Tonight's marathon is a thrilling and exciting one that is very diverse in carrying out the theme of a freak accident occurring and the ultimate consequences of such an accident on the people who experience it. It is a marathon that hits all the right notes in terms of being fun, exciting, dramatic, visually stunning, unexpectedly moving, and ultimately has something to say about the way people are viewed differently or feared because of their special abilities or deformed physique. Science plays a major theme in this marathon with technology being the device that begins the transformation of these characters into something greater for better or worse. The people who experience this change either struggle to cope with their new transformation, run away from government officials who want to capture and use them as lab rats or weapons against others, or to use their powers for good ultimately. Thriller, horror, science fiction, and comic book origin tales all blend into one in this exciting marathon. For tonight's menu, we have the following films.
The Fly 1986, Darkman 1990, Memoirs Of An Invisible Man 1992, Hulk 2003, and District 9 2009
One thing that can be said about this marathon is that it delivers on the excitement and suspense. The Fly, Darkman, and Memoirs of an Invisible Man blend together beautifully with the concept of transformation taking place and a man being in love with a girl who ends up being sympathetic or assists him on his quest to getting his old self back while both are being pursued by government officials. Their objective is not to help the individuals transform back but rather to use the individuals for scientific purposes regardless of how the individual feels about being used as a lab rat. The strong leading males in these films are presented as being likeable and humble men who received a clash with fate and forever have their destinies altered. The first movie of the night is David Cronenberg's 1986 Oscar winning film scfi and horror movie titled The Fly. Starring Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis in the lead roles, The Fly centers around an intelligent but eccentric scientist who begins a slow but devastating transformation into a giant man-sized fly after an experiment he conducts goes terribly wrong with a telepod device in efforts to woo reporter Veronica whose covering the scientists Seth's story as well as being his passionate lover on the side. The Fly is a powerful story of a man who begins to lose everything about him that makes him a person and slowly transforms him into the insect that flew into the telepod during his experiment. Jeff Goldblums in this film is brilliant as it hits all the right notes of being charming, funny, insightful, heartbreaking, and ultimately terrifying as he makes the final transformation. The Fly is the perfect film to set up the entire theme for the evening of a freak accident occurring and a persons life being altered forever.
The second movie of the marathon is Sam Raimi's 1990 cult classic superhero and scfi film titled Darkman starring Liam Neeson and Francis McDormand. Filmed a total of 12 years prior to the release of 2002's Spiderman also directed by Sam Raimi, the story centers around a brilliant scientist played by Liam Neeson being left for dead during a freak accident finds himself returning to exact revenge on the people who left him to burn alive. The result of the accident leaves Neeson's character Peyton as a societal outcast due to his physical appearance being horrifically burned from the fire. He seeks vengeance upon the men who left him for dead but also to find companionship and love with his ex girlfriend Julie. Julie soon finds out the truth behind what happened to Payden and is kidnapped by the men who nearly killed Peyden leaving only him to save her. Darkman feels like a worthy followup to The Fly with a similar beat in regards to guy getting transformed and girl on the side being helpless to the situation at first then tries to help the hero except this time the bad guys intervene. Romance is also an underlying theme that plays within both films as it blends with the action and gives the hero something to fight for. Darkman feels like Sam Raimi's test run for directing Spiderman which would end up becoming his most successful film critically and box office wise.
The third movie of the marathon is John Carpenter's scfi comedy, thriller, romance, and drama titled Memoirs Of An Invisible Man. Starring Chevy Chase, Daryl Hannah, and Sam Neil, the film centers around a freak accident which leaves a witty and slick businessman invisible forcing him to run for his life when a treacherous CIA official is given orders to chase after him. While on the run, the businessman Nick tries to cope with his new life and reach out to the woman he fell in love with briefly before his tragic accident. His love Alice helps him to adjust to his new life as an invisible man and slowly plan out a life together while eluding the CIA. Memories Of The Invisible Man is one of John Carpenters most lighthearted movies where his trademark touch of dark science fiction mystery feel is present here but he also manages to bring out a rare serious performance in Chevy Chase that still stands as one of his finest roles to date. Sam Neil and Daryl Hannah deliver strong supporting roles and really go a long way to make this John Carpenter tale special and one of his films that has a deeper meaning than most. It's an action movie, a scfi movie, and romance all rolled into one with a touch of comedy with certain situations involving Chases character as invisible.
The fourth movie of the marathon is Ang Lee's critically misunderstood comic book film titled The Hulk starring Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, and Nick Nolte. Before Batman Begins there was Hulk that tried to take comic book movies into the next level in terms of seriousness. The story places Eric Bana as genetics researcher Bruce Banner, a scientist with a tragic past who experiences a freak accident in the lab that transforms him into a raging green monster when he gets pissed. Ang Lees film succeeds on the grounds of adding dramatic depth to the story of Hulk as well as the visual style but it ultimately suffered a critical panning from audiences due to a lack of action and slow pacing. Anyone whose seen Ang Lees other films such as Sense and Sensibility, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain, and Life Of Pi know that Lees movies take their time to develop their characters and make you care about the story. Hulk is essential to this marathon because it truly does show the effects of a freak accident and the consequences behind such a tragedy.
The fifth and final movie of the marathon goes right back to how it began in similar style with the 2009 blockbuster and science fiction drama titled District 9. Nominated for four academy awards including Best Picture, the story centers around an extraterrestrial race being forced into living in slum-like conditions on planet Earth. Their environment is disturbed when a peaceful human whose job to evict aliens from their home suddenly finds himself experiencing a freak accident which exposes him to the aliens biotechnology turning him into one of them ultimately. District 9 is the perfect finish for tonight's marathon because it brings the story full circle with The Fly in how a person makes a full transformation into something greater than human and the girl that they share emotional feelings with is left heartbroken and shattered at the realization. District 9s ending is perfect because it feels so similar to The Fly in terms of its story arc. The end to both is a tragedy with the man becoming something else entirely and the woman who stood by the guys side the whole time is left alone and heartbroken,
So what is this marathon trying to say when you tie all the films together? The message behind all of the movies is that sometimes when a scientific experiment goes wrong, it can lead to a great tragedy. The tragedy may seem like a golden opportunity for others to cash off on it but they should think about the magnitude of the situation and how seeking new technology can do great harm to someone. The damage of an emotional wound can be far harder to heal tan physical damage.
Our characters for this evening:
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