Group Movie Watch II

A new thread had been created for this topic!

For the current group movie watch schedule, see the Group Movie Watch IV thread.

Group Movie History:

5 April 2008 -- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
12 April 2008 -- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
19 April 2008 -- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
26 April 2008 -- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
3 May 2008 -- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
10 May 2008 -- The Princess Bride
17 May 2008 -- The Fellowship of the Ring
24 May 2008 -- Pride and Prejudice (BBC, Part I)
31 May 2008 -- Pride and Prejudice (BBC, Part II)
7 June 2008 -- The Terminal (formerly scheduled as Disney's Aladdin)
14 June 2008 -- Disney's Aladdin
21 June 2008 -- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
28 June 2008 -- Sense and Sensibility
12 July 2008 -- The Two Towers
19 July 2008 -- Becoming Jane
26 July 2008 -- A Room With A View
2 August 2008 -- Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
9 August 2008 -- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
16 August 2008 -- Pride and Prejudice (Keira Knightley version)
23 August 2008 -- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
30 August 2008 -- Little Women (Winona Ryder version)
6 September 2008 -- The Golden Compass
13 September 2008 -- Galaxy Quest
20 September 2008 -- Bridge to Terebithia
27 September 2008 --Emma (Gwyneth Paltrow version)
4 October 2008 -- Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh version) Part I
11 October 2008 -- Pride and Prejudice (Keira Knightley version) (formerly scheduled as Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh version) Part II)
18 October 2008 -- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
25 October 2008 -- Little Women (Katherine Hepburn version)
1 November 2008 -- Monty Python and the Holy Grail
8 November 2008 -- Much Ado About Nothing
15 November 2008 -- Persuasion (Amanda Root version)
22 November 2008 -- The Princess Bride (re-watch)
29 November 2008 -- White Christmas
6 December 2008 -- A Charlie Brown Christmas & The Muppet Christmas Carol
13 December 2008 -- Elf
20 December 2008 -- How The Grinch Stole Christmas & The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (originally scheduled as The Nightmare Before Christmas)
27 December 2008 -- Love Actually
3 January 2009 -- Prince Caspian
10 January 2009 -- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
17 January 2009 -- Ratatouille
24 January 2009 -- Seabiscuit
31 January 2009 -- A Series of Unfortunate Events
7 February 2009 -- Stranger than Fiction
14 February 2009 -- Titanic
21 February 2009 -- X-Men
28 February 2009 -- You've Got Mail
7 March 2009 -- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
14 March 2009 -- Howl's Moving Castle, hosted by Espeon200
21 March 2009 -- Newsies, hosted by kirbyowns
27 March 2009 -- Serenity, hosted by Biblioholic29
4 April 2009 -- X2: X-Men United, hosted by Compskibook
11 April 2009 -- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, hosted by Dobby (Originally scheduled as Spanglish, hosted by Renald128)
18 April 2009 -- Twilight, hosted by Kerian
25 April 2009 -- Clue, hosted by foggidawn
2 May 2009 -- Bridget Jones's Diary, hosted by Mandy2
9 May 2009 -- Spanglish, hosted by Renald128
16 May 2009 -- Kate and Leopold, hosted by kirbyowns
23 May 2009 -- The Red Violin, hosted by PollyAnnaHP
30 May 2009 -- Master and Commander, hosted by compskibook -- canceled due to technical difficulties with chat room

(See the Group Movie Watch IV thread for movie watch history after 5/2009)

Good idea you two! With luck this will save us from much confusion!

Wait, I took the survey but I just realized I want to change my answer! I would like to change my vote to Aladdin, having just remembered that I will either be on my way back from Gettysburg or completely exhausted after a superfun day!

#4 -- Hehehe, I'll be doing the same thing! I was trying to be nice and not sway the vote, but I really don't want you guys to watch Sense and Sensibility without me! (I'll make sure your vote gets counted for Aladdin, Bib.)

Yay! I voted. And I might actually be able to watch the movie with you guys! Unless it's a movie I don't have.

Hey did Room with a View fall off the list or is it just too hard for everyone to find. Bib where are you back me up on this one. We could set a date weeks out so you can all find it.

Maren -- A Room with A View is still on the list, and actually got a fair amount of votes in Kerian's last survey.

Here are the results to that one, copied from the other thread:

Top Movies (62.5% / 5 votes):
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardobe, Sense and Sensibility

50% / 4 votes :
Becoming Jane, A Room with a View, The Two Towers

37.5% / 3 votes :
Galaxy Quest, Little Women

25% / 2 votes :
Eragon, The Golden Compass, Pride and Prejudice (Knightley version)

1 vote :
Pirates of the Caribbean, Twilight

Thanks foggi!

I'm soooooo about watching The LW&W! I hope it wins. I bought it a few weeks ago and really need an excuse to watch it.

I want to be able to watch both LW&W and S&S with everyone! I have and love them both.

#7 Don't worry Mar, as soon as that vote comes up I'll be pushing hard for Room with a View!

For those of you who are curious about the results so far (I know I would be):

Aladdin is in the lead for this week's feature, 5 to 3.

As for the LWW/S&S tiebreaker -- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is the unanimous choice for which to watch first (because you guys love me and are not going to watch Sense and Sensibility without me).

I'll post the final results on Thursday morning!

#12 Foggi, we would never watch it without you.

#13 -- I'll count that as a birthday present from all of you! ;-)

Remember to vote in this week's survey (see post #1) if you haven't already!

All right, the results are in! We had 11 responses. On the first question (Which would you rather watch, Aladdin or whichever of LWW or S&S wins the tiebreaker?) the vote went in favor of Aladdin, 7-4. The tiebreaker for LWW and S&S went strongly in favor of LWW, 10-1. So, Aladdin this week, LWW next week, S&S after that. I updated the first post in this message to reflect that plan.

I most likely won't be there this week, but have fun watching Aladdin, and I'll definitely see you next week for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

When are you announcing the winner? Now?

