PROF. BRIAN O'BLIVION'S ALL-NEW FLESH FOR MEMORIAL DAY FILM (AND TV) QUIZ
Find it here.
1) Best transition from movies to TV (actor, actress, producer/director, movie/show)
Everyone who knows me knows I'm going to say Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so just to be different I'll say Eiji Tsuburaya. His rubber suits probably work better on the small screen in Ultraman than on the big screen in most Godzilla movies.
2) Living film director you most missing seeing on the cultural landscape regularly
He's made some lousy films, but I can't believe that there's no room on the cultural landscape for Ralph Bakshi today.
3) Eugene Pallette or Charles Coburn
Oh damn! I had to consult Google to put faces to those names, but they're both so great! Can't decide.
4) Fill in the blank: “I pray that no one ever turns _____________ into a movie.”
I'm OK with anything being made into a movie, provided the movie is approached as it's own thing, with the source just being an inspiration for the filmmakers' vision.
5) Jane Greer or Veronica Lake
Veronica Lake.
6) What was the last movie you saw in a theater? On DVD? And why?
Theater--Baby Mama, because Iron Man wasn't playing in Glendale (where I was doing other things Saturday), and because my wife wanted to support a comedy with two female leads, and because I generally think Tina Fey is great and 30 Rock is the best sitcom on TV right now.
DVD--Female Prisoner 701 Scorpion, as the climax of a 70's women-who-kick-ass triple feature (Switchblade Sisters and Sugar Hill started it off) for Memorial Day/My Birthday.
(Actually, since I wrote this, I've seen the amazing Blast of Silence on DVD)
7) Name an actor you think should be a star
Alexis Dennisoff. Anyone who's seen the later seasons of Angel knows that this guy could so carry an action franchise. And that his wife, Allyson Hannigan, is one rom-com role away from being a huge star. And that Joss Whedon fans who continually bring up actors from Whedon's shows when the question of actors who should be stars comes up are completely annoying.
8) Foxy Brown or Coffy
Not even a contest. I mean, Foxy Brown is a fun flick, but Coffy is just as good as it gets.
9) Favorite TV show still without its own DVD box set
Bakshi and Kricfalusi's The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse. And The Spike Jones Show. And Night Music with David Sanborne. And Cop Rock.
10) Jack Elam or Neville Brand
Elam.
11) What movies would top your list of movies you need to revisit, for whatever reason?
When I loaned a DVD to my friend Sally and never got it back, I got her to give me her Magnolia DVD. It's a film that I feel I definitely owe a second viewing. But for years, it has sat on my shelf unwatched. It's just never a good time to rewatch Magnolia.
12) Zodiac or All the President’s Men
Haven't seen All the President's Men, but I'd be very surprised if it was better than Zodiac.
13) Using our best reviewer-speak, what is an “important” film comedy? And what is to you the most important film comedy of the last 35 years?
OK, an "important" comedy is one that exposes the absurdity of Man's Inhumanity To Man in a way that makes it impossible to pretend that such inhumanity doesn't exist. Let's see, the last 25 years, so that's 1983...Heathers can't really live up to the above description, because there is literally nothing that can make teenagers aware of their own inhumanity, so that's out. I dunno, the funniest comedy of the last 25 is the South Park movie, for sure.
14) Describe the ideal environment for watching a movie.
1. With a packed crowd at The Egyptian Theater in Hollywood.
2. My living room with a tub of ice cream.
OK, that's a lame answer. Let's see if we can do a little better. The ideal environment would be one of those Grand Old Movie Palaces, with a gigantic screen and lavish decor, but well-restored with comfortable seats, modern amenities and a state-of-the-art sound system. The audience is composed of passionate, intelligent moviegoers who are excitable enough to cheer, laugh or otherwise react when appropriate, but restrained enough not to be annoying. So far, sounds like The Egyptian, but I'd add one more thing: a full bar. And maybe a tropical/tiki theme for the decor (and matching tropical cocktails).
15) Michelle Williams or Eva Mendes
They're both OK.
16) What’s the worst movie title of all time?
Mother May I Sleep With Danger?
