Last night, I went to catch the new moon landing documentary, Apollo 11, which is in a limited one week run at my local multiplex on their IMAX screen (well, it's a fake IMAX but with a decent sized screen). If you at all consider yourself a space nerd and live close to where this is playing, I'd highly recommend you grab the chance to see this on the big screen. They unearthed some incredibly sharp-looking 65 mm footage from the archives and it's edited beautifully to give you a real sense of immediacy, as if you were right there in the thick of things with the astronauts and all the support staff on the ground. Interesting timing to release this so close on the heels of Damien Chazelle's First Man.

Also, young Bruce McCandless, who was one of the mission control capsule communicators on the ground, could GET IT. (He later became a famous astronaut in his own right -- he's the guy in the suit in this iconic photo). He sorta looked like a cross between young Joseph Cotton and Tom Hanks, except manlier, and I was like, "you can capsule communicate with me any time, Commander." (I mean, I don't actually know if he had a title -- he was in the Navy so maybe? -- but my libido thought he should have one.)

According to Wikipedia, McCandless was a Navy captain. [link]

Interesting timing to release this so close on the heels of Damien Chazelle's First Man.

When else? The 50th anniversary of the landing is this July. (Damn, I've gotten old.)

I would like to keep up a steady movie watching schedule now that the Oscars are over. I am creating a list of all nominated films that I have never seen. Right now I am focusing on Best Picture nominees and I am starting the list with my birth year just because I have to start somewhere (1928 seemed really really daunting). I'm not even going to put all the years on the list to start. I have 1971 - 1975 and 2012-2015 thus far and it's already 43 titles. If anyone wants to join me, let me know and I'll send you the Google Doc as it is now, we can always modify it to indicate who has seen what.

Naturally I love this idea.

megan walker had watching parties for all the Oscars winners starting from the beginning. I think she blogged it, so if you want to dip back into some earlier ones that seem interesting and have been forgotten that would be a good place to go.

I have no idea what this refers to! I have blogged the Oscars since 2011. Those posts are all tagged so you can find them here: [link]

Also, I have series on Hitchcock and Spielberg, which probably will fit in there somewhere. Links can be found on my Film 101 page here: [link] I should probably add links to my recent Great Unseen project there. Quite a few Oscar films there as well.

Oddly enough, I have just started a huge related project though, a Century+ of Cinema. I was planning to blog one decade a month in 2020, but I need to catch up enormously with silents so I've started watching those now. I'm also pretty weak in the 1960s and 1970s so I would definitely be interested in taking on those decades whenever you do.

I may reach out to a few of you for direction on where to start and I may be eliminating some due to problematic people unless there is some way to watch where they would not benefit in anyway.

Naturally I have many thoughts and opinions on what to include. Fun fact: On my recent "25 Years of Oscars" survey that I did, I'll admit to eliminating certain problematic people from the initial polling. Not sorry.

if the film is up on kanopy do you think there are royalty payments based on views?

Yes, content creators are paid on a pay-per-view model.

Megan, I emailed you a link to my google doc.

Started on my list with Sounder from 1973.

When else? The 50th anniversary of the landing is this July. (Damn, I've gotten old.)

Hahaha, OF COURSE.

McCandless was a Navy captain

t dreamy sigh Of course he was.

msbelle, your project sounds awesome! Are the films from 70's and 80's on your list available for streaming? Kanopy has some but probably not all. I know streaming platforms have made it easy for many people to enjoy watching movies in the comfort of their home, but I feel like they have not been particularly friendly to older classics. Man, I really miss my favourite hole-in-the-wall indie/foreign/classics video rental store from when I was living in Ottawa (well before DVDs), which had EVERYTHING. I had some happy film geeky conversations with various clerks in the store.

There are a few things on kanopy or hoopla, but mostly I will be getting the older ones on DVD from my library.

I counted and I have not found a source for 11 of the 27 films from the 70s. I have not yet checked out my parent's library or the local video rental store.

To check if any movie or TV show is streaming anywhere (for subscription or for individual purchase), JustWatch is a great resource. Although it is mainly geared toward recent releases.

I don't think my city has any video rental store still open. It seems fated to be a relic of the past. Maybe bigger cities like LA or NYC still have them?

We have just a few video rental stores, but we ALSO have a "video archive" bar that has a secret speakeasy door: [link]