How about Now? Nevermind

Yep, NOW! ;-)

I was obviously having an ESP moment!

#17 & 18 She listened! LOL Weird...

Huzzah for the poll results!

This thread was one of the lowest bricks on Rissa's wall -- just didn't want it to get lost.

yeah, I pretty much reversed the order that the threads were in.

presto-reverso!

I will be there tonight!

we'll be there tonight. we won't be around next week though. we're going to our cousin's wedding.

I think I will be able to join tonight. It's at 9:30 (right?) which makes it 6:30 for me. I might not be able to stay for the whole movie but hopefully I will.

yes chels, 6:30 our time.

Have fun Aladdining tonight my friends. I am afraid I will not be able to join tonight but I thought I'd leave this for you all.





Have fun!

Have fun everyone!
I'll be watching The Terminal a few days after my surgery, but I don't think it'll be on time for the movie watch.

Have fun, eat lots of popcorn!

Hey guys, have fun. I think my Alladin movie is stored in my classroom closet, so I can't get to it. Oh well...

#30 -- Unless you've found a way to go back in time, probably not! ;-)

I hope everyone had fun! I've about a month's worth of movies, but at the moment I'm planning to be there next Saturday. Narnia!

I'll be there this weekend, too!

I'm planning on it. Narnia and the North! (book trivia, who says this?)

#35 -- Bree says it in The Horse and His Boy.

DingDingDing for Foggi! The Horse and His Boy is one of my favorite chronicles, but I don't know why.

JP and I will try to be here this weekend. We have The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe on DVD.

we will be missing, our cousin is getting married (yet another one, they're multiplying like rabbits, someone's always getting married or having a baby.)

#37 Mine too Compski! I think I like it because of the Arabian Nights theme.

I'll try to be there this weekend, but I make no guarantees.

I hate not being able to participate in the movie nights!!! Tey are so much fun but all of my movies are in storage and my blockbuster account stinks lol... Have fun everyone I might join in if we watch something i have....

You might try seeing if your library has the movies. I know that Foggi gas checked out more than one movie from the library.

who's foggi gas?

I updated this thread and linked it to the group homepage (it's now the "Group Movie Watch" link)!

~foggi

Ok....stupid question but maybe other people are wondering too. Do y'all watch the movie and then go in chat and talk about it or is it hang out in chat while you're watching the movie?

we hang out in chat while watching the movie.

And we all try to be watching at the same place. We watch the movie while talking about it. It's very enjoyable to watch movies with LTers.

We all get a copy of the movie, settle in near the TV, and we all start at the same time. That way, it's like watching a movie with a room full of friends!

Good question, el!

The movies go by fast when you're chatting at the same time. As they say, time flies when you're having fun!

#48 Yep, it's so much fun with my LT friends!

#49 I noticed that Aladdin went by really fast. I thought it would be longer, but time really did fly.

Survey time! See the original post for the link!

~foggi

Ooooo, good survey foggi! I liked being able to vote for the order!

I'm sorry I missed last weeks, I got all caught up in the Olympic trials for artistic gymnastics and lost track of time. Good news, this week is Track and Field, which I find less interesting, so it shouldn't happen again!

Don't forget to vote, everyone! I've only had six responses so far -- I know there are more of us that that interested in movie night!

I have to work Saturday night. They scheduled me to work every Saturday in June *grumble, grumble*. I should have some Saturdays off in July though. You guys have fun.

I went to the library today and got the movie for tomorrow.

I will be there tomorrow!

I hate that suge and I haven't been able to see any of the movies with the group! Plans aren't set in stone yet but I'm pretty sure we're going to Coney Island, an aquarium, and a beach tomorrow.

I'm hoping to actually get to go see a movie tonight at the theater. We'll see.

Fun!
I've been reading outside in the sun instead of movies. Shame on me, sorry! An average of six hours a day now are spent outside reading. Now I'm out of things to read, and I can't get to the library!

Squeeeeeeeee! Movie time! Sense and Sensibility! I'm ready! (Will post an announcement after the movie stating what we're watching next -- so now is you last chance to vote, if you haven't already.)

All right -- Those of us in the movie chat tonight had a suggestion to propose to the wider group: we thought, since next weekend is a holiday (for the Americans, at least) and many of us will be unavailable, that we might skip that weekend. Was anyone planning on watching on the 5th of July?

If we do skip next weekend, the following weekend will be The Two Towers, followed by A Room with a View and then Becoming Jane. However, if we're on for next weekend, several of us would change our votes, so the order would not necessarily be the same. (Confused yet?)

Discussion?

I would say to still have it on the 5th, but that's because I won't be watching. I can't watch the group movie for four weeks (today included) and I don't want it to be 5 weeks. I really hope the next movie I can watch. In the summer I actually have time to watch the movies. Of course my opinion is biased.

I think you should take a break. But that's because I know my husband would love to see The Two Towers and we will be too busy this next weekend.

Not that I've been there much recently, but I would vote for no go next week as well. I don't really have any plans, but then, I seem to keep finding things that keep me busy at movie time (this week we had my nephew from 11 AM on Sat. till 12 PM Sun., I was exhausted on Sat. night after an entire day with him!)

They just suck the energy right out of you, don't they?
*sets up cozy mattress under bib's desk and sets up a robot double to answer the phone.*

Ahhhh....thank you jp! That feels great!

I can't make it Saturday, either. I think with it being a US holiday weekend with a lot of people traveling we should put it off for another week. Sorry Chelsea.

Wait. So what's this Saturday?

We're debating not having one this Saturday, Kirby, as many people will be unavailable due to the holiday weekend.

Of course. The first Saturday I'm available..... *sighing* JK. Not a problem. I'll watch a movie by myself and have a conversation in the chat room by myself.... maybe.

