Rodent's Top 50 Movie Marathons

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What Franchises that would be great for a night in or a Marathon over a few nights?

Big question really when you’re stuck for what to watch… so, here’s my answer…

I’ve checked over a bunch of websites and used mainly Wiki to get info on Franchises with 3 or more films to them, and although these picks may not reflect my own personal favourites, I picked the ones I reckon would be good for a Marathon and compiled them into a Top 50.

Some will cause a few frowns, others a smile… but here they are anyway… I’ll post two a day, should take just under a month to get through.

I'll use Wiki's pictures for the Header...


Rodent’s Top 50 Trilogies Upwards For Movie Marathons



50: Paranormal Activity: 4 Films



With a relatively intelligible story and a few shocks thrown in for good measure… and a mixture of good and bad acting, Paranormal Activity is a great franchise to kick off my Top 50 Franchises.


49: Police Academy: 7 Films



The original adult comedy is still the best, the rest went too cartoony and somehow managed to get worse as they went on… kinda like the Carry On films… yet unlike Carry On, Police Academy approached the so-bad-they’re-good category.
They’re actually quite good fun if you switch your brain off.



I'm with you on Police Academy, kind of. The first one was decent in its day but has no hold up value. Everything past the first is garbage for me. I have an opinion on Paranormal Activity in spite of only seeing a small part of the first. Ill keep it to myself however since my opinion is not informed.
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Letterboxd



48: Saw: 7 Films


Going off the rails by the 3rd film and dropping the story in favour of a gore-fest sees Saw make the Top 50 due simply to entertainment factor and a faux “legend” behind it… but no higher than 48th.


47: Harry Potter: 8 Films


Another coherent storyline and a cast that made the best of it while they could… what is a nightmare for some is a dream for others.
Harry Potter has some magical moments and at least kept to an actual story without getting too silly as they went on. It’s a shame we’ve seen it all before though.



Harry Potter deserves to be higher, in my opinion. I have to admit that I grew up with these series, so there is a certain sentimental value to it for me, but my younger sisters are on a Harry Potter spree lately and while rewatching all the films with them, I now fully realize how magical, awesome and interesting the story and the created world actually is.
I also read all the books when I was younger, so maybe I have some deeper insights into the characters' minds than the films offer, but most of the time, the stories are really clever, deep and above all INVENTIVE.

My personal favorite films of the series are:

Harry Potter and the Prisoners of Azkaban



and

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2



I enjoyed all of them, though.
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Cobpyth's Movie Log ~ 2019



I was all but forced to watch the first three Saw fims. Admittedly the first was not horrendous as it had more of a psychological thriller vibe. I can't even begin to state how horrible I think the next two were. I will never understand what people get out of those types of horror flicks. I know if they are not scary to someone who never watches them, they can't possibly be to people who live off them . Started the first Harry Potter film at least three times, never made it through. Just feels like it is meant for preteens to me.



As franchises though, they all do work and at least have a legend to them... the list does get better though... and more interesting

I've been catching Harry Potter on TV recently, they're showing them in order on Saturday afternoons. Not my sort of thing, never have liked them... but as a franchise they work well.



Right, I'm doing more than 2 a day...


46: James Bond: 23 Films


A series of films that can be watched in any order because of no real continuous story and 3 million different actors in the main role, but the Bond films always have a draw and can occasionally deliver a few thrills.
They’ve also been getting better recently as well with bigger budgets and writing.


45: Resident Evil: 5 Films


Cheesy filmmaking, cheesy acting, cheesy Zombies and gore… also Milla Jovovich in numerous scanty outfits… and actually has a budget behind it. It also plays out like a series of different adventures that loosely follow the previous episode.
Worth a go, especially if you’re into Zombies. If not, the high kicking action and chases should satisfy.



I'm a huge Bond fan!

1. Dr. No
2. GoldFinger
3. The Spy Who Loved Me
4. From Russia With Love
5. License To Kill
6. GoldenEye

That's my top 6 Bond films (I've seen all 23 official films and Never Say Never Again), but I enjoyed all of them!
That is, except Quantum of Solace, which was a complete disaster, in my opinion, and didn't feel like a Bond film at all. It didn't have any redeeming qualities for me, unlike other bad Bond films like Die Another Day or Moonraker.

I'm still the biggest fan of the older Connery movies, which had a very attractive style to them (although sometimes a little kitschy) and I LOVE those old Bond posters. I'm glad you used one of them. This is my personal favorite poster:




That went down well then... I had to use an individual poster rather than the group one as Wiki wouldn't let me... I thought the original was probably best to use.

More to come... I'm posting up more in a short while...



44: The Karate Kid: 4 Films


It went off the rails, but only a little, with the sequels but especially went for the cashed-in feel with cheese-fest 4th outing The Next Karate Kid… but the original film was an absolute gem and made you care for the characters enough to want to see the follow ups. Ignore the remake though.


43: Critters: 4 Films


Like the Police Academy and Saw franchises, Critters started soundly with the original film, and then went seriously cartoony and even edged toward kid friendly at the same time. Still lots of fun though if the brain is switched off for parts 2 onward… part 3 being the better of the sequels.



Like a few of the Bond films. Goldeneye and Casino Royale are the stand outs for me. Never seen a minute of the Resident Evil franchise.



The Karate Kid movies were some of my favorites as a young teen. I still love the first and like the second. I say I don't think the third is a good movie on any level but have caught myself watching more than I meant to on cable a couple of times. It seems like I saw the first Critters but do not remember it at all.



The first Critters is on a farm, like a typical alien invasion film in a small town and it's more of a horror sci-fi... the rest are sci-fi comedies in a same vein as maybe Slither.


I like the Karate Kid films though as well... decent character development.



I too love James Bond, wouldn't have placed it so low! I have similar top rankings to Cobpyth, my favourite three are:

Goldfinger
From Russia With Love
Dr. No


But then one of my very favourites is Live and Let Die for pure Roger Moore cheese, it's not great, but it's a hell of a lot of fun. Then there's stuff like You Only Live Twice and Moonraker, which aren't very good at all, but are so fun to watch And I also agree that Quantum of Solace is bad, although I think Die Another Day is probably worse, there's bad, campy, cheesy Bond, and then there's a that, a really terrible film for me that seemed to take itself seriously and fail.

I love Casino Royale and Skyfall too, but I wouldn't put them in the same group as the old classics I grew up watching, probably why I don't like Brosnan as much as some - I mainly remember Connery/Moore. They're a completely different type of Bond, and deserve respect for succeeding at what they attempt to do in this modern age, with myself being a Daniel Craig fan for the type of character they've gone for now.

In fact here's how I'd rank all films.

Goldfinger, From Russia With Love, Dr. No, Skyfall, Casino Royale
On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Live and Let Die, GoldenEye, License to Kill
Thunderball, 'Only Live Twice, Diamonds are Forever, 'Man with the Golden Gun, 'Spy Who Loved Me, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, 'Living Daylights
Moonraker (but still great too watch), Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, A View to a Kill
Quantum of Solace
Die Another Day

And I like the Harry Potter films too, not as much as some. Again ranked:

Prisoner of Askaban
Goblet of Fire, Half-Blood Prince
Philosopher's Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Order of the Phoenix, Deathly Hallows: Part 1 + 2


Prisoner of Askaban is by far the best though, works as a standalone film much better than others and is a great film in itself with a top performance from Oldman as Black, much darker/beautiful film for me too.
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45 franchises better than Bond? wowzers! that'd be cool

think i'd have to go with Goldfinger as my favorite