The Latest SLIFR Movie Quiz

Dennis Cozzalio over at Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule (or SLIFR for short) has posted his latest in a long line of wonderful movie quizzes. I love these things and haven't had the chance to do one in a long time, so this one was particularly enjoyable. Anyway, here are my answers.


1) Depending on your mood, your favorite or least-loved movie cliché

I was watching a movie on TV the other day where early on a character boarding a plane pulled out a photo of his wife and child and talked about how he couldn't wait to be reuinted with them. I found myself thinking he might as well be wearing a big flashing neon sign that says "I AM GOING TO DIE."

2) Regardless of whether or not you eventually caught up with it, which film classic have you lied about seeing in the past?

I generally try not to lie about films I have or haven't seen, but I seem to have some vague recollection of giving a customer in the video store one night the impression that I had seen George Lucas' American Graffiti when I hadn't... and still haven't.

3) Roland Young or Edward Everett Horton?

The master of the double and triple-take: Horton.


4) Second favorite Frank Tashlin movie

The only two Frank Tashlin films I've seen are the ones he did with Jerry Lewis: Cinderfella and The Disorderly Orderly. Of those two I like Orderly more, so (by default) Cinderfella.

5) Clockwork Orange-- yes or no?

No, in the sense that I have not seen it. Yes, in the sense that I am willing to give it a try.

6) Best/favorite use of gender dysphoria in a horror film

Okay, I seriously had to go look this up. Now that I have... I'm still not sure what it means. Does the androgynous chick playing Satan in The Passion of the Christ count?


7) Melanie Laurent or Blake Lively?

Maybe it's just me but I find so many of the young, beautiful actresses working in Hollywood today virtually interchangeable.

8) Best movie of 2011 (so far…)

Tough call, but of the films I've seen, at this point I'm going to have to go with The Adjustment Bureau.


9) Favorite screen performer with a noticeable facial deformity

Don't know if it counts as a "deformity," but Owen Wilson's nose is so crooked that I remember thinking "That guy will never make it in movies," when I first saw him. Boy, was I wrong.

10) Lars von Trier: shithead or misunderstood comic savant?

I don't know. The only Lars Von trier film I've seen is Europa (or Zentropa as it was called here in the U.S.) and I haven't heard/read enough about him to really make an informed opinion. Sure, I've heard about the stupid stuff he said at Cannes, but I'm not sure I take him and those comments completely seriously. Then again, he could still be a giant douche who was just kidding. So, my final answer is: I really don't know. Jury's still out for me.

11) Timothy Carey or Henry Silva?

Henry Silva because he was in the underrated Walt Disney/Dick Van Dyke comedy Never a Dull Moment which I used to watch all the time when I was younger.


12) Low-profile writer who deserves more attention from critics and /or audiences

Whenever the subject of best screenwriters working today is discussed, it always bothers me that Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, Truman Show) never gets mentioned.

13) Movie most recently viewed theatrically, and on DVD, Blu-ray or streaming

Theatrically: Thor
On DVD: Gulliver's Travels
Streaming: The Sorcerer's Apprentice

14) Favorite film noir villain

Edward G. Robinson's brilliant insurance investigator Keyes in Double Indemnity. Yes, I know he's not really a "villain" but he is the antagonist and one of the things I love about that film is how they simultaneously get you to root for and against his character.


15) Best thing about streaming movies?

I realize it's blasphemy for a former video store manager to say this, but..... not having to leave the comfort of your own home to find a movie.

16) Fay Spain or France Nuyen?

I don't know who these people are.

17) Favorite Kirk Douglas movie that isn’t called Spartacus

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. It was my introduction to Kirk Douglas. I saw a lot of that film when I was a kid and even remember watching Romancing the Stone with my family one night and observing that the guy who played Jack looked an awful lot like the guy from 20,000 League Under the Sea.

18) Favorite movie about cars

American Graffiti

19) Audrey Totter or Marie Windsor?

I don't know who these people are either.

20) Existing Stephen King movie adaptation that could use an remake/reboot/overhaul

I always felt like his story "The Trucks" deserved a better cinematic treatment than the one he himself gave it in Maximum Overdrive.


21) Low-profile director who deserves more attention from critics and/or audiences

Same answer as #12, because he also directs.

22) What actor that you previously enjoyed has become distracting or a self-parody?

Sadly, Robert DeNiro.

23) Best place in the world to see a movie

Wherever you happen to be at that moment.

24) Charles McGraw or Sterling Hayden?

Thankfully, I know who these people are. Sterling Hayden all the way, Mandrake!


25) Second favorite Yasujiro Ozu film

I'm sorry to say that I have not seen any of his films yet.

26) Most memorable horror movie father figure

Gregory Peck in The Omen.

27) Name a non-action-oriented movie that would be fun to see in Sensurround

My Dinner With Andre ("You feel like you're sitting right there in the restaurant with them!")


28) Chris Evans or Ryan Reynolds?

I like Ryan Reynolds more than Chris Evans (that dude just got on my nerves in the Fantastic Four movies), but I am actually looking forward to Captain America more than Green Lantern.

29) Favorite relatively unknown supporting player, from either or both the classic and the modern era

Anytime Larry Hankin shows up in something, he always makes me smile.

30) Real-life movie location you most recently visited or saw

A few summers ago I got a chance to visit the Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood in Oregon... otherwise known as the shooting location for the exteriors shots of the Overlook Hotel in The Shining.


31) Second favorite Budd Boetticher movie

I don't know who that is.

32) Mara Corday or Julie Adams?

I don't know who they are either (Man, this is getting embarrassing!)

33) Favorite Universal-International western

"Doesn't the fact that it's universal make it international?"

34) What's the biggest "gimmick" that's drawn you out to see a movie?

The trailer for the Will Smith vehicle Seven Pounds intrigued me because it was one of those exceptionally rare trailers that didn't reveal what the movie was actually about. That got me in the theater.

35) Favorite actress of the silent era

I'm going to be completely unoriginal here and say Lillian Gish. I watched another one of her films not too long ago and that girl just had one of the most beautifully expressive faces I've ever seen. Period.


36) Best Eugene Pallette performance

That's funny because I was JUST watching The Adventures of Robin Hood the other day and remarking how much I loved Pallette's Friar Tuck.

37) Best/worst remake of the 21st century so far?

For the best I'm going to have to go with True Grit. For the worst, and I am saying this only because I was recently reminded of it, probably Around the World in 80 Days.

38) What could multiplex owners do right now to improve the theatrical viewing experience for moviegoers? What could moviegoers do?

Multiplex owners could lower their prices drastically an moviegoers could actually turn off their freakin' cell phones. However, I know neither of these are going to happen, so onward and upward.