2015 Hollywood Nights 12-Hour Movie Marathon

The Children’s Leukemia Foundation of Michigan is hosting a 12-hour movie marathon at the Emagine Theatre in Rochester Hills on June 27th, 2015. For a minimum donation of $75, you get as many current-release movies as you can watch from noon to midnight, unlimited pop and popcorn, free dinner, and fun fundraising events like raffles.

I’m not sure if I’ll make it, since I’d have a fair amount of driving to do for a 12-hour movie marathon. However, I’m sure it’ll be a fun event and its for a good cause.

Based on release dates in Rotten Tomatoes, I speculate the following major titles will be playing:

  • Avengers: Age of Ultron
  • Poltergeist
  • Tomorrowland
  • Jurassic World
  • Ted 2
  • Mad Max: Fury Road
  • San Andreas

Movie Marathon 2015 Pictures

Movie marathon 2015 was a smashing success! I plan on recapping the details over a series of posts, but I thought you would enjoy a few movie marathon 2015 pictures – in all of their graphic detail!

Entertainment center The entertainment center – complete with newly-purchased soundbar and excellent movie reference material from Roger Ebert and others.
Food - Part 1

The snack  and pop spread. The flowers were a nice touch.

Food - Part 2Some healthy snacking options which I mostly did not exercise.

Food - Part 3

Three delicious meatball and barbeque sauce combinations for dinner.

Not shown in any of these pictures was the pizza armada (6 pizzas in all – most of them extra large), the sundaes bar, attendees (to protect the innocent), or the giant blizzard outside that almost scuttled the entire event!

Thanks to all who attended and made it one of the best movie marathons ever!

Movie Marathon 2015

I’ve finished the schedule for Movie Marathon 2015! We are following the usual theme of:

  1. Movies at least one of the hosts have never seen before
  2. Movies that the hosts want to see, or have heard we “should” see

We’ll be bringing back kid-friendly zones Saturday evening and Sunday morning.  From 6:30 PM to 10:00 PM Saturday, we have The Muppets and Bolt. From 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM Sunday, we have The Lion King and Mulan. From 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM Sunday, we also have Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, which would be suitable for older kids.

Movie Marathon 2015 Schedule Overview

Start TimeEnd TimeTitleYearRuntime
12:00 PM02:10 PMThunderball1965130 min.
02:30 PM04:12 PMBringing Up Baby1938102 min.
04:15 PM06:06 PMRebel Without a Cause1955111 min.
06:30 PM08:13 PMThe Muppets2011103 min.
08:15 PM09:51 PMBolt200896 min.
10:30 PM12:10 AMTo Have and To Have Not1944100 min.
12:15 AM01:59 AMThe French Connection1971104 min.
02:00 AM03:39 AMKung Fu Hustle200499 min.
03:45 AM05:13 AMThe Wicker Man197388 min.
05:15 AM07:03 AMOn the Waterfront1954108 min.
07:05 AM09:02 AMNausicaä of the Valley of the Wind1984117 min.
09:05 AM10:34 AMThe Lion King199489 min.
10:34 AM12:02 PMMulan199888 min.
12:02 PM12:02 PMFinish

Movie Marathon 2015 Details

Thunderball (1965)

Action | Adventure | Thriller – Rotten Tomatoes score: 85%

James Bond heads to The Bahamas to recover two nuclear warheads stolen by SPECTRE agent Emilio Largo in an international extortion scheme.

Bringing Up Baby (1938)

Comedy | Romance – Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%

While trying to secure a $1 million donation for his museum, a befuddled paleontologist is pursued by a flighty and often irritating heiress and her pet leopard “Baby.”

Rebel without a Cause (1955)

Drama – Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%

A rebellious young man with a troubled past comes to a new town, finding friends and enemies.

The Muppets (2011)

Comedy | Family | Musical – Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%

A Muppet fanatic with some help from his two human compatriots must regroup the Muppet gang to stop a avaricious oil mogul from taking down one of their precious life-longing treasures.