17) Best movie about teaching and/or learning
Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby. No, I don't know, I can't think of a very good answer. I like that scene in Kill Bill 2 where Pei Mei forces The Bride to eat rice with chopsticks after she's destroyed her hand punching the board all day, and she does it, and he gets this faint little glimmer of pride on his face. (There was a very good joke in the script that got left out, for some reason. After she finally succeeds in punching through the board from two inches away, he congratulates her and moves the board to one inch away, and says "Now do it from here." But I guess I like the way it plays out in the movie.)
18) Dracula (1931) or Horror of Dracula (1958)
You know, I never really got into the Hammer movies. They're alright, but I guess they seem like a sort of mushy middle ground between the classic Universal movies and the gory 70's. I love Peter Cushing, but never really thought Christopher Lee was that great, and I don't like the hissing. Whereas Bela Lugosi is obviously great, and then you have Dwight Frye and whoever it was playing Van Helsing, so I'll take The Browning Version.
19) Why do you blog? Or if you don’t, why do you read blogs? (Thanks, Girish)
My usual answer is just that it gives me an outlet for all the thoughts taking up space in my head. But a more honest answer would probably be that I want attention.
20) Most memorable/disturbing death scene
The murder in Heavenly Creatures really gets me, because you can see in the girls' eyes once it starts that it's much more difficult and messy to kill someone than they had imagined it.
21) Jason Robards or Robert Shaw
Robert Shaw.
22) A good candidate for Most Blasphemous Movie Ever
Goldfinger--James Bond disses The Beatles!
23) Rio Bravo or Red River
OK, here's where I'm going to get into trouble. Never seen either one (but I do have a Rio Bravo/The Searchers double feature coming up in my Netflix in a few months). Truth is (and I know nothing says "rube" like admitting to this), I don't really like Westerns. I don't dislike them--there are a lot of movies I love that happen to be westerns--but it's not a genre I've ever really cared for. Even when I was a kid. Maybe it was all those dull earthtones, everything gray and tan, or maybe it's the earnest "A Man's Gotta Do" masculinity (I have a hard time relating to authoritarian John Wayne), but I just don't care for 'em.
24) Werner Herzog is remaking Bad Lieutenant with Nicolas Cage—that’s reality. Try to outdo reality by concocting a match-up of director and title for a really strange imaginary remake.
Building on his success using "real time" techniques in United 93, Paul Greengrass will, for his next project, remake Koyaanisqatsi in real time. Be sure to get a babysitter--the film will have a run time of several months.
25) Bulle Ogier or Charlotte Rampling
This pic convinced me to pick Ogier:
I recognize more stuff on Deborah Kerr's filmography, so I'll pick her.
31) Dirtiest secret you have that is related to the movies
When I saw Independence Day on opening weekend with a packed house, I enjoyed it, and even convinced myself that it was a good movie.
32) Name a favorite film and describe how it is illuminated and enriched by another favorite film.
It took me years to get one of the best (and nastiest) jokes in Life of Brian--the Spartacus reference, which now seems so obvious that I don't know how I could have missed it. The chorus of crucifixion victims crying out "I'm Brian!" is a wicked inversion of the "I'm Spartacus" scene, in fact an answer to the latter, as if the Pythons were saying "that's a great story, but from everything we've experienced in human nature, and read about for 4,000 of human history, that's just not how it works."
33) It’s a Gift or Horsefeathers
The only Marx Bros. movie that's better than It's a Gift is Duck Soup.
34) Your best story about seeing a movie at a drive-in
The first movie I ever saw was Song of the South at the drive-in, complete with one of those "Ant and Aardvark" cartoons at the beginning. I've still never had a chance to see it again. Years later, I did mushrooms in the abandoned lot of the same Drive-In, underneath the dilapidated screen.
I also went to see an all-night women's prison movie marathon at the drive-in once, but it was really boring, so not a good story.
35) Victor Mature or Tyrone Power
Tyrone Power (if only for Nightmare Alley).
36) What does film criticism mean to you? Where do you think it’s headed?
I dunno...talking about films is one thing, but talking about talking about films is a bit too wanky even for me.
1) Best transition from movies to TV (actor, actress, producer/director, movie/show)
Everyone who knows me knows I'm going to say Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so just to be different I'll say Eiji Tsuburaya. His rubber suits probably work better on the small screen in Ultraman than on the big screen in most Godzilla movies.
