Happy Memorial Day All! Currently watching the French Open (and loving it) but I have decided to take some time to do some browsing around the ‘net to see what is going on on some of my favorite movie sites. That is when I came across this fantastic meme (respect to Cinematic Paradox via my friends at Anomalous Material). The meme is called 15 Movie Questions. So without further ado, here are my answers:
1. Movie you love with a passion.
Sure I can find minor quibbles with stuff as I have watched it over the years, but I am always drawn A Room With a View.
2. Movie you vow to never watch.
I refuse to see Revenge of the Sith in its entirety. Sure I have it on good authority that this was the best of the prequels but I was so let down by the first two I gave up on the prequel franchise.
3. Movie that literally left you speechless.
Children of Men
4. Movie you always recommend.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
5. Actor/actress you always watch, no matter how crappy the movie.
Kate Winslet!
6. Actor/actress you don’t get the appeal for.
Too many to name.
7. Actor/actress, living or dead, you’d love to meet.
It’s a tie: Rashida Jones and Drew Barrymore. They seem like cool ladies.
8. Sexiest actor/actress you’ve seen. (Picture required!)
Not a fair question … so much hotness out there at the present moment. Guess I will go old-school with Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire.
9. Dream cast.
Love Actually
10. Favorite actor pairing.
Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, Notorious
11. Favorite movie setting.
12. Favorite decade for movies.
The 1960’s – it was such a turbulent decade outside of film but a lot of that unrest and upheaval became part of cinematic history.
13. Chick flick or action movie?
An action flick featuring a bad-a** chick 🙂
14. Hero, villain or anti-hero?
Anti-hero all the way ….
15. Black and white or color?
Cut my movie-loving teeth in the world of good ole B&W. But that is not why it is my choice. Over the years, I have come to really love the interplay between shadow and light that is so evident in the best B&W cinematography.
Well that’s me! Tell me what you think.
Love your picks, especially Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, I’ve found the favourite pairing to be the most interesting in many lists! A lot of people are going with the 60’s for best decade, which I found surprising. All in all great 15!
Thanks Anna. I had the hardest time with the sexy actor/actress oddly enough.
Great meme. I might do my own version of this. Thanks for the idea 🙂
Thanks Ronan – as you can tell I cannot take credit for originating it but I agree it is a FANTASTIC thing. It really gets you thinking and gives your audience the opportunity to see how your movie-mind works.
Good call on Drew Barrymoore that would be a interesting meeting.
@Joel – Drew has been my “girl” since E.T.
you have some great choices! I agree about Drew Barrymore she seems so cool I wold love to meet her.
Good choice, Rashida Jones. She seems like a down-to-earth chick, the kind of woman you could have a beer with. So does Catherine Keener.
And although I do love color in movies, I’d be tempted to pick black and white simply because the shadows are so much more dramatic. I think back to “Out of the Past” and “Casablanca,” and I just know those would be ruined by technicolor!
@M. Carter I remember growing up and the whole “colorization” craze that ruined films like “Miracle on 34th Street.” I also remember thinking that my parents lived in a B&W world 🙂
RE: Rashida Jones – don’t know when it started but I have been a huge fangirl of hers for a while. Like you said you could just sit down and chill with her.
A truly fun meme. I’m working on my own answers even as we speak. 🙂
Your answer on the movie you vowed never to watch intrigued me. Did George Lucas please anyone but himself with these three additional and completely unnecessary films? I only saw part of one and that was enough for me. Though I LOVED the originals. (That’s how I’ll always think of them.)
I too loved ROOM WITH A VIEW. Such a gorgeous, gorgeous film. In my opinion, Julian Sands never again looked as good. Hard to believe Daniel Day Lewis playing the prissy pseudo-intellectual was the same actor who appeared in MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE. Maggie Smith is wonderful, Helena Bonham Carter, of course. Well, the whole cast is wonderful, really. Great choice.
1. Among a number of others, the original of CAT PEOPLE.
2. I see no reason to see THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE, having seen two clips.
3. None so far, at least literally.
4. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, among a few others.
5. Several, for as long as I watch the film in question. Angela Bassett for one.
7. Rashida Jones seems an excellent choice. Diana Rigg, perhaps…Bassett…and:
8. Single sexiest? Almost impossible to settle on. Sela Ward?
9. THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB…too many men, though.
10. Tracy Reed and George C. Scott in DR. STRANGELOVE (well, in that it gives hope, after a fashion). BEFORE SUNSET’s duo.