Well, how about a compromise? Those of you who are available this weekend could meet in the chatroom around 9:15 and pick a movie that you all have access to (you could re-watch a Harry Potter, or maybe watch something Disney . . . you could even watch The Two Towers, though the rest of us will be watching it the following week!) -- that might work out for the best. We did something similar one week (6/7) when there were only three of us there to watch, and one didn't have access to the movie we had chosen.

So, Two Towers Saturday? Theatrical version, I assume. Do we want to meet a little earlier?

Probably a good idea. I think we started FotR at 9PM, which seemed to work. I believe we are doing theatrical cuts with the idea that we might try extended cuts sometime in the future.

Yes! The Two Towers, theatrical version, at 9:00 on Saturday!

(I'll update the first post on this thread later -- just realized it hasn't been updated since the latest survey.)

By the way, did anyone end up in the chat room this past Saturday (7/5)? If so, tell me what you watched, and I'll add it to the list!

The first post has been updated with the movies for the rest of the month!

~foggi

TTT tomorrow, right? 9pm Saturday LT time?

*hops up and down with excitement*

Yes! *hops up and down as well* Who else is coming?

I'm going to attempt it. *must remember to find the dvd at the library today.*

I'll be there!

I'll be there.

I might comment along with you guys, but I'll be watching the A's game. I've seen TTT about 50 times, tho, so no problem commenting without watching it.

I'm supposed to go to a party for a pagan bookstore that moved up the street, but they have all these smelly herbs and stuff there and I always get sick at that store. I like the people who run it, but I couldn't spend an evening there.

(what kind of pagan is it that can't handle burning herbs?? Or just herbs? *sigh*)

*ponders if the herbs are being burned to drive out evil spirits, and if so what does that say about lg?*

JK ;-D

#82 Bwahaha!!!

Apparently, my kid sister broke our dvd player. I'm trying not to say anything else right now. Pretty mad, though.

It's movie night! Becoming Jane at 9:30 in the chat room -- who's with me?

Alas, we are heading up the coast to collect some ebay bargain. Should be a nice trip really, but i shall miss the movie. Enjoy!

don't have the movie, so I don't think we will be able to be there. I kind of forgot about movie night.

Can't make it tonight, I'm going to the roller derby. Psych!!!!

I'm planning on it foggi! There is a complication that may make me late, but I hope not.

Yayyyyy! If it's just you and me, I'll wait for you, if you are late. :-)

Oh man! I have that one, but am leaving for dinner right now. Maybe we'll be back in time.

Hmm, I wonder if there's any chance I can get my sister to take me to Target for a new dvd player and the Becoming Jane movie. Oh, I want to watch it!!! I'll definitely drop by. See you there later, foggi and compski! :)

I don't have the movie and I haven't seen it, so it doesn't look good for me. I am however about to go order Room With a View from Amazon so I'll have it for next week. :D

(I have it on VHS but there's no way to play it here anymore!)

I've posted a new survey at the top of this thread. I'm also going to start a thread just for it, so it won't get missed.

~foggi

Eek sorry just got home now and I don't have the movie. I hope to be there for Room with A View though since it is my favorite even if it is just bib and I in a chatroom quoting it back and forth to each other and sighing.

Come in and say hi when you get a chance, Maren! And that goes for the rest of you as well. Compski and I will be watching, but we'll be glad to chat with you guys, too.

We just bought a new dvd player. Now all I need is to find the next movie in time for next Saturday. :)

It is a great survey, foggie. Thanks!

Hope you guys had fun! (of course you did).

I'll really try to get there next week. I haven't seen Room With A View since it first came out in the cinemas, back before the punic wars. Great movie.

*jumps up and down in anticipation* I can't wait for next week!!!!!!!!

I took the survey, but is there any way to view the results? It just gives me an advert when I go back there.

#101 -- Alas, because I don't have a paid SurveyMonkey account, I can't set it so that you guys can see the responses. Maybe next time I should use Vizu, or some other polling site that does allow for respondents to view the results.

As of right now, most are favoring watching the HP movies spaced out between now and the HBP release. All are in favor of watching The Return of the King in August. There have been a lot of great suggestions that I will list once the poll closes. (If you guys have more suggestions, you can always add them to this thread, too -- I always think of stuff like that after I exit out of the survey.) As for the second question (where you rank the movies) the results are so complicated and liable to change significantly when more people take the survey that I'm not going to post every bit of info there (maybe I will after the survey closes) -- right now, the front-runners are Pirates of the Caribbean, GalaxyQuest, and The Golden Compass. Eragon is getting the most "not interested" votes.

I figured I'd keep the survey open until at least Wednesday evening, to give people who don't come on much during the weekend a chance to vote. Does that sound good to everyone?

Speaking of seeing movies, a bunch of us teachers went to see Mama Mia last night. Cute, but not worth the $8 movie ticket.

I saw Mama Mia on Saturday with my mom and a sister. I have mixed feelings about ABBA (my ex step father always played it when we were being his house elves) so I went to see it expecting to hate it. I liked it, but probably not that much.

I saw it last night, I agree with Kirby, I wish I had waited for DVD, but I was in the mood to go to the movies but not up for Dark Knight. Colin Firth gets wet fairly often though and that's never a bad thing!

(For proof see: Love Actually, Bridget Jones 2 and Pride & Prejudice)

*lost in a world of Colin Firth wet*

sigh Back to work, now.

#106 kik, and sigh....

I saw Mama Mia on Broadway, and yes, it's fun, but nothing special. The Broadway show did have quite a few lovely looking boys in scuba gear for most of it, and that didn't suck.

jumps up and down with bib!

I have survey results! I am posting them over on the thread specifically about this survey, so we can discuss them there. I'll have a post here about the upcoming schedule after I discuss the survey results with Kerian.

Okay, no one throw anything at me! Is Colin Firth in Mama Mia?

*Throws candy, chocolate and soft pillows at Kerian*

I dunno.

