Encore Channel To Host Super Heroes Movie Marathon
Bust out the popcorn, and all your junk food! Encore Channel is having a Superhero Movie Marathon this Labor Day Weekend. The line-up includes films from the 1980’s and 90’s where low budgets, sexy costumes, and flimsy stories were all we had to feed our comic to film addictions.
SUPERHEROES LABOR DAY MARATHON – Monday, Sept. 3 from 12am to 12am (EST)
See all four original (Christopher Reeve) Superman films, along with a legion of fellow superheroes!
12:00 AM – Flash Gordon (1980) – Iconic film you can watch over and over! Check out Max von Sydow as Emperor Ming, and Sam T. Jones who just played himself in the Mark Wahlberg film, “Ted.” The soundtrack was written and performed by Queen. I’ve personally watched this film 20 times as a kid and still love it. Timothy Dalton (who plays James Bond some years later) was my heart throb back in the day.
2:00 AM – The Shadow (1994) – Funny man Alex Baldwin (30 Rock) takes his turn in the cape as The Shadow. Look for Ian McKellen (Lord of The Rings) in the film as Dr. Reinhardt Lane. It’s not the greatest but still not terrible.
3:50 AM – Spawn (1997) – Not a lot of love from fans and critics on this film but it does star Martin Sheen and John Leguizamo. If you plan to sleep this may be the one to skip.
5:35 AM – Darkman (1990) – Wake Up for Liam Neeson as he stars as the hideously scarred and nutso scientist seeking revenge in this Sam Raimi film. Frances McDormand plays Julie Hastings, the lady in distress. Critics didn’t love it but I thought it was cool for 1990.
7:20 AM – Hulk (2003) – Stan Lee alongside Jack Kirby as writers finally get a big budget to blow on a super hero film! Eric Bana SMASHES as the Hulk. Nick Nolte does a wonderful job as his father, and Jennifer Connelly’s baby blues entice in this version that still left die-hard fans wanting more; -even when the film didn’t deliver. I’d watch it again but the later version with Edward Norton is still better.
9:45 AM – The Green Hornet (2011) – This modern version has some snappy camera effects and a great bad guy played by Christoph Waltz. It’s not the worst superhero film but falls somewhere in the middle. Seth Rogen is the rich kid who gets the idea to use his power and money to do good (very original) . Jay Chau, plays his multi-talented sidekick who does most of the ass kicking. The sound track rocks.
11:45 AM – Superman (1978)- Christopher Reeve as the Man Of Steel gets it right in this Richard Donner film. Many consider this to be the best super hero film ever created. Marlon Brando as Jor-El is still the quintessential actor even in this brief role. My favorite will always be The Dark Knight but this one still holds up well.
2:10 PM – Superman II (1980) – Chistopher Reeve returns for this unimaginably titled film as Clark Kent/Superman; Even with 7 writers (Joe Shuster and Joe Pusso) the film just doesn’t hold a candle to it’s predecessor. Terrence Stamp as General Zod is still pretty good.
4:20 PM – Superman III (1983 ) – Another one? Please stop, but this time lets add super popular Richard Pryor to the cast and see if he can make it work. This is the movie where Superman gives up his super powers to be with Lois Lane (Margot Kidder). I think this is about the time Margot Kidder started going nuts in real life too. Anyone up for a beer run?
6:30 PM – Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) – The story is so bad I can’t take the energy to type about it but what the hell? This is the one where Superman gets split into two versions… sort of like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
8:00 PM – The Green Hornet (2011) See 9:45 AM above.
10:00 PM – Batman Returns (1992) – Ends the marathon with Tim Burton’s dark vision of Batman starring Michael Keaton who dons the cape believably alongside Michelle Pfeiffer, as Catwoman. Some of the scenes with Danny DeVito as Penguin gross me out. Not sure if George Clooney’s version is any better.
