tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post367235357044411870..comments2024-03-24T13:26:57.317-07:00Comments on Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule: PROFESSOR KINGSFIELD'S HAIR-RAISING, BAR-RAISING HOLIDAY MOVIE QUIZDennis Cozzaliohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954848938471883431noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-85521318160776198582009-02-05T16:10:00.000-08:002009-02-05T16:10:00.000-08:00) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On...) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD or Blu-ray?<BR/>Frost/Nixon......Rewatched Borat, or Before the Devil Knows Your Dead<BR/>2) Holiday movies— Do you like them naughty or nice?<BR/>um.....nice?<BR/>3) Ida Lupino or Mercedes McCambridge?<BR/>no idea<BR/>4) Favorite actor/character from Twin Peaks<BR/>Miguel Ferrerr was on that show, i've never seen the show<BR/>5) It’s been said that, rather than remaking beloved, respected films, Hollywood should concentrate more on righting the wrongs of the past and tinker more with films that didn’t work so well the first time. Pretending for a moment that movies are made in an economic vacuum, name a good candidate for a remake based on this criterion.<BR/>A film noir called Detour comes to mind<BR/>6) Favorite Spike Lee joint.<BR/>25th hour<BR/>7) Lawrence Tierney or Scott Brady?<BR/>no clue who either of those guys<BR/>8) Are most movies too long?<BR/>no, but an intermission would help<BR/>9) Favorite performance by an actor portraying a real-life politician.<BR/>wierd question....john trovolta of clinton<BR/>10) Create the main event card for the ultimate giant movie monster smackdown.<BR/>skip<BR/>11) Jean Peters or Sheree North?<BR/>again, who are these guys? i know more about film than a lot of people, but damn, no clue who these two are<BR/>12) Why would you ever want or need to see a movie more than once?<BR/>i usually always enjoy the second viewing more than the most.<BR/>13) Favorite road movie.<BR/>American Graffiti or Rain Man<BR/>14) Favorite Budd Boetticher picture.<BR/>Who the hell is that? Are you just trying to rub it in that you know the name of some obscure director?<BR/>15) Who is the one person, living or dead, famous or unknown, who most informed or encouraged your appreciation of movies?<BR/>Martin Scorsesee...his BFI Scorsesee on film series<BR/>16) Favorite opening credit sequence. (Please include YouTube link if possible.)<BR/>Good question! Spiderman 2 comes to mind.....X-Men 1, many of the Bond ones are memorable, Graduate was clever, Catch Me If You Can, Tomorrow Never Dies or Casino Royale, for example.....I mean, none of the opening credit sequences in the 1950s and before were very good, they just <BR/>17) Kenneth Tobey or John Agar?<BR/>Again, two actors i don't know of. If I asked people on the street who these two are or Bud Bottinger are, i guarantee you they wouldn't know it either. <BR/>18) Jean-Luc Godard once suggested that the more popular the movie, the less likely it was that it was a good movie. Is he right or just cranky? Cite the best evidence one way or the other.<BR/>That's retarded. Every filmmaker wants to reach a wide audience, we shouldn't penalize them for doing so. You're probably one of those film snobs who doesn't like Spielberg because his films are plebian.<BR/>19) Favorite Jonathan Demme movie.<BR/>I'm beginning to think Melvin and Howard and his reimagining of Manchurian Candidate wasn't half-bad either. Certainly not Rachel Getting Married<BR/>20) Tatum O’Neal or Linda Blair?<BR/>Linda Blair<BR/>21) Favorite use of irony in a movie. (This could be an idea, moment, scene, or an entire film.)<BR/>That is a hard question. I suppose North by Northwest, 39 Steps<BR/>22) Favorite Claude Chabrol film.<BR/>Oh come on....who's that. Is he listed on some standard site like filmsite.org?<BR/>23) The best movie of the year to which very little attention seems to have been paid.<BR/>Be Kind Rewind, Quantum of Solace<BR/>24) Dennis Christopher or Robby Benson?<BR/>Yeah, if you've gathered, i don't like people who throw obscure names around as in casual conversation as if I'm supposed to be familiar with these names. Here are names that I'm familiar with: <BR/>Johnothan Demme, Hawks, Cuckor, Minelli, Foreman, Spielberg, Lean, Lester, Ridley Scott, Adrienne Lye, Gililam, Redford, Eastwood, Gibson, Scorsese, Friedkin, De Palma, Premminger, Lubitsch, Donen, Minelli, Polanski, Nicholls, Kubrick, Huston, Weir, Dabranot, Ang Lee, William Wyler, Billy Wilder, Altman, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Barry Levinson, Beatty, Arthur Penn, Stanley Kramer, etc. etc etc. You have to admit that you're dropping more obscure names rather non-chalantly. I find that kind of snobbish, maybe that's just me.<BR/>25) Favorite movie about journalism.<BR/>Network might be my favorite film about media. I guess you could say His Girl Friday. <BR/>26) What’s the DVD commentary you’d most like to hear? Who would be on the audio track?<BR/>Road to Perdition, for some reason<BR/>27) Favorite movie directed by Clint Eastwood.<BR/>Gran Torino, maybe. I'm awfully fond of a 70's film of his, Bronco Billy. <BR/>28) Paul Dooley or Kurtwood Smith?<BR/>Dooley<BR/>29) Your clairvoyant moment: Make a prediction about the Oscar season.<BR/>Sean Penn wins best actor, Frost/Nixon wins best editing. <BR/>30) Your hope for the movies in 2009.<BR/>not looking that far ahead<BR/>31) What’s your top 10 of 2008? (If you have a blog and have your list posted, please feel free to leave a link to the post.)<BR/>My personal list is: Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, Slumdog, Wall-E, Doubt, Burn After Reading, Be Kind Rewind, Quantum of Solace, In Bruges, Milk.<BR/>one of my contributors wrote one out:<BR/>http://sophomorecritic.blogspot.com/2008/12/best-films-of-2008.htmlsophomorecritichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14320637485303592977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-1204459081051326832009-02-05T01:22:00.000-08:002009-02-05T01:22:00.000-08:00Hi, kids! For what it's worth, my answers to this ...Hi, kids! For what it's worth, my answers to this beast can be found <A HREF="http://tinyurl.com/abraqw" REL="nofollow">here</A>.Dennis Cozzaliohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01954848938471883431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-48968633024522445992009-02-04T16:50:00.000-08:002009-02-04T16:50:00.000-08:001) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? O...1) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD or Blu-ray?<BR/>Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. My thoughts of the movie can be expressed in the first sound of the title: Ugh!<BR/><BR/>2) Holiday movies— Do you like them naughty or nice?<BR/>Naughty<BR/><BR/>3) Ida Lupino or Mercedes McCambridge?<BR/>Ida Lupino<BR/><BR/>4) Favorite actor/character from Twin Peaks<BR/>The Man from Another Planet, of course<BR/><BR/>5) It’s been said that, rather than remaking beloved, respected films, Hollywood should concentrate more on righting the wrongs of the past and tinker more with films that didn’t work so well the first time. Pretending for a moment that movies are made in an economic vacuum, name a good candidate for a remake based on this criterion.<BR/>"Live a Little, Love a Little" the Elvis movie.<BR/><BR/>6) Favorite Spike Lee joint.<BR/>Do the Right Thing<BR/><BR/>7) Lawrence Tierney or Scott Brady?<BR/>Lawrence Tierney<BR/><BR/>8) Are most movies too long?<BR/>When they're bad, yes. When they're based off comics books, especially.<BR/><BR/>9) Favorite performance by an actor portraying a real-life politician.<BR/>Paul Newman as Earl Long in "Blaze"<BR/><BR/>10) Create the main event card for the ultimate giant movie monster smackdown.<BR/>Mothra vs. The Jeffersons<BR/><BR/>11) Jean Peters or Sheree North?<BR/>Sheree North<BR/><BR/>12) Why would you ever want or need to see a movie more than once?<BR/>When the characters are those that I'd like hanging out with again and again.<BR/><BR/>13) Favorite road movie.<BR/>The Wizard of Oz<BR/><BR/>14) Favorite Budd Boetticher picture.<BR/>The Tall T<BR/><BR/>15) Who is the one person, living or dead, famous or unknown, who most informed or encouraged your appreciation of movies?<BR/>Me<BR/><BR/>16) Favorite opening credit sequence. (Please include YouTube link if possible.)<BR/>The Palm Beach Story<BR/><BR/>17) Kenneth Tobey or John Agar?<BR/>Kenneth Tobey<BR/><BR/>18) Jean-Luc Godard once suggested that the more popular the movie, the less likely it was that it was a good movie. Is he right or just cranky? Cite the best evidence one way or the other.<BR/>It explains why people are gaga over Gladiator, to which I'll never understand. Has no one seen "Ben Hur" (1959)<BR/><BR/>19) Favorite Jonathan Demme movie.<BR/>Stop Making Sense<BR/><BR/>20) Tatum O’Neal or Linda Blair?<BR/>Tatum O'Neal<BR/><BR/>21) Favorite use of irony in a movie. (This could be an idea, moment, scene, or an entire film.)<BR/>When people bitched about the ending of "No Country of Old Men"<BR/>saying it ended too abruptly and not taking into account the title.<BR/><BR/>22) Favorite Claude Chabrol film.<BR/>Les Biches. I saw it as a pimply faced teenager.<BR/><BR/>23) The best movie of the year to which very little attention seems to have been paid.<BR/>2009 is only a month old, so there's nothing but shit in the swimming pool.<BR/><BR/>24) Dennis Christopher or Robby Benson?<BR/>Robby Benson<BR/><BR/>25) Favorite movie about journalism.<BR/>Zodiac<BR/><BR/>26) What’s the DVD commentary you’d most like to hear? Who would be on the audio track?<BR/>Werner Herzog and the ghost of Klaus Kinski discussing Fitzcarraldo<BR/><BR/>27) Favorite movie directed by Clint Eastwood.<BR/>A Perfect World<BR/><BR/>28) Paul Dooley or Kurtwood Smith?<BR/>Kurtwood Smith<BR/><BR/>29) Your clairvoyant moment: Make a prediction about the Oscar season.<BR/>They'll get it wrong.<BR/><BR/>30) Your hope for the movies in 2009.<BR/>Less movies based on 80s artifacts<BR/><BR/>31) What’s your top 10 of 2008? (If you have a blog and have your list posted, please feel free to leave a link to the post.)<BR/><BR/>Out of the little bit of new stuff I saw:<BR/>1. In Bruges<BR/>2. Doomsday<BR/>3. Wall-E<BR/>4. Young@Heart<BR/>5. Happy-Go-Lucky<BR/><BR/>Thank the Gods for TCM!<BR/><BR/>BONUS QUESTION (to be answered after December 25):<BR/><BR/>32) What was your favorite movie-related Christmas gift that you received this year?<BR/>Criterion double-disc set of Yojimbo and SanjuroAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-59453467979812049982009-02-04T12:15:00.000-08:002009-02-04T12:15:00.000-08:00Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg doing Poltergeist...<I>Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg doing Poltergeist together ... the truth will out...</I><BR/><BR/>I'd like that, too, but seriously, I've seen nothing that suggested in the <I>slightest</I> that the relationship between Hooper and Spielberg on <I>Poltergeist</I> differs in the <I>slightest</I> from the relationship between Spielberg and George Lucas on <I>Raiders of the Lost Ark</I>, as discussed openly on the Indy DVD set. Director and powerful writer/producer.<BR/><BR/>I think people were just ready to hear that the dirty dirty man who made <I>The Texas Chain Saw Massacre</I> was really a hack.Neil Sarverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02832804229444976459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-61809715785036775002009-02-04T11:51:00.000-08:002009-02-04T11:51:00.000-08:001. Encounters At the End of the Earth, last weeken...1. Encounters At the End of the Earth, last weekend at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Union Cinema. Glad I had a chance to see this in 35mm. Wonderful images, intriguing personalities, and full of humour and Herzog's incomparable, unconventional narration. <BR/> <BR/>At home, the second half of The Dark Knight on blu-ray. Not the film to end all films, but likely the pinnacle of the superhero genre (at least until WATCHMEN.) <BR/> <BR/>2. Naughty please... Bad Santa. Watch. Repeat. I'm a sucker for A Christmas Story though... go figure. <BR/> <BR/>3. Ida <BR/> <BR/>4. When I think of Twin Peaks I think of Agent Cooper and Audrey. I'm going with Audrey. <BR/> <BR/>5. The Great Gatsby. This novel deserves a film that nails it. <BR/> <BR/>6. Inside Man. Great cast, and I'm nuts for Clive Owen in anything he does. <BR/> <BR/>7. Tierney. <BR/> <BR/>8. Wayyyy too long, especially when compared to the economy in script and storytelling evident in the 30s, 40s, and 50s. <BR/> <BR/>9. Thandie Newton as Condoleeza Rice. Brutal portrayal. <BR/> <BR/>10. Godzilla vs Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man. <BR/> <BR/>11. Jean Peters. <BR/> <BR/>12. To revel in a great movie. I haven't adopted this habit personally, but I had a college prof whose filmgoing strategy was to always see the final 10-15 minutes of a film before seeing it in its entirety for the first time. He wanted to avoid being swept along by the plot so he could concentrate on the elements in the film that intrigued him more. I liked his thinking. A great film gets richer with each viewing. <BR/> <BR/>13. Sullivan's Travels. <BR/> <BR/>14. Pass... I hereby publicly admit my ignorance regarding this filmmaker. <BR/> <BR/>15. My friend John, manager of Milwaukee's Oriental Theater through part of the 80s, widely and deeply knowledgeable in film, and always up for a good film b.s. session. <BR/> <BR/>16. My brain immediately seized on Pscyho, so I'll stick with that. <BR/> <BR/>17. John Agar. <BR/> <BR/>18. Strongly disagree. Consider Silence of the Lambs-- hugely popular, widely influentual (unfortunately, in 99% of the cases), but possessed of the greatest level of craft, economy in storytelling, strong script, and exceptional casting. <BR/> <BR/>19. Silence of the Lambs, followed closely by Something Wild. <BR/> <BR/>20. Tatum O'Neal. <BR/> <BR/>21. Blue Velvet. <BR/> <BR/>22. Pass... I've only seen his Madame Bovary. <BR/> <BR/>23. Stuck. <BR/> <BR/>24. Dennis Christopher. <BR/> <BR/>25. Zodiac. <BR/> <BR/>26. Fargo. The Coen Brothers. <BR/> <BR/>27. Gran Torino. <BR/> <BR/>28. Paul Dooley. <BR/> <BR/>29. It will be a meaningless exercise in service of Hollywood marketing and unrelated to artistic achievement, at least in the actor, actress, director, and best pic categories. (Oh wait, that's not a prediction... it's a fact.) Sean Penn will go on too long in his Best Actor acceptance speech. <BR/> <BR/>30. WATCHMEN will be great and find success. <BR/> <BR/>31. <BR/>1 Wall-E<BR/>2 The Dark Knight<BR/>3 Vicky Cristina Barcelona<BR/>4 Gran Torino <BR/>5 Quantum of Solace <BR/>6 Encounters at the End of the World <BR/>7 Frozen River<BR/>8 Iron Man <BR/>9 Hellboy II: the Golden Army<BR/>10 Speed Racer<BR/> <BR/>Runner-ups (no particular order):<BR/><BR/>4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days<BR/>Forgetting Sarah Marshall <BR/>Stuck <BR/>Brideshead Revisited<BR/>The Curious Case of Benjamin Button <BR/>W.