good comedy and modern sensibilities thrown in.
