Category: Movies

Well, not to be outdone, I must give my answers to Chris’s meme.

1. Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times. Well, THE WIZARD OF OZ is the obvious choice. But LI’L ABNER is the more interesting one.

2. Name a movie that you’ve seen multiple times in the theater. LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS is the best example, because it was an organized thing. One winter from December 1986 to January 1987 I must have seen it eight times in the theater.

3. Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a movie. Carol Channing. No kidding.

4. Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a movie. Um… Jennifer Jason Leigh gives me pause always. Ever since MRS. PARKER AND THE VICIOUS CIRCLE I’ve been very careful about my JJL viewings. But there are always delightful surprises like GEORGIA and the last couple episodes of “Twitch City”. I’m still kicking myself over THE ANIVERSARY PARTY, though.

5. Name a movie that you can and do quote from. There are many, but how about WITHOUT YOU, I’M NOTHING or AUNTIE MAME? Today, though, it was HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING — “I am unaccustomed to early arisal!”

6. Name a movie musical that you know all of the lyrics to all of the songs. Most of them. But LI’L ABNER (and all the parts) or CABARET are ones I could be tested on without the aid of the film playing in the background.

7. Name a movie that you have been known to sing along with. Again, most of them (musicals). But I’ve actually disturbed neighbors singing along with THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE.

8. Name a movie that you would recommend everyone see. Everyone, EVERYONE?! If I take this as literally as possible, it must be THE WIZARD OF OZ. I don’t think one can function fully in most current civilizations without having seen this film.

9. Name a movie that you own. There are many of course, so I’ll mention one that I think very few others are likely to own: Anthony Newley’s CAN HIERONYMUS MERKIN EVER FORGET MERCY HUMPPE AND FIND TRUE HAPPINESS? It’s kind of (ahem) unavailable for sale.

10. Name an actor that launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops. A couple years ago, I would have said Jason Lee for his roles in Kevin Smith films, but “My Name Is Earl” has completely obliterated that possibility. So I’ll have to say that author Jason Miller gave the most brilliant debut performance in THE EXORCIST as Father Damien Karras.

11. Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? If so, what? Oh boy, yes. Jeesh, I grew up in the 1970’s so it was a big part of my childhood. But the most memorable lineup for me was when I was about 8 or 9. My dad took my brother and I to see the lousy but frightening (to me) Italian horror film BEYOND THE DOOR, PART II followed by CARRIE and SATAN’S CHEERLEADERS. I was too freaked out by the ending of CARRIE to stay for the sexploitation horror of SC, so we left. I still think my brother holds it against me.

12. Ever made out in a movie? I’m sure I have. But what comes to mind more is what I was doing during my first viewing of CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, which strictly doesn’t count as “making out.” But Michael seems to think it was IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE. Likely, it was both.

13. Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just haven’t yet gotten around to it. Dozens, but namely PEEPING TOM, STAGEDOOR, and SLEUTH (the original).

14. Ever walked out of a movie? The first one I actually initiated was the hideous EARTHBOUND starring Burl Ives when I was 12 or 13. It’s hard to be insulted by juvenile humor at that age, but somehow this film succeeded.

15. Name a movie that made you cry in the theater. TARNATION.

16. What’s the last movie you saw in the theater? SOUTHLAND TALES. Though that may not count because I fell asleep about 15 minutes into the incomprehensible and annoying film. Before that, it was HOW TO COOK YOUR LIFE, which was quite enthralling.

17. What’s your favorite/preferred genre of movie? Musicals or speculative fiction. Good combinations of both are awesome.

18. What’s the first movie you remember seeing in the theater? Either CINDERELLA or CINDERELLA LIBERTY. My mom wanted to see the latter and I was totally confused why there were no fairies or pumpkins. But I know I saw the Disney film around the same time too.

19. What movie do you wish you had never seen? INDEPENDENCE DAY. What utter crap.

20. What is the weirdest movie you enjoyed? Well, most of the truly weird ones are enjoyable on some level. But let’s say LET ME DIE A WOMAN or MYRA BRECKINRIDGE.

21. What is the scariest movie you’ve seen? AUDITION. I didn’t have nightmares or anything, but the amount of nervous giggling it inspired in me is unparalleled.

22. What is the funniest movie you’ve seen? BRINGING UP BABY without a doubt. Nothing stands a chance against it, though AUNTIE MAME has a bit of sentimental value that makes it slightly favored for repeat viewings.

So I found this movie meme way back in March at Zoom-In Online, but Chris just recently did it over at Ambitious Slacker, so I thought I’d better finish it up and post it.

1. Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times.

Well, off the top of my head:
“A Room with a View”
“Field of Dreams”
“Impromptu”
“Miss Firecracker”
“Last Night” (if not 10, then it’s getting awfully close)

2. Name a movie that you’ve seen multiple times in the theater.

Multiple times? That’s pretty loose. I will interpret that as more than three.
“A Room with a View”
“Donnie Darko”
“I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing”

3. Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a movie.

Sarah Polley
Don McKellar
Ellen Page
Tracy Wright
Judy Davis
But to be honest, it’s a director that will drive me to a movie before the actors.

4. Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a movie.

Okay, it’s almost a cliche, I know, but it’s Tom Cruise

5. Name a movie that you can and do quote from.

I pretty much know all the dialogue from “A Room with a View.” Here are a couple of my favorites, both uttered by Judy Dench’s character Eleanor Lavish.