11. No favorites.
12. All eligible decades have something to be said for them. At the moment, the 1970s.
13. THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT (or SO CLOSE)(or CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON)(or even THE REPLACEMENT KILLERS) seems an excellent answer.
14. Anti-hero, up to a point. Everyday hero or villain works.
15. As appropriate, both. Pixelvision.
And, thanks! The discs have arrived safe and sound!
@Yvette I remember seeing Phantom Menace in the theater so clearly a friend of mine came up to NY for the weekend and me and another friend dragged her to see this embarrassment of a movie. I left the theater dumbfounded in the worst of ways. Saw Clones on TV and while better still not good enough for me to muster the resources to see the third installment.
I watched ARWAV specifically before venturing off to Florence the ffor the first time. It is so beautiful. The contrast between the reserve and the passion was what got me. I think it captured the spirit of the book rather well.
If you like Helena Bonham Carter, stay tuned for the coming days, she may get another mention on this site 🙂
@Todd Glad to hear about the discs. Great response to #15!
I personally feel that “single sexiest” question is a bit unfair, thus the throwaway (sort of) response. Ask me on any day in any given year and the answer will change. What makes one sexy in film is the portrayal of the character. My thing is I am not sure how sexy I would think they are off camera. Often we are disappointed by the man behind the mask, so to speak.
Hi, iluvcinema!
I kind of wandered over here from ‘Flix Chatter’. You have some excellent choices and topics.
I grew up in B&W as a kid during the 1960s. Never had a Color TV until 1973, so I still believe it’s a must for many genres. Especially Noir and suspense.
Movies I love with a passion?: I still a sucker for Kubrick’s ‘Barry Lyndon’ for its costumes, setting and marvelous low light/candle camera work. Also ‘Serpico’ and any film that uses parts of New York no one ever sees as a backdrop.
Movies I Vow Never To Watch: Any ‘Star Wars’ films other that the original three (Eps. IV, V and VI) from George Lucas. Most re-makes of classic films.
Films That Left Me Speechless: A little, nearly unknown Reagan Era UK import titled ‘Threads’. Done in the dry Documentary style the Brits are known for. WWIII happens as several families from Sheffield deal with Nuclear Winter and beyond.
Movie(s) I Always Reccomend: ‘They Were Expendable’. Yes, it’s John Wayne and WWII in the Phillipines right after Pearl Harbor. Which is what makes it so good. Also ‘The Last Seduction’ with Linda Fiorentino who pulls out all the stops as a heartless Femme Fatale.
Actors I Always Watch: Nick Nolte, Powers Boothe, Michael Ironside, William Forsythe, Clancy Brown were all in Walter Hill’s ‘Extreme Prejudice’ which caught my attention ages ago. Fan of Nolte since his early
role as Ray Hicks in ‘Who’ll Stop The Rain’. Also James Coburn, Gary Sinise and Bill Paxton.
Ellen Page, Emily Blunt, Ellen Barkin and Jenette Goldstein (Pvt. Vasquez in ‘Aliens’)because she’s an absolute chameleon when it comes to roles.
Actors I don’t get: Never cared for Adam Sandler, even when he was on SNL. Same with Ben Stiller. His parents were funny, he’s never been. Don’t get Anne Hathaway, either. Mediocre talent and looks that Hollywood is trying to hype and transform into the next Meryl Streep or Glen Close.
Favorite Decade For Film: The 70’s. The 1960’s may have brought the upheaval of French New Wave which was cloned from American B-Movies, but the 70’s opened the doors wide with the crumbling of moguls and empires that put money in the hands of those willing to give it to any director who had an idea that might work. Yes, there were some turkeys, but it also gave us some of our greatest films!
Thanks Jack!
I may have to check out “Threads”
I remember watching “Extreme Prejudice” many years ago. I was a kid so I do not remember it much – but your choice of primarily 80s character actors is quite cool.
RE: Jenette Goldstein (aka Vasquez) really is a chameleon – there was one movie she was in that my brother asked me if I knew who she was and I had no clue.
I never saw “Barry Lyndon” but have seen bits of it. It really is a picture with words. Beautiful film.
Your assessment for actors you don’t get is totally relatable. a couple of your picks made my list. I was just too mean to put folks on blast. But really the list would have been quite long.
Thank you for journeying over here and for your contribution!
I have updated my 15 questions meme with names and film titles now: http://www.joelburman.com/2011/06/fifteen-movie-questions-meme/
Make sure you vote for Long Kiss goodnight in the poll over here: http://largeassmovieblogs.blogspot.com/2011/06/movie-of-monthlambcast-71-thing.html
Thanks Joel!