2) Living film director you most missing seeing on the cultural landscape regularly
He's made some lousy films, but I can't believe that there's no room on the cultural landscape for Ralph Bakshi today.
3) Eugene Pallette or Charles Coburn
Oh damn! I had to consult Google to put faces to those names, but they're both so great! Can't decide.
4) Fill in the blank: “I pray that no one ever turns _____________ into a movie.”
I'm OK with anything being made into a movie, provided the movie is approached as it's own thing, with the source just being an inspiration for the filmmakers' vision.
5) Jane Greer or Veronica Lake
Veronica Lake.
6) What was the last movie you saw in a theater? On DVD? And why?
Theater--Baby Mama, because Iron Man wasn't playing in Glendale (where I was doing other things Saturday), and because my wife wanted to support a comedy with two female leads, and because I generally think Tina Fey is great and 30 Rock is the best sitcom on TV right now.
DVD--Female Prisoner 701 Scorpion, as the climax of a 70's women-who-kick-ass triple feature (Switchblade Sisters and Sugar Hill started it off) for Memorial Day/My Birthday.
(Actually, since I wrote this, I've seen the amazing Blast of Silence on DVD)
7) Name an actor you think should be a star
Alexis Dennisoff. Anyone who's seen the later seasons of Angel knows that this guy could so carry an action franchise. And that his wife, Allyson Hannigan, is one rom-com role away from being a huge star. And that Joss Whedon fans who continually bring up actors from Whedon's shows when the question of actors who should be stars comes up are completely annoying.
8) Foxy Brown or Coffy
Not even a contest. I mean, Foxy Brown is a fun flick, but Coffy is just as good as it gets.
9) Favorite TV show still without its own DVD box set
Bakshi and Kricfalusi's The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse. And The Spike Jones Show. And Night Music with David Sanborne. And Cop Rock.
10) Jack Elam or Neville Brand
Elam.
11) What movies would top your list of movies you need to revisit, for whatever reason?
When I loaned a DVD to my friend Sally and never got it back, I got her to give me her Magnolia DVD. It's a film that I feel I definitely owe a second viewing. But for years, it has sat on my shelf unwatched. It's just never a good time to rewatch Magnolia.
12) Zodiac or All the President’s Men
Haven't seen All the President's Men, but I'd be very surprised if it was better than Zodiac.
13) Using our best reviewer-speak, what is an “important” film comedy? And what is to you the most important film comedy of the last 35 years?
OK, an "important" comedy is one that exposes the absurdity of Man's Inhumanity To Man in a way that makes it impossible to pretend that such inhumanity doesn't exist. Let's see, the last 25 years, so that's 1983...Heathers can't really live up to the above description, because there is literally nothing that can make teenagers aware of their own inhumanity, so that's out. I dunno, the funniest comedy of the last 25 is the South Park movie, for sure.
14) Describe the ideal environment for watching a movie.
1. With a packed crowd at The Egyptian Theater in Hollywood.
2. My living room with a tub of ice cream.
OK, that's a lame answer. Let's see if we can do a little better. The ideal environment would be one of those Grand Old Movie Palaces, with a gigantic screen and lavish decor, but well-restored with comfortable seats, modern amenities and a state-of-the-art sound system. The audience is composed of passionate, intelligent moviegoers who are excitable enough to cheer, laugh or otherwise react when appropriate, but restrained enough not to be annoying. So far, sounds like The Egyptian, but I'd add one more thing: a full bar. And maybe a tropical/tiki theme for the decor (and matching tropical cocktails).
15) Michelle Williams or Eva Mendes
They're both OK.
16) What’s the worst movie title of all time?
Mother May I Sleep With Danger?
17) Best movie about teaching and/or learning
Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby. No, I don't know, I can't think of a very good answer. I like that scene in Kill Bill 2 where Pei Mei forces The Bride to eat rice with chopsticks after she's destroyed her hand punching the board all day, and she does it, and he gets this faint little glimmer of pride on his face. (There was a very good joke in the script that got left out, for some reason. After she finally succeeds in punching through the board from two inches away, he congratulates her and moves the board to one inch away, and says "Now do it from here." But I guess I like the way it plays out in the movie.)