<BR/>Pineapple Express<BR/> <BR/>32. Bought myself Wall-E on blu ray.Dave Fransonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18104436081609850987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-39089867463188623742009-02-04T08:22:00.000-08:002009-02-04T08:22:00.000-08:001) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? O...1) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD or Blu-ray?<BR/><BR/>Theatrically: My Bloody Valentine 3D<BR/><BR/>DVD: Horse Feathers<BR/><BR/>2) Holiday movies— Do you like them naughty or nice?<BR/><BR/>Naughty<BR/><BR/>3) Ida Lupino or Mercedes McCambridge?<BR/><BR/>Ida Lupino<BR/><BR/>4) Favorite actor/character from Twin Peaks<BR/><BR/>Russ Tamblyn<BR/><BR/>5) It’s been said that, rather than remaking beloved, respected films, Hollywood should concentrate more on righting the wrongs of the past and tinker more with films that didn’t work so well the first time. Pretending for a moment that movies are made in an economic vacuum, name a good candidate for a remake based on this criterion.<BR/><BR/>I'd like to see a film version of "The Lady in the Lake" that didn't use the POV gimmick<BR/><BR/>6) Favorite Spike Lee joint.<BR/><BR/>Do the Right Thing<BR/><BR/>7) Lawrence Tierney or Scott Brady?<BR/><BR/>Lawrence Tierney<BR/><BR/>8) Are most movies too long?<BR/><BR/>Yes<BR/><BR/>9) Favorite performance by an actor portraying a real-life politician.<BR/><BR/>Philip Baker Hall in Secret Honor<BR/><BR/>10) Create the main event card for the ultimate giant movie monster smackdown.<BR/><BR/>11) Jean Peters or Sheree North?<BR/><BR/>12) Why would you ever want or need to see a movie more than once?<BR/><BR/>Because I enjoy doing it.<BR/><BR/>13) Favorite road movie.<BR/><BR/>Two Lane Blacktop<BR/><BR/>14) Favorite Budd Boetticher picture.<BR/><BR/>Ride Lonesome<BR/><BR/>15) Who is the one person, living or dead, famous or unknown, who most informed or encouraged your appreciation of movies?<BR/><BR/>My father<BR/><BR/>16) Favorite opening credit sequence. (Please include YouTube link if possible.)<BR/><BR/>The Man With the Golden Arm<BR/><BR/>17) Kenneth Tobey or John Agar?<BR/><BR/>John Agar<BR/><BR/>18) Jean-Luc Godard once suggested that the more popular the movie, the less likely it was that it was a good movie. Is he right or just cranky? Cite the best evidence one way or the other.<BR/><BR/>He's right: See Forrest Gump<BR/><BR/>19) Favorite Jonathan Demme movie.<BR/><BR/>Handle With Care<BR/><BR/>20) Tatum O’Neal or Linda Blair?<BR/><BR/>Tatum O'Neal<BR/><BR/>21) Favorite use of irony in a movie. (This could be an idea, moment, scene, or an entire film.)<BR/><BR/>Robert Downey cas as "the man" in Boogie Nights<BR/><BR/>22) Favorite Claude Chabrol film.<BR/><BR/>Nada<BR/><BR/>23) The best movie of the year to which very little attention seems to have been paid.<BR/><BR/>Can't think of one<BR/><BR/>24) Dennis Christopher or Robby Benson?<BR/><BR/>Dennis Christopher<BR/><BR/>25) Favorite movie about journalism.<BR/><BR/>All the President's Men<BR/><BR/>26) What’s the DVD commentary you’d most like to hear? Who would be on the audio track?<BR/><BR/>Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg doing Poltergeist together ... the truth will out<BR/><BR/>27) Favorite movie directed by Clint Eastwood.<BR/><BR/>The Gauntlet<BR/><BR/>28) Paul Dooley or Kurtwood Smith?<BR/><BR/>Kurtwood Smith<BR/><BR/>29) Your clairvoyant moment: Make a prediction about the Oscar season.<BR/><BR/>The show will be too long.<BR/><BR/>30) Your hope for the movies in 2009.<BR/><BR/>I hope that our fascination with 3D will wain by the end of the year<BR/><BR/>31) What’s your top 10 of 2008? (If you have a blog and have your list posted, please feel free to leave a link to the post.)<BR/><BR/>bleah ... don't like lists like this<BR/><BR/>BONUS QUESTION (to be answered after December 25):<BR/><BR/>32) What was your favorite movie-related Christmas gift that you received this year?<BR/><BR/>A DVD of The Gold Rush so I can watch the silent version, not the one with the Chaplin narration.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-2854992061045366482009-02-04T07:44:00.000-08:002009-02-04T07:44:00.000-08:001) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? O...1) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD or Blu-ray?<BR/><BR/>Theatrically: Frost/Nixon<BR/>On DVD: RocknRolla<BR/><BR/>2) Holiday movies— Do you like them naughty or nice?<BR/><BR/>Naughty.<BR/><BR/>3) Ida Lupino or Mercedes McCambridge?<BR/><BR/>McPazuzu.<BR/><BR/>4) Favorite actor/character from Twin Peaks<BR/><BR/>Ray Wise.<BR/><BR/>5) It’s been said that, rather than remaking beloved, respected films, Hollywood should concentrate more on righting the wrongs of the past and tinker more with films that didn’t work so well the first time. Pretending for a moment that movies are made in an economic vacuum, name a good candidate for a remake based on this criterion.<BR/><BR/>Return of the Jedi.<BR/><BR/>6) Favorite Spike Lee joint.<BR/><BR/>Do the Right Thing.<BR/><BR/>7) Lawrence Tierney or Scott Brady?<BR/><BR/>Tierney.<BR/><BR/>8) Are most movies too long?<BR/><BR/>No. Just Benjamin Button.<BR/><BR/>9) Favorite performance by an actor portraying a real-life politician.<BR/><BR/>Forest Whitaker as Idi Amin.<BR/><BR/>10) Create the main event card for the ultimate giant movie monster smackdown.<BR/><BR/>Godzilla (Japan) vs. Godzilla (American abomination). Opening bout: Cloverfield monster vs. Modern Gamera.<BR/><BR/>11) Jean Peters or Sheree North?<BR/><BR/>North.<BR/><BR/>12) Why would you ever want or need to see a movie more than once?<BR/><BR/>Because I enjoy it. Either repeated viewings add to the experience, or it's like comfort food.<BR/><BR/>13) Favorite road movie.<BR/><BR/>Duel.<BR/><BR/>14) Favorite Budd Boetticher picture.<BR/><BR/>The Tall T.<BR/><BR/>15) Who is the one person, living or dead, famous or unknown, who most informed or encouraged your appreciation of movies?<BR/><BR/>My father.<BR/><BR/>16) Favorite opening credit sequence. (Please include YouTube link if possible.)<BR/><BR/>Seven.<BR/><BR/>17) Kenneth Tobey or John Agar?<BR/><BR/>Agar.<BR/><BR/>18) Jean-Luc Godard once suggested that the more popular the movie, the less likely it was that it was a good movie. Is he right or just cranky? Cite the best evidence one way or the other.<BR/><BR/>Godard's entire persona is built around crankiness. There are plenty of good, popular movies, and there are more than plenty obscure pieces of crap.<BR/><BR/>19) Favorite Jonathan Demme movie.<BR/><BR/>Stop Making Sense.<BR/><BR/>20) Tatum O’Neal or Linda Blair?<BR/><BR/>Blair.<BR/><BR/>21) Favorite use of irony in a movie. (This could be an idea, moment, scene, or an entire film.)<BR/><BR/>The way everything falls apart in The Killing.<BR/><BR/>22) Favorite Claude Chabrol film.<BR/><BR/>La Ceremonie.<BR/><BR/>23) The best movie of the year to which very little attention seems to have been paid.<BR/><BR/>Encounters at the End of the World.<BR/><BR/>24) Dennis Christopher or Robby Benson?<BR/><BR/>Christopher.<BR/><BR/>25) Favorite movie about journalism.<BR/><BR/>All the President's Men<BR/><BR/>26) What’s the DVD commentary you’d most like to hear? Who would be on the audio track?<BR/><BR/>D.W. Griffith and Spike Lee on Birth of a Nation.<BR/><BR/>27) Favorite movie directed by Clint Eastwood.<BR/><BR/>Unforgiven.<BR/><BR/>28) Paul Dooley or Kurtwood Smith?<BR/><BR/>Smith.<BR/><BR/>29) Your clairvoyant moment: Make a prediction about the Oscar season.<BR/><BR/>People will come out of the woodwork professing to hate Slumdog Millionaire the day after the awards.<BR/><BR/>30) Your hope for the movies in 2009.<BR/><BR/>That my wife and I will be able to see a bunch of them, what with the baby and all.<BR/><BR/>31) What’s your top 10 of 2008? (If you have a blog and have your list posted, please feel free to leave a link to the post.)<BR/><BR/>WALL-E<BR/>In Bruges<BR/>The Visitor<BR/>Milk<BR/>Slumdog Millionaire<BR/>Encounters at the End of the World<BR/>Man on Wire<BR/>The Dark Knight<BR/>Rachel Getting Married<BR/>Cloverfield<BR/><BR/><BR/>BONUS QUESTION (to be answered after December 25):<BR/><BR/>32) What was your favorite movie-related Christmas gift that you received this year?<BR/><BR/>An Xbox Live subscription, so I can watch streaming Netflix all year.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-57750373369661288162009-02-04T00:02:00.000-08:002009-02-04T00:02:00.000-08:00Here goes:1. Theatrically I saw "Gran Torino" toni...Here goes:<BR/><BR/>1. Theatrically I saw "Gran Torino" tonight. Earlier in the day, in an attempt to confirm how bad it really was, I watched "Star Wars: Episode III, Revenge of the Sith"<BR/><BR/>2. Either way. <BR/><BR/>3. Ida Lupino. Just for "Outrage"<BR/><BR/>4. I have to go with Agent Cooper. He's a movie/TV character that I would love to meet in real life. <BR/><BR/>5. A remake? This is hard, because I know I have that thought every now and then, but I can't think of specific answers. Maybe Martin Scorsese could do a remake of his own film, "Gangs of New York"<BR/><BR/>6. Spike Lee? It's a toss up. I like "Do The Right Thing" and "Crooklyn", but don't really know how to compare them. <BR/><BR/>7. Pass.<BR/><BR/>8. That depends. Most biopics are too short. I find some comedies tend to run too long. But it's never too long if it's a good movie, and never too short if it's bad. <BR/><BR/>9. Henry Fonda as Lincoln<BR/><BR/>10. Pass.<BR/><BR/>11. Peters. <BR/><BR/>12. Of course. The best movies demand to be seen again and again and again. <BR/><BR/>13. Road movie? Does "Five Easy Pieces" count? <BR/><BR/>14. Boetticher? Well, I've not seen any yet. But "Seven Men From Now" is next on my queue.<BR/><BR/>15. My friend Aaron Diaz. We would watch a movie a day in the summer of 03' and then talk for two or three hours after each one. <BR/><BR/>16. Credit sequence? "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly"<BR/><BR/>17. Pass.<BR/><BR/>18. I sense that sometimes Godard would say things as if he were trying on a new shirt. He just wanted to know what it would sound like coming out of his mouth. Sometimes his quotes are wonderful, and other times totally moronic. <BR/><BR/>19. "The Silence of the Lambs"<BR/><BR/>20. Blair. <BR/><BR/>21. Irony? Well, all of "Adaptation", and maybe the final scene in "Nashville"<BR/><BR/>22. "La Rupture"<BR/><BR/>23. "Chop Shop"<BR/><BR/>24. Pass. <BR/><BR/>25. "Zodiac"<BR/><BR/>26. Alfred Hitchcock on just about any movie he ever made. But then, I'd love to hear Haws, Ford, Masaki Kobayashi, Louis Malle, Vittorio De Sica, and many other dead directors. <BR/><BR/>27. "A Perfect World"<BR/><BR/>28. Pass<BR/><BR/>29. My prediction: Sally Hawkins won't win for best actress, because a number of voters forgot to watch their "Happy-Go-Lucky" screeners. <BR/><BR/>30. That Scorsese returns to form with 'Shutter Island"<BR/><BR/>31. I've seen fewer movies this year than in years past, and so don't feel that I'm up to putting together a top ten, but here's a few that I rather liked.<BR/><BR/>1. Happy-Go-Lucky<BR/>2. The Wrestler<BR/>3. Forgetting Sarah Marshall<BR/>4. Tropic Thunder<BR/>5. Paranoid Park<BR/>6. Wall-E<BR/>7. Chop Shop<BR/><BR/>32. (bonus). It is tradition in my family for people to simply ask what each other wants, and then to go and get it. There's no mystery. Anyway, I got my family to catch the Criterion 40% off blow out sale and got "The Passion of Joan of Arc", "The Fallen Idol" and "Mouchette"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-72453762428982989792009-02-03T20:53:00.000-08:002009-02-03T20:53:00.000-08:00Way late to the party on this one, but I'll gi...Way late to the party on this one, but I'll give it a go, sadly I have to omit some questions due to lack of knowledge:<BR/><BR/>1) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD or Blu-ray?<BR/><BR/>Theatrically: Revolutionary Road.<BR/>Blue Ray: The Fall<BR/><BR/>2) Holiday movies— Do you like them naughty or nice?<BR/><BR/>Nice.<BR/><BR/>3) Ida Lupino or Mercedes McCambridge?<BR/><BR/>Lupino. She was a hell of a brave director.<BR/><BR/>4) Favorite actor/character from Twin Peaks<BR/><BR/>I'm ashamed to say that I never watched the show...<BR/><BR/>5) It’s been said that, rather than remaking beloved, respected films, Hollywood should concentrate more on righting the wrongs of the past and tinker more with films that didn’t work so well the first time. Pretending for a moment that movies are made in an economic vacuum, name a good candidate for a remake based on this criterion.<BR/><BR/>The most recent examples I can think of would be Atonement or, on the complete opposite side of the spectrum, Step Brothers.<BR/><BR/>6) Favorite Spike Lee joint.<BR/><BR/>Crooklyn<BR/><BR/>7) Lawrence Tierney or Scott Brady?<BR/><BR/>Tierney, especially for the time he did a voice spot on The Simpson's.<BR/><BR/>8) Are most movies too long?<BR/><BR/>Not if they're good. But comedies are getting harder and harder to sit through.<BR/><BR/>9) Favorite performance by an actor portraying a real-life politician.<BR/><BR/>Philip Baker Hall as Nixon<BR/><BR/>10) Create the main event card for the ultimate giant movie monster smackdown.<BR/><BR/>Emo/Goth-throb Johnny Depp vs Shirtless-Frat Boy Matthew Mcconaughey.<BR/><BR/>12) Why would you ever want or need to see a movie more than once?