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CHALLENGE 35 1. The Giver (Alexander Jillings, James Jillings) 2. Paterson (Trev Parham, Troy T. Parham) 3. Groundhog Day (Bill Murray, Brian Doyle-Murray) 4. Star Wars: Revenge of the SIth (George Lucas, Katie Lucas, Jett Lucas) 5. The Fellowship of the Ring (Peter Jackson, Billy Jackson, Katie Jackson) Favorite couple: I've always had a lot of respect for Denzel and Pauletta Washington. Here's a recent profile of them that highlights some of what I love about them: https://meaww.com/denzel-washingtons-marriage-magic-loop-de-looping-through-lifes-ups-and-downs-with-his-awesome-wife

CHALLENGE 34 1. Akira (released in 1988; set in 2019) 2. Until the End of the World (released in 1991; set in 1999) 3. A Quiet Place (released in 2018; set in 2021) Something I wish would come true: the Voight-Kampff machine. There are some people in my life I'm pretty sure are replicants, but there's no way to know for sure.

Thank you, but I'm afraid the challenge is not about movies that are close to three hours. Can you add one more selection that is three hours or more?

You could've left for two and a half hours and not missed much.

La Belle Noiseuse is one of my all-time favorites! One of the greatest movies about art. Thanks for including it!

CHALLENGE 33: INTERMISSION 1. The Green Mile (3 hrs., 9 mins.) 2. Seven Samurai (3 hrs., 27 mins.) 3. A Brighter Summer Day (3 hrs., 57 mins.) 4. The Ten Commandments (3 hrs., 40 mins.) 5. Lawrence of Arabia (3 hrs., 38 mins.) I don't usually leave a movie once it's started, but I remember the first time I watched Isle of Dogs in the theater, I had to leave for a bathroom break, and I missed the scene where Atari and Spots first meet, which really sets up a lot of the movie. I still loved it, but my family had to explain that I'd missed a key moment. (I've now watched that movie countless more times.)

CHALLENGE 33: INTERMISSION Settle in and get ready for the long haul. This week's challenge is all about the movies that keep us sitting still for a looong time. For this challenge, show us five movies (any format) that are each at least three hours long. As an optional extra feature (as if this challenge weren't already long enough), tell us about a time you left a movie to use the bathroom or grab a snack, and when you returned you found that you'd missed something really important.

It's so good! Very emotional!

CHALLENGE 31 Congratulations, @cypheria078—you've created a superhero-proof challenge! I respect that. Here are five "based on true events" movies from my shelves: 1. The Passion of Joan of Arc 2. Battleship Potemkin 3. The Elephant Man 4. Dunkirk 5. The Innocents

Here are more than 100 for Award 2. Thanks!

CHALLENGE 30 I decided to go with "villains who aren't Darth Vader or the Joker," as it seems they're going to be receiving plenty of representation this week. And then I decided on all-animated, for fun. 1. No-Face (Spirited Away). In honor of getting to see Spirited Away Live later this afternoon, I chose No-Face, who is not only a fantastic character design (vital for any animated villain) but also represents the kind of villain who seems either intentionally or ambiguously evil, which is quite creepy, and then is revealed to be a misunderstood, lonely character, which is quite poignant though still a little creepy. 2. Yzma (The Emperor's New Groove). I'm always happy to bring up this movie, and Yzma is by far one of my favorite villains. I love her pure, simple, single-minded delight in being evil. She's bad, and she's drawn that way. 3. Syndrome (The Incredibles). I'm amazed that a villain who gets his start as an obsessive, ultimate superhero fanboy was created before the Marvel movie franchise got going. It seems like an idea for a villain that would have been in response to all that. Brad Bird anticipated so much that was to come in so many aspects of The Incredibles. Syndrome became one of my all-time favorites for that scene where he strides heroically toward his plane, smiling smugly...and wipes his nose. 4. Shere Khan (The Jungle Book). The quintessential dignified, refined villain, who seems just a bit too above having to actually put forth the effort to be villainous...but he'll do it if he has to. 5. Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty). One of the greatest evil queens of all time who turns into one of the greatest evil dragons of all time? Yes, please. Maleficent is the serious 'n' sinister archvillain, and Yzma is the ridiculous 'n' hilarious archvillain. Two sides of the same coin, and either way, I love them.