Oh, cool! Thanks, Espy! Much gratitude to you. :)

Kerian, imdb is your friend.

I keep forgetting about that site. Thanks, LG. :)

To answer my own question (#110), he is.

That would be why I said he got wet fairly often in Mama Mia.

I'm horrible with names and placing faces of actors and actresses. *blushes*

It's Thursday, so...

Does anyone know if they'll be able to watch the group movie watch this Saturday?

I'm going to try to be there. I'm still hunting for a copy of A Room with a View.

My copy from Amazon should arrive tomorrow! I'm so excited!

It occurred to me today to provide a quick disclaimer so people who haven't seen it before aren't shocked but this A Room with a View does contain some brief full frontal male nudity. I didn't want anyone to be shocked.

I'm going to be there, barring anything weird, and I know Foggi will be with me.

AUGH!!! Thanks for telling me.

Yes bib it occurred to me that we should give that warning but to be fair it is in the book (not a description exactly) and it is hilarious and supports the contrast between the changing social classes and mores of the late Edwardian.

I'd say that's still shocking! I wasn't expecting that from a film we would watch!

Bib and I can offer a warning for those who want to avoid the scene. But really K it is still a period costume drama just one where there are men foolishly caught skinny dipping.

Yes, after I went to bed last night I thought I should have reiterated it's very brief and is not gratuitous at all. It's an integral part of the story and really isn't anything to be at all. However, I thought there were one or two people who would probably appreciate knowing ahead of time and it was only fair to let people know. Especially as we're not all "adults".

WON'T SOMEONE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!?

*pats Espy on the head*

You forgot that the scene is also incredibly funny. :o)

My mother always liked Room with a View because Helena Bonham Carter reminds her of me. I'll see if I can pop in to say hi, but I don't know if I have a copy (or time to get one.) Last big dress rehearsal today and then the kids perform on Saturday and Sunday.

That's very nice JP. Good luck with the performances.

Okay so this is funny. I don't know if I will be able to watch because the DVDs are all packed. My husband packed them early in the week. I'll try and find it in the next 15 minutes but if not I may be forced to quote along from memory.

"It is fate, but Call it Italy if it makes you less unhappy vicar."

"Women like looking at a view men don't"

"If Miss Honeychurch should live as she plays. . ."

"Please help my boy. Make him see that at the end of the everlasting why there is a yes and a yes and a yes!"

"Dove buoni homeni?"

I couldn't get a copy of the movie in time so I won't be watching the movie. I'm job hunting right now but will join chat in awhile.

#123, bib, don't you mean it's very brief-less? ;)

sorry I couldn't make it last night, I had a date.

I'm not going to be able to watch the movie next Saturday. It's the only one of the LOTR movies that I don't own. Fortunately, I watched it earlier this summer so it's still fresh in mind. I'll try to swing by or join chat anyways.

I finally moved the schedule over from the movie survey thread, so this thread is current and correct again!

~foggi

I don't think I'll be watching this week. My dad got a dumpster and Mandy and her hubby are coming down, we're all spending the weekend going through the boxes that have been sitting in the basement (and maybe the attic) since we moved into the house....um......a little over 15 years ago. :) Should be fun as long as there aren't too many icky things! So we'll probably be exhausted. At some point we will also be headed to a bookstore and I imagine Mandy and I will both be reading the new book. (I know you were all wondering what I would name it!)

So I guess that means that only those of us who weren't interesting in reading The New Book are going to be at the movie tomorrow night. Well I hope to see those of you that aren't taken by this madness tomorrow night.

Au contraire, mon frere. I am interested in reading the new book, but even vampires cannot stand between me and LotR with my HE buddies! I'll be there. (Plus, I may wait a few days to get my hands on a copy of tnb -- payday approaches!)

So not so, espy. Like foggi, I am deeply interested in reading the new book but won't miss talking to you guys about The Lord of the Rings for the world. Can't wait!

strangely, i am not so interested it the new book, or, as i call it, whatever. I would love to join the movie night but MsD and i are headed up to the mountains for the weekend. Have a great time, guys!

Is everyone okay with starting at 9:00, as we did for the first two LotR? Otherwise it makes for a late night.

Works for me. I just realized that I only have the extended version of the movie. I'll try to borrow it, I guess.

9 works for me. I only have extended, but I am trying to get the "short" version from my brother.

I have both versions of all three films so I guess I'm set. But would someone explain to a newbie exactly how this group watch works? Please?

#141 -- We meet in the chat room (the link is on the group home page) a little bit before the set start time (usually 9:30 LibraryThing Time, but in this case, 9:00) and all start the movie at the same time. Then we chat while we watch!

See you there this evening!

(Edited to clarify time zones.)

I'm here! Am i on time? Did i make it?

oh, no i guess not. close though. sooooooooooooooo close.

I can't carry the ring for you Mr. Andrew, but I can carry you!

And that still only counts as one!

Gimli had the best lines.

I'm sorry I missed it you guys, but I got invited to sit in a hot tub after the ritual and I just couldn't pass that up.

Sounds like you had fun.

While we are doing lines:

I am no man!

I have the movie for next week on VHS and am planning on being here.

I also have the movie and plan on being there, unless unforeseen circumstances keep me away.

Yay Johnny! I don't know if I'm free, but I'll always look at Johnny for a few hours.

Gaaaaaarrrrrr!!!!!! Choices, choices. Mandy wants me to go to the beach with her this weekend. I said yes, but I hate the beach. Then I remembered the Olympics are starting and I'll want to watch that. Now PoC! What's a girl to do!

What you need are two tv sets, a dvd player, and a computer at a beach house. ;) I hate beaches, too. The ocean terrifies me. Whatever you end up choosing, I hope you have a good time! Maybe you can even squeeze two of those things into your day. Good luck! :)

Well, I'm hoping to be able to watch the movie still anyway i think internet is available at the hotel i'll double check. And trust me a beach trip with me is not like we're going to be sitting on the beach all day it's really more about enjoying the company in a pretty location, not too mention it's not going to be too easy for me to actually go on to the beach so we'll eat play games read nap drink a little and just hang out.