<BR/><BR/>Truly great films only get better. You can never have stop learning something about a movie; or yourself in relation to the movie.<BR/><BR/>13) Favorite road movie.<BR/><BR/>Stranger Than Paradise. But I also love Road House...<BR/><BR/><BR/>15) Who is the one person, living or dead, famous or unknown, who most informed or encouraged your appreciation of movies?<BR/><BR/>Mike Markee. Film teacher from high school. That man LOVED him some dutch angles.<BR/><BR/>16) Favorite opening credit sequence. (Please include YouTube link if possible.)<BR/><BR/>David Gordon Green's Undertow.<BR/><BR/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_S1C5U-gp0&feature=related<BR/><BR/>I love how green is so unapologetic about throwing every effect at you within the first five minutes of the film. The score by Philip Glass is pretty great, too.<BR/><BR/>18) Jean-Luc Godard once suggested that the more popular the movie, the less likely it was that it was a good movie. Is he right or just cranky? Cite the best evidence one way or the other.<BR/><BR/>Cranky! Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Spider-Man 2, Iron Man, The Silence of the Lambs, etc.<BR/><BR/>19) Favorite Jonathan Demme movie.<BR/><BR/>Something Wild.<BR/><BR/>20) Tatum O’Neal or Linda Blair?<BR/><BR/>Tatum, because I just saw her in an amazing Lifetime original movie...<BR/><BR/>21) Favorite use of irony in a movie. (This could be an idea, moment, scene, or an entire film.)<BR/><BR/>Not in a movie, but this has been discussed already on Emerson's site...but I have to use it: Kate Winslet's performance on Extra's stating that there are too many Holocaust films, and they exist for the sake of raking in the easy Oscar. I hope she mentions this in her acceptance speech (if she wins).<BR/><BR/>23) The best movie of the year to which very little attention seems to have been paid.<BR/><BR/>Shotgun Stories.<BR/><BR/>24) Dennis Christopher or Robby Benson?<BR/><BR/>Christopher. "Do it for the cutters!"<BR/><BR/>25) Favorite movie about journalism.<BR/><BR/>Hands down, The Insider.<BR/><BR/>26) What’s the DVD commentary you’d most like to hear? Who would be on the audio track?<BR/><BR/>27) Favorite movie directed by Clint Eastwood.<BR/><BR/>High Plains Drifter<BR/><BR/>28) Paul Dooley or Kurtwood Smith?<BR/><BR/>Kurtwood Smith, of course! And here's why:<BR/><BR/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdZqKVcI9m8<BR/><BR/>29) Your clairvoyant moment: Make a prediction about the Oscar season.<BR/><BR/>To everyone's dismay The Reader will win Best Picture.<BR/><BR/>30) Your hope for the movies in 2009.<BR/><BR/>Keep 'em coming...<BR/><BR/><BR/>31) What’s your top 10 of 2008? (If you have a blog and have your list posted, please feel free to leave a link to the post.)<BR/><BR/>Link to my top 10:<BR/><BR/>http://kolson-kevinsblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/its-been-year.html<BR/><BR/>BONUS QUESTION (to be answered after December 25):<BR/><BR/>32) What was your favorite movie-related Christmas gift that you received this year?<BR/><BR/>Sadly no film related gifts this year. I will buy myself Ebert's book on Scorsese, though.Kevin J. Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-56303215012781194102009-02-02T20:28:00.000-08:002009-02-02T20:28:00.000-08:00At long last -- a belated Mele Kalikimaka and Happ...At long last -- a belated Mele Kalikimaka and Happy New Year, Dennis!<BR/><BR/><B>1) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD or Blu-ray?</B><BR/><BR/>Theater: "Doubt." DVD: "Unbreakable."<BR/><BR/><B>2) Holiday movies— Do you like them naughty or nice?</B><BR/><BR/>The best ones are both.<BR/><BR/><B>3) Ida Lupino or Mercedes McCambridge?</B><BR/><BR/>Gotta go with Ida -- for her pioneering directorial efforts as well as her acting.<BR/><BR/><B>4) Favorite actor/character from Twin Peaks</B><BR/><BR/>I never got tired of Agent Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan), but I loved any scene with Sarah and/or Leland Palmer (Grace Zabriskie, Ray Wise).<BR/><BR/><B>5) It’s been said that, rather than remaking beloved, respected films, Hollywood should concentrate more on righting the wrongs of the past and tinker more with films that didn’t work so well the first time. Pretending for a moment that movies are made in an economic vacuum, name a good candidate for a remake based on this criterion.</B><BR/><BR/>"Sweeney Todd." Or "The Black Dahlia."<BR/><BR/><B>6) Favorite Spike Lee joint.</B><BR/><BR/>"Do the Right Thing" -- by far.<BR/><BR/><B>7) Lawrence Tierney or Scott Brady?</B><BR/><BR/>I have to go with LT (if only for Norman Mailer's "Tough Guys Don't Dance" and QT's "Reservoir Dogs") because, of the top of my head, I don't recall Scott Brady. That's my loss, I'm sure.<BR/><BR/><B>8) Are most movies too long?</B><BR/><BR/>Yes, and 20 years ago they seemed too long because they were too short. Perfect example: Sergio Leone's "Once Upon a Time in America." Anybody who had to sit through the 139-minute US release will tell you it was way, WAY longer than the 229-minute version. <BR/><BR/><B>9) Favorite performance by an actor portraying a real-life politician.</B><BR/><BR/>Phillip Baker Hall as Richard M. Nixon in Altman's "Secret Honor."<BR/><BR/><B>10) Create the main event card for the ultimate giant movie monster smackdown.</B><BR/><BR/>"Godzilla" vs. "The Giant Behemoth": Bigger Than God.<BR/><BR/><B>11) Jean Peters or Sheree North?</B><BR/><BR/>Jean Peters.<BR/><BR/><B>12) Why would you ever want or need to see a movie more than once?</B><BR/><BR/>Because the really good ones not only draw you back, they get better.<BR/><BR/><B>13) Favorite road movie.</B><BR/><BR/>"Im Lauf der Zeit" ("In the Course of Time"/"Kings of the Road"), Wim Wenders, 1976/77.<BR/><BR/><B>14) Favorite Budd Boetticher picture.</B><BR/><BR/>"Seven Men From Now" is one easy answer. I still have to start watching the new box set.<BR/><BR/><B>15) Who is the one person, living or dead, famous or unknown, who most informed or encouraged your appreciation of movies?</B><BR/><BR/>Richard T. Jameson and Kathleen Murphy (both film profs at the U of WA).<BR/><BR/><B>16) Favorite opening credit sequence. (Please include YouTube link if possible.)</B><BR/><BR/>The first one that always comes to mind is "North By Northwest." Gets me jazzed every time:<BR/><BR/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIlqatMQSgI<BR/><BR/><B>17) Kenneth Tobey or John Agar?</B><BR/><BR/>Oh good god, Dennis. That's impossible.<BR/><BR/><B>18) Jean-Luc Godard once suggested that the more popular the movie, the less likely it was that it was a good movie. Is he right or just cranky? Cite the best evidence one way or the other.</B><BR/><BR/>No correlation either way. I wish we didn't know which movies were, or weren't, popular. <BR/><BR/><B>19) Favorite Jonathan Demme movie.</B><BR/><BR/>"Melvin and Howard"<BR/><BR/><B>20) Tatum O’Neal or Linda Blair?</B><BR/><BR/>Tatum O'Neal wasn't in "Roller Boogie," was she. (That's a statement, not a question.)<BR/><BR/><B>21) Favorite use of irony in a movie. (This could be an idea, moment, scene, or an entire film.)</B><BR/><BR/>"Chinatown." (“I was trying to keep someone from being hurt. I ended up making sure that she was hurt.”)<BR/><BR/><B>22) Favorite Claude Chabrol film.</B><BR/><BR/>"Le Boucher."<BR/><BR/><B>23) The best movie of the year to which very little attention seems to have been paid.</B><BR/><BR/>"Shotgun Stories"<BR/><BR/><B>24) Dennis Christopher or Robby Benson?</B><BR/><BR/>Dennis Christopher. <BR/><BR/><B>25) Favorite movie about journalism.</B><BR/><BR/>tie: "Citizen Kane" and "His Girl Friday." (Worst: "Absence of Malice" -- except for the GREAT image of Melinda Dillon gathering up the delivered papers in her neighborhood.)<BR/><BR/><B>26) What’s the DVD commentary you’d most like to hear? Who would be on the audio track?</B><BR/><BR/>I want to hear the Coens crack themselves up watching "Barton Fink" or "Big Lebowski."<BR/><BR/><B>27) Favorite movie directed by Clint Eastwood.</B><BR/><BR/><B>28) Paul Dooley or Kurtwood Smith?</B><BR/><BR/>I cannot, will not, choose. They are among my favorite actors. They and Harris Yulin should be in everything. (Are we doing "Breaking Away" now, with the Dennis Christopher and the Paul Dooley? What is next, for god's sake? Barbara Barrie or Barbara Baxley??? It's torture, I say!)<BR/><BR/><B>29) Your clairvoyant moment: Make a prediction about the Oscar season.</B><BR/><BR/>James Franco will not win.<BR/><BR/><B>30) Your hope for the movies in 2009.</B><BR/><BR/>Mo' betta. Please.<BR/><BR/><B>31) What’s your top 10 of 2008? (If you have a blog and have your list posted, please feel free to leave a link to the post.)</B><BR/><BR/>http://blogs.suntimes.com/scanners/2009/01/jims_ten_best_favorite_movies.html<BR/><BR/>1. In Bruges (comedy, gangster; on DVD)<BR/>2. The Edge of Heaven (multi-narrative drama; on DVD)<BR/>3. A Christmas Tale (comedy, family)<BR/>4. Pineapple Express (comedy, stoner/bromantic, crime, action, Ninja; on DVD/Blu-ray Jan. 6, 2009)<BR/>5. Wendy and Lucy (heartbreaker)<BR/>6. Let the Right One In (comedy, tweener love story, horror)<BR/>7. Still Life (comedy, romantic/industrial; on DVD)<BR/>8. Chop Shop (docudrama; on DVD)<BR/>9. Shotgun Stories (Southern Gothic; on DVD)<BR/>10. The Fall (comedy, Western/Eastern fantasy adventure; on DVD/Blu-ray)<BR/>11. Che (instructional documentary, with re-enactments)<BR/><BR/>BONUS QUESTION (to be answered after December 25):<BR/><BR/><B>32) What was your favorite movie-related Christmas gift that you received this year?</B><BR/><BR/>My favorite is one I gave, not one I received: The Tippi Hedren/"Birds" Barbie doll.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-42829563148425712242009-01-10T17:37:00.000-08:002009-01-10T17:37:00.000-08:001) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? O...1) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD or Blu-ray?<BR/><BR/>Theatrically "The Reader", on DVD John Huston's "Victory".<BR/><BR/>2) Holiday movies— Do you like them naughty or nice?<BR/><BR/>It's taken me a long while to warm up to the nastiness of "Bad Santa", so I'll say nice.<BR/><BR/>3) Ida Lupino or Mercedes McCambridge?<BR/><BR/>Lupino<BR/><BR/>4) Favorite actor/character from Twin Peaks<BR/><BR/>I have a major crush on Sherilynn Finn.<BR/><BR/>5) It’s been said that, rather than remaking beloved, respected films, Hollywood should concentrate more on righting the wrongs of the past and tinker more with films that didn’t work so well the first time. Pretending for a moment that movies are made in an economic vacuum, name a good candidate for a remake based on this criterion.<BR/><BR/>6) Favorite Spike Lee joint.<BR/><BR/>"25th Hour"<BR/><BR/>7) Lawrence Tierney or Scott Brady?<BR/><BR/>Tierney, if only for the bad ass story I read somewhere on a blog last year about one of Tierney's in-person cluster-f**ks at a revival of one of his 40's films, complete with him taking a piss in the back of the theater and calling everyone "bastard".<BR/><BR/>8) Are most movies too long?<BR/><BR/>Only the bad ones. I could watch a 5 hour cut of "Magnolia" anyday.<BR/><BR/>9) Favorite performance by an actor portraying a real-life politician.<BR/><BR/>Philip Baker Hall as Nixon.<BR/><BR/>10) Create the main event card for the ultimate giant movie monster smackdown.<BR/><BR/>Them vs. Godzilla<BR/><BR/>11) Jean Peters or Sheree North?<BR/><BR/>Sheree North<BR/><BR/>12) Why would you ever want or need to see a movie more than once?<BR/><BR/>Comedies are best viewed numerous times. I still get something new and funny out of "The Big Lebowski" after 50 plus viewings.<BR/><BR/>13) Favorite road movie.<BR/><BR/>I've always been partial to Wenders' "Alice In the Cities"<BR/><BR/>14) Favorite Budd Boetticher picture.<BR/><BR/>I'll buck the western trend and go with 1960's "The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond"<BR/><BR/>15) Who is the one person, living or dead, famous or unknown, who most informed or encouraged your appreciation of movies?<BR/><BR/>Andrew Sarris. I stumbled across The American Cinema at a library (remember those!?) when I was about 13 or 14, just getting into film and everything fell into place. I read that book twice in about a month, devouring every word and idea behind the auteur theory. Some of my friends say I stick too heavily to this principle still. <BR/><BR/>16) Favorite opening credit sequence. (Please include YouTube link if possible.)<BR/><BR/>There's nothing better than <A HREF="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_m85eoa-8s&feature=related" REL="nofollow">this</A><BR/><BR/>17) Kenneth Tobey or John Agar?<BR/><BR/>Agar, if only because he starred in a western about my hometown!<BR/><BR/>18) Jean-Luc Godard once suggested that the more popular the movie, the less likely it was that it was a good movie. Is he right or just cranky? Cite the best evidence one way or the other.<BR/><BR/>Godard was mostly cranky, but I'll give him a 10% margin of error on this one. I equate popular with lots of terms- cult classic, midnight movie... nothing wrong with any of those genres.<BR/><BR/>19) Favorite Jonathan Demme movie.<BR/><BR/>Latest and greatest, "Rachel Getting Married"<BR/><BR/>20) Tatum O’Neal or Linda Blair?<BR/><BR/>Blair. Streets of Fire, man!<BR/><BR/>21) Favorite use of irony in a movie. (This could be an idea, moment, scene, or an entire film.)<BR/><BR/>See above Godard clip.<BR/><BR/>22) Favorite Claude Chabrol film.<BR/><BR/>Wow hard to pick 1 from the 122 or so he directed. I suppose "La Rupture" ranks pretty high.<BR/><BR/>23) The best movie of the year to which very little attention seems to have been paid.<BR/><BR/>Tie- "Inside" and "Summer Palace"<BR/><BR/>24) Dennis Christopher or Robby Benson?<BR/><BR/>Hmm both were in a lot of TV shows I never watched. Benson? Cuz he was born in Dallas.....<BR/><BR/>25) Favorite movie about journalism.<BR/><BR/>"All the President's Men". Crackles off the screen everytime I watch it.<BR/><BR/>26) What’s the DVD commentary you’d most like to hear? Who would be on the audio track?<BR/><BR/>Scorsese for "Casino"<BR/><BR/>27) Favorite movie directed by Clint Eastwood.