My entry into Cinemaniac Reviews' blogathon.
1. What’s your favorite movie?
The Apartment
2. Least favorite movie?
Daddy Day Camp
3. Name one movie you loved upon initial viewing but eventually grew to hate (or vice-versa).
Napoleon Dynamite. Love would be a strong word for my initial reaction though.
4. Name your biggest “guilty pleasure” film.
I'd say the Star Wars prequels, but, for something different, I'll go with The Happening.
5. Favorite quote from a favorite actor/actress (must be a line from a movie)?
“I thought all writers drank to excess and beat their wives. You know, one time I think I secretly wanted to be a writer.” –Cary Grant in The Philadelphia Story
6. Favorite quote from a favorite actor/actress (must NOT be a line from a movie)?
“The only thing you owe the public is a good performance.” –Humphrey Bogart
7. Three favorite movie scenes? (spoilers)
“Shut up and deal.” – The Apartment
“Oh, God, have mercy on us!” – The Seventh Seal
“Oh, C.K. Dexter Haven!” – The Philadelphia Story
8. Four films that should NOT have won Best Picture?
Driving Miss Daisy
Dances with Wolves
Out of Africa
How Green Was My Valley
9. Top five of the year (currently)?
The Dark Knight Rises
Moonrise Kingdom
Prometheus
Haywire
The Avengers
10. Bottom three of the year (currently)?
Total Recall
Hope Springs
Ted
11. What film gets your vote for the worst or most pointless remake?
The Wicker Man.
12. Is there any film you think is actually desperate for a remake?
Penny Serenade or Under the Yum Yum Tree.
13. Name your three favorite film heroes.
Indiana Jones – Raiders of the Lost Ark /Temple of Doom/Last Crusade
George Bailey – It's a Wonderful Life
C.C. Baxter – The Apartment
14. Name your three favorite film villains.
Roy Batty – Blade Runner
Tony Wendice – Dial M for Murder
Eve Harrington – All About Eve
15. Best sequel?
Before Sunset.
16. Worst sequel?
Caddyshack II.
17. Best trilogy?
Without a doubt, the Three Colors trilogy. But the Bourne trilogy and Bergman's faith trilogy are not far off.
18. Worst trilogy?
Smokey and the Bandit. The first one is a fun movie, but the next two are awful.
19. What’s your favorite word to use in a movie review (if your film blog does not feature reviews, substitute “review” with “-related post”?)
"Film". If that's too cheeky for you, then probably some derivative of "best" or "perfect", depending on the film.
20. Anything else?
I just discovered two things: (1) James Cagney was awesome, and (2) Rio Bravo is one of the best films I've ever seen.
As I am very grateful for all who participated in this blogathon for doing so, and I love reading the responses I get to my questions--some of which straddle the line separating invention and innovation, others (especially questions one and two) which are rather commonplace--I've been leaving comments on each participant's post replying to each response. So without further ado:
ReplyDelete1. I rented this movie from On Demand earlier this year. I remember laughing occasionally, but I would have certainly laughed much, much harder, had one of my best friends and his younger brother not been distracting me. I remember my friend saying, "I can just picture your review: 'I chortled a good amount, but got too interested in some other stuff. B-.'" Eventually, I decided that I'd rather enjoy such a classic distraction-free, so I gave up an hour through and joined them in on my computer...to find that they were playing The Sims 3 and creating characters named "Alfred Itchcock" (as in itch...c--k). Sorry if I'm rambling...that's what I do when I get excited with this kind of thing, or have a good story to tell. It's also my one and only problem with Twitter at the moment.
2. I saw this when I was about ten years old, and surprisingly, I could sit through this and not its predecessor. I remember giggling a lot at it, but the bits I remember are what I would now consider to be incredibly corny and asinine. In addition, I don't really even consider direct-to-video releases to be movies, except for the very rare case of movies that are released internationally in theaters but direct-to-DVD in North America (i.e. Get the Gringo, which I'm actually close to dying to see).
3. Napoleon Dynamite came out when I was seven, and I was under the impression that it was PG-13 and therefore couldn't see it back then. About two or three years ago, I discovered that it's actually rated PG, and despite all the hype, I'm kind of avoiding it now.