Hi guys. Haven't been around much this week because I was on the horrible business trip. I think I'll watch the Olympics tonight, but y'all enjoy Johnny.

#154 -- You should drop in during commercials and say hi, LG -- we'll miss you!

Not a bad idea, foggi. If you don't mind me commenting on swimming heats when I pop in, that is.

I miss you guys, too. It was a tough week.

Is anyone else having trouble accessing the chat? It's not letting me load the log in page.

OK, so stupid NBC is only showing it live on the East coast, they're tape delaying it for us left-coasters (bastards!), so I'll watch the first hour and a half with you guys, then turn off Johnny and watch Michael Phelps.

Espy, I got in ok.

I also got in chat alright.

Missed it. Mandy and I were at the beach and we brought the movie and two laptops, (one to watch on, one to chat with) but as we are on the East Coast, we got Phelps live. No way I was going to miss that!

So sorry that you both got phelps. Hope that you get better soon.

KIK!

I don't know if I can make it this weekend or not. My boss might have me working every day till Sunday. I'll know more tomorrow or Friday.

I may not be there, either. I'm going to visit Espy this weekend, and considering how my laptop acted up last time, combined with his Internet connection problems, I'd say the chances of us actually being in chat are slim.

I won't be able to make it this Saturday since I will be working, but next week......*looking hopeful*

#161: It's cool, I hear the recovery time is only slightly longer than Thorpe.

I might be able to watch this weekend!

I can't watch the group movie watch this weekend.

I will be there tonight, but I will most likely be late.

Okay, guys, here's the deal:

1. Half-Blood Prince isn't coming out until July.

2. We scheduled a re-watch of the series when we thought it was coming out in November.

3. The first night of that re-watch is this Saturday (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone).

4. I checked with Kerian, and now we are asking all of you: Do you still want to re-watch the whole series now, or postpone it until late spring and summer?

5. Let's plan on watching Sorcerer's Stone this weekend, no matter what we decide, since it's a little late to ask people to find a different movie.

(Edited to fix a minor typo.)

I say watch Sorcerer's Stone this week, then spread out the others. Maybe one every other month?

I'm good with Compski's suggestion

I'm good with whatever. I just hope I can make it this Saturday.

I can't make it this Saturday. I have to work.

I am sorry I missed the last two weeks, but I will be there tonight!

We would be there, but it's a beautiful day and we are suffering from an advanced case of cabin fever. We have to leave the house before someone gets stabbed.

As a case in point, MsDonna has mocked my spelling twice thee four times during this post. I'm not saying that she would be the one to get stabbed, but...

Have a good time, guys!

Just a note for those in chat tonight:
Our google search turned up to be a wash.
I checked: Harry Potter chat, and Hogwarts chat. Nothing on the first two google pages (I didn't look further).
When I googled Hogwarts Express chat, LT HE was the first to come up.

I did the same thing (using same search terms and everything!), Kirby. So, still a mystery, I guess.

Okay, that's a discussion that needs explanation for those of us who weren't there.

Someone named "Kris" showed up last night. We where not sure how he/she got there.

How did Kris say they got there?

if you google "hogwarts express chatroom" it's the first thing on the list.

Oh, dear. A new "Harry." How long was Kris there?

#181 -- You're right, Rissa -- with the quotation marks, it comes right up.

#182 -- S/he came in some time in the middle of the movie (around the time they were getting on to Platform 9 3/4) and hung around until the end.

All right, everyone! The newest survey is up. It's in the first post of this thread. I'll leave it open until next Saturday evening.

I stuck with SurveyMonkey for this one, even though it doesn't let you see the results, because it lets me do fancy stuff (like make a rating scale for the movies). In the future, I'll try to use Quibblo or Vizu so you can see the results as people vote.

~fd

Don't forget -- you have a few more hours left to vote on the movie night survey, if you haven't done so already!

I won't be watching for the next couple of weeks. I'll be back with you on the 13th! *crossing fingers in hope that nothing happens before then*

I'm going to miss the movie again today, but I have next Saturday off from work and plan to be here.

Schedule updates coming soon! Things are a little bit crazy right now, but I should have news for you probably by tomorrow evening.

I have updated the group movie schedule! You may want to go look at it, then come back and read the rest of this thread . . .

*****

Okay. Interesting stuff, right?

In the most recent movie survey, the majority voted to watch the Harry Potter movies one every other month, rather than our planned every-three-weeks schedule, due to the changed release date for HBP. Since we already watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in August, Chamber of Secrets has been moved to October. Following that pattern, we will watch the fifth movie in April -- a little more than two months before HBP comes out. (If we wanted to, we could re-watch yet again in June . . . but that's a matter for a much later survey!)

The following movies were included on this survey. Survey respondents ranked movies as to how much they wanted to watch them. The highest possible score is a 3.00, the lowest possible score is a 0. Here they are:

The Princess Bride (re-watch) 2.73
Ratatouille 2.09
X-Men 2.00
Emma (Gwyneth Paltrow version) 2.00
Titanic 1.91
A Series of Unfortunate Events 1.91
Much Ado About Nothing 1.91
Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh version) 1.82
Stranger than Fiction 1.82
Bridge to Terebithia 1.82
Persuasion (Amanda Root version) 1.73
Little Women (Katharine Hepburn version) 1.73
Monty Python 1.64
Seabiscuit 1.60
You've Got Mail 1.55
----------
The Remains of the Day 1.36
Anne of Green Gables 1.27
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World 1.27
Happy Feet 1.18
Pride and Prejudice (other versions) 1.18
Bram Stoker's Dracula 1.18
Shaun of the Dead 1.00
Being There 0.90

You will notice that there is a line between You've Got Mail and The Remains of the Day. That denotes the cutoff point -- movies below the line will not be included in the next batch of movies to watch (though if you feel strongly that we should watch one or more of them, be sure to bring it up for a future survey). This also renders the third question on the survey (about the inclusion of R-rated movies) unnecessary, as the few R movies recieved fairly low rankings.