<BR/><BR/>"Pale Rider"<BR/><BR/>28) Paul Dooley or Kurtwood Smith?<BR/><BR/>Dooley.<BR/><BR/>29) Your clairvoyant moment: Make a prediction about the Oscar season.<BR/><BR/>That it'll run over its designated time slot.<BR/><BR/>30) Your hope for the movies in 2009.<BR/><BR/>That I can see just as many as I did in 2008.<BR/><BR/>31) What’s your top 10 of 2008? (If you have a blog and have your list posted, please feel free to leave a link to the post.)<BR/><BR/>Still working on it. I Hope to see "The Wrestler" and "Revolutionary Road" next week.<BR/><BR/>BONUS QUESTION (to be answered after December 25):<BR/><BR/>32) What was your favorite movie-related Christmas gift that you received this year?<BR/><BR/>The Office complete box set.Joe Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10160822944514723178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-2179094451247080972009-01-10T08:38:00.000-08:002009-01-10T08:38:00.000-08:00For whatever reason I haven't felt I have had the ...For whatever reason I haven't felt I have had the time to really do this well this semester but today I checked out Marilyn Ferdinand's list and liked it so much that I am prepared to now say <A HREF="http://ferdyonfilms.com/2009/01/professor-kingsfields-hairrais.php" REL="nofollow">see her list for my answers as well</A>. A bit of a cheat I know but there it is.Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05730146625671701859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-69576098357532128962009-01-09T18:25:00.000-08:002009-01-09T18:25:00.000-08:001) What was the last movie you saw Theatrically? ...<I>1) What was the last movie you saw Theatrically? On DVD or Blu-Ray?</I><BR/><BR/>In the theaters it was MILK, which startled me by its delicacy and dedication to character over some of the (wonderful) stylistic choices made in the film. On DVD (sorry, Blu-Ray is unfortunately on a distant horizon after kids, kids, and, uh, kids) it was Jean-Luc Godard's BREATHLESS. Oh, man...so good.<BR/><BR/><I>2) Holiday movies - do you like them naughty or nice?</I><BR/><BR/>I really only ever watch two "holiday" films each year - IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE and ELF, with occasional forays into MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS and THE BISHOP'S WIFE when I can, so I think "nice" is the safe answer. Plus, I woefully admit to not having seen BAD SANTA yet, so...<BR/><BR/><I>3) Ida Lupino or Mercedes McCambridge?</I><BR/><BR/>Ida Lupino for her work behind the camera as well as the awesome HIGH SIERRA with Humphrey Bogart.<BR/><BR/><I>4) Favorite actor/character from Twin Peaks</I><BR/><BR/>I know I'm not alone in professing the enormous crush I had on Sherilyn Fenn. The saddle shoes, the cherry stem...sigh. It's hard to pick out an individual in Twin Peaks because one major reason for its greatness lay in the spectacular ensemble. Least favorite, though...much easier: James Marshall/James Hurley. Sorry, but how Laura or Donna fell for you still boggles my mind.<BR/><BR/><I>5) It’s been said that, rather than remaking beloved, respected films, Hollywood should concentrate more on righting the wrongs of the past and tinker more with films that didn’t work so well the first time. Pretending for a moment that movies are made in an economic vacuum, name a good candidate for a remake based on this criterion.</I><BR/><BR/>DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS. Like THE THING (but not THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL), I think in the right hands you can do some really great things in terms of themes and situations without taking away anything from the fun of the 50's horror/sci-fi classics. Plus maybe this will allow people to stop re-making INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS.<BR/><BR/><I>6) Favorite Spike Lee joint.</I><BR/><BR/>4 LITTLE GIRLS. I think there was a long period of time Lee lost his way as a narrative filmmaker throughout a lot of the late 90's right through to INSIDE MAN. Nothing he's done in the last 15+ years have had the impact his documentaries have.<BR/><BR/><I>7) Lawrence Tierney or Scott Brady?</I><BR/><BR/>All those incredible Film Noir box sets by Warner Bros. have really opened my eyes to how great Lawrence Tierney is. BORN TO KILL, baby...BORN TO KILL.<BR/><BR/><I>8) Are most movies too long?</I><BR/><BR/>It's been said elsewhere here, but bad movies are too long. Good movies are too short.<BR/><BR/><I>9) Favorite performance by an actor portraying a real-life politician.</I><BR/><BR/>Jimmy Stewart in MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON. And don't crush my fantasy by telling me there never really was a Jefferson Smith!<BR/><BR/><I>10) Create the main event card for the ultimate giant movie monster smackdown.</I><BR/><BR/>Blogger's choice versus Frank Zappa's Cheepnis. Now THAT'S a monster I want to see brought to the big screen!<BR/><BR/><I>11) Jean Peters or Sheree North?</I><BR/><BR/>Jean Peters, although it's with a red face that I admit I chose her after having to look up both actresses. 2009 resolutions, and all that...<BR/><BR/><I>12) Why would you ever want or need to see a movie more than once?</I><BR/><BR/>Man, any number of reasons. Maybe you didn't "get it" the first time you saw it (NASHVILLE was like that for me - too young I guess), maybe it's the type of film that brings something new every time you view it (pretty much anything by Stanley Kubrick, but most recently THE SHINING) or, and maybe this is the best reason, because there's something there, either in the film itself or in the circumstances you came to see it, that pulls at your heart in such a way that you can't help but seek it out again and again. The first date I took my now wife to was THE FISHER KING way back when, and we come back to it time and again to experience those first few moments when we just knew.<BR/><BR/><I>13) Favorite road movie.</I><BR/><BR/>Does SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS qualify? Oh, who am I kidding? My juvenile heart screams for HAROLD AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE.<BR/><BR/>Sorry. Really, SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS.<BR/><BR/><I>14) Favorite Budd Boetticher picture.</I><BR/><BR/>Gee, why doncha get a little obscure, Dennis? I just looked through his IMDB, and I haven't seen a single thing he's done. What do you recommend?<BR/><BR/><I>15) Who is the one person, living or dead, famous or unknown, who most informed or encouraged your appreciation of movies?</I><BR/><BR/>My father. 'Nuff said.<BR/><BR/><I>16) Favorite opening credit sequence. (Please include YouTube link if possible.)</I><BR/><BR/>Your wish is my command: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEGbQx2ZQPc<BR/><BR/><I>17) Kenneth Tobey or John Agar?</I><BR/><BR/>Kenneth Tobey played Jim Bowie in Disney's DAVY CROCKETT, so he automatically gets the win.<BR/><BR/><I>18) Jean-Luc Godard once suggested that the more popular the movie, the less likely it was that it was a good movie. Is he right or just cranky? Cite the best evidence one way or the other.</I><BR/><BR/>Just because he's cranky doesn't mean he's not at least partially right. Look at TITANIC. I don't want to rain on James Cameron's parade, but both my and I almost walked out when we saw it in the theater. On the other hand, PULP FICTION was a HUGE success spawning dozens of cheap imitations, and I still believe it's a great movie.<BR/><BR/><I>19) Favorite Jonathan Demme movie.</I><BR/><BR/>My gut was telling me to go with SOMETHING WILD, but after a quick IMDB check I was stunned to learn he not only directed but wrote CAGED HEAT. Ladies and Gentlemen we have a winner!<BR/><BR/><I>20) Tatum O’Neal or Linda Blair?</I><BR/><BR/>I love THE EXORCIST, but gimmie PAPER MOON. Tatum O'Neal.<BR/><BR/><I>21) Favorite use of irony in a movie. (This could be an idea, moment, scene, or an entire film.)</I><BR/><BR/>Is it ironic that the guy in BREATHLESS who points out Michel to the cops is the guy who wrote and directed the movie, thereby directing the course of the story in the actual story? I hope so...I was never very good at pointing out irony.<BR/><BR/><I>22) Favorite Claude Chabrol film.</I><BR/><BR/>Haven't seen any yet, but that's another 2009 resolution. I only saw BREATHLESS for the first time this morning!<BR/><BR/><I>23) The best movie of the year to which very little attention seems to have been paid.</I><BR/><BR/>THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES. You could definitely feel John Sayles' writing in there. Just a great, powerful children's movie that talks to children instead of shouting at them in nothing but bold primary colors.<BR/><BR/><I>24) Dennis Christopher or Robby Benson?</I><BR/><BR/>Even if Dennis Christopher wasn't perfect in BREAKING AWAY, I can't forgive Robbie Benson for all the horrible television he heaped upon us.<BR/><BR/><I>25) Favorite movie about journalism.</I><BR/><BR/>Please tie HIS GIRL FRIDAY and THE PHILADELPHIA STORY in a pretty knot and have ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN escort them both to the prom, where they will be stunned at the revelation that the dude in JUST ONE OF THE GUYS is actually, get this: a girl.<BR/><BR/><I>26) What’s the DVD commentary you’d most like to hear? Who would be on the audio track?</I><BR/><BR/>I would love to hear David Lynch explain all of the ideas that ran through his head while making INLAND EMPIRE, but if he refused I'd beg for the full story on what happened during DUNE.<BR/><BR/><I>27) Favorite movie directed by Clint Eastwood.</I><BR/><BR/>Much as I love UNFORGIVEN, I'd like to move away from the herd and pick the film that also happens to have Kevin Costner's best performance: A PERFECT WORLD.<BR/><BR/><I>28) Paul Dooley or Kurtwood Smith?</I><BR/><BR/>How can anyone born around my time (1973) not pick Samantha's dad? Paul Dooley.<BR/><BR/><I>29) Your clairvoyant moment: Make a prediction about the Oscar season.</I><BR/><BR/>We'll all miss John Stewart.<BR/><BR/><I>30) Your hope for the movies in 2009.</I><BR/><BR/>Really, I just hope to see them. 2008 was a great year for film, and being a new Dad I unfortunately just didn't have the time to see everything I would have liked.<BR/><BR/><I>31) What’s your top 10 of 2008? (If you have a blog and have your list posted, please feel free to leave a link to the post.)</I><BR/><BR/>http://www.geekmonkeyonline.com/journal/2009/1/7/the-actual-year-in-movies.html<BR/><BR/><I>BONUS QUESTION (to be answered after December 25):<BR/><BR/>32) What was your favorite movie-related Christmas gift that you received this year?</I><BR/><BR/>Scorsese, by Roger Ebert. My favorite reviewer expounding on one of my favorite directors.<BR/><BR/>Awesome once again, Dennis! Looking forward to more in 2009!Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13600990166210022027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-73362907765356503442009-01-06T22:10:00.000-08:002009-01-06T22:10:00.000-08:00Hi Dennis. Once again, I've answered the quiz at ...Hi Dennis. Once again, I've answered the quiz at my own site, <A HREF="http://quietbubble.typepad.com/quiet_bubble/2009/01/jack-black-and-mos-def-in-be-kind-rewind-2008----four-times-a-year-dennis-cozzalio-heralds-us-with-his-idiosyncratic.html" REL="nofollow">right here</A>.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-50891129605070248782009-01-05T13:00:00.000-08:002009-01-05T13:00:00.000-08:001) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? O...1) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD or Blu-ray?<BR/><BR/>Happy Go Lucky & The Band's Visit on DVD<BR/><BR/>2) Holiday movies— Do you like them naughty or nice?<BR/><BR/>Nice. Can't go wrong with It's a Wonderful Life.<BR/><BR/>3) Ida Lupino or Mercedes McCambridge?<BR/><BR/>Ida Lupino.<BR/><BR/>4) Favorite actor/character from Twin Peaks<BR/><BR/>Donna<BR/>5) It’s been said that, rather than remaking beloved, respected films, Hollywood should concentrate more on righting the wrongs of the past and tinker more with films that didn’t work so well the first time. Pretending for a moment that movies are made in an economic vacuum, name a good candidate for a remake based on this criterion.<BR/><BR/>Fahrenheit 451 - book adaptation.<BR/><BR/>6) Favorite Spike Lee joint.<BR/><BR/>25th Hour<BR/><BR/>7) Lawrence Tierney or Scott Brady?<BR/><BR/>Lairemce Tierney<BR/><BR/>8) Are most movies too long?<BR/><BR/>I don't think so.<BR/><BR/>9) Favorite performance by an actor portraying a real-life politician.<BR/><BR/>Not really a politician, but Helen Mirren as The Queen was excellent.<BR/><BR/>10) Create the main event card for the ultimate giant movie monster smackdown.<BR/><BR/>Old Yeller vs. Lassie<BR/><BR/>11) Jean Peters or Sheree North?<BR/><BR/>Sheree North, although I don't know why.<BR/><BR/>12) Why would you ever want or need to see a movie more than once?<BR/><BR/>Some movies need more than one viewing to fully understand. Some movies are often great to visit after time. What's the point of seeing a movie if you're gonna forget about it and never see it again?<BR/><BR/>13) Favorite road movie.<BR/><BR/>Does Back to the Future count? "Roads. Where we're going we don't need Roads"<BR/><BR/>14) Favorite Budd Boetticher picture.<BR/><BR/>The Tall T<BR/><BR/>15) Who is the one person, living or dead, famous or unknown, who most informed or encouraged your appreciation of movies?<BR/><BR/>Maybe my family members or teachers, but honestly I wouldn't credit anyone except for filmmakers making good films and me wanting to see more.<BR/><BR/>16) Favorite opening credit sequence. (Please include YouTube link if possible.)<BR/><BR/>Catch me if you Can<BR/><BR/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mkM-XCE3v4<BR/><BR/>17) Kenneth Tobey or John Agar?<BR/><BR/>Probably John Agar<BR/><BR/>18) Jean-Luc Godard once suggested that the more popular the movie, the less likely it was that it was a good movie. Is he right or just cranky? Cite the best evidence one way or the other.<BR/><BR/>You could make an argument for either, but I would say popular movies are less likely to be good just because filmmakers and studios are trying to please more people. However, there are of course exceptions.