Saturday, March 23, 2013

Laptop Ate My Homework!

I'm pretty late for Miss Jean Brodie's Movie Quiz. I started,  but then my laptop went south with my quiz - although I'll admit, I didn't have many questions answered. Here goes:

1) The classic movie moment everyone loves except me is: Most of It's A Wonderful Life?
The way Stewart lets everyone walk all over him is revolting, especially because it is supposed to be all for the best. But I do like Sheldon Leonard as Nick the bartender: "Out you pixies go, t'rough the door or t'rough the window."

2) Favorite line of dialogue from a film noir 
Do you know the last line from The Maltese Falcon? Not "The stuff that dreams are made of", the one after that - the cop Bogart is talking to replies, "Huh?"

3) Second favorite Hal Ashby film
I've ony seen Being There and Harold and Maude, and it's a tossup.

4) Describe the moment when you first realized movies were directed as opposed to simply pieced together anonymously. *
They are?!?!?

5) Favorite film book
Canned Goods as Caviar, Gerald Weales,a close reading of 6 or 7 1030s comedies, like Bringing Up Baby, My Man Godfrey and Steamboat Round the Bend. These movies may have been intended as mass-produced canned goods, but Weales loves them better than caviar.

6) Diana Sands or Vonetta McGee?
Vonetta, for Jemima Brown, a difficult and controversial role.

7) Most egregious gap in your viewing of films made in the past 10 years
I've been lax about the more serious films, preferring action and comedies. But that's pretty much intentional. I guess I'd have to say The Hobbit, because it isn't on Netflix yet.

8) Favorite line of dialogue from a comedy
"He pulled a knife on me so I shot him."

9) Second favorite Lloyd Bacon film
42nd Street comes after Footlight Parade.

10) Richard Burton or Roger Livesey?
I don't think I've seen any Livesey, at least not to notice. But I've got no special love for Burton, although I liked him in The Night of the Iguana when I saw it in my jammies in the back of the station wagon at the drive-in at age 8. So, Burton.

11) Is there a movie you staunchly refuse to consider seeing? If so, why?
Tons of them. Torture porn, twinkly vampires, cute animal movies, all kinds of stuff. I wouldn't even watch Taxi Driver all the way through - too depressing.

12) Favorite filmmaker collaboration
Billy Wilder and I.A.L Diamond - Billy Wilder and anyone, really. I just like Diamond because his initials really stand for International Algebra League.

13) Most recently viewed movie on DVD/Blu-ray/theatrical?
The Bourne Legacy, an enjoyable modern action film, no more, no less.

14) Favorite line of dialogue from a horror movie
"The children of the night, what music they make!" My first choice was, "I never drink ... wine", but I'm afraid Lugosi never said that, like "Play it again, Sam."

15) Second favorite Oliver Stone film
Gee, I think I've only seen The Doors. Does "written by" count? Then, Year of the Dragon after Conan.

16) Eva Mendes or Raquel Welch?
Raquel was an icon, and she was in Myra Breckenridge and The Three Musketeers. But Eva Mendes is fine, and a better actor, in my opinion.

17) Favorite religious satire
Battlefield Earth. J/K, never seen it. It's obvious, but Dogma, my favorite Jay and Silent Bob movie.

18) Best Internet movie argument? (question contributed by Tom Block)
The one about 1941 - because I love that movie and it deserves more attention.

19) Most pointless Internet movie argument? (question contributed by Tom Block)
The one about Speed Racer, because, eh, it wasn't that great, not that bad.

20) Charles McGraw or Robert Ryan?
The strong, sometimes scary Robert Ryan.

21) Favorite line of dialogue from a western
"Never apologize. It's a sign of weakness." Or maybe "That'll be the day," because Buddy Holly picked it up.

22) Second favorite Roy Del Ruth film
You don't mean Del Lord, do you? I get them mixed up. [Goes to IMDB] The Maltese Falcon?!? Oh, the Ricardo Cortez version. Well, I liked that a lot actually. Not as much as Blonde Crazy, though. And I like Topper Returns even more. So Blonde Crazy.

23) Relatively unknown film or filmmaker you’d most eagerly proselytize for
Larry Blamire, of Lost Skeleton of Cadavera fame. Or maybe Dusan Makavejev, especially Sweet Movie and WR: Mysteries of the Organism.

24) Ewan McGregor or Gerard Butler?
I've seen surprisingly little McGregor and I like Butler a lot. I would have put him vs. Daniel Craig.

25) Is there such a thing as a perfect movie?
Yes, and they are more common than you'd think. Or I am just easily satisfied.

26) Favorite movie location you’ve most recently had the occasion to actually visit *
My folks have a summerhouse across the bay from cottage used for the exteriors of the Mel Gibson's place in Man Without a Face (exteriors). It's a favorite location, but not a favorite movie (never seen it), and I haven't been there in a while. So I guess I have to say, generically, San Francisco.

27) Second favorite Delmer Daves film
This time I'm not counting script credits. I choose the great Hollywood Canteen, second only to Dark Passage.

28) Name the one DVD commentary you wish you could hear that, for whatever reason, doesn't actually exist *
I rarely watch the commentary (so many DVDs, so little time), so I don't actually know what does and what doesn't exist. But I would love to hear Jacque Tati's commentary on Play Time, especially if he turned out to be really talky about a movie with almost no dialog.

29) Gloria Grahame or Marie Windsor?
Grahame is great, but Marie Windsor - there's just something about her.

30) Name a filmmaker who never really lived up to the potential suggested by their early acclaim or success
I was going to say Tom Twyker, but I realized that haven't seen Cloud Atlas. How about Tarsem Singh? The Fall was mind-blowing, but Immortals and Mirror Mirror only bagatelles.

I guess I'm just going here by my judgement, not worldly acclaim or success. Hope that's all right.

31) Is there a movie-based disagreement serious enough that it might cause you to reevaluate the basis of a romantic relationship or a friendship? *
We had a friend who didn't like screwball comedy - all that fast talking made her tired and nervous. We dropped the acquaintance, but much later, and for other reasons.

2 comments:

mr. schprock said...

25) Is there such a thing as a perfect movie?

A mutual friend of ours thought "Paper Moon" was a perfect movie and I think he may be right.

le0pard13 said...

Some great answers. And yeah, Vonetta in 'The Eiger Sanction' handled the role well. Better than anything in Trevania had in the source novel, that's for sure.