We're starting our journey of 2018 candidates with everybody's favorite Marwen-set film: Robert Zemeckis's "Welcome to Marwen" (2018)! Follow along on the hashtag #MARNOW25

#marwhen #marforever #maralways

Hello, I'm Hervey and I'll be commenting on Marwen today

Glad to be kicking off the 2018 screenings with this one #MARNOW25

Hello, I'm Alan and I'll be commenting on Marwen today. I'm excited to learn more about Marwen.

#MARNOW25

Forgot how much bass the Universal globe intro has. We're off to a great start.

#MARNOW25

Good auto-play trailers on this blu-ray, including "Second Act" (2018), a film I've never heard that somehow made 6x as much as Marwen #MARNOW25

Gotta love it when a film just starts right off with a title card. #MARNOW25

It was a digetic sign welcoming us to Marwen #MARNOW25

Steve Carell is perhaps the least convincing WWII fighter pilot. #MARNOW25

The plastic-doll CG sheen (a look only really attempted here and in Spielberg's Tintin movie) is, at least here, simply rather cheap looking

I think all the bad de-aging scenes we've seen in recent years has ruined our ability to appreciate this #MARNOW25

This film's aesthetic is "2010's video game cutscene" and it's kind of nostalgic. #MARNOW25

Wow, this toy soldier film has suddenly gotten graphically violent. #MARNOW25

Oh damn, I'm forgetting of Zemeckis's own run of "Polar Express", Scrooge, Beowulf, etc‒this absolutely is in the vein of that (and this looks less off tbh) #MARNOW25

Now exiting the world of Marwen #MARNOW25

Oh wow, this film does not take place solely in Marwen. I'm unhappy about this, but excited to see what follows. #MARNOW25

I do not think I could handle a film happening exclusively in Marwen for 1h56m #MARNOW25

Nice R.I.P. box. #MARNOW25 #RIPBox

Owning sick periscope binoculars like that has always been a dream, I'm so jealous #MARNOW25

Wow, they are both binoculars and sound scopes. This is impressive tech. #MARNOW25

I don't like the new neighbor's boyfriend for some reason, he seems like he might be a bad guy #MARNOW25

It's useful for a film to show mail to establish a character's full name and home address early in a movie, this should be standard #MARNOW25

His name is Mark! #MarwenMark #MarkMarwen #MARNOW25

Welcome to MarkHogcampWen #MARNOW25

Mark is a much better artist than Griffin #MARNOW25

It is very handy to have a doll that's a perfect likeness of your younger self. #MARNOW25

I'll be honest, after spending 10 pretty cloying and boring minutes outside of Marwen, I'm really happy to be back in Marwen #MARNOW25

I appreciate when the film returns to Marwen. #MARNOW25

The walkable downtown core of Marwen is very livable #MARNOW25

Wow, he also has a perfect likeness of Janelle Monae, his army rehab person

Are we supposed to assume that every doll must have a real-life antecedent? #MARNOW25

How were they so careless as to let a sniper into the Marwen bell tower? #MARNOW25

I think Deja enabled the sniper somehow #MARNOW25

"Well, no use crying over spilled milk" #ClassicMarwenLines #MarwenLines #LegendaryMovieLines #MARNOW25

Is the milkmaid doll permanently gone after Dejah zapped her?

A real shame, that doll had real potential; this is playtime with real consequences #MARNOW25

Nice trip-hop playing in the Marwen bar. #MARNOW25

Many are saying it: "Welcome to Marwen" (2018) walked so "Barbie" (2023) could run #MARNOW25

Oh no, we're back in the depressing real world. Take us back to Marwen! #MARNOW25

I believe Mark Hogcamp has PTSD. #MARNOW25

I believe this gunfire is real #MARNOW25

I'm happy to report

@bufordsharkley

has just exclaimed "talking about us?!" in response to the distant voice in the film asking whether Mark Hogcamp is OK. #MARNOW25

This is incredibly immersive cinema

I will clarify that the sound mix is *very* loud, and somewhat alarming #MARNOW25

Legitimately impressive transition from Marwen CG world car to real world car there. #MARNOW25

A very famous and on-the-nose needle drop: we're really watching Zemeckis now #MARNOW25

And another one #MARNOW25

Oh dear no, the transition from CG Mark to real Mark face was very, very bad. Much worse than the car transition. #MARNOW25

Lionel trains logo! #MARNOW25

Is the train store woman not notable enough to become one of his dolls? What an insult #MARNOW25

Very fortunate that the doll / train shop has a doll that looks just like Mark's new neighbor! #MARNOW25

"High end figures are SO cool!" #classicmovielines #MARNOW25

The subtlety with which they treat Mark's PTSD is the utmost in cinematic craft. #MARNOW25