#29 — GADSBY! This is a surprisingly difficult task. But looking through all my films, I did find a bunch that will work. I submit this grouping now for your approval. Thank you so much, and happy Sunday to all of you! 1. Dark City 2. Dunkirk 3. M 4. Notorious 5. Tokyo Story 6. Bullitt 7. Paddington 8. Solo: A Star Wars Story 9. From Up on Poppy Hill 10. Cars

But filmed in 1989, right? The award says movies that were "made between 1980-1989," not release date. Anyway, in what I've shown, Dekalog included two films: A Short Film about Killing and A Short Film about Love, both 1988.

I think I've finally got this one. Will this do? 1. Raiders of the Lost Ark 2. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 3. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 4. The Dark Crystal 5. Labyrinth 6. Tron 7. Wings of Desire 8. Dekalog 9. Ran 10. Blade Runner 11. Nausicaa 12. Castle in the Sky 13. Kiki's Delivery Service 14. Babette's Feast 15. Pee-wee's Big Adventure 16. The Mission 17. Dune 18. The Princess Bride 19. Akiira 20. Brazil 21. My Neighbour Totoro 22. The Empire Strikes Back 23. Return of the Jedi 24. As Tears Go By 25. Paris, Texas 26. Grave of the Fireflies 27. The Goonies 28. Back to the Future 29. Back to the Future Part II 30. Back to the Future Part III

CHALLENGE 28. Total number of winners I own: 0. I'm out.

CHALLENGE 27 Here's my usual assortment of movies, this time with explanations that focus on revenge. 1. The Emperor's New Groove. Yzma wants revenge on Kuzco. 2. Gladiator. Maximus Decimus Meridius wants revenge on Commodus. 3. True Grit. Mattie Ross wants revenge on the coward Tom Chaney. 4. Revenge of the Sith. The Sith want revenge on...logical, character-driven storytelling, I guess? 5. Spider-Man 3. Peter Parker wants revenge on Flint Marko. Edward Brock Jr. wants revenge on Peter Parker. The audience wants revenge on Sam Raimi. Favorite revenge film: It's not a category I really think much about, but let's go with an out-of-left-field favorite: Toy Story 3. Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear wants revenge on this entire cruel world. Beautiful.

CHALLENGE 26 I don't know if this is allowed for the challenge, but as a writer and book-lover, I was interested to find a selection of movies that are based on books by women. 1. Frankenstein (Mary Shelley) 2. Rebecca (Daphne du Maurier) 3. Howl's Moving Castle (Diana Wynne Jones) 4. A Silent Voice (Yoshitoki Oima) 5. Children of Men (P. D. James) My favorite writer is George Elliot, whose novel Middlemarch is perfection. It was adapted into a great miniseries in 1994.

CHALLENGE 25 The week it pays off to have a shelf of Criteria. 1. Tokyo Story (Japanese) 2. La Dolce Vita (Italian) 3. Three Colors: Blue (French) 4. Babette's Feast (Danish) 5. Dekalog (Polish) Some recent non-English-language films that I'd enjoy seeing as premium steelbook releases: Cold War, Roma, The Innocents, Mami Wata

I've seen a few really excellent uses of holofoil on slips, but often it seems to have nothing to do with the movie or the image. I feel like whenever you see the phrase "holofoil chase variant" in a hobby, it's time to sell your collection while you can and move on to something else.

"How are we going to use up all this extra holofoil paper?" "I don't know, can we get the license for Arrival?" "But what does holofoil have to do with Arrival?" "We'll figure something out."

