Sunday, August 17, 2014

Did You Know That School of Rock Even had a Film Course?

Film Quiz time! This time it is hosted by Jack Black Prof. Dewey Finn of the School of Rock at Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule. To respect the honor code, I have to say that I used Ms. Spenser for a lot of these, not always credited.

1) Band without their own movie, from any era, you’d most like to see get the HARD DAY’S NIGHT or HEAD treatment
Is there a Journey movie? That would be something.

2) Oliver Reed or Alan Bates?
Which one was in Three Musketeers? Then Reed, although Alan Bates would have been a great Athos.

3) Best thing about the move from physical to streaming media in home video
Get it when you want it.

4) Worst thing about the move from physical to streaming media in home video
Everything else. Quality, buffering, selection, special features, you name it. Of course, I'm not counting pirated downloads, which have another set of problems (I've heard).

5) Favorite Robin Williams performance
I haven't seen a lot of them, so Popeye. It was kind of a trainwreck of a movie, but I can't fault the casting.

6) Second favorite Carol Reed movie
Our Man in Havana. First favorite, same as everyone.

7) Oddest moment/concept in rock music cinema
Plenty of choices, but I'll say Zachariah. A rock Western that starts with the James Gang - the band - and features Country Joe and the Fish as a gang of bank robbers called the Crackers. Also, amazing Elvin-Jones-was-a-gunslinger moment.

8) Favorite movie about growing up
Not a favorite genre, so not too many choices. But I loved Gregory's Girl, especially for the way that the Northern summer twilight just goes on and on, like a childhood summer.

9) Most welcomed nudity, full or partial, in a movie (question submitted by Peter Nellhaus, class of 2004)
The topless women in Zardoz make up a lot for Sean Connery's diaper. The penis is evil, boobies are good!

10) Least welcomed nudity, nude or partial, in a movie (question submitted by Peter Nellhaus, class of 2004)
Amir Talai's bottomless scene in Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo.

11) Last movie watched, in a theater, on DVD/Blu-ray, via streaming
Theater, nothing. I'll have to go to one of those some time. Last Blu-Ray was The Brothers Bloom, which is great, if you don't mind precious and whimsical. Streaming, Sherlock, the one from the second season where John and Mary get hitched.

12) Second favorite Bertrand Blier movie
Looks like I've never seen one.
Update: Reading another entry, I am reminded that I saw A Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe. I enjoyed it a quite a bit, although the feeling is a little spoiled by Tom Hanks' charmless remake. Still no second favorite.

13) Googie Withers or Sally Gray?
Googie Withers, mainly for the name. I'd swear I just saw her in something, but I can only find Night and The City.

14) Name a piece of advice derived from a movie or movie character that you’ve heeded in real life
"Never apologize. It's a sign of weakness." Not really.
It wasn't advice, but I noticed in Claire's Knee that people were always touching (not just knees), embracing even. I was raised in a stand-offish New England environment, and decided I wanted to change my ways. And I did - I'm a hugger now.

15) Favorite movie about learning
Do kung fu training montages count? How about Drunken Master? Or 36th Chamber of Shaolin? OK, Kung Fu Panda (sucking up to Prof. Finn).

16) Program a double bill of movies that were announced but for one reason or another, never made. These could be projects cancelled outright, or films that were made, but at one time had different directors, stars, etc., attached-- and your "version" of the film might be the one with that lost director, for example (question submitted by Brian Doan, class of 2007)
This is easy: Jodorowsky's Dune and Lord of Light, aka Argo. We saw both the documentary and the pseudo-documentary recently, and boy did I want to see those movies. Two of my favorite SF novels, with storyboards/art direction by Moebius and Jack "King" Kirby? Oh yes!

17) Oddest mismatch of director and material
I haven't seen Skidoo, but it's hard to imagine odder.

18) Favorite performance by your favorite character actor
Eugene Pallette's "Where's my breakfast" scene from The Lady Eve.

19) Favorite chase scene
The motorbike-through-the-Metro scene from Diva. Was it the first to use motorbikes up and down the stairs, now common?

20) Movie most people might not have seen that you feel like proselytizing about right now
I was just touting Expresso Bongo (1959) to a movie friend. Laurence Harvey as a small-time Soho agent/hustler who latches onto Cliff Richards. Not as much of a teen exploitation as I expected. More of a British (and less bitter) Sweet Smell of Success.
Sadly, neither Googie Withers nor Sally Gray are in it.

21) Favorite movie about high school
Since I mention Rian Johnson above, I'll say Brick. But Ms. Spenser says Rock 'n' Roll High School, and she is right.

22) Favorite Lauren Bacall performance
The phone scene from The Big Sleep - supposedly improvised. "You'd better talk to my father."

23) David Farrar or Roger Livesey?
I haven't seen much of David Farrar, although I liked his Sir Guy in The Golden Horde.

24) Performance most likely to get overlooked during the upcoming awards season
What's the funniest comedy from last year? That's the one. Funny roles never win.

25) Rock musician who, with the right project, could have been a movie star
What about Springsteen? I bet he can act - Little Stevie could. Ms. Spenser says Jon Bon Jovi - might not be much of an actor, but looks so dreamy.

26) Second favorite Ted Post movie
Not counting TV? I think I've only seen Magnum Force.

27) Favorite odd couple
Dennis Quaid and Lou Gossett Jr - Enemy Mine.

28) Flicker or Zeroville?
These are novels about movies, right? Haven't read them. Thanks for reminding me.

29) Favorite movie about college
Guess it has to be Animal House. I still think our frat was wackier, though. Hi, Hi, We're Phi Psi!

30) In a specific movie full of memorable turns, your favorite underappreciated performance
We choose Benedict Cumberbatch as the featureless white light in the first Hobbit movie.

31) Favorite movie about parenting
The last three Thin Man movies, after Nick Jr. was born.

32) Susannah York or Sarah Miles?
Now I'll ask you one: Julie Christie or Hayley Mills? I don't get this game, do I?

33) Movie which best evokes the sense of place in a region with which you are well familiar
Joe Dante's Innerspace does a surprisingly good job showing the the office parks of Silicon Valley and the rest of the Bay Area, considering it was mostly made in LA.

34) Name a favorite actor from classic movies and the contemporary performer who most evokes their presence/stature/talent
Don't you think Jean Dujardin (The Artist) has a nice Doug Fairbanks feel, even when he's not in a silent?

35) Your favorite hot streak of any director (question submitted by Patrick Robbins, class of 2008)
The career of Billy Wilder. 40-odd years, 25 or so films, 3 or 4 clunkers?

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