May 22, 2020

Cradle of Life Online Watch Party This Saturday!

The results of the Twitter polls are in. Our Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life party will be this Saturday, May 23!

Here's how it works: Everyone will start watching the movie on their own device at the same time. (See below.)

The live chat will be via Twitter. Follow the hashtag #CradleofLifeParty and be sure to include this tag in your posts so we'll all be able to see what you type.

I will be online at least an hour before the party starts, so if you have questions/issues, you can message me (@stellalune), and of course, you're welcome to contact me before then.

Since the film is available in different formats with slightly different run times, here's how we'll sync our viewing:

  • Queue up the movie, skip any opening logos, and pause at the point where the black screen just begins to fade into a view of the ocean. At exactly noon EDT (5pm UK time), we'll all press Play.

  • Intermission will be at approximately 1:09. There's a scene where Lara and another character base jump off a tall building. PAUSE THE MOVIE when Lara lands on the boat.

  • We'll then resume at exactly 1:20 pm (6:20 UK time). This will give everyone a quick break. When we start again, we should all be in sync once more.

OBTAINING THE MOVIE:

If you don't already own the film, you can rent it on YouTube, Google Play, Amazon, iTunes, BBC iPlayer, etc. It's also available to stream on Netflix and Hulu in some regions, though not all. If you're having trouble finding it, let me know.

TIME ZONES:

Start time is noon Eastern Daylight Time (USA). If you're not sure what that is in your local time, try worldtimebuddy.com, etc.

TWITTER TIPS:

Twitter hashtags are not case sensitive, so #CradleofLifeParty, #cradleoflifeparty, and #CRaDLEoFLIFEPartY are all the same. Again, be sure to include this tag in each post so everyone following the tag will see it.

Feel free to express your opinions, but please be courteous. It's OK to disagree, but personal attacks, rudeness, etc., are not cool. If you don't want to see a particular person's posts, you can mute or block them. See Twitter help for details.

If you're using the Twitter website, rather than the app, you might want to try Tweetdeck. You can set up a column for the #CradleofLifeParty hashtag that will scroll automatically as people post. You'll see tweets in order and you won't have to refresh the page. If you need help with that, let me know in advance. I'm happy to assist but I may not have time right before the party.

I look forward to seeing you there!

May 19, 2020

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life Online Watch Party

As many of you know, I've never seen The Cradle of Life. Now that we're all isolating, I thought it would be fun to have an online watch party this weekend. Twitter is my main social media platform, so I've posted two polls there asking people's preferences. If you'd like to get involved, please check this thread.

As far as logistics go, everyone will need their own copy of the movie, either on DVD, streaming, etc. We'll synchronize our start time and probably schedule a few intermissions so people can take a quick break and make sure we're all more or less in sync. Then, we'll watch together and text chat as the action unfolds.

Date: Either Saturday, May 23, or Sunday, May 24. Vote here.

Time: Noon EDT (9 am Pacific, 5pm UK time, etc.) I know the timing is bad for people in Asia/Aus/NZ, and I'm sorry, but I chose 12pm Eastern to include as many people as possible.

Where: On Twitter using an agreed-upon hashtag (#CradleofLifeParty?), on a private Discord server set up for the occasion, or elsewhere...? Vote here.

I will post more details once the votes are in. I hope to see you there!