Wow, he's being attacked by Nazis in the world of Marwen, Belgium as well as in Kingston, NY #MARNOW25

I'm eating crow, the hobby shop lady is one of his dolls, her big hairdo threw me off #MARNOW25

The only slight indignation elicited by the forced toplessness of the hobby shop lady's doll shows this to be a pre #MeToo production #MARNOW25

"Did someone say glaministas?" #ClassicMovieLines #MarwenLines #LinesOfMarwen #MARNOW25

We live in a world in which Barbies are called "Glamonistas" #glamonistas #glamonista #MARNOW25

"Nicol" spelled without the 'e' at the end? Unheard of. #MARNOW25

Great lore being unveiled, we're learning so much about his old neighbor Colleen and how sad we are to have seen her leave #MARNOW25

"I'm ready to fulfill any of your Glaminista needs." #ClassicMovieLines #MarwenLines #MARNOW25

1) Mark Hogcamp is very noticeably fixated on Nicol's high heels to the exclusion of everything else

2) We're going to have to get closure on Glamonista/Glaminista spelling at some point #TeamGlamonista #MARNOW25

This performance of real-world Mark toes the line between "fragile and damaged" and "creepy and offputting"

When Carrell crosses his eyes slightly and mumbles about this stilettos, I think it's too much in the latter camp #MARNOW25

Drinks on bar: pint of beer with a LOT of head in it (recently poured?), Jack Daniels, red wine (Mouton?), gin or vodka. #MARNOW25

NOW WE'RE ROCKING. #MARNOW25

Even when he's crossing several lines of creepy behavior, everybody in Kingston, NY is incredibly kind and accepting of Mark Hogcamp (except for the neonazis who assault him) #MARNOW25

A pistol with a lighter on the end of it is so handy! #MARNOW25

I wonder if Mark is actually lighting his high-end military dolls on fire #MARNOW25

I'm curious whether the movie presents Mark's obsessive shoe fetish as a problem to be overcome, or just a neutral character feature we're supposed to accept #MARNOW25

"I like to wear heels sometimes" followed by "I LOVE DAMES". Seems like he is over-compensating a bit here. #MARNOW25

It's meatball day #MARNOW25

It's meatball day! #MARNOW25

Glad to see how the photos turned out, they look great #MARNOW25

Uh oh, we've got trouble, as "Cat Scratch Fever" attests to. #MARNOW25

Oh right, in addition to the Nazis there is one bad non-nazi person in the world #MARNOW25

Nicol's brother is a bigger shoe and underwear pervert than Mark, making him seem more normal

#classicscreenwriting #MARNOW25

Mark was apparently targeted by the Nazis over an innocuous line about "liking to collect women's essence" #MARNOW25

Between "Stand By Your Man" and "Cat Scratch Fever", we can see how classic tunes are becoming a signal of danger in this film. #TunesEqualDanger #MARNOW25

I think this film has had an awkward time adapting the sad details of a real-life story to this cartoonish town

Every line about trauma and mental dysfunction is immediately followed by a gag #MARNOW25

Nicol's boyfriend may be a nazi #MARNOW25

It's meatball day again! #MARNOW25

Lawyer Mr Johnson's undershirt is very visible through his dress shirt #MARNOW25

That's how you know he's a small-town lawyer. #MARNOW25

Prediction: the courtroom judge will be Dejah #MARNOW25

"I never go anywhere without my backup." #ClassicMovieLines #MarwenLines #MARNOW25

Count of Ulster! What is this, Ireland? #MARNOW25

The shot of the Steve Carrell doll on the chair is very charming and funny, less is more #MARNOW25

16 day delay in courtroom proceedings #MARNOW25

Even the charmed world of "Wicked Hotel Encounters" is not safe from nazis #MARNOW25

This sort of storytelling was just not possible before the invention of CG films. #MARNOW25

Kurt! We have a name for Nicol's ex-boyfriend. #MARNOW25

Careful viewers will notice several more red flags with Nicol's ex-boyfriend #MARNOW25

Wow, Mark has just lucked into the mother lode of shoes. A whole bag! #MARNOW25

I think the major issue I have with the movie is how unclear it is whether the people of Kingston view Mark as an equal, or are extremely patronizing to him

It seems to swing wildly between the two #MARNOW25

The people of Kingston really have quite a bit of free time to be patronizing and/or supportive of Mark. #MARNOW25

"Cool." #classicmovielines #MARNOW25

Thursday at 4 o'clock is destined to be a tea time to remember. I wonder if Kurt will make an appearance. #MARNOW25

Carrell's performance as irl Mark also wildly swings between "about as charming as he normally is, but clearly traumatized and hurt" and "the most offputting person you've ever seen" #MARNOW25

Song selection as Mark's imagination gets away from him: "It's Just My Imagination (Getting Away from Me)" #MARNOW25