In the past, we have watched movies in order of group preference -- most popular first, continuing down the list. Upon reflection, that means that a decreasing number of people are actually interested in the movies the group is watching . . . not, we decided, the best strategy! So, this time we're trying an alphabetical arrangement (with the exception of the Harry Potter movies, of course).

I only updated the schedule through November, though I could go to early February with the survey results -- with the holidays, I thought we might want to allow for the possibility of holiday movies, or weekends off if everyone is too busy on those weekends in December. So, I imagine there will be another survey (are you sick of the surveys yet?) in November about that. Then we can continue on with the other titles on our list in early 2009.

A few random notes:
- Keep in mind that GalaxyQuest has been moved up a week, to 13th September, since we re-scheduled CoS to a later date.
- On October 25th, we're scheduled to watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The person who suggested Monty Python on the earlier survey actually suggested that we watch a Monty Python other than Holy Grail -- something less well-known. My apologies to that unknown person, but Holy Grail is the most readily available, and probably the most popular, as well (based on the number of people at my college who could quote it in its entirety). Maybe in the next viewing cycle we can watch Life of Brian or some other Python, but for now, we're sticking with what we know.
- November 15th is a re-watch of The Princess Bride, the definite favorite in the survey. Since a few of us have been lamenting that we missed the original showing, I'm excited to see it on the list again!
- Since 29th November is the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we assumed that many people would be entertaining/traveling/shopping/ otherwise unavailable. If this isn't the case, we can go ahead with the next movie on the list (Seabiscuit), or we can watch a holiday movie (as mentioned earlier) or those who are interested in a movie watch that weekend can meet in the chat room a few minutes early and select something that meets with everyone's approval that evening. That will be another matter to decide in November's survey.

If you've read this far in this extremely long post, felicitations! My hat is off to you -- or it would be if I was wearing a hat. Kerian and I look forward to getting everyone's reactions to this post, and hope for many happy evenings of movie watching to come! See you there!

~fd

I do hope the television networks took notes. You know how much they depend on our group movie watch schedule.

Yeah, they should put me on their payroll for compiling all of that data for them!

Wow, foggi! Thanks! I think that is good that we wait on December. Holiday movies would be fun and there may be some summer movies out by then (I'm thinking Prince Caspian).

Was Galaxy Quest a book?

Galaxy Quest

neener neener.

I had made a suggestion on the "What will we read next thread" regarding the LotR expanded editions, which we had previously talked about watching "later" when we could give a little more warning so that people who don't own them could get a hold of them. I thought it might be fun to watch them at the end of each book during our reread, since it would be fairly simple to count the number of weeks the read would take and figure out when that would be...probably be best to split the extended versions (like where each disc ends) as they're very long. If this screws things up in your schedule too much, maybe those of us doing the read could figure out another time to do it...

I think that sounds like a good idea, as does splitting them over two weekends.

Or we could watch them at the same time others watch the assigned movie. Wouldn't that be a funny conversation in the chat room. ;) (just kidding btw)

I was walking my dog in the field behind my parents house this evening, turned my ankle, and fell down. My first thought was to send Gregor for help Lassie style, but then I realized only my mom was around so I got up and walked back to her house. My next thought was where was John Willoughby to carry me home and take the liberty of feeling the ankle to determine that it was not broken? Couldn't, at least, Teddy Lawrence be there to offer a ride home in his carriage and put snow on my ankle? With his own hands even?

I think the group movie watch is starting to affect me. There is no more romance in the world. Chivalry is dead!

I'm sorry you feel, compski! How's your leg? I hope you didn't get hurt anywhere else? *hugs*

Ouch. Hope you're feeling ok compski. I'm starting the think LT is a dangerous place to be at the moment there seem to be a few people who have been unwell, injured & hurt. I think I would have preferred Edward to come and save me :-)

Thanks K and Donna, It just feels stiff right now. I will just have to be careful. I need to ice it and keep it elevated. I think the group movie watch will be the perfect place!

Galaxy Quest tonight! Where Alan Rickman proves he is not just another pretty face but an excellent comedic actor as well!

"By Grabthar's hammer, by the sons of Worvan, you shall be avenged."

Squeeee! Espy and I will be there!

Sorry to miss tonight's movie. (You can guess - I'll be at work.) Enjoy the movie and remember the smelling salts should foggi need them. ;)

We will miss you Kerian. Finish you get-rich-quick scheme so that you can spend more time with us online!

KIK! Thanks, Espy. I'll miss you guys, too!

Scheduling change!

Due to the length of Kenneth Branaugh's Hamlet, we have decided to split it over the course of two weekends. We will watch the first two hours on October 4th (as previously scheduled), and then watch the remainder of the film on October 11th. Therefore, the rest of the movies in the queue will simply be moved down one week. (You can see the updated viewing schedule in the first post on this thread.) I hope this isn't too much of an inconvenience to you all!

~foggi

Cool. Now I get to watch Harry Potter since I am scheduled off that weekend. (I hope)

Tonight's movie is Emma, with Gwyneth Paltrow. Who's planning on watching?

I don't have the movie, but I'm going to check the DVD rental store later to see if I can get my hands on a copy.

Edit: Alas, Blockbuster has failed me. I have seen the movie before, so I may drop in and chat if anybody is there, but I can't watch along this week.

I just had a 24 hour shopping trip with my mom. I am at her house and will be home in about half an hour to watch. Leave a message here if you want to watch then.

Hey, compski, we're not watching the movie, but come chat anyways!

