Geekanerd To Undertake Last Minute Oscar Catch-Up/Endurance Challange

Not long ago, I said that last year's cinematic achievements could be summed up in one image. But as the gods of fate and Los Angeles would have it, neither one of Geekanerd's favorite films of 2008 ended up with Best Picture nominations. Shirts were torn and tears were shed.

But never one to judge before all the facts are in, I, your Geekanerd editor, will soon embark on a fourteen hour cinematic journey; a five-film, back-to-back screening of each nominee for the 2008 Academy Award for Best Picture. And remember, one of these films is like three and a half hours long, so this could get serious.

This Saturday, AMC/Lowes Theaters across the country will be holding their third annual Best Picture Showcase. $30 bucks get you a pass to watch all five noms in a row, plus free popcorn all day and a decorative lanyard to treasure forever. Doors open at 10am, and the final set of credits roll at midnight.

Click the graphic to if tix are available for your local show, but if you can't make it, feel free to live vicariously through Geekanerd. I'll be live-blogging throughout the day between films via the site, as well as mid-movie updates via Twitter (yes, we have a Twitter channel now). Expect psychosis to sink in about half way through Benjamin Button's eighth set piece.

Hell, I made it through the endless setlist one and a half times. I can take this.

Bring On The Bear Traps: Saw Movie Marathon Thursday

Are movie marathons so different than actual marathons? I've never run a actual marathon, but I'm still gonna say no, they're exactly the same. Both require endurance, proper hydration, and proper stretching. Seriously, you can get cramps from sitting. But most geeks already know that. I'm talking to you, gamers.

Tomorrow, theaters around the country are hosting screenings of the complete Saw series, topping off with a midnight screening of Saw IV. I'm not a big fan, but four movies for the price of one is a sweet deal. It should also be interesting to compare the movies back to back, keeping in mind that director/producer James Wan and writer/producer Leigh Whannell have managed to knock out a new one of these things every year since their initial success in 2004. IV is the first of the series not to be written by Whannell, and instead Marcus Dunstan of Project Greenlight "fame" has taken over the task of making up all those wacky torture machines.

Ticket info after the jump...

A list of all participating theaters can be found at Break.com. Long story short, it's playing in the following states:

• AL
• AZ
• CA
• CO
• DE
• FL
• GA
• HI
• IA
• IL
• IN
• KS
• KY
• LA
• MA
• MD
• MI
• MN
• MO
• NC
• NJ
• NM
• NV
• NY
• OH
• OR
• PA
• RI
• TN
• TX
• UT
• VA
• WA

Condolences to Alaska, New Hampsters, Oklahoma, and all the other states that got snubbed. In a way, it's a compliment that AMC doesn't think you'd be into eight hours of torture porn.

Fellow NYC geekanerds who are into that sort of thing can buy tickets for the Manhattan and Brooklyn screenings on Fandango. All the screenings start at 6pm.

Final Thought: When I saw the Saw IV poster for the first time, I thought that pig lady was actually hooked up to a medical IV. That would have been hilarious, but I guess that sort of visual pun is beyond the Lion's Gate marketing team.