18) Dracula (1931) or Horror of Dracula (1958)
You know, I never really got into the Hammer movies. They're alright, but I guess they seem like a sort of mushy middle ground between the classic Universal movies and the gory 70's. I love Peter Cushing, but never really thought Christopher Lee was that great, and I don't like the hissing. Whereas Bela Lugosi is obviously great, and then you have Dwight Frye and whoever it was playing Van Helsing, so I'll take The Browning Version.
19) Why do you blog? Or if you don’t, why do you read blogs? (Thanks, Girish)
My usual answer is just that it gives me an outlet for all the thoughts taking up space in my head. But a more honest answer would probably be that I want attention.
20) Most memorable/disturbing death scene
The murder in Heavenly Creatures really gets me, because you can see in the girls' eyes once it starts that it's much more difficult and messy to kill someone than they had imagined it.
21) Jason Robards or Robert Shaw
Robert Shaw.
22) A good candidate for Most Blasphemous Movie Ever
Goldfinger--James Bond disses The Beatles!
23) Rio Bravo or Red River
OK, here's where I'm going to get into trouble. Never seen either one (but I do have a Rio Bravo/The Searchers double feature coming up in my Netflix in a few months). Truth is (and I know nothing says "rube" like admitting to this), I don't really like Westerns. I don't dislike them--there are a lot of movies I love that happen to be westerns--but it's not a genre I've ever really cared for. Even when I was a kid. Maybe it was all those dull earthtones, everything gray and tan, or maybe it's the earnest "A Man's Gotta Do" masculinity (I have a hard time relating to authoritarian John Wayne), but I just don't care for 'em.
24) Werner Herzog is remaking Bad Lieutenant with Nicolas Cage—that’s reality. Try to outdo reality by concocting a match-up of director and title for a really strange imaginary remake.
Building on his success using "real time" techniques in United 93, Paul Greengrass will, for his next project, remake Koyaanisqatsi in real time. Be sure to get a babysitter--the film will have a run time of several months.
25) Bulle Ogier or Charlotte Rampling
This pic convinced me to pick Ogier:
26) In the Realm of the Senses— yes or no?
I dunno. Looks good to me.
27) Name a movie you think of as your own (Thanks, Jim!)
28) Winged Migration or Microcosmos
Microcosmos, but that's because I haven't seen Winged Migration.
29) Your favorite football game featured in a movie
OK, not actually a football game (and arguable the worst part of the movie), but when Flash Gordon is running around Ming's throne room with a metal egg doing football maneuvers all around the Imperial Guard, that's kinda fun.
I recognize more stuff on Deborah Kerr's filmography, so I'll pick her.
31) Dirtiest secret you have that is related to the movies
When I saw Independence Day on opening weekend with a packed house, I enjoyed it, and even convinced myself that it was a good movie.
32) Name a favorite film and describe how it is illuminated and enriched by another favorite film.
It took me years to get one of the best (and nastiest) jokes in Life of Brian--the Spartacus reference, which now seems so obvious that I don't know how I could have missed it. The chorus of crucifixion victims crying out "I'm Brian!" is a wicked inversion of the "I'm Spartacus" scene, in fact an answer to the latter, as if the Pythons were saying "that's a great story, but from everything we've experienced in human nature, and read about for 4,000 of human history, that's just not how it works."
33) It’s a Gift or Horsefeathers
The only Marx Bros. movie that's better than It's a Gift is Duck Soup.
34) Your best story about seeing a movie at a drive-in
The first movie I ever saw was Song of the South at the drive-in, complete with one of those "Ant and Aardvark" cartoons at the beginning. I've still never had a chance to see it again. Years later, I did mushrooms in the abandoned lot of the same Drive-In, underneath the dilapidated screen.
I also went to see an all-night women's prison movie marathon at the drive-in once, but it was really boring, so not a good story.
35) Victor Mature or Tyrone Power
Tyrone Power (if only for Nightmare Alley).
36) What does film criticism mean to you? Where do you think it’s headed?
I dunno...talking about films is one thing, but talking about talking about films is a bit too wanky even for me.
posted by Chris Oliver at 2:57 PM
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