Film Quiz!

OK, drop everything! There’s a new film quiz at Dennis Cozallo’s place. It looks like Prof. Hemlock isn’t going to be giving the test. The proctor is Jemina Brown, if that really is her name.

Even though this came out yesterday or the day before, there are no answers yet. I hope this is because Ms. Brown is holding them back until the deadline.

1) Name a musician who never starred in a movie who you feel could have been a movie star or at least had a compelling cinematic presence

Tom Waits has actually starred in a movie, which I saw, and it was pretty hard to sit through. Dylan’s star turn, Masked and Anonymous, was pretty good, I thought. Let’s play it safe with Bruce Springsteen, with Little Steven to help out.

2) Akira or Ghost in the Shell *

Can we pick the live action ScarJo Ghost?

3) Charles Lee Ray or Freddy Krueger? *

Don’t watch slashers, haven’t seen.

4) Most excruciating moment/scene you've ever sat through in a film

I’m sure I’ve seen worse since, but the chest bursted scene in Alien is something else, isn’t it?

5) Henry Cavill or Armie Hammer?

Ms. S says that I can’t pick Jim Caviezel. Also, I systematically got Cavill and Hammer mixed up in my post on Man from U.N.C.L.E. So I’ll let Ms. S answer - Armie Hammer.

6) Name a movie you introduced to a young person, one which was out of their expressed line of interest or experience, which they came to either appreciate or flat-out love

This might be a cheat because he loved trains, but we introduced a friend’s 4-year-old to The General and he loved it. Probably pretty safe movie for that.

7) Second favorite Robert Rossellini film

Have never seen one.

8) What movie shaped your perceptions of New York City, Los Angeles and/or Chicago before you ever went there and experienced the cities for yourself.

I’m tempted to say, “All of them” shaped my perception of LA. I know streets names, neighborhoods, freeways, all before I’d ever been.

But instead I want to mention the Will Ferrell movie Stranger than Fiction. I almost immediately recognized it as set in Chicago although I’ve never been there. So it didn’t really shape my perception, but it sure conformed to it.

9) Name another movie that shaped, for better or worse, another city or location that you eventually visited or came to know well.

We watched a ton of samurai movies, then went to live in Japan. It wasn’t much like what we were expecting.

10) Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee? *

With all due respect to Lee’s body of work, it must be Bela.

11) Elizabeth Debicki or Alicia Vikander?

I recognize Debicki, but just barely. I really like Vikander.

12) The last movie you saw theatrically? The last on physical media? Via streaming?

In the theater, a RiffTrax roadshow - The Three Doctors, I think. Blu-ray, The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out a Window and Disappeared (coming soon to this blog). Streaming, the RiffTrax presentation of the Ross Hagen Wonder Women. Does RiffTrax count? We use streaming mostly for TV, and never go to the theater for straight movies.

13) Who are the actors, classic and contemporary you are always glad to see?

Classic - Charles Coburn, Nat Pendleton, Eve Aden, Louise Beavers. Contemporary - Patton Oswalt and Jeff Goldblum. We are pretty happy with movies these days.

14) Second favorite Federico Fellini film

La Dolce Vita and 8 1/2 are tied. Favorite (for now) is Intervista.

15) Tessa Thompson or Danai Gurira *

Tessa Thompson has delighted me every time I see her. Thor: Ragnarok, Sorry to Bother You and Annihilation was quite a run. I should have put her for the answer in #13.

16) The Black Bird or The Two Jakes?

I haven’t seen either, but I hear Two Jakes is actually all right.

17) Your favorite movie title

Cash Flagg’s Incredibly Mixed Up Creatures who Stopped Living and Became a Rip-Off of the Title of Dr. Strangelove.

18) Second favorite Luchino Visconti film

I’ve seen exactly one: Death in Venice.

19) Given the recent trend, what's the movie that seems like an all-too-obvious candidate for a splashy adaptation to Broadway?

I was going to say Into the Spider-Verse, then I remembered Turn Off the Dark. So I’ll say Dr. Strange. But it’s probably the latest Disney/Pixar release.

20) Name a director you feel is consistently misunderstood

William Beaudine was a sensitive director with great instincts, who was pigeonholed as a cheapie director because he could do so much with so little time and money.

21) Chris Evans or Chris Hemsworth? *

I wanted to ask why Pratt and Pine were left out, but Ms. S stopped me. Hemsworth.

22) What's the film that most unexpectedly grew in your estimation from trivial, or unworthy, or simply enjoyable, to a true favorite with some actual meat on its bones?

When we saw History of the World Pt I, we were very disappointed - It was definitely not Mel Brooks’ best effort. But every time we rewatch it, we love it a little bit more. It’s good to be the king.

23) I Am Curious (Yellow), yes or no?

Saw it in a New Hampshire Grange Hall with Pull My Daisy, Yank My Chain. Yes.

24) Second favorite Lucio Fulci film

Haven’t seen one. I am 1 for 3 Italian directors.

25) Are the movies as we now know them coming to an end? (http://collider.com/will-streaming-kill-movies/)

Always. And a good thing too.