Bolt (2008)

Animation | Adventure | Comedy – Rotten Tomatoes score: 88%

The canine star of a fictional sci-fi/action show that believes his powers are real embarks on a cross country trek to save his co-star from a threat he believes is just as real.

To Have and To Have Not (1944)

Horror | Mystery | Thriller – Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%

During WWII, American expatriate Harry Morgan helps transport a Free French Resistance leader and his beautiful wife to Martinique while romancing a sexy lounge singer.

The French Connection (1971)

Action | Crime | Thriller – Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%

A pair of NYC cops in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a drug smuggling job with a French connection.

Kung Fu Hustle (2004)

Action | Comedy | Crime – Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%

In Shanghai, China in the 1940s, a wannabe gangster aspires to join the notorious “Axe Gang” while residents of a housing complex exhibit extraordinary powers in defending their turf.

The Wicker Man (1973)

Horror | Mystery | Thriller – Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%

A police sergeant is sent to a Scottish island village in search of a missing girl whom the townsfolk claim never existed. Stranger still are the rites that take place there.

On the Waterfront (1954)

Crime | Drama – Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%

An ex-prize fighter turned longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Animation | Adventure | Fantasy – Rotten Tomatoes score: 86%

Warrior/pacifist Princess Nausicaä desperately struggles to prevent two warring nations from destroying themselves and their dying planet.

The Lion King (1994)

Animation | Adventure | Drama – Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%

Lion cub and future king Simba tests his limits, supported by his family, but sometimes gets in over his head. 

Mulan (1998)

Animation | Adventure | Family – Rotten Tomatoes score: 86%

To save her father from death in the army, a young maiden secretly goes in his place and becomes one of China’s greatest heroines in the process.

New Movie Marathon Podcast: Maltin on Movies

Maltin on Movies is a great new podcast perfect for anyone on the lookout for new, fantastic movies from the past or present. Having just listened to several episodes while caring for my infant daughter in the middle of the night – I can say it is fun and informative to listen to (and I’m thankful I had it!).

This show is only just starting out (it seems to have started in November of 2014), but nails it for me on several key points:

  • Has a great format: it picks a theme (e.g. sequels, holiday movies, musicals, etc.) and discusses a great movie, a terrible movie, and a sleeper movie in that theme. This format really helps you discover good new movies…and keep your attention with the dissection of the terrible ones.
  • It’s just the right length – all the episodes so far are between 45 and 55 minutes. The hosts take their time – but they don’t ramble, talk about what they had for lunch, or drag themselves down into pointless debates or inside jokes.
  • It is published on a regular weekly schedule (so far!).
  • Features Leonard Maltin, who has a pleasant, unhurried speaking style, and has a depth of film knowledge to back him up.
  • Leonard is paired with Baron Vaughn, a comedian and actor who helps keep the conversation lively.
  • Its not a “What movie came out this week? What movie is coming out next week? What gossip is there this week about this or that actor or director?” show. I have a pet peeve for these shorts of shows – because there are so many of them, and they are all so very similar.

This show is part of a gaggle of start-up podcasts from a company named Wolfpop. Check it out if you get a chance!

TV Series Marathons

Nielsen Top Ten put together two handy infographics to tell you just how long it would take to watch various TV series in one sitting. TV series marathons may be a little off-topic for this weblog, but the 15-day Dr. Who Marathon is pretty impressive. Comic book guy had this one right…

Simpsons Dr. Who Marathon

The first list showed how long it would take to watch some popular shows.

Neilsen's TV Series Marathons Part 1Then, internet nerds complained that their favorite TV show wasn’t featured on this list, and so Nielsen created a second list.
Binge-Shows-Part-2-960x1617

Whew – 10 straight days of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit would be a whole lot crime busting. Still, watching Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead is a lot like watching very long movie series. Perhaps I should start up a 24hourTVmarathon.com weblog?