Professor Julius Kelp's Endless Summer Chemistry Test

[pryor15]

at the wonderful blog Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule, there's an on-going series of film quizzes for the devoted masses to spend their time answering. Actually, "quiz" probably isn't the right word, since there's never a wrong answer. "Survey" is more accurate. Anyway, the new one is up. Here's my answers, feel free to play along.

i'll throw mine up in a bit.

1) Does film best tell the truth (Godard) or tell lies (De Palma) at 24 frames per second?

2) Ideal pairing of actors/actresses to play on-screen siblings

3) Favorite special effects moment

4) Matt Damon or George Clooney?

5) What is the movie you’ve encouraged more people to see than any other?

6) Favorite film of 1934

7) Your favorite movie theater*

8) Jean Arthur or Irene Dunne?

9) Favorite film made for children

10) Favorite Martin Scorsese Movie

11) Favorite film about children

12) Favorite film of 1954

13) Favorite screenplay written by a writer more famous for literature than screenplays

14) Walter Matthau or Jack Lemmon?

15) Favorite character name

16) Favorite screenplay adapted from a work of great literature, either by the author himself or by someone else

17) Favorite film of 1974

18) Joan Severance or Shannon Tweed?

19) jackass: the movie-- yes or no?

20) Favorite John Cassavetes Movie

21) First R-rated movie you ever saw

22) Favorite X-rated film (remember that, while your answer may well be a famous or not-so-famous hard-core film, the "X" rating was once also a legitimate rating that did not necessarily connote pornography)

23) Best film of 1994

24) Describe a moment in a movie that made you weep

25) Ewan McGregor or Ewan Bremner?

26) One of your favorite line readings (not necessarily one of your favorite lines) from this or any year

27) What, if any, element in a film, upon your hearing of its inclusion beforehand, would most likely prejudice you against seeing that film or keeping an open mind about it?

28) Favorite Terry Gilliam Movie

29) Jean Smart or Annie Potts?

30) Is it possible to know with any certainty if you could like or love someone based on their taste in movies? If so, what film might be a potential relationship deal-breaker for you, or the one that might just seal that deal?

[BarronVangorToth]

I would've liked this survey much better if they stuck a question from the end of the list between Questions 12 and 17 and then shifted everything up 1.

[pryor15]

as promised.

1) Does film best tell the truth (Godard) or tell lies (De Palma) at 24 frames per second?

There's the line from Being John Malcovich, "There is truth, and there are lies, and art always tells the truth. Even when it's lying.", and while that's clever and everything, there's a bit of truth to it. Literature has always had a duality of truth about it where fiction is always largely based on truth and non-fiction always has an element of fiction to it. But film, due to the fact that it can show us what words could only describe, tends to feel more truthful, since certain films can make us feel like we're watching real life. It's all stylized, though, even verite stuff is edited for effect. As I read the question again, I realize you were looking for what it does best...um, of that I'm not sure.

2) Ideal pairing of actors/actresses to play on-screen siblings

I'll assume we're meant to disregard real siblings and be a bit more creative. I could see a world where Ethan Hawke and John Hawkes are brothers, but maybe that's because they have similar last names and weird little goatees.

3) Favorite special effects moment

Special effects tend to bore me, so I'm tempted to pick one of the many from Citizen Kane, but instead I'll go with the battle in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon when they're both perched atop a bamboo forest, swaying back and forth and waiting for an oportunity to strike. There's a zen-like beauty to the whole thing that makes you forget they're on wires.

4) Matt Damon or George Clooney?

A couple of years ago, I would have said Damon, easily, but Clooney's pairings with Soderberg has really matured him as an actor and I, for one, find him to be a fascinating director. That being said, I like Damon a great deal.

5) What is the movie you’ve encouraged more people to see than any other?

I've encouraged almost everyone I know to see Before Sunset, which is odd because for as much as my own writing shamelessly steals from it, you'd think I'd want to ensure people don't discover how little creativity I really have. More recently, I've been pushing The Best of Youth on everyone who will listen and Sally Potter's Yes on everyone else.

6) Favorite film of 1934

I think I've seen It Happened One Night, and if it's the film I think it is, then I go with that.

7) Your favorite movie theater*

The Strand in Rockland, Maine. I saw my first film there forever ago and a couple of years ago it was renovated and turned into an art house theatre when one can watch the latest foreign film or Oscar shorts in a theatre that feels like something out of Hollywood's golden age and sells adult beverages in the balcony.

8) Jean Arthur or Irene Dunne?

Irene Dunne stole an entire film from Cary Grant. That's good enough for me.

9) Favorite film made for children

Searching for Bobby Fisher

10) Favorite Martin Scorsese Movie

Gee, there's so many good choices. A lot of people might go with Goodfellas here, but I'm old school. Taxi Driver is just brilliant beyond compare.