CHALLENGE 24 The Oscars hold almost no interest for me whatsoever. I'm not sure what the Academy thinks the standards are, but for me, it seems that there is no clear guideline other than popularity amongst the Academy voters. This isn't a recent thing—just consider for a moment the fact that films such as Around the World in 80 Days and Gigi have won Best Picture. Anyway, here are five Best Picture winners that have stood the test of time perhaps better than Gigi: 1. Rebecca (1940). Great novel, maybe even better film. 2. Casablanca (1943). A movie in which nearly every single line of dialogue became a Famous Movie Line. 3. On the Waterfront (1954). Pure Brando. Anyone who's only seen him in The Godfather and Apocalypse Now should watch this, as soon as possible. 4. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). An early cynical-about-war masterpiece that anticipates so many later cynical-about-war films. 5. The Sound of Music (1965). Not my favorite musical, but it influenced pop culture so deeply. There have been so many times, especially in recent years, that the Best Picture winner was so obviously in no way the best of even the films that were nominated. Here are five nominated films that I believe should have won in their year: 1. Apocalypse Now (1979; instead of Kramer vs. Kramer). Apocalypse Now didn't win Best Picture. I mean, let that sink in. 2. The Elephant Man (1980; instead of Ordinary People). (This one is just for @Reagh) 3. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003; instead of The Return of the King). I know no one here will agree with me, but really: Return of the King is fine as a genre film, but it's not even the best film of that trilogy. And Master and Commander...it's just an amazing film in every way, and as much a technical achievement as ROTK. 4. True Grit (2010; instead of The King's Speech) 5. The Tree of Life (2011; instead of The Artist). I love silent films—but The Artist was kind of a joke even before it stole the music from Vertigo. Several nominees in 2011 should have won instead of that one.

CHALLENGE 23 I don't think I have a single favorite genre, so I'll just pick one that's become very special to me more recently: anime. I didn't grow up with anime, but several years ago it became something that one of my sons and I shared together, just the two of us. It helped us through a challenging time, and I'll always be grateful for every time an anime would play for a night or two at the cinema. Here are five films I enjoy, from five different directors: 1. Akira (Katsuhiro Ôtomo). The first time I watched this was on the big screen, at a rerelease a couple years ago. I wasn't sure about it at first, but by the end, and contemplating all the questions it raises after the film finished, I understood why it's so beloved. Also, I think those of us who have this lenticular steelbook edition like to take any opportunity to let everyone else know that we have it. 2. Weathering with You (Makoto Shinkai). I also love Your Name, but for me, Weathering with You goes even deeper. 3. Porco Rosso (Hayao Miyazaki). I also cherish Miyazaki's big, epic spectacles, of course, but I am very fond of the smaller, quirkier films he's hade—The Cat Returns, and this one, Porco Rosso, which was maybe the most surprising anime I've seen. For anyone who loves noir and war films, this is just pure delight from start to finish. 4. Belle (Mamoru Hosoda). I don't know that this is an all-time favorite, but it was pretty spectacular on the big screen. It attempts more than any single film can probably accomplish, and I admire it for that boldness. 5. Patema Inverted (Yasuhiro Yoshiura). I don't hear as much about this one, but I've watched probably as many times as I've watched any anime. Something about it really enchants me. It's a beautiful world, with constant unexpected twists and turns along the way. The film that made me fall in love with the genre? I'll mention two. One is Spirited Away, which feels like it was a classic as soon as it was first released. Miyazaki tapped into deep wells of storytelling and mythology that cause that film to continue resonating every time I watch it. (And I am super-excited to see the film of the stage version next month!) The other is Angel's Egg, which is such a magnificent jumble of imagery and symbolism, it feels like I'm in a different world while I'm watching it.

I always wanted separate postcards of all the alien ships. 😐

If you're going to allow The Secret History of Twin Peaks, then I don't know why Art Of books are out of bounds. What is the definition of "adaptation" for this challenge?

CHALLENGE 22 As a movie fan and a bit of a bookish fellow, I love this challenge. Thanks, @Reagh! Looking through my shelves, I was surprised how many adaptations I really like, since the typical perspective amongst book-lovers is that the movie is never as good as the book. Sometimes the movie is even better. Of these, probably my favorite book-and-movie pairing is A Monster Calls. I love both, and I think both versions tell the story in equally compelling ways, each one making the most of its medium. 1. Watership Down 2. Romeo and Juliet 3. True Grit 4. The Ten Commandments 5. Arrival 6. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 7. Les Misérables 8. A Monster Calls 9. Dune 10. Paddington 11. Alice in Wonderland