“And I’ve divined it Charlotte, you had an adventure there. Feign to deny it!” – “A Room with a View”

“Observe my foresight: I never travel anywhere without my MacIntosh squares. One never know when one might have to sit on damp ground or cold marble.” – “A Room with a View”

“Miss Firecracker’s” got some great lines, especially those delivered by Alfre Woodard, but here’s a favorite I love to quote in a southern access delivered by Tim Robbins’ Delmont

“Land sake, she wasn’t really a monkey. She was just excessively furry for a human being.” — “Miss Firecracker

I can do a lot of Hal Hartley. “Trust” has lots of really wonderful lines, but this one delivered by Elina Lowensohn in “Amateur” I’m particularly fond of.

“I want to be a mover and a shaker.” – “Amateur”

Like Lowensohn, I’m particularly fond of odd accents, and one of the best belongs to Isabella Rosellini. I love her delivery of this line in “Siesta”

“No! We came to see the race. I want to see who wins!” — “Siesta”

And of course, anyone who knows me will be expecting to see my signature line uttered by Beth Grant as Kitty Farmer in “Donnie Darko”

“I’m beginning to doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion!” — “Donnie Darko”

6. Name a movie musical that you know all of the lyrics to all of the songs.

Hmmm… that’s a difficult one. I would have to say “Bye, Bye, Birdie.”

7. Name a movie that you have been known to sing along with.

I’m going to go again with “Bye, Bye, Birdie.” Oh, and I also sing along with the Delibes piece in “I’ve Heard the Mermaid Singing.”

8. Name a movie that you would recommend everyone see.

“The Sweet Hereafter”
“Last Night”

9. Name a movie that you own.

Oh come on. I’ve got tons. I do own, or are in the process of owning all of the films by Hal Hartley, Atom Egoyan, Don McKellar, or starring Judy Davis.

10. Name an actor that launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops.

I know I can come up with a better answer to this one, but for now I’m going to say I really enjoyed Reba McIntire in “Tremors.” Okay, I just remembered that Cybil Shepherd started out as a model and she’s done some great stuff. And that made me think of Famke Janssen, who really intrigues me. Of course, she was great as Jean Grey in the X-Men movies, but she’s done some nifty indie stuff as well. Barbra Streisand and Tom Waits deserve a mention here as well.

11. Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? If so, what?

Yeah, a few. An early double feature that I recall was “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and “The Yellow Submarine.” I also remember seeing “Meatballs,” “An American Werewolf in London,” and “Halloween 2.”

12. Ever made out in a movie?

There was a little hanky panky going on during “In the Mood for Love.” It was an inspirational film that way.

13. Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just haven’t yet gotten around to it.

The ones that have been on my Netflix cue the longest and I keep putting things above are:

“Mr. Skeffington”
“Repo Man”
“Diva”
“The Up Series”
“Ikiru”
“Hard Eight”
“Picture Claire”
“Bottle Rocket”
“Jesus’ Son”
“Cries and Whispers”
“Roadkill”

14. Ever walked out of a movie?

Only once: “An American Werewolf in London” I only walked out because I was expecting a comedy from the review I read, and I wasn’t prepared for the terrifying first 45 minutes or so of the film. I did go back and see it again at the Drive-In (see above) a couple months later.

I would have walked out on “True Lies” if I had known the people I was with wanted to leave as well.

15. Name a movie that made you cry in the theater.

I cry all the time, both in sad movies and happy movies. The last movie I cried at was “Lars & the Real Girl.” I didn’t actually shed tears at “Juno,” but I did get pretty choked up.

16. Popcorn?

Nah. But I’ll eat someone else’s if they have it.

17. How often do you go to the movies (as opposed to renting them or watching them at home)?

At least once a week.

18. What’s the last movie you saw in the theater?

“Southland Tales”

19. What’s your favorite/preferred genre of movie?

Character driven drama

20. What’s the first movie you remember seeing in the theater?

I can’t remember the first movie I saw in the theatre. I’m sure it was a Disney film. The first movie I remember seeing at the theatre was definitely “Fantasia.”

21. What movie do you wish you had never seen?

There are few movies that I regret seeing, and I tend to forget those films pretty quickly. I don’t mind seeing bad movies every once in a while, but there are a few films that I can remember wishing I had my two hours back. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) none are coming to mind.

22. What is the weirdest movie you enjoyed?

I love weird movies. And the definition of weird is so loose. There’s “The Apple.” There’s most of David Lynch’s films which could definitely be considered weird… most recently “Inland Empire.” I would agree with Chris about “The Happiness of the Katakuris.” Actually, weird movies are among my favorites.

23. What is the scariest movie you’ve seen?

I saw “The Legend of Hell House” back in the 70’s on TV while sleeping over my sister’s house and I was terrified. It probably wasn’t all that frightening in retrospect, but it’s loomed terrifyingly large in my memory. I’m quite proud of the fact that I made it through “Audition” in the theatre while other theatre-goers around me bolted.

24. What is the funniest movie you’ve seen?

Like Chris, I’m currently working on my list of the funniest movies of all time, so I will share the answer to this one later. I think it might come down to one of these three though:

“Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown”
“Fargo”
“Serial Mom”