11) Favorite film about children

I was going to get all pretentious and mention the Up series here until I realized that my answer would actually be The 400 Blows, which is pretentious enough on it's own.

12) Favorite film of 1954

Rear Window is conveniently one of my favorite films anyway. The amount of drama and tension Hitchcock builds without leaving that room is the gold standard for suspense.

13) Favorite screenplay written by a writer more famous for literature than screenplays

This one's harder than I thought, as I'm having trouble thinking of screenplays I like by non-screenwriters. Best I can come up with is Garland's 28 Days Later. He, of course, is a fine novelist who wrote The Beach, a novel that was much better than that awful film indicated.

14) Walter Matthau or Jack Lemmon?

Lemmon always struck me as the more talented of the 2.

15) Favorite character name

There's really 2 ways to go here. Either you can pick something Bond-ish, like Pussy Galore, or a character name that isn't a name at all. Had the scene from the novel High Fidelity been included in the film, the easy answer here would be "The Most Pathetic Man In The World".

16) Favorite screenplay adapted from a work of great literature, either by the author himself or by someone else

I guess it all depends on what you consider to be great literature. Is The Graduate, Being There, or the works of Andre Dubus great literature? Probably not, but they've turned into some fine screenplays. Shakespeare is too boring an answer for these purposes. I'll throw a couple others out, though. I really enjoyed the Coen Brothers riffing on Homer in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, you could make the argument that Kieslowski's Dekalog is adapted from the 10 Commandments (but that's really stretching things), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest qualifies, the original The Manchurian Candidate is a fine screenplay (but I don't know how great the source material was), but here's an odd one: Slaughter-house five a brilliant novel, produced an intriguing film that, while disjointed and odd, adapted that novel about as well as you could expect. As far as Vonnegut adaptations go, it's one of the better ones.

17) Favorite film of 1974

Yeah, that was a hell of a year. 4 of the 5 Best Picture nominees are fantastic (Godfather II, Chinatown, The Conversation, and Lenny), plus there's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Day For Night, and Young Frankenstein. Damn you for making me choose. Argh, Godfather II.

18) Joan Severance or Shannon Tweed?

Unless I happened to catch the Frasier episode Tweed was in, I don't know that I've ever seen either one of them act.

19) jackass: the movie-- yes or no?

not so much

20) Favorite John Cassavetes Movie

I'll plug They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? and go with Husbands, largely because their link icon is a still from the film.

21) First R-rated movie you ever saw

For the life of me, I can't recall.

22) Favorite X-rated film (remember that, while your answer may well be a famous or not-so-famous hard-core film, the "X" rating was once also a legitimate rating that did not necessarily connote pornography)

My first thought was Midnight Cowboy, the only X-rated Best Picture winner, and that's a good choice, but how can the answer be anything but A Clockwork Orange? It's one of Kubrick's best and has all the controversy you like with a X-rated film.

23) Best film of 1994

Sure, everyone's gonna go with Pulp Fiction and Shawshank, but they're nuts. This one is easy: Kieslowski's Trois couleurs: Rouge.

24) Describe a moment in a movie that made you weep

Pretty much the entire last half hour of In America. There's something about that father storyline that gets me everytime. I must be getting old.

25) Ewan McGregor or Ewan Bremner?

This might have been closer, but I don't recall Bremner ever riding a motorcycle around the world.

26) One of your favorite line readings (not necessarily one of your favorite lines) from this or any year

Bill Murray in Rushmore: "I'm a little bit lonely these days." Also, most of Jeff Daniels in The Squid and the Whale.

27) What, if any, element in a film, upon your hearing of its inclusion beforehand, would most likely prejudice you against seeing that film or keeping an open mind about it?

I read in an article the other day the Kevin Smith initially wanted to film Clerks II digitally, which strikes me as a pretty obvious choice, given the low-budget nature of the first one, but his DP wasn't comfortable shooting digitally, so they went with 35mm. If I'm Smith and my DP tells me that, I do one of two things 1) tell my DP he better start figuring out how to shoot on digital or 2) get a new DP. To me, this is a red flag that takes my interest in the film down to about 0.

28) Favorite Terry Gilliam Movie

Everyone says Brazil here, I bet, or Monty Python, but I much prefer Lost in La Mancha, which obviously isn't a Gilliam film, per se, but in a lot of ways it is.

29) Jean Smart or Annie Potts?

Jean Smart.

30) Is it possible to know with any certainty if you could like or love someone based on their taste in movies? If so, what film might be a potential relationship deal-breaker for you, or the one that might just seal that deal?

I doubt one could seal the deal, but I can't imagine falling in love with someone who didn't have at least an appreciation of Bergman's Scenes From a Marriage or Kieslowski's Trois couleurs or Linklater's Before Sunset. Then again, I've been wrong before concerning love.