4. I do enjoy the Star Wars prequels, not nearly as much as the original trilogy, but far more than most critics enjoy them. As someone who's avoided M. Night Shyamalan for several reasons, a film like The Happening, however, brings out A LOT of the word "guilty" in "guilty pleasure". 80% of the time (the other 20% is probably The Last Airbender), it's considered M. Night's worst film of his already blah career--he's directed seven films, two of which have received fairly positive feedback, two of which have received mixed feedback, leaving the other three with overwhelmingly negative feedback.
5. Clever!
(continued in next comment...)
Thanks for your comments!
Delete1. Oh, you should definitely give the film a try when you can watch it undisturbed.
2. I could watch Daddy Day Care again, but not this one. Incidentally, this sequel DID get a theatrical release (in the U.S. anyway).
3. I cringe when I see it on TV, so I wouldn't recommend it.
4. I saw The Happening twice in theaters. I still don't get the hate.
5. Haha. Me, or the screenwriter?
2. It did!? I could have sworn it was released straight to home video, but apparently you're right...
Delete5. The screenwriter, I guess, but your choice is pretty unique also.
5. Thanks then. :)
Delete(...continuing:)
ReplyDelete6. The world would be so much better if at least 50% of the Twilight cast took advice from Mr. Bogart.
7. You really do like these "golden oldies", don't you?
8. DMD - I really like it, and I'd be genuinely surprised if anybody agreed with me, but I personally think Dead Poets Society should have won Best Picture. DWW - Yeah, I agree...I don't hate that one--it's actually interesting in plot, I'd say--but it's so f$#@king BORING!! OOA - Haven't seen it yet(I have it recorded on my DVR, but anything that exceeds 2.5 hours strikes me as something I have to find time to watch), but I really enjoy Spielberg's The Color Purple. Saddening how atrociously that one bombed at the '85 Oscars. HGWMV - I've gotten this answer several times. I haven't seen it, and I bet no one that has put the answer down has seen it (though you're a bit more probable). Citizen Kane, as a film regarded as the greatest far more than any other film, should have won. HANDS DOWN.
9. If you take off The Avengers (which I didn't particularly care for) and scramble that order, your top four matches mine exactly, which I think is impressive. Glad someone loved Haywire just as much as I did.
10. I have an allergy to Family Guy, so I'm genetically avoiding Ted, and I've long since officially vowed to avoid Total Recall (the remake) with my life. However, I'm a bit of a Streep fan, so I'm curious about Hope Springs.
11. Ah, but 1973 or 2006?
12. Okay then.
13. I smile every time I see everyone trying to act as if Kingdom of the Crystal Skull never made its way to existence. It's a fair insult to the tetralogy, which really should have stayed a trilogy. But I personally find Temple of Doom the worst of the trilogy. Raiders was popcorn fun and a venturing escapade, and I just don't see why it should have been followed up with such a dark, downbeat sequel. Though after watching the bonus features disc a while back, I remember picking up on George Lucas saying that at the time he was stressed and going through a divorce. Still...
14. Eve is a VILLAIN in AAE? I never would have guessed.
15. I wasn't aware Before Sunset was a sequel. Now I feel stupid, because I had to do some research to find out it was a sequel to Before Sunrise. D'oh!
16. Yeah, I can't imagine that one being very good.
17. Bergman has a faith trilogy? I feel stupid again.
18. There's a Smokey and the Bandit III? Once again, I feel stupid.
19. Wow, that's so inventive. ;)
20. Thanks!
6. Ha! Indeed.
Delete7. Of course! You can't beat the classics. :)
8. Sorry, I think DMD is the worst film to win Best Picture. DWW is good, but not the best of 1990. OOA is cheesy and overblown, yet I didn't hate it entirely. I thought Witness should've won that year. I HAVE seen HGWMV, but I'd give The Maltese Falcon Best Picture and Orson Welles Best Director that year. Random: I have seen every Best Picture winner, and I'm working on seeing all the nominees. I've seen just over 70% of the nominees by the way.
