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Miscellaneous: Meme’s The Same

I usually don’t go in for this kind of thing. I’m a loner, Dottie. A rebel. But it’s all the rage among the GreenCine regulars, so I want to play, too.

1. Total number of films I own on DVD and video

112. Wow. I didn’t think it was that many.

2. The last film I bought

A “Classic Monster Movies” collection featuring DOCTOR BLOOD’S COFFIN, FURY OF THE WOLFMAN, and THE BRAINIAC on one disc.

Look, it was only five bucks. What do you want from me?

3. The last film I watched

THE HARDER THEY FALL (1956). A tough, pulpy boxing drama from a novel by Budd Schulberg. Bogart’s last film. I watched it because Max Baer, the villain of CINDERELLA MAN, appears in it as an exaggerated version of himself.

4. Five films that I watch a lot or that mean a lot to me, in no particular order

Here I’m going to cheat and give each selection a similarly-themed alternate. It’s a meme, people. I can do what I like.

ALIEN (1979) – In a lapse of judgment she has come to regret, my mother took me to see this when I was a kid. I had never realized you could frighten adults before. That revelation made me want to make movies. Alternate: BRAZIL (1985)

THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE (1974) – Pound for pound, the most entertaining movie ever made. Alternate: RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)

BLOWUP (1966) – For peerless writing. It tells its story in purely visual terms. Alternate: CHINATOWN (1974)

NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) – The complete movie package, and the level of artistry to which I aspire. Alternate: L.A. CONFIDENTIAL (1997)

THE THIRD MAN (1949) – As good as it gets. Alternate: DR. STRANGELOVE (1964)

Bonus Entry: OUT OF THE PAST (1947). Just because.

5. If you could be any character portrayed in a movie, who would it be?

Gene Hackman in THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE. Because he goes out cursing God and saving Pamela Sue Martin. And because I’ve never looked good in a turtleneck.

Who’s next?

TV: Celebrity Charades

All my life I have waited for a worthy successor to THE BATTLE OF THE NETWORK STARS. This limited-run AMC series created by Bob Balaban, Chad Lowe and Hilary Swank isn’t it – for one thing, there’s no dunk tank – but it’s close.

posted by Vince # 12:02 PM

3 Comments:

At 10:26 AM #

Rosemarie said:

Thanks to community property, see Vince's post for my responses to #1-3. As for the rest...

4. Five films that I watch a lot or that mean a lot to me, in no particular order

Joe vs. the Volcano
Duck Soup
King Kong
Mallrats
42nd Street

5. If you could be any character portrayed in a movie, who would it be?

Catherine Olds Banning in The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)

At 7:50 AM #

Mike G said:

1. 67
2. For Father's Day, Paula bought me the Indiana Jones box set. Prior to that, a Blockbuster gift card yielded BRINGING UP BABY, DOG DAY AFTERNOON and CAT BALLOU.
3. NATIONAL TREASURE
4. SLEEPER
THE RIGHT STUFF
THE BLUES BROTHERS
REAR WINDOW
GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS
Alternate: ZELIG
5. Ferris Bueller. What can I say, I never skipped school once.

At 12:20 PM #

Luke Mueller said:

1. 56 DVDs. More videos than I care to count. But this includes the accumulated film library of a family of five, so I can't claim real ownership for most of them.
2. THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS, a Mother's Day gift. I haven't seen it yet.
3. At first I thought it was SIDEWAYS, but then I remembered that I hosted my latest Bad Movie Party this week. Thus, I last saw GANGLAND, followed immediately by BE COOL. Fans of bad movies would do well to check out GANGLAND.
4. (1) JURASSIC PARK. One of my greatest early film memories, and part of the cause of my interest in science fiction, actual science, and moviemaking. Introduced me to Crichton and Spielberg. Alternately: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK or RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK.
(2) O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? Introduced me to the Coen brothers, not to mention some wonderful music.
(3) AIRPLANE. I love ridiculous movies. Introduced me to the Zuckers. Alternate: RAT RACE. Yes, I know. I'm sorry.
(4) THE COURT JESTER. 'nuff said.
(5) ALADDIN. From the height of Disney's late-80's-to-mid-90's renaissance, this one ages very well. A friend somehow convinced me (along with a group of my fellow testosterone-swathed teenagers!) to watch it again recently and we enjoyed every minute of it.

Alternates that don't fit with any of the above: THE FRENCH CONNECTION, THE AFRICAN QUEEN, HOLD THAT GHOST, PULP FICTION.

I'd also like to give a giant thumbs up to ALIEN, as well as the Hitchcock, Woody Allen, and Marx Brothers films mentioned. (Just wanted my list to be original. :-D )
5. Oh, I don't know... Captain Jack Sparrow.

I think I was only leaving a comment in the first place to say that I have also discovered Celebrity Charades, but I really have nothing to say about it.

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Wednesday, June 22, 2005