We had a weekend away in Canberra. Good fun. Strangely enough, we managed to find a Japanese candle-lighting festival. I suspect that Donna intends to write the weekend off as a business expense.

Hope you guys had fun in chat!

I don't have Hamlet but I do have today off work so I'm in chat for the movie to talk with anyone who may enter chat.

I don't have it either, but I'll see ya in chat.

Chamber of Secrets this weekend! Who's in? And should I be making a poll about what we want to do in December (holiday movies vs. continuing with our regular schedule)? Anybody have holiday movie titles that they think we should watch as a group?

I should be able to watch it. My work is switching me to morning shifts for this week. :)

I'm hoping to be there. We may be going to a Corn Maze/Pumpkin Patch that morning in Missouri. Not sure yet.

As for Holiday Movie Titles: (All links are IMDB) (ETA: length follows movie)

Miracle on 34th Street 96 min
A Christmas Carol (The Patrick Stuart Version) 95 min
Frosty the Snowman 22 min
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer 47 min
The Santa Clause 97 min
It's a Wonderful Life 130 min
A Charlie Brown Christmas 25 min
Love Actually 135 min
A Christmas Story 94 min
The Nightmare Before Christmas 76 min
The Polar Express 99 min
The Muppet Christmas Carol 85 min
Elf 97 min
Scrooged 101 min
White Christmas 120 min
How the Grinch Stole Christmas 26 min

Hopefully I haven't forgotten any, and I know we can't watch all of them, but I even put some that I personally hate on this list because I know other people love them. If I forgot any, don't hesitate to put them up.

LOVE ACTUALLY!!!!! Firth! Rickman! Grant! and a bunch of other HEGS! What a wonderful idea!

There are several others that I'd vote for as well. Looking forward to the survey. Maybe I'll have a wireless router by then so I can particpate.

Wow this thread is actually the top choice on Google for "group movie watch."

Sounds like fun!

LOL! (#219, I happen to know that Love Actually is one of the ones he hates!)

;-) But I love it!

Any more suggestions, anybody?

We will be doing a Polar Express day in my class, so I'm kind of up for a different movie. Can you believe that I've never seen Nightmare Before Christmas?

BLASPHEMY!!!

(Just kidding. I hadn't seen it until my sophomore year of college when a goth friend thrust the dvd into my hands and made me promise him that I would watch the movie before giving it back to him.)

I've never actually seen Polar Express.

When would we want to start the Christmas movie extravaganza? If we began the Saturday after Thanksgiving we would only have four movie slots to fill up (We could condense Frosty and Rudolph into one night since neither of those movies is longer than an hour...). I know, though, that this is going to be one of the hardest times to get people into the movie watch seeing as families and friends will be visiting/visited.

Yeah, but that's why it's kinda cool to do Holiday movies, so we won't be watching anything someone really wanted to see!

(#222: I guessed as much!)

Nightmare before Christmas is a great one. Now I'm missing when I lived in California and my sister and I would go to Disneyland at the end of October every year when the Haunted House was all Christmased in Jack Skeleton fashion.

#223 kirby:
I can't!

#225 bib:
That sounds really interesting! I'll have to visit Disneyland during the holidays some year!

Being gone from visiting family won't be a problem with me, but the possibility of being at work is. I'm trying to get a second job for the holidays.

#223 -- I've never seen it, either, but have been planning on watching it soon.

I never saw the movie they did recently of The Polar Express, either.

My kid sister adores The Nightmare Before Christmas. She was just playing music from it on YouTube yesterday.

White Christmas!

Please, please, please add White Christmas to the list!

Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera Ella!

If we did a complete movie quote I could do it by myself!

"When what's left of you gets around to what's left to be gotten, what's left to be gotten won't be worth getting, whatever it is you've got left."

"When I figure out what that means I'll come up with a crushing reply."

Well my wife and Foggi reminded me of another that you can't go without watching (Which I will add to the list above along with Write Christmas) and that is the ever popular How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Honestly, how could I forget about that one. The other thing I've been thinking about is the runtimes of each of these movies. While it might be kind of weird, some of he movies don't even last for an hour meaning we could have a double feature of sorts if those movies were popular enough. I'll add length times to each of the movies when I update my post so you can see how long each ends up being and it can help influence your decision. Maybe this is another thing to ask in the poll...

Thanks, Espy!

The Grinch was once a banned movie in my house. It's why my kid sister became like a limb to me when I was in my teens. She was terrified of the grinch possibly being in our house. Forget spiders. ;)

could tack a 20-30 minute movie with a 90ish minute movie to make about two hours.

Ok. I've finished the survey with the responses so far. There are two pages of questions, but only one question is required for you to finish the quiz. If you think of another movie that was forgotten and absolutely needs to be on the list add it into the comments section.

Hogwarts Express Christmas Movie Survey

I have taken the survey. Thanks for setting it up Espy!

I have taken and added comments. Probably not where you wanted them, but it was the only place to put them.

I voted too! Thanks Espy!

I think the short animated former TV shows should all be one night, or if there aren't very many, paired with movies that are less than two hours.

There are plenty of good choices this year, but next year we need to add:

The Year Without a Santa Claus "I'm Mr. Coldmizer, I'm Mr. Freeze..."

And

Santa Claus is Coming to Town "Put one foot in front of the other..."

Edited to add: Not to mention Burgermeister Miesterburger!

I have been thinking of something for awhile, and while I decided not to include it on the survey, I wanted to get your opinions on the matter.

Sometimes the main reason that people don't watch the movie with us is the fact that for some reason they were unable to obtain it. I don't fault anyone for this excuse, I've used it myself occasionally. But what if there was a way for a member to stream the movie online so that others could watch it? I have been looking at programs that would allow just such a thing and I wanted to see if other HogXers would be interested in just such a prospect.