<BR/><BR/>19) Favorite Jonathan Demme movie.<BR/><BR/>The recent Rachel Getting Married<BR/><BR/>20) Tatum O’Neal or Linda Blair?<BR/><BR/>Tatum O'Neal. I've always been a fan of Bad News Bears.<BR/><BR/>21) Favorite use of irony in a movie. (This could be an idea, moment, scene, or an entire film.)<BR/><BR/>Adaptation. The ending makes it.<BR/><BR/>22) Favorite Claude Chabrol film.<BR/><BR/>I honestly haven't seen any.<BR/><BR/>23) The best movie of the year to which very little attention seems to have been paid.<BR/><BR/>Synecdoche, New York.<BR/><BR/>24) Dennis Christopher or Robby Benson?<BR/><BR/>Dennis Christopher<BR/><BR/>25) Favorite movie about journalism.<BR/><BR/>Network<BR/><BR/>26) What’s the DVD commentary you’d most like to hear? Who would be on the audio track?<BR/><BR/>Philadelphia Story - Cukor, Grant, Stewart & Hepburn.<BR/><BR/>27) Favorite movie directed by Clint Eastwood.<BR/><BR/>Million Dollar Baby<BR/><BR/>28) Paul Dooley or Kurtwood Smith?<BR/><BR/>Kurtwood Smith.<BR/>29) Your clairvoyant moment: Make a prediction about the Oscar season.<BR/><BR/>Wall-E will be nominated for best picture.<BR/><BR/>30) Your hope for the movies in 2009.<BR/><BR/>Real independent films get distributors and not forgotten about.<BR/><BR/>31) What’s your top 10 of 2008? (If you have a blog and have your list posted, please feel free to leave a link to the post.)<BR/><BR/>Still a lot to see:<BR/><BR/>Rachel Getting Married<BR/>The Dark Knight<BR/>Wall-E<BR/>Synecdoche New York<BR/>Benjamin Button<BR/>Burn After Reading<BR/>Happy Go Lucky<BR/>Iron Man<BR/>A Christmas Tale<BR/>Speed Racer<BR/><BR/>BONUS QUESTION (to be answered after December 25):<BR/><BR/>32) What was your favorite movie-related Christmas gift that you received this year?<BR/><BR/>Jimmy Stewart Biography.Downtown Brittni Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15567965915034294165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-5237935061446682902009-01-04T12:03:00.000-08:002009-01-04T12:03:00.000-08:001) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? O...1) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD or Blu-ray?<BR/><BR/>Theatrically: <B>The Dark Knight</B><BR/>DVD (I don't own a Blu-ray player): <B>Kung Fu Panda</B><BR/><BR/>2) Holiday movies— Do you like them naughty or nice?<BR/><BR/>I like them animated by Rankin/Bass.<BR/><BR/>3) Ida Lupino or Mercedes McCambridge?<BR/><BR/>Mercedes McCambridge scares the hell out of me so she gets my vote.<BR/><BR/>4) Favorite actor/character from Twin Peaks<BR/><BR/>Russ Tamblyn's Dr. Lawrence Jacoby. I love Russ.<BR/><BR/>5) It’s been said that, rather than remaking beloved, respected films, Hollywood should concentrate more on righting the wrongs of the past and tinker more with films that didn’t work so well the first time. Pretending for a moment that movies are made in an economic vacuum, name a good candidate for a remake based on this criterion.<BR/><BR/>Neil LaBute directed a horrible version of one of my favorite books, <B>Possession</B> (2002). I'd love to see it remade by director Philip Haas who proved that he has a deep understanding of A.S. Byatt's subtle prose when he made the wonderful <B>Angels and Insects</B> (1995), which was also based on one of Byatt's novels.<BR/><BR/>6) Favorite Spike Lee joint.<BR/><BR/><B>Do the Right Thing</B> (1989)<BR/><BR/>7) Lawrence Tierney or Scott Brady?<BR/><BR/>Lawrence Tierney<BR/><BR/>8) Are most movies too long?<BR/><BR/>Most modern films are. I think film editing became a lost art around 1995.<BR/><BR/>9) Favorite performance by an actor portraying a real-life politician.<BR/><BR/>My mind's going blank but I thought Bruno Ganz did a pretty good job at portraying Hitler in <B>Downfall</B> (2004)<BR/><BR/>10) Create the main event card for the ultimate giant movie monster smackdown.<BR/><BR/>Godzilla vs. the Cloverfield monster<BR/><BR/>11) Jean Peters or Sheree North?<BR/><BR/>Sheree North<BR/><BR/>12) Why would you ever want or need to see a movie more than once?<BR/><BR/>I've never understood why anyone wouldn't want to watch a movie again if they enjoyed it. That would be like hearing a great song you enjoyed and refusing to listen to it again or seeing a painting you liked and refusing to look at it again. It's ridiculous thinking unless you view films as pure entertainment without any kind of real intellectual or artistic value.<BR/><BR/>13) Favorite road movie.<BR/><BR/>It's a tie between <B>Easy Rider</B> (1969) and <B>Stranger than Paradise</B> (1984)<BR/><BR/>14) Favorite Budd Boetticher picture.<BR/><BR/>I haven't seen many, but I can remember really enjoying <B>The Killer Is Loose</B> (1956).<BR/><BR/>15) Who is the one person, living or dead, famous or unknown, who most informed or encouraged your appreciation of movies?<BR/><BR/>My father, whose influence I've written about in great <A HREF="http://cinebeats.blogsome.com/2007/04/09/thank-you-bob-wilkins/" REL="nofollow">detail</A>.<BR/><BR/>16) Favorite opening credit sequence. (Please include YouTube link if possible.)<BR/><BR/>For the moment I'll give it to <A HREF="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5jjYLsh1V4" REL="nofollow"><B>Dr. No</B></A> (1962).<BR/><BR/>17) Kenneth Tobey or John Agar?<BR/><BR/>I had to search through their filmographies at imdb.com to remember their work, but my vote goes to Kenneth Tobey.<BR/><BR/>18) Jean-Luc Godard once suggested that the more popular the movie, the less likely it was that it was a good movie. Is he right or just cranky? Cite the best evidence one way or the other.<BR/><BR/>Godard is always cranky, but there's a lot of truth in what he suggested. Hype can cloud perspective. It can make some movies appear more important than they are (<B>The Dark Knight</B>), but it can also make great films appear to be less than they are (<B>Cloverfield</B>). I think popularity can be a double-edged sword.<BR/><BR/>19) Favorite Jonathan Demme movie.<BR/><BR/>I've got to go with <B>Silence of the Lambs</B> if only for Jody Foster's groundbreaking role as a female FBI Agent, but I also have a deep affection for <B>Melvin and Howard</B>.<BR/><BR/>20) Tatum O’Neal or Linda Blair?<BR/><BR/>Linda Blair. She's terrific and I wish she had been given better roles throughout her career.<BR/><BR/>21) Favorite use of irony in a movie. (This could be an idea, moment, scene, or an entire film.)<BR/><BR/>I've been watching lots of Woody Allen films lately, which are of course filled with irony and his film <B>Stardust Memories</B> gets my vote since it's the ultimate ironic statement about the director and his films. It's also a great tribute to Fellnini and an all around beautiful film.<BR/><BR/>22) Favorite Claude Chabrol film.<BR/><BR/>I haven't seen many, but I really like <B>The Butcher</B>.<BR/><BR/>23) The best movie of the year to which very little attention seems to have been paid.<BR/><BR/><B>Cloverfield</B>. The film got a lot of attention from critics, but it was mostly negative. This is obvious when you start looking at the "Best of 2008" lists compiled by critics. Thankfully it's finding an audience anyway and French critics seem to be championing it.<BR/><BR/>24) Dennis Christopher or Robby Benson?<BR/><BR/>Dennis Christopher. I got tired of Benson in the '70s when he appeared on cover after cover of Teen Beat and Tiger Beat magazine. Also, Benson's voice just bugs me.<BR/><BR/>25) Favorite movie about journalism.<BR/><BR/><B>Citizen Kane</B><BR/><BR/>26) What’s the DVD commentary you’d most like to hear? Who would be on the audio track?<BR/><BR/>I think it would be really entertaining to listen to John Huston and Bogart discuss there work together on many films, but if I have to pick just one, it would be <B>Treasure of the Sierra Madre</B> (1948).<BR/><BR/>27) Favorite movie directed by Clint Eastwood.<BR/><BR/>It's a four way tie between <B>White Hunter Black Heart</B> (1990), <B>High Plains Drifter</B> (1973), <B>Play Misty for Me</B> (1971) and <B>The Beguiled</B>. I think all these films are better than the Oscar winners he's made.<BR/><BR/>28) Paul Dooley or Kurtwood Smith?<BR/><BR/>Kurtwood Smith<BR/><BR/>29) Your clairvoyant moment: Make a prediction about the Oscar season.<BR/><BR/><B>Milk</B> will win a lot of awards. L.A. and Hollywood in general have to make amends for basically giving the "yes" vote to Prop 8. Us folks up here in Northern CA are still fumming about it.<BR/><BR/>30) Your hope for the movies in 2009.<BR/><BR/>That more boutique DVD companies pop up to release older films that only I and a handful of others watch and that the small crop of current ones still hanging in there manage to stay in business for another year.<BR/><BR/>31) What’s your top 10 of 2008? (If you have a blog and have your list posted, please feel free to leave a link to the post.)<BR/><BR/>I haven't seen a lot of new movies due to lack of interest and lack of funds so I'm really not qualified to compile one. I suspect films like <B>The Wrestler</B>, <B>Let the Right One In</B>might make my list once I have the opportunity to see them, but my Top 5 currently are:<BR/><BR/>1. <B>The Bank Job</B><BR/>2. <B>Cloverfield</B><BR/>3. <B>4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days</B><BR/>4. <B>The Dark Knight</B><BR/>5. <B>Tropic Thunder</B><BR/><BR/>BONUS QUESTION (to be answered after December 25):<BR/><BR/>32) What was your favorite movie-related Christmas gift that you received this year?<BR/><BR/>A Donald Cammell biography called <I>Life on the Wildside</I> by Rebecca and Sam Umland.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-31202939342857716992009-01-03T08:18:00.000-08:002009-01-03T08:18:00.000-08:001) Theater- Frost/Nixon; DVD- Six Hours to Live (1...1) Theater- Frost/Nixon; DVD- Six Hours to Live (1932)<BR/>2) Naughty (DH I & II)<BR/>3) IL- Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Mmmmmmmmm<BR/>5) Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey (How could DEATH LOSE a game of CLUE?????)<BR/>6) Do the Right Thing<BR/>7) LT- Seinfeld tiebreaker<BR/>9) Claude Rains in Caesar and Cleopatra<BR/>10) Varan the Unbelievable vs Caltiki the Immortal Monster<BR/>11) S-: How to be Very, Very Popular<BR/>12) When you see a film and your reaction runs along the lines of "I can't BELIEVE what I just SAW!". I would offer Run, Lola, Run as a personal example.<BR/>13) Vanishing Point<BR/>14) The Killer is Loose<BR/>15) William K. Everson. His evisceration of the Medved Brothers' "Worst Films of All Time" is classic.<BR/>16) North by Northwest http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIlqatMQSgI<BR/>19) Married to the Mob- Never a more innovative use of end credits! <BR/>20) LB (#1: Night Patrol; #2: Didn't marry John McEnroe)<BR/>21) Favorite use of irony in a movie. (This could be an idea, moment, scene, or an entire film.)<BR/>23) OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies <BR/>24) Robby Benson??? He's not just my recurring nightmare??<BR/>25)The Big Clock<BR/>26) DW Griffith on Birth of a Nation<BR/>27) Play Misty for Me<BR/>28) KS- Ro. Bo. Cop<BR/>29) The YouTube video of Jerry Lewis accepting the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award will be the most viewed clip of 2009.<BR/>30) Decent summer movies!!<BR/><BR/>BobAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-4616260571231362532009-01-01T23:19:00.000-08:002009-01-01T23:19:00.000-08:00l. Regular Lovers Phillipe Garrell2. The Alastai...l. Regular Lovers Phillipe Garrell<BR/>2. The Alastair Sim Christmas Carol is naughty and nice.<BR/>3. Ida Lupino. One of the supreme actresses in cinema history. Ms.McCambridge a fine character actress in a couple of films. No comparison.<BR/>4. Sheryl Lee, the deceased Laura.<BR/>5. WUSA a horrific version of Robert Stone's masterful novel of the '60s cries out to be remade better.<BR/>6. Do The Right Thing, with Clockers and Jungle Fever close behind.<BR/><BR/>7. pass<BR/><BR/>8. Most movies are sadly not too good, so ipso facto most movies are too long.<BR/><BR/>9. Tie between Henry Fonda as Abraham Lincoln, Gerard Depardieu as Danton, <BR/><BR/>10. Pass<BR/><BR/>11. Peters made more good films.<BR/><BR/>12. Some films are so great that they obviously have to be seen more than once to properly be appreciated, obviously, Man With a Movie Camera, Rules of the Game, Dr.Strangelove. Some films have to be seen multiple times for their superficial inadequacies to be overcome by the viewer--on the way to beginning to see their greatness--for me these include, Clockwork Orange, Animal House, Realm of the Senses, The Shining and<BR/>of course, The Big Lebowski.<BR/><BR/>13. Depends on your exact definition of the form: Either Red <BR/>River or Wenders' Kings of the Road or Weekend.<BR/><BR/>14. Seven Men From Now.<BR/><BR/>15. James Agee<BR/><BR/>16. Tough, so many. But I'll stick with Touch of Evil.<BR/><BR/>17. Pass<BR/><BR/>18. I believe this is a misquote. I believe he said with more irony, 'when a good film is commercially successful it's due to a misunderstanding.' A sublimely worded tho instructive half-truth.<BR/>It neglects the commercial success of comedy/musical works like Keaton's Chaplin's and Singin' in the Rain. It's a statement that combines profound truth, while often being incorrect. Sort of like honesty is the best policy.<BR/><BR/>19. Rachel's Getting Married, the best American film of 2008.<BR/><BR/>20. Tatum O'Neal, she could act.<BR/><BR/>21. Every single minute of Ophuls'<BR/>Letter to an Unknown Woman, but especially, the moment when Jourdan fails to recognize that Fontaine is the love of his life while he is trying to seduce her. Runner up, Joel McCrea getting it on the head just when he attempts to leave masquerading as being homeless in Sullivan's Travel. Plus Hitchcock's camera's misdirectional emphasis on money leading up to Marion's murder in Psycho.<BR/><BR/>22. Le Boucher for Jean Yanne's murderous tenderness and the then Mme. Chabrol's transcendent eyes.<BR/><BR/>23. Flight of the Red Balloon, but also Summer Palace (Lou Ye) Mad Detective (Johnny To) Winter Light <BR/>(Carlos Reygadas)<BR/><BR/>24. Dennis Christopher. He can act. <BR/><BR/>25. His Girl Friday if we assume that Citizen Kane is not about journalism.