I don't know that Deja needed to declare once again that she is the "Belgian witch of Marwen". We already know this, as it's been said several times. Perhaps this film was optimized for second-screen viewing? #MARNOW25

Mark is playing with fire: the crime of stolen valour #MARNOW25

I like to think that Mark just assumes a tea house needs to be shaped like a tea pot. #MARNOW25

Nicol must be incredibly charmed

Mark should charm her further by showing her simulated sex acts between the Mark doll and the Nicol glamonista #MARNOW25

The photos of the dolls are quite good. #MARNOW25

Ughghhhghhggggggg #MARNOW25

Oh no, what a disaster. This is a disaster. #MARNOW25

"Mark, get up. Get up now." #ClassicMovieLines #MarwenLines #MARNOW25

This is fine, Mark should simply propose to one of the other six women in town who are clearly in love with him #MARNOW25

Steve Carell being completely frozen holding a purple heart for several minutes in this scene is extremely good. #MARNOW25

I frankly don't know if it's good or bad, but it's hard to overstate how tonally *weird* this movie is #MARNOW25

Well this was a tea time to remember, but where is Kurt? #MARNOW25

I think Kurt and Dejah were conspiring behind the scenes to trick Nicol into falling out of love with Mark #MARNOW25

Zemeckis sure loves time-traveling vehicles. #MARNOW25

Oh wow, I didn't even clock that as self-homage at first #MARNOW25

Nicol gifted Mark nazi-Kurt #MARNOW25

"Figures of Fury" is a totally normal doll series for people who appreciate finely crafted dolls of SS military men. #MARNOW25

Woah, full sized Hoagie! #MARNOW25

We've seen full-sized Hoagie before. He saved Mark from the gunfire in the courtroom. #MARNOW25

Aaaaaaand credits! Love a good ending. #MARNOW25

I think he *became* Hoagie then, here he's talking to Hoagie in the room #MARNOW25

It seems like a healthy outlet that he's able to work through his emotions by having Nicol shot #MARNOW25

Dejah made a persuasive argument for taking a large handful of pills #MARNOW25

Does dumping pills in the sink work? I guess they can dissolve in water, so that might check out. #DumpingPills #MARNOW25

The film is leaning heavily on "shoe fetish" acceptance/liberation, but honestly it's fairly low on the list for what's offputting about Mark #MARNOW25

The time machine car flies! This checks out. #MARNOW25

Mark's core problem is how he depends on having the women in life be his personal savior, which makes his "Womens are the saviors of the world!" line honestly really troubling here #MARNOW25

I could not care less about the stakes of this battle. He's going to extreme heroics to avoid leaving Nicol's shoe behind? Why are we supposed to care about that? #MARNOW25

I was literally just going to tweet puzzlingly about the stakes here

Some mapping between this action sequence and *anything* that matters would help this land more

Looks pretty cool though #MARNOW25

OK, the flaming tracks of the time machine car are a bit much at this point. #MARNOW25

I'd like to compare this against Ready Player One to see what's more guilty of shameless nostalgia for BTTF #MARNOW25

Impressive subsurface scattering on Nicol's bandages. #SubsurfaceScattering #CGMastery #MARNOW25

I'm calling it: this is canon

#BackToTheFuturePart4 #MARNOW25

Ahhh, a garbage disposal for the pills! It makes sense now. #DumpingPills #MARNOW25

So the moral of the story is that if you're suffering from PTSD your medication may be the problem? OK. #MARNOW25

Only if the medicine is being peddled by nazi witches (more common than you think!) #MARNOW25

Mark has cut out all the toxic nazis from his life

#byebyenazis #MARNOW25

I think we need to hear from the defense. #MARNOW25

Mark has touched the hearts of the neonazis, now sniffling on the defendants' stand #MARNOW25

Wow, this small town has a very swanky art museum. #MARNOW25

Downtown Kingston, NY nightlife is world-class #MARNOW25

We haven't seen Kurt in a long time. What's the latest with Kurt? I was expecting a bigger payoff there. #MARNOW25

Kurt was the main nazi in the big BTTF-homage scene #MARNOW25

He is shown to be processing his rejection by Nicol by going forward with their marriage in the world of Marwen, and adding her name to the town's name? Seems like a healthy, heartwarming ending #MARNOW25

Mark's true love was right there in front of him the whole time! #MARNOW25

Roberta the hobby shop lady exists to be settled for #MARNOW25

If you can't have Nicole, there's always Roberta. What a film! #MARNOW25

Nicol* #MARNOW25

Marwen has become manhattanized #MARNOW25

My review: What a film. We should not do that one. #MARNOW25

It's an antic film with a lot of content, but honestly the basic tonal problems with the movie make spending 50 hours with seem like an unappealing idea #MARNOW25