9. YAY! Haywire!
10. Hope Springs: Proceed with caution.
11. I mean the 2006 one, which was a remake of the original 1973 film.
13. I like Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but Indy was not the awesome hero in that , like he was in the first three. Also, I love the darkness of Temple of Doom. By the way, TOD is actually a prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark, because TOD occurs two years before the events of ROTLA.
15. It's ok. It happens. :)
17. and 18. Haha. Perfectly alright.
19. Thanks!
20. You're welcome!
8. Oh yeah, Witness!! I agree with you there. Completely forgot it had been nominated for BP.
Delete9. YAY! Agreement!
10. Duly noted.
11. Oh, sorry...I must have skipped over the word "remake"; when I got the Liebster Award, one of the questions I passed on was what gets your vote for the most pointless FILM, so I must have gotten those questions confused.
8. :D
Delete11. No problem.
Love that TDKR is your fav of the year too! And great call on Eve Harrington she is such a fantastic character. Is the big appeal of The Happening the fact it has Zooey in it?:)
ReplyDeleteThanks! No, actually I don't think Zooey being in it makes me like the film more. I watched the film twice in theaters and a couple of times since, and I love it. I've always thought it was a well-made thriller, but I'm one of Shyamalan's only fans. :)
DeleteUGH, I like your list better than mine. You really thought out those hero and villain questions. I got lazy. Your villain list is perfection!
ReplyDeleteHaha. Thanks! Otto from A Fish Called Wanda was *this* close to making the villains list, but these three stood out the most.
DeleteOh, and I love that you think Cagney is awesome. He has recently become one of my favorite actors of all time. Just remarkable.
DeleteI know, right? I've seen 6 or 7 of his films, but I'm going to check out more, for sure.
DeleteI was gonna do it this weekend but ended up doing a tribute for Mr. Neil Armstrong instead. Ahah, you like The Happening huh? Well, guilty as charged, man :)
ReplyDeleteOh I love your two choices for movie heroes. I have yet to see The Apartment but I could see why you have Jack Lemmon on there.
Haha. What can I say? I love that movie. :D
DeleteThanks!
Hey, we all have our favorites right? I quite like M Night's films, though my favorite will always be Unbreakable.
DeleteI've said it before, and I'll say it again: Signs is a masterpiece.
DeleteReally loved your inspired picks for Heroes and Villains.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Bailey and Roy Batty particularly. Sometimes the decisions George Bailey makes in Wonderful Life make me think he's the villain though. Argh.
Thanks Max. And thanks for stopping by! :)
DeleteLOL Daddy Day Care :) I've pretty much written off Eddie Murphy since he started appearing in all those family/kids movies.
ReplyDeleteThough in recent years he was in Dream Girls and Tower Heist (without having seen either, both look like decent performances from him)
Napoleon Dynamite, I don't remember too much, except the dance sequence was amazing. Loved that scene.
Margaret is not in your top 5 of year? Top 10 maybe? Or is it going on 2011 list?
Haha. Yeah, Murphy has let me down with the roles he's been taking recently. He was good in Dreamgirls, but he didn't have much to do in Tower Heist. It's a forgettable role to be honest.
DeleteThe dance scene is fine, but I'll probably never watch the film again, as I find it extremely annoying now.
It's on my current top 10 of 2011 list now, Chris. Here you go:
1. Hugo (Martin Scorsese)
2. The Artist (Michel Hazanavicius)
3. Drive (Nicolas Winding Refn)
4. The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick)
5. Midnight in Paris (Woody Allen)
6. Beginners (Mike Mills)
7. Certified Copy (Abbas Kiarostami)
8. Margaret (Kenneth Lonergan)
9. Coriolanus (Ralph Fiennes)
10. Take Shelter (Jeff Nichols)
Loved this post. The praise for Haywire made me really happy, as did seeing Tony Wendice as one of your top villains.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea you loved The Apartment so much. What a perfect film that is.
Thanks. Haywire's my #4 right now, but I might keep it at a locked-in #10 spot if it falls by year's end.
DeleteYAY! Tony Wendice!
Haha. Really? I feel like I've mentioned it too many times on here. ;) If I had to watch one film for the rest of my life, it'd be The Apartment. It's the perfect dramedy and, indeed, a perfect film.