<BR/><BR/>26. Lang and Lorre commenting on M.<BR/><BR/>27. Bridges of Madison County.<BR/><BR/>28. Paul Dooley. More range.<BR/><BR/>29. Slumdog Millionaire will not win best picture. Something more studio will.<BR/><BR/>30. Better movies than 2008, as many good ones as 2007. Lots of luck.<BR/><BR/>31. My list is being printed on Movie City News I think.<BR/><BR/>32. Sitting near my son giggling at Bolt, and seeing him wearing 3D glasses.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-86951053660922951552009-01-01T20:21:00.000-08:002009-01-01T20:21:00.000-08:00From The Movie Mom1) What was the last movie you s...From <A HREF="http://www.moviemom.com" REL="nofollow">The Movie Mom</A><BR/><BR/>1) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD or Blu-ray?<BR/><BR/>"Yes Man" in a theater, "Milk" on a critic's screener DVD.<BR/><BR/>2) Holiday movies-- Do you like them naughty or nice?<BR/><BR/>Nice! There's just about always some naughty behavior along the way (think of Scrooge) but I like a happy ending.<BR/><BR/>3) Ida Lupino or Mercedes McCambridge?<BR/><BR/>Two great actresses, and one a pioneering woman director. I pick both.<BR/><BR/>4) Favorite actor/character from Twin Peaks<BR/><BR/>Special Agent Dale Cooper<BR/><BR/>5) It's been said that, rather than remaking beloved, respected films, Hollywood should concentrate more on righting the wrongs of the past and tinker more with films that didn't work so well the first time. Pretending for a moment that movies are made in an economic vacuum, name a good candidate for a remake based on this criterion.<BR/><BR/>I think that "Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood" and "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" could both be far better movies than the versions that were released. And I was awfully disappointed by the recent "Nancy Drew" movie and I know it could have been terrific. <BR/><BR/>6) Favorite Spike Lee joint.<BR/><BR/>"School Daze" -- I love Spike Lee, and this is an under-appreciated masterpiece.<BR/><BR/>7) Lawrence Tierney or Scott Brady?<BR/><BR/>Aw, I'm not going to favor one brother over another!<BR/><BR/>8) Are most movies too long?<BR/><BR/>No, time is too short.<BR/><BR/>9) Favorite performance by an actor portraying a real-life politician.<BR/><BR/>Henry Fonda in "Young Mr. Lincoln." Everyone in "1776." Everyone in "Dick." Paul Scofield in "A Man for All Seasons" (well, sort of a politician)<BR/><BR/>10) Create the main event card for the ultimate giant movie monster smackdown.<BR/><BR/>Marshmallow guy from "Ghostbusters" vs. Mothra<BR/><BR/>11) Jean Peters or Sheree North?<BR/><BR/>I think Sheree North had more talent but Jean Peters appeared in better movies.<BR/><BR/>12) Why would you ever want or need to see a movie more than once?<BR/><BR/>I love to see my favorite movies over and over. Once you know the plot, you can really open yourself up to the small details of the performances, production design, screenplay, direction, cinematography, and soundtrack. And when you watch the same movie many times over many years it serves as a measure of your own changes in perception and thinking. <BR/><BR/>13) Favorite road movie.<BR/><BR/>"The Wizard of Oz," "The African Queen," "Midnight Run"<BR/><BR/>14) Favorite Budd Boetticher picture.<BR/><BR/>I am sorry to say I have not seen enough to make an informed decision.<BR/><BR/>15) Who is the one person, living or dead, famous or unknown, who most informed or encouraged your appreciation of movies?<BR/><BR/>Many candidates here -- Truffaut and Hitchcock in the book-length interview, my film school professor Paddy Whannel, but most of all the movie-makers themselves. <BR/><BR/>16) Favorite opening credit sequence. (Please include YouTube link if possible.)<BR/><BR/>Lots of good choices, but I'll pick this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaLDyrun_Cc<BR/><BR/>17) Kenneth Tobey or John Agar?<BR/><BR/>I'll never forgive Johan Agar for not being a good husband to Shirley Temple. <BR/><BR/>18) Jean-Luc Godard once suggested that the more popular the movie, the less likely it was that it was a good movie. Is he right or just cranky? Cite the best evidence one way or the other.<BR/><BR/>I don't think even he thought that. Evidence to the contrary: movies like "Dark Knight," "Lord of the Rings," and "Gone With the Wind" are fine films. And there are many, many deservedly unpopular films. <BR/><BR/>19) Favorite Jonathan Demme movie.<BR/><BR/>"Rachel Getting Married"<BR/><BR/>20) Tatum O'Neal or Linda Blair?<BR/><BR/>Tatum O'Neal is a more talented actress. <BR/><BR/>21) Favorite use of irony in a movie. (This could be an idea, moment, scene, or an entire film.)<BR/><BR/>22) Favorite Claude Chabrol film.<BR/><BR/>Have not seen enough to make an educated choice.<BR/><BR/>23) The best movie of the year to which very little attention seems to have been paid.<BR/><BR/>I love "Be Kind Rewind"<BR/><BR/>24) Dennis Christopher or Robby Benson?<BR/><BR/>I like Dennis Christopher. His brief appearance in "Chariots of Fire" shows how much he can do with very little screen time. <BR/><BR/>25) Favorite movie about journalism.<BR/><BR/>"All the President's Men"<BR/><BR/>26) What's the DVD commentary you'd most like to hear? Who would be on the audio track?<BR/><BR/>"Duck Soup" and the Marx Brothers<BR/><BR/>27) Favorite movie directed by Clint Eastwood.<BR/><BR/>"Letters from Iwo Jima"<BR/><BR/>28) Paul Dooley or Kurtwood Smith?<BR/><BR/>Two great character actors! <BR/><BR/>29) Your clairvoyant moment: Make a prediction about the Oscar season.<BR/><BR/>The best 10 minutes of acting this year were when Viola Davis appeared in "Doubt." If she doesn't win Best Supporting Actress there is no justice. No ESP, just a hope.<BR/><BR/>30) Your hope for the movies in 2009.<BR/><BR/>I so want "Watchmen" to be GREAT.<BR/><BR/>31) What's your top 10 of 2008? (If you have a blog and have your list posted, please feel free to leave a link to the post.)<BR/><BR/>http://blog.beliefnet.com/moviemom/2008/12/top-ten-lists-for-2008.html<BR/><BR/>BONUS QUESTION (to be answered after December 25):<BR/><BR/>32) What was your favorite movie-related Christmas gift that you received this year?<BR/><BR/>Watching "Period of Adjustment" with my husband and daughter.Nell Minowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02314988484518839998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-91321917863156456532009-01-01T16:18:00.000-08:002009-01-01T16:18:00.000-08:001) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? O...1) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD or Blu-ray?<BR/><BR/>Slumdog Millionaire<BR/><BR/>2) Holiday movies— Do you like them naughty or nice?<BR/><BR/>Naughty<BR/><BR/>3) Ida Lupino or Mercedes McCambridge?<BR/><BR/>Lupino<BR/><BR/>4) Favorite actor/character from Twin Peaks<BR/><BR/>Piper Laurie<BR/><BR/>5) It’s been said that, rather than remaking beloved, respected films, Hollywood should concentrate more on righting the wrongs of the past and tinker more with films that didn’t work so well the first time. Pretending for a moment that movies are made in an economic vacuum, name a good candidate for a remake based on this criterion.<BR/><BR/>Casino Royale (1967)<BR/><BR/>6) Favorite Spike Lee joint.<BR/><BR/>Tie between Do the Right Thing and 25th Hour<BR/><BR/>7) Lawrence Tierney or Scott Brady?<BR/><BR/>Tierney<BR/><BR/>8) Are most movies too long?<BR/><BR/>yes?<BR/><BR/>9) Favorite performance by an actor portraying a real-life politician.<BR/><BR/>Actually, Sean Penn as Milk<BR/><BR/>10) Create the main event card for the ultimate giant movie monster smackdown.<BR/><BR/>King Kong vs. Godzilla<BR/><BR/>11) Jean Peters or Sheree North?<BR/><BR/>Peters<BR/><BR/>12) Why would you ever want or need to see a movie more than once?<BR/><BR/>Because you loved it, to talk about it with friends later or watch it with someone you would like to see his reactions.<BR/><BR/>13) Favorite road movie.<BR/><BR/>Does Bonnie & Clyde count?<BR/><BR/>14) Favorite Budd Boetticher picture.<BR/><BR/>The Magnificent Matador<BR/><BR/>15) Who is the one person, living or dead, famous or unknown, who most informed or encouraged your appreciation of movies?<BR/><BR/>My aunt Isabella<BR/><BR/>16) Favorite opening credit sequence. (Please include YouTube link if possible.)<BR/><BR/>Diving Bell & the Butterfly. <BR/><BR/>17) Kenneth Tobey or John Agar?<BR/><BR/>Agar<BR/><BR/>18) Jean-Luc Godard once suggested that the more popular the movie, the less likely it was that it was a good movie. Is he right or just cranky? Cite the best evidence one way or the other.<BR/><BR/>I think he was cranky. I find The Godfather and other popular films to be very good.<BR/><BR/>19) Favorite Jonathan Demme movie.<BR/><BR/>Silence of the Lambs<BR/><BR/>20) Tatum O’Neal or Linda Blair?<BR/><BR/>Tatum<BR/><BR/>21) Favorite use of irony in a movie. (This could be an idea, moment, scene, or an entire film.)<BR/><BR/>Wynnona Rider defyning Irony in Reality Bites<BR/><BR/>22) Favorite Claude Chabrol film.<BR/><BR/>I've watched very few, but I liked La Ceremonie very much.<BR/><BR/>23) The best movie of the year to which very little attention seems to have been paid.<BR/><BR/>Forgetting Sarah Marshall and In Bruges<BR/><BR/>24) Dennis Christopher or Robby Benson?<BR/><BR/>Dennis Christopher, consider it a weakness, but I had to pick a guy with a first name as last name.<BR/><BR/>25) Favorite movie about journalism.<BR/><BR/>Almost Famous<BR/><BR/>26) What’s the DVD commentary you’d most like to hear? Who would be on the audio track?<BR/><BR/>Federico Fellini on La Dolce Vita<BR/><BR/>27) Favorite movie directed by Clint Eastwood.<BR/><BR/>Unforgiven (the only post-Bird Eastwood-directed movie I actually like)<BR/><BR/>28) Paul Dooley or Kurtwood Smith?<BR/><BR/>I LOVE Kurtwood Smith<BR/><BR/>29) Your clairvoyant moment: Make a prediction about the Oscar season.<BR/><BR/>Brad Pitt is snubbed for Lead Actor<BR/><BR/>30) Your hope for the movies in 2009.<BR/><BR/>Better. I don't care if I only watch two movies, I want them to be good.<BR/><BR/>31) What’s your top 10 of 2008? (If you have a blog and have your list posted, please feel free to leave a link to the post.)<BR/><BR/>I'll post soon, but not yet.. I still want to watch a few more movies. So far, it's like this:<BR/>1. The Dark Knight<BR/>2. Gomorra<BR/>3. Let the Right One In<BR/>4. The Wrestler<BR/>5. Slumdog Millionaire<BR/>6. Forgetting Sarah Marshall<BR/>7. In Bruges<BR/>8. WALL-E<BR/>9. Iron Man<BR/>10. The Visitor<BR/><BR/>BONUS QUESTION (to be answered after December 25):<BR/><BR/>32) What was your favorite movie-related Christmas gift that you received this year?<BR/><BR/>The book High Fidelity by Nick Hornby. Loved the movie.Cohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00513460213305003463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-11656615528741359052009-01-01T13:40:00.000-08:002009-01-01T13:40:00.000-08:001) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? O...1) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD or Blu-ray?<BR/><BR/>Theater-"The Spirit" (so bad that's it's good)<BR/>DVD-"The Dark Knight"<BR/><BR/>2) Holiday movies— Do you like them naughty or nice?<BR/><BR/>Naughty (Four Christmases, yes; Marley & Me, nah)<BR/><BR/>3) Ida Lupino or Mercedes<BR/>McCambridge?<BR/><BR/>Road House! Ida!<BR/><BR/>4) Favorite actor/character from "Twin Peaks"<BR/><BR/>Peggy Lipton (liked her ever since "Mod Squad")<BR/><BR/>5) Name a good candidate for a remake based on this criterion.<BR/><BR/>"Reflections in a Golden Eye"<BR/><BR/>6) Favorite Spike Lee joint.<BR/><BR/>Best-"Malcolm X"<BR/>Fave-"Inside Man"<BR/><BR/>7) Lawrence Tierney or Scott Brady?<BR/><BR/>"Born to Kill"/"Reservoir Dogs" - Tierney<BR/><BR/>8) Are most movies too long?<BR/><BR/>No, as long as their good<BR/><BR/>9) Favorite performance by an actor portraying a real-life politician.<BR/><BR/>Kenneth Branagh as FDR in (gasp) TV movie "Warm Springs" (A year from now I'd probably say Sean Penn in Milk)<BR/><BR/>10) Create the main event card for the ultimate giant movie monster smackdown.<BR/><BR/>Godzilla vs. Geo. W. Bush (he's a great big monster, right?)<BR/><BR/>11) Jean Peters or Sheree North?<BR/><BR/>"It Happens Every Spring" and "Pick up on South Street" - Peters<BR/><BR/>12) Why would you ever want or need to see a movie more than once?<BR/><BR/>To enjoy its greatness or entertainment value; Most seen film in theaters: "Cabaret" at least 10 times<BR/>Including TV/VHS/DVD: "Some Like It Hot" countless, priceless<BR/><BR/>13) Favorite road movie.<BR/><BR/>Tie: "Sullivan's Travels" and "Road to Utopia" (Honest!) <BR/><BR/>14) Favorite Budd Boetticher picture.<BR/><BR/>Not a huge fan...but..."Seven Men from Now"<BR/><BR/>15) Who is the one person, living or dead, famous or unknown, who most informed or encouraged your appreciation of movies?<BR/><BR/>Introduction: My Aunt Florence... she took me to see Bob Hope, Danny Kaye, Jack Lemmon...still my favorites <BR/>As an art form: Vincent Canby<BR/>Actor(s) Kept Me Coming Back for More: Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn<BR/><BR/>16) Favorite opening credit sequence. (Please include YouTube link if possible.)<BR/><BR/>"North by Northwest" (Saul Bass design set to Bernard Hermann's score, it doesn't get better than that)<BR/>link:<BR/><BR/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIlqatMQSgI<BR/><BR/>17) Kenneth Tobey or John Agar?<BR/><BR/>I just know more about John Agar ("Tarantula"!)<BR/><BR/>18) Jean-Luc Godard...Is he right or just cranky? Cite the best evidence one way or the other.<BR/><BR/>Mostly cranky... such recent b.o. hits as "Titanic," "Lord of the Rings" and "The Dark Knight" dispute that; but he's right, a lot of hits aren't that good...<BR/><BR/>19) Favorite Jonathan Demme movie.<BR/><BR/>Not very original choice, but "The Silence of the Lambs"<BR/><BR/>20) Tatum O’Neal or Linda Blair?<BR/><BR/>No contest: "Paper Moon" vs. "The Exorcist" - Tatum every time<BR/><BR/>21) Favorite use of irony in a movie. (This could be an idea, moment, scene, or an entire film.)<BR/><BR/>"O'Henry's Full House": “Gift of the Magi” segment<BR/><BR/>22) Favorite Claude Chabrol film.