[BarronVangorToth]

Wow... with reasons for the choices. Very cool post, even if this answer shocked me from you:



[ QUOTE ]

13) Favorite screenplay written by a writer more famous for literature than screenplays

This one's harder than I thought, as I'm having trouble thinking of screenplays I like by non-screenwriters. Best I can come up with is Garland's 28 Days Later. He, of course, is a fine novelist who wrote The Beach, a novel that was much better than that awful film indicated.


[/ QUOTE ]


If asked to bet as to what you'd answer, I would've put the loot on John Irving for "Cider House Rules."

[pryor15]

[ QUOTE ]
Wow... with reasons for the choices. Very cool post, even if this answer shocked me from you:



[ QUOTE ]

13) Favorite screenplay written by a writer more famous for literature than screenplays

This one's harder than I thought, as I'm having trouble thinking of screenplays I like by non-screenwriters. Best I can come up with is Garland's 28 Days Later. He, of course, is a fine novelist who wrote The Beach, a novel that was much better than that awful film indicated.


[/ QUOTE ]


If asked to bet as to what you'd answer, I would've put the loot on John Irving for "Cider House Rules."

[/ QUOTE ]

being from Maine, I'm not a big fan of films that can't get the accent right. also, i didn't think of that one. either way, it was ok, but i liked 28 days better

[Moneyline]

1) Does film best tell the truth (Godard) or tell lies (De Palma) at 24 frames per second?

Good, we can get the pretentious questions out of the way first… I’ll go with the latter here. Deception is one of the cornerstones of filmmaking. Lighting, makeup, special effects, stunt doubles, body doubles, and many other forms of deception are so central to the process that it would be impossible to create truth out of so many falsehoods. As Marshall McLuhan would say, the medium is the message, and the medium of film relies heavily on deception. Some may argue that these forms of deception may help to enhance “truth with a capital ‘T,’” but I believe those who argue this should be kicked in the groin with a capital “K.”

2) Ideal pairing of actors/actresses to play on-screen siblings

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito. Clearly.

3) Favorite special effects moment

The fire extinguisher beating in Irrevsersible. It was the moment that allowed me to accept CGI as something positive and useful.

4) Matt Damon or George Clooney?

Clooney in a landslide.

5) What is the movie you’ve encouraged more people to see than any other?

Overall, probably BLACK BELT JONES, but I don’t receommend that film anymore because once people see the film they inevitably pilfer my tape. Nowadays I usually recommend CHALLENGE OF THE TIGER.

6) Favorite film of 1934

DUCK SOUP… Premiered in late ’33 but was released in Europe (and I assume) many parts of the US in ’34, which is close enough for me.

7) Your favorite movie theater*

This is a tie. One is the Enzian Theater, a single (large) screen arthouse in Maitland, Florida with gourmet food served to you while you relax in comfortable couches. The other is the now defunct Georgetown Auto-Sinn in Georgetown, MA, a porno drive-in near where I grew up.

8) Jean Arthur or Irene Dunne?

Jean Arthur.

9) Favorite film made for children

How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

10) Favorite Martin Scorsese Movie
Raging Bull.

11) Favorite film about children

Streetwise

12) Favorite film of 1954

On the Waterfront

13) Favorite screenplay written by a writer more famous for literature than screenplays

The Onion Field by Joseph Wambaugh.

14) Walter Matthau or Jack Lemmon?

Matthau.

15) Favorite character name

Hmmm… Probably Max Cherry (Jackie Brown), Dick Cannon (Challenge of the Tiger), or Alotta Fagina.

16) Favorite screenplay adapted from a work of great literature, either by the author himself or by someone else

Eugenie: The Story of Her Journey into Perversion adapted by Harry Alan Towers from the works of Marquis de Sade.

17) Favorite film of 1974

Too hard to pick one: Cockfighter, Chinatown, Street Law, Lenny, Black Belt Jones, A Woman Under the Influence, and (of course) Naked Yoga.

18) Joan Severance or Shannon Tweed?

Shannon Tweed, even though she got kind of fat toward the end of her run…. Shouldn’t this be Shannon Tweed vs. Shannon Whirry?

19) jackass: the movie-- yes or no?

yes

20) Favorite John Cassavetes Movie

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie

21) First R-rated movie you ever saw

I have absolutely no clue.

22) Favorite X-rated film (remember that, while your answer may well be a famous or not-so-famous hard-core film, the "X" rating was once also a legitimate rating that did not necessarily connote pornography)

Radley Metzger's THE IMAGE and it's not close.

23) Best film of 1994

Pulp Fiction. P.S. The Shawshank Redemption sucks.

24) Describe a moment in a movie that made you weep

In First Blood when Rambo jumps off the cliff to get away from Brian Dennehy, bounces off a tree and lands on some rocks, then gets up and dodges some bullets, then picks up a rock and throws in 50 yards in the air and hits the helicopter, causing Jack Starret to fall out of the helicopter to his death. That was awesome. Also, my contacts were bothering me when the old guy died in In Her Shoes, so my tear ducts had to provide moisture