Twas the Quiz before Christmas

The last time Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule posted a film quiz was over Labor Day. I didn't notice it was up until about 4 days later - far too late to get my answers in. After that fiasco, I've been checking every day - And here it is. I got my answers in before Christmas!

1) Best Movie of 2010
Bringing Up Baby, same as every year.

2) Second-favorite Roman Polanski Movie Our favorite is Ninth Gate. Second favorite is probably Rosemary's Baby. We're not big fans.

3) Jason Statham or Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
The Rock is a surprisingly versatile actor (beyond the eyebrow trick), but Statham is so awesome that I watched In the Name of the King.

4) Favorite movie that could be classified as a genre hybrid 
Pistol Opera - a hybrid of yakuza and Noh theater.

5) How important is foreknowledge of a film’s production history? Should it factor into one’s reaction to a film?
Very unimportant. I don't care how much money a movie cost, who fought with who, or even what technology was used for the special effects. Only what's on the screen matters.
Of course, the rest of the stuff is fun to read about...

6) William Powell & Myrna Loy or Cary Grant & Irene Dunne
Nick and Nora. No question at all.

7) Best Actor of 2010
It's weird to say this but either Leonardo DiCaprio or Johnny Depp.

8) Most important lesson learned from the past decade of watching movies
Comedies and action movies - nothing pretentious or polite. Don't rent high-brow movies that look good but will only depress you. If you do rent them and don't watch them, return them right away.

9) Last movie seen (DVD/Blu-ray/theater)

• DVD: If You Could Only Cook, with Jean Arthur and Herbert Marshall. We especially loved Leo Carillo as a gangster and gravel-voiced Lionel Stander as his henchman. 
• Blu-ray: Fantastic Four from a copy I own. I insist this is an awesome movie.
• Theater: Despicable Me and Scott Pilgrim double bill at the Mission Tiki Drive-In last summer. Took some teenagers, who were not impressed, but didn't complain.

10) Most appropriate punishment for director Tom Six
I do not believe I have ever heard of Tom Six, or any of his movies. Please do not enlighten me.

11) Best under-the-radar movie almost no one else has had the chance to see
Dark and Stormy Night, by Larry Blamire of The Lost Skeleton of Cadvera "fame". It's a ton of fun, and 90-year old Betty Garret is in it! As far as I know, if you missed its premiere at the Egyptian last year, you missed it.
Stop the presses! It is now available on Netflix! Rent it today!

12) Sheree North or Angie Dickinson
Dickinson bared it all with Capt. Kirk and the captain of the Nostromo in Big Bad Mama. So, Sheree North (who was on Lost in Space).

13) Favorite nakedly autobiographical movie
8 1/2, and by extension, Stardust Memories.

14) Movie which best evokes a specific real-life place
The Lord of the Rings trilogy perfectly evokes Middle Earth - which is real to me...

15) Best Director
Del Lord, unless you mean for 2010. For 2010, still Del Lord.

16) Second-favorite Farrelly Brothers Movie
Never seen one. May it ever be so.

17) Favorite holiday movie
The Thin Man. Best Christmas ever!

18) Best Actress
Again, it's weird to say, but Angelina Jolie.

19) Joe Don Baker or Bo Svenson 
Bo Svenson wasn't in Mitchell, so him. He wasn't in Final Justice either.

20) Of those notable figures in the world of the movies who died in 2011, name the one you’ll miss the most
My crystal ball says "Clint Eastwood".

21) Think of a movie with a notable musical score and describe what it might feel like without that accompaniment.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - Actually, I think it would work pretty well. In some ways, the Maricone score could be replaced by whistling wind and creaking hinges and maintain the same feeling.

22) Best Screenplay
Duck Soup

23) Movie You Feel Most Evangelistic About Right Now
Some of our nephews have never seen any Marx Bros. so we've been hyping them. We've recently  recommended The Fall to several people as well.

24) Worst/funniest movie accent ever
With respect to Hrundi V.  Bakshi, we just saw the Mystery Science Theater version of Werewolf. Although it takes place in Albequerque, it has very few native English speakers (even Joe Estevez seems to be having trouble). The leading lady seems to be Russian or something and her attempts at an American accent are a stitch. "You mean... a waarwolf?"

25) Best Cinematography
I've got The Fall on the brain - it certainly is beautiful.

26) Olivia Wilde or Gemma Arterton
Umm, I saw Quantum of Solace, so... which one was in that?

27) Name the three best movies you saw for the first time in 2010 (Thanks, Larry!)

• The Broadway Melody of 1929 
• Something to Sing About
• Easy Living

And I thought I'd seen all the great musicals and screwball comedies!

28) Best romantic movie couple of 2010
I guess I'll have to say Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn, same as every year.

29) Favorite shock/surprise ending
When Jimmy Stewart kills himself at the end of It's a Wonderful Life - in my version anyway.

30) Best cinematic reason to have stayed home and read a book in 2010
Since we don't go out to see movies - yay Netflix! - how about Best Reason to Fall Asleep on the Couch while Watching a Movie? I did that a lot. How about National Treasure, 1 or 2? Not a 2010 movie, but that's when I watched it.

31) Movies in 2011 could make me much happier if they’d only _______________ 
Stop taking themselves so seriously.