<BR/><BR/>"Le Boucher"<BR/><BR/>23) The best movie of the year to which very little attention seems to have been paid.<BR/><BR/>Tie: My best film of 1988 -"Mississippi Burning", woefully underappreciated, and<BR/>My best of 1976 - "Seven Beauties"...why is this masterpiece nearly forgotten?<BR/><BR/>24) Dennis Christopher or Robby Benson?<BR/><BR/>"Breaking Away" vs. "Ode to Billy Joe": Dennis Christopher<BR/><BR/>25) Favorite movie about journalism.<BR/><BR/>"His Girl Friday" ("Take Hitler and stick him on the funny page")<BR/><BR/>26) What’s the DVD commentary you’d most like to hear? Who would be on the audio track?<BR/><BR/>Fantasy wish? George Cukor setting the record "straight" on why he was REALLY fired on "Gone with the Wind"<BR/><BR/>27) Favorite movie directed by Clint Eastwood.<BR/><BR/>Best and fave: "Unforgiven"<BR/><BR/>28) Paul Dooley or Kurtwood Smith?<BR/><BR/>That's not fair... "Breaking Away" vs. "Robocop"... leans towards Dooley...but Smith if you include TV's "That '70s Show"<BR/><BR/>29) Your clairvoyant moment: Make a prediction about the Oscar season.<BR/><BR/>Heath wins Best Supp Actor, standing ovation for Michelle and daughter<BR/><BR/>30) Your hope for the movies in 2009.<BR/><BR/>Marriage of good Hollywood entertainments and strong indie films<BR/><BR/>31) What’s your top 10 of 2008? (If you have a blog and have your list posted, please feel free to leave a link to the post.)<BR/><BR/>1) "The Dark Knight" 2) "Milk" 3) "Slumdog Millionaire" 4) "Frost/Nixon" 5) "Curious Case of Benjamin Button" 6) "The Wrestler" 7) "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" 8) "Frozen River" 9) "Let the Right One In" 10) "Pineapple Express" (this year's most underrated film, no other film made me laugh as much, and Franco was Lemmon-esque)<BR/><BR/>32) What was your favorite movie-related Christmas gift that you received this year?<BR/><BR/>A "Dark Knight"/Joker bust...cool<BR/><BR/>This was so much fun...thanks!Dave B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07247448153919353924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-78750917800608572302009-01-01T13:28:00.000-08:002009-01-01T13:28:00.000-08:00I belatedly checked and found out that the "Road t...I belatedly checked and found out that the "Road to Morocco" song was not in the opening credit sequence, which gives me an excuse for a do-over I badly want to do:<BR/> <BR/><B>16) Favorite opening credit sequence. (Please include YouTube link if possible.</B><BR/><BR/>RAGING BULL, hands down. I can't believe I forgot about this, and I can't believe no one else has mentioned it. I was only reminded of it when I went to one of those "greatest opening sequence" pages which led to another greatest opening sequence page. I remember going to a showing of the picture at the New Beverly (jam-packed, as it hadn't shown on a large screen for some time) and I was on the popcorn line very close to showtime, and I said to the person next to me "If I miss the opening I'm going to be very unhappy." It's about half the reason to see the movie.<BR/><BR/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQhwi8kk-dERobert Fiorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06357467040644448167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-55132785807619772592009-01-01T04:45:00.000-08:002009-01-01T04:45:00.000-08:001) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? O...1) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD or Blu-ray?<BR/>Milk, My Architecht: A Son'S Journey<BR/><BR/>2) Holiday movies— Do you like them naughty or nice?<BR/>I am fond of the horror movies, silent night, deadly knight or black xmas...is that naughty?<BR/><BR/>3) Ida Lupino or Mercedes McCambridge?<BR/>Mercedes McCambridge, for her black clad villian in Ray's Johnny Guitar, plus the voice of Satan.<BR/><BR/>4) Favorite actor/character from Twin Peaks<BR/>Lara Flynn Boyle, who did a string of sexually complicated heroines in the 90s and then sadly lost it, and this was an almost perfect noir performance.<BR/><BR/>5) It’s been said that, rather than remaking beloved, respected films, Hollywood should concentrate more on righting the wrongs of the past and tinker more with films that didn’t work so well the first time. Pretending for a moment that movies are made in an economic vacuum, name a good candidate for a remake based on this criterion.<BR/><BR/>I keep wondering if films like Ishtar or Death to Smoochy, which were marketed in a way that undersold their considerable charms, and were odd enough that they needed to be explained, would do well not nessc. with remakes, but reissues, sort of like Criterion but on the big screen. I also wonder what would happen if you gave someone like Harmony Kormine or some of the mumble core fellows 20 millon dollars and told them to remake Waterworld or Superman:Returns, or even Titanic?<BR/><BR/>6) Favorite Spike Lee joint.<BR/><BR/>As a politican: Bamboozled (because loose limbed, burlesque that is so soaked with bile is a hard balance, and it was so meta it hurt). As a film maker, the remarkably tight, beautifully acted Inside Man, with Jodie Foster playing someone new, strong, and dislikeable.<BR/><BR/>7) Lawrence Tierney or Scott Brady?<BR/>The Scott Brady who was in an episode of the littlest hobo? Then yes!<BR/><BR/>8) Are most movies too long?<BR/>Most movies spend too long explaining, and too little time working out emotions, and realtionships--as a general rule, they are badly paced (Role Models is a good example of in/out with lots of good actors scene, so is Sarah Marshall)<BR/><BR/>9) Favorite performance by an actor portraying a real-life politician.<BR/>Helen McCroy, who made the easily parodied, easily mocked Cherie Blair, into a modern, open, moral counterpoint to the cold and formal Frears.<BR/><BR/>10) Create the main event card for the ultimate giant movie monster smackdown.<BR/>Godzilla vs the Cloverfield Monster but in North Dakota.<BR/><BR/>11) Jean Peters or Sheree North?<BR/>Sheree North. (for the episode while she was the hooker with Archie Bunker and for the weird, little seen, Schumacher riff on Altman Amatuer Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill)<BR/><BR/>12) Why would you ever want or need to see a movie more than once?<BR/>If I was wrong, if people I trust tell me I am wrong, If what I feel is overwhelming what I think, if my dick or my heart gets in the way, if i am hungry or distracted while watching it, if i leave the film ambigiously<BR/><BR/>13) Favorite road movie.<BR/>true romance/crossroads<BR/><BR/>14) Favorite Budd Boetticher picture.<BR/>i haven't seen enough.<BR/><BR/>15) Who is the one person, living or dead, famous or unknown, who most informed or encouraged your appreciation of movies?<BR/>my mother, who made me talk about things when i left the cinema, my friend pat, who kept arguing about the movies with me, the art critic david hickey, who taught me to trust my love of pop trash and to treat pop trash as significant, as worthy of writing about, the english critic Mark Sinker who told me that academic criticisms were worthy of being in the same places as quatidian experiences, and David Thomson, because his reference books are so opinatned.<BR/><BR/>16) Favorite opening credit sequence. (Please include YouTube link if possible.)<BR/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXrEptVgUnc&eurl=http://movieblog.ugo.com/index.php/movieblog/more/best_credits_sequences_the_taking_of_pehlam_one_two_three/ (font shot!)<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>17) Kenneth Tobey or John Agar?<BR/>John Agar, for working from the 40s, to 2002.<BR/><BR/>18) Jean-Luc Godard once suggested that the more popular the movie, the less likely it was that it was a good movie. Is he right or just cranky? Cite the best evidence one way or the other.<BR/><BR/>I am not sure that Goddard was in the buisness of making movies, as much as he was in the business of making essays...and i always distrust people who refuse to have catholic (small c) tastes---why can we not enjoy both alphaville and logan's run? (same themes, same aesthetics)<BR/><BR/>19) Favorite Jonathan Demme movie.<BR/>silence of the lambs<BR/><BR/>20) Tatum O’Neal or Linda Blair?<BR/>Tatum O'Neal--because of her unhinged, incenstous, drunken falling apart, in the last few years of rescue me, something that Blair never seemed to be able to do (as teenagers, O'Neal struck me as more of control of her talent)<BR/><BR/>21) Favorite use of irony in a movie. (This could be an idea, moment, scene, or an entire film.)<BR/>How unresolved Zodiac was, how the whole movie was about finding a killer, about obsessional knowing for two decades and three charchaters, and how that knowing was impossible.<BR/><BR/>22) Favorite Claude Chabrol film.<BR/>i don;t have one<BR/><BR/>23) The best movie of the year to which very little attention seems to have been paid.<BR/>Role Models<BR/><BR/>24) Dennis Christopher or Robby Benson?<BR/>Robby Benson for his voice work as the Beast.<BR/><BR/>25) Favorite movie about journalism.<BR/>Zodiac<BR/><BR/>26) What’s the DVD commentary you’d most like to hear? Who would be on the audio track?<BR/>Deep Throat Catherinne McKinnon, Andrew Sarris, Susie Bright, Larry Clarke, Phyllis Schafler, Al Goldstein, and Caitlin Flannagan.<BR/><BR/>27) Favorite movie directed by Clint Eastwood.<BR/>NA<BR/><BR/>28) Paul Dooley or Kurtwood Smith?<BR/>Kurtwood Smith<BR/><BR/>29) Your clairvoyant moment: Make a prediction about the Oscar season.<BR/>It will bore me.<BR/><BR/>30) Your hope for the movies in 2009.<BR/>Actually Gays and Lesbians fucking on Screen.<BR/><BR/>31) What’s your top 10 of 2008? (If you have a blog and have your list posted, please feel free to leave a link to the post.)<BR/>1) Role Models<BR/>It was charming, and low key, and shaggy, and v. funny, and tender.<BR/>2) Wall E<BR/>the aestheics, the arguements against copyright, and finally feeling something for robots<BR/>3) Cloverfield<BR/>how do we make movies with DV? How do we create a movie about terror in new york, after real terror exists? How do 20 year olds process and disemaite information?<BR/>4) The Strangers<BR/>formally brilliant.<BR/>5) Death Race<BR/>joan allen, saying cocksucker.<BR/>6) Burn After Reading<BR/>a perfect little coen bros. confection.<BR/>7) Speed Racer<BR/>one of the ways to solve the uncanny valley, is to make things hyperreal, made me think the most about how movies are made in this post green screen era.<BR/>8) W<BR/>profoundly flawed, with wildly inapproite shifts of tone, but for james cromwell as papa and brolin's pitch perfect performance.<BR/>9) Paranoid PArk<BR/>Van Sant should only be allowed 1 million dollars to make a movie, any more then that, and he fails.<BR/>10) My Winnipeg<BR/>guy maddin pyschogeographically deconstructs what it means to be canadian.<BR/><BR/>BONUS QUESTION (to be answered after December 25):<BR/><BR/>32) What was your favorite movie-related Christmas gift that you received this year?<BR/>I received no movie releated giftsAnthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07196770365237279809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-89907005105903552942008-12-31T23:41:00.000-08:002008-12-31T23:41:00.000-08:001) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? O...1) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD or Blu-ray?<BR/>At the theater: Rachel Getting Married: I was glad to spend some time with Jonathan Demme, not to mention with the lady who sang the closing song from SOMETHING WILD, and I loved all the wise and detailed performances. Still, I thought both the family confrontation scenes, and especially the music performance scenes, went on far too long. Some editing, please!<BR/><BR/>On DVD (haven’t succumbed to Blu-ray yet): like so many others, the holidays somehow draw us to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, in their eternally extended versions. It was great fun to see them again, and to snuggle up under blankets, away from the rain and/or snow, and feel their epic and emotional power.<BR/><BR/>2) Holiday movies— Do you like them naughty or nice?<BR/><BR/>I like them nice: it’s far too common to be “naughty” nowadays I remember three Christmases ago, in Bolinas, Pattie and I sitting in our (rented) 1895 beach cabin with the rain falling outside, and the dogs at our feet, watching IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, and tears falling from both of our sets of eyes, and feeling renewed by it before tottering off to bed. That said, I haven’t seen either Bad or Badder Santa, and given the right circumstances, I will probably enjoy them both!<BR/><BR/>3) Ida Lupino or Mercedes McCambridge?<BR/><BR/>I love Ida Lupino for what she achieved as a director, and for her indelible impression as an actress. Not to mention her memorable turn in FOOD OF THE GODS: “they got et by the bigger ones.” However, I love Mercedes McCambridge best, not only for her brilliant voice work in THE EXORCIST, and not only for fighting to get credit for that, but especially for her touching, puzzling-in-a-good-way performance as Luz in GIANT. <BR/><BR/>4) Favorite actor/character from Twin Peaks<BR/>What an odd question. However, my choice is Agent Cooper (Kyle Maclachlan), who was still in his fresh, mysterious period, and who didn’t overplay the irony, or veer too far from truthfulness in his portrayal.<BR/><BR/>5) It’s been said that, rather than remaking beloved, respected films, Hollywood should concentrate more on righting the wrongs of the past and tinker more with films that didn’t work so well the first time. Pretending for a moment that movies are made in an economic vacuum, name a good candidate for a remake based on this criterion.<BR/>How about remaking Hitchcock’s SUSPICION? It’d be hard to find actors as good as the originals, but if by some chance someone with enough talent thought hard enough about it, they might come up with a respectable remake, with a better ending.<BR/><BR/>6) Favorite Spike Lee joint.<BR/>DO THE RIGHT THING. I haven’t seen it for a few years, but I thought it was almost perfect each time I saw it.<BR/><BR/>7) Lawrence Tierney or Scott Brady?<BR/>Lawrence Tierney, if only for BORN TO KILL!<BR/><BR/>8) Are most movies too long?