There is one major issue that should be noted first, though. The copyright laws on if I were to do this would be pretty iffy. When I watch a movie that I have purchased I have bought the right to show that movie to myself and any friends or family that are with me, but the question then become is it legal for me to share a movie that I own with others who are not with me in person? I've heard arguments for both sides, and I won't take the time to explain both sides now, but this is something that should be considered when you answer my next question.

Would you be more likely to watch the movie if you could stream it off of the Internet during the movie-watching time?

there's one other major problem with that idea. Unless someone has a two-computer set-up (which most of us do not) there would be no way to be watching the movie and be able to participate in the chatroom at the same time.

Actually, if you don't full-screen the movie and shrink the chat screen down so it fits on the bottom half of your screen, it's possible to do both (I've done it, when my DVD player was giving me fits and the only way I could watch was to play the DVD on my computer). It's not ideal, but it can be done.

I also don't know that it would work with my internet connection. it's not fast enough to do streaming video very well most of the time.

LT ate my post.

I would be more likely to! Sometimes I find out last second that I don't have to work during the group movie watch but you still miss out if you join without the movie.

Some people might want to consider getting a DVD by mail account. I have a Blockbuster by mail account and I can get most movies. For $3.99 a month they send you a movie, you send it back, they send you another from your list. They will only send you two a month, or it is $8.99 for unlimited. I do 3 movies at a time for 15.99 a month. It is a really good deal considering you can get TV shows, too.

That does sound good! Someone from work's talked to me about it. I usually buy used blockbuster movies for 2/$20 etc. I think my family needs to find a movie swapping site, though. We have a lot that will never get watched again.

I've been really interested in getting a movie-rental-by-mail account ever since Netflix started up. I never could figure out how to justify the money that I would be spending every month for such an account. Even $3.99 is more than I spend on movies right now, especially since the library has a lot of the movies I've been wanting to see lately.

ETA: I'm also a big movie hoarder. I have several movies that I bought and have not watched since I was much younger, but then there are others that I watch at least once a month.

It might make me more likely to watch eventually. Although at the moment what's keeping me back is the sudden social life I seem to have developed since I moved. People seem to want to spend time with me, which I find weird, but I'll take it while it lasts!

Also waiting to get a wireless router, until then I'm tethered to the modem, and since I don't have a desk this means sitting on the floor and being incredibly uncomfortable. I love you guys, but I also like being able to move!

Now that it's spring and the weather is very nice, MsD and i will tend to be out & about on Sunday noon, which is the movie time over here. So unfortunately we will be joining the movie watch rarely. Look for us on rainy days ;)

I would definatly be more likely to be here for movies if I could stream them.. there are actually a lot of websites that you can do that... one is
watch-movies.net... It is free and legal(i think) but it is neat... I just discovered it so I should be able to join in more now!

Now imagining a group of outraged Americans talking about how rainy it is and wondering where MrA and MsD are, ignoring the whole "the other side of the planet" thing.

There's another side to the planet? What, the inside?

shhhhhh, it's ok Mr. A there is just the one side, the earth is flat, bib doesn't know what she is talking about. Just relax and enjoy the spring.

We have proof that the Earth is flat. It's ok MrA

Just to let you know, I've decided that Sunday at 4:55 a.m. the survey will be officially closed. So if you haven't taken a chance to fill out the Hogwarts Express Christmas Movie Survey, please do so before then. Results will be announced some time on Sunday so you can begin to hunt down the Christmas cheer. Please remember that there are two pages to fill out and your responses will affect what movies we watch and when we watch them.

Hogwarts Express Christmas Movie Survey

I'm hoping to join the watch tonight. I've got to find my copy of the movie. Remember our conspiracy theory about a month ago? You know.... the one where major cable networks were using our movie line-up to create their schedule? Well guess who showed this weeks movie last night....

Just saw the ending bit. Perfect!

That was great! I'm glad I could make it to the group movie watch and chat. I should be able to next weekend, too. Hopefully no one will simpy not come in for their shift at work like today, though!

And the results are in! I'll explain everything after posting the schedule as it now stands.

Nov. 29 White Christmas
Dec. 6 A Charlie Brown Christmas & The Muppet Christmas Carol
Dec. 13 Elf
Dec. 20 How The Grinch Stole Christmas & The Nightmare Before Christmas
Dec. 27 Love Actually

Here's how I came up with ranking. Total was figured by subtracting 1 point for every "Hate it," adding no points for every "Indifferent," adding one point for every "Okay," and adding two points for every "YES!" As you can see, when this was tallied there were a few ties, so tie-breakers were how many people said they hated the movie followed by how many people ecstatically supported the movies.

For the dates I awarded -1 for can't, +1 for maybe, and +2 for will. This time the tie breaker was how many people said they would instead of how many said they wouldn't.

I then matched the top-ranked movies with the top-ranked nights with a few subtle niggles to get things to fit into place. The solid line is the cutoff for movies this year.

I created three categories for length of movie: short (less than 50 min.), medium (between 50 min. and 100 min.), and long (more than 100 min.) While there was some support for making every night a double-feature night, most respondents wished to only do double features on nights when the movies weren't long (see below). I tied together medium movies and short movies when they were close, and I left long movies by themselves. This meant that I couldn't put together A Charlie Brown Christmas and Love Actually, so I tied it in with the next possible movie (Te Muppet Christmas Carol).

Unfortunately we couldn't watch every movie on the list, but hey, there's always next year!

Other questions you responded to:

Should we watch Christmas movies?
Yes 100%
No 0%

What day should we start?
Nov. 29 81.3%
Dec. 6 18.8%

What day should we end?
Dec. 20 12.5%
Dec. 27 87.5%

Should we do double features?
No 0.0%
If not too long 73.3%
Every night 26.7%

Thanks for putting this together, Espy.

This thread is getting a bit long. I'll start a new one either later this evening or tomorrow.

You are awesome Espy!

I love the graph. Beautiful work, espy!