<BR/>No, I like long movies, if they’re good.<BR/><BR/>8) Favorite performance by an actor portraying a real-life politician.<BR/>Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II in THE QUEEN. I can’t forget her encounter with that great beautiful buck.<BR/><BR/>9) Create the main event card for the ultimate giant movie monster smackdown.<BR/>Dino DeLaurentiis’s KING KONG vs. Peter Jackson’s KING KONG, with the original ape watching from the sidelines.<BR/><BR/>10) Jean Peters or Sheree North?<BR/>You know I have a soft spot for Sheree, not only because she was a regular customer of mine, one who charmed me for life with her kindness and her natural beauty, during my tender youth and my fledgling years in southern Cal, at my first bookstore job in Santa Monica. What a lovely lady she was, generous and perceptive and unselfish—and I had already been impressed with her after her performance in NO DOWN PAYMENT, a film she professed not to remember having made.<BR/><BR/>11) Why would you ever want or need to see a movie more than once?<BR/>Because it has moments which halfway escape my understanding and/or appreciation—because parts of it confuse me. Because I shut down during the first viewing, due to unbearably violent or painful scenes—but afterward feel as if I’ve seen something valuable.<BR/><BR/>12) Favorite road movie.<BR/>The first one that comes to mind is MELVIN AND HOWARD.<BR/><BR/>13) Favorite Budd Boetticher picture.<BR/>This is embarrassing, but I can’t remember whether I’ve seen any of his films—so I’ll say TWO MULES FOR SISTER SARA, which I enjoyed a lot and for which he wrote the screen story.<BR/><BR/>14) Who is the one person, living or dead, famous or unknown, who most informed or encouraged your appreciation of movies?<BR/>My mom, who would sit with me as she ironed clothes or did some other useful thing, and would focus as intently as I did on whatever old movie we could find, and say, “Oh! Skip Homeier!” or “God…look at Ann Blyth.” Or one time she stayed up late to see THE MIRACLE WORKER, when my dad wouldn’t let me stay up, and the next day after school she told me the whole story in such vivid detail that it was almost better than seeing the movie. She also talked to me a lot about how movies had affected and influenced her life: the outstanding story was how her older and beloved brother Dick (who died in a military plane crash at a young age) had taken her to see Karloff’s FRANKENSTEIN and the Lugosi DRACULA at age 3 or 4, and how she’d been so terrified that their mother had had to comfort Mom for some time to get her to go to bed…and when Mom went to bed, her brother had taped up photos of the Frankenstein monster on her headboard, so Mom was terrified anew! But for Mom and me, it was the basis for a real appreciation of the Universal horror movies, and Mom always got the sadness behind the Frankenstein monster, Lon Chaney’s Wolf Man, etc.<BR/><BR/><BR/>15) Favorite opening credit sequence. (Please include YouTube link if possible.)<BR/><BR/>I love the credit sequence for NORTH BY NORTHWEST best of all:<BR/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIlqatMQSgI<BR/><BR/>16) Kenneth Tobey or John Agar?<BR/>How can I not choose Agar, who was in both THE MOLE PEOPLE and TARANTULA??<BR/><BR/>17) Jean-Luc Godard once suggested that the more popular the movie, the less likely it was that it was a good movie. Is he right or just cranky? Cite the best evidence one way or the other.<BR/>I still don’t buy this argument completely, though it is very often true. Still, based on the most recent evidence, Godard was right, and I’ll use as my example MEN IN BLACK: a terrible movie which loses more and more credibility as it goes along, and which earned tons of money at the box office.<BR/><BR/>Come to think of it, I’d also like to offer up De Palma’s SCARFACE as an example: a terrible film which is beloved by innumerable young people. So, I’m just cranky. Sue me.<BR/><BR/>18) Favorite Jonathan Demme movie.<BR/>SOMETHING WILD<BR/><BR/>19) Tatum O’Neal or Linda Blair?<BR/>I love Tatum’s smile, and her performance in PAPER MOON, but there’s no substitute—or at least there wasn’t for my teenage self—for the dreamy, creamy-skinned and bright-eyed Linda Blair. I wish her a comeback in a good indie film.<BR/><BR/>20) Favorite use of irony in a movie. (This could be an idea, moment, scene, or an entire film.)<BR/>Irony, I’m afraid, has been worn out for the moment, at least for me. I can’t think of any favorite ironic moments, because I think I’ve had enough of that quality.<BR/><BR/>21) Favorite Claude Chabrol film.<BR/>Les Bonnes Femmes.<BR/><BR/>22) The best movie of the year to which very little attention seems to have been paid.<BR/>Urgghh…I wish I had seen enough films this year to be able to say. I am very anxious to see HAPPY GO LUCKY, which is no longer playing in Eugene, so I guess I’ll name that as the film which has been most neglected—though I haven’t seen it.<BR/><BR/>23) Dennis Christopher or Robby Benson?<BR/>Dennis Christopher was always likeable but too soft and wimpy, whereas Robby Benson was painfully vulnerable, but able to stand up to a tough situation and even a fight. Plus he had to battle that goofy voice of his. So the latter.<BR/><BR/>24) Favorite movie about journalism.<BR/>Um, I’d jump to ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN, but I have to say I think back to THE CHINA SYNDROME often, and to Jane Fonda’s/Kimberly Wells’s choked-back-tears on-camera declaration: “I’m sorry I’m not very objective…”<BR/><BR/>25) What’s the DVD commentary you’d most like to hear? Who would be on the audio track?<BR/>James Dean, Julie Harris, Raymond Massey, Jo Van Fleet, Richard Davalos and Lois Smith all reminiscing about their work on EAST OF EDEN.<BR/><BR/>26) Favorite movie directed by Clint Eastwood.<BR/>I still have a soft spot for the imperfect but beloved (by me) BRONCO BILLY.<BR/><BR/>27) Paul Dooley or Kurtwood Smith?<BR/>Paul Dooley.<BR/><BR/>28) Your clairvoyant moment: Make a prediction about the Oscar season.<BR/>I’m always wrong about the Oscars, no matter how much attention I pay, but I’m gonna say Sally Hawkins as Best Actress for Happy-Go-Lucky (and I haven’t even seen it yet!).<BR/><BR/>29) Your hope for the movies in 2009.<BR/>Less torture, more fun and more emotional risk. Some surprises from actors who previously seemed synthetic or played out.<BR/><BR/>30) What’s your top 10 of 2008? (If you have a blog and have your list posted, please feel free to leave a link to the post.)<BR/>Sorry, but I really haven’t seen enough 2008 releases yet to offer my top ten. Sheesh—I used to see so many new movies, maybe that should be among my resolutions for 2009: to see any new films which seem to offer any possibility of quality.<BR/><BR/>BONUS QUESTION (to be answered after December 25):<BR/><BR/>31) What was your favorite movie-related Christmas gift that you received this year?<BR/>Part 1)My sister Laura gave me the newly-released DVD of THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY, which I can’t wait to watch—and part 2)Dennis gave me a subscription to FILM COMMENT, which I anticipate will reinvigorate my love of movies and get me back to a more exploratory mode of seeing them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-43699743244126295632008-12-31T12:29:00.000-08:002008-12-31T12:29:00.000-08:001) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? O...1) What was the last movie you saw theatrically? On DVD or Blu-ray? Theatrically, <I>The Curious Case of Benjamin Button</I> - schmaltzy, but well-crafted and heartfelt enough that I didn't mind. On DVD, the original <I>My Bloody Valentine</I> (pretty soon, every mention of an '80s horror movie will be preceded by "the original").<BR/><BR/>2) Holiday movies— Do you like them naughty or nice?<BR/><BR/>At least a little bit naughty. For instance, my favorite <I>Scrooge</I> (one I've watched every December since I was a tot) is the 1970 version with Albert Finney. It features decaying ghouls and a tour of hell along with the obligatory jolly, dancing British people - a good reminder that Dickens' story, and the holiday, are as much about religious guilt and keeping our wintry demons at bay as they are about tinsel and elves.<BR/><BR/>3) Ida Lupino or Mercedes McCambridge?<BR/><BR/>Ida Lupino<BR/><BR/>4) Favorite actor/character from Twin Peaks<BR/><BR/>My first thought was Audrey Horne swaying to Angelo Badalamenti's "dreamy" music at the Double R Diner. But The Little Man From Another Planet also deserves mention. <BR/><BR/>5) It’s been said that, rather than remaking beloved, respected films, Hollywood should concentrate more on righting the wrongs of the past and tinker more with films that didn’t work so well the first time. Pretending for a moment that movies are made in an economic vacuum, name a good candidate for a remake based on this criterion.<BR/><BR/><I>Kindergarten Cop</I>. Great premise, bland execution. I'd love to see what Terry Zwigoff would do with it.<BR/><BR/>6) Favorite Spike Lee joint.<BR/><BR/><I>Do the Right Thing</I><BR/><BR/>7) Lawrence Tierney or Scott Brady?<BR/><BR/>"Why am I Mr. Pink?"<BR/><BR/>"Because you're a faggot, alright?"<BR/><BR/>8) Are most movies too long?<BR/><BR/>I'm much more likely to criticize a movie for being too rushed. I rarely understand the "too long" complaint - to paraphrase <I>The Age of Innocence</I>, it seems like people are faster to leave a movie than to go to one.<BR/><BR/>9) Favorite performance by an actor portraying a real-life politician.<BR/><BR/>Fred Willard as Ron Alberston as President McKinley.<BR/><BR/>10) Create the main event card for the ultimate giant movie monster smackdown.<BR/><BR/>Brundlefly vs. Blairmonster: Requiem. Christmas 2010.<BR/><BR/>11) Jean Peters or Sheree North?<BR/><BR/>Sheree North<BR/><BR/>12) Why would you ever want or need to see a movie more than once?<BR/><BR/>The movie stays the same, but I change. Plus, I like movies.<BR/><BR/>13) Favorite road movie.<BR/><BR/><I>Badlands</I><BR/><BR/>14) Favorite Budd Boetticher picture.<BR/><BR/>Alas, I haven't seen any.<BR/><BR/>15) Who is the one person, living or dead, famous or unknown, who most informed or encouraged your appreciation of movies?<BR/><BR/>My mom, who encouraged my early interest in film by sharing her favorite movies, discussing them with me and encouraging me to form my own opinions and preferences.<BR/><BR/>16) Favorite opening credit sequence. (Please include YouTube link if possible.)<BR/><BR/><I>Vertigo</I>. Can't beat Saul Bass. <BR/><BR/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz46qS38OgM<BR/><BR/>17) Kenneth Tobey or John Agar?<BR/><BR/>Kenneth Tobey<BR/><BR/>18) Jean-Luc Godard once suggested that the more popular the movie, the less likely it was that it was a good movie. Is he right or just cranky? Cite the best evidence one way or the other.<BR/><BR/>Godard is wrong about a lot of things. Some great movies are inherently divisive, while others touch a collective nerve. The best evidence I can think of is <I>E.T.</I>'s premiere at Cannes, where it recieved rapturous applause from the toughest possible audience.<BR/><BR/>19) Favorite Jonathan Demme movie.<BR/><BR/><I>The Silence of the Lambs</I><BR/><BR/>20) Tatum O’Neal or Linda Blair?<BR/><BR/>I really like one performance of theirs apiece, so on that basis...Linda Blair.<BR/><BR/>21) Favorite use of irony in a movie. (This could be an idea, moment, scene, or an entire film.)<BR/><BR/>Haven Hamilton singing "200 Years" in <I>Nashville</I>. Actually, all of <I>Nashville</I>. Actually, Altman's entire body of work.<BR/><BR/>22) Favorite Claude Chabrol film.<BR/><BR/>Never seen any Chabrol either. Couldn't you have asked for my favorite Renny Harlin?<BR/><BR/>23) The best movie of the year to which very little attention seems to have been paid.<BR/><BR/>When I caught up with <I>Snow Angels</I> this fall, I was surprised to find that it's subtler and more moving than its mixed reviews would suggest, with a strong central performance by Sam Rockwell. While it's more conventional than Green's previous work, the bittersweet contrast of the idealism of young love and a marriage gone tragically awry rang true to me. <I>Pineapple Express</I> was good for a laugh, but this is the best DGG movie of the year.<BR/><BR/>24) Dennis Christopher or Robby Benson?<BR/><BR/>Christopher, for his performance as Eddie Kaspbrak in the miniseries adaptation of <I>It</I>.<BR/><BR/>25) Favorite movie about journalism.<BR/><BR/><I>Zodiac</I><BR/><BR/>26) What’s the DVD commentary you’d most like to hear? Who would be on the audio track?<BR/><BR/>The conversation between Werner Herzog and Crispin Glover on <I>Even Dwarfs Started Small</I> is pretty great. I'd love to hear Herzog interview Glover on <I>What Is It?</I> (actually, I'd just like to finally see <I>What Is It?</I>).<BR/><BR/>27) Favorite movie directed by Clint Eastwood.<BR/><BR/><I>Unforgiven</I><BR/><BR/>28) Paul Dooley or Kurtwood Smith?<BR/><BR/>A few years ago, my wife recognized Kurtwood Smith walking by, and he responded by kissing her on the cheek. So I'll go with Dooley, for not being a homewrecker.<BR/><BR/>29) Your clairvoyant moment: Make a prediction about the Oscar season.<BR/><BR/>Heath Ledger will win the 2009 "Montage of the Dead" applause contest.<BR/><BR/>30) Your hope for the movies in 2009.<BR/><BR/>That, after a so-so 2008, a year that brings new Scorsese, Malick and Tarantino lives up to its potential.<BR/><BR/>31) What’s your top 10 of 2008? (If you have a blog and have your list posted, please feel free to leave a link to the post.)<BR/><BR/>I'm going to have to ask for an extension on this one, Professor - limited release strategies prevent me once again from catching some of the highest-profile winter releases until mid-January. So far, I've awarded two movies an A+ this year: <I>The Dark Knight</I> and <I>Wall-E</I>.<BR/><BR/>BONUS QUESTION (to be answered after December 25):<BR/><BR/>32) What was your favorite movie-related Christmas gift that you received this year?<BR/><BR/>A <I>Videodrome</I> t-shirt from my mother-in-law.Andrew Bemishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06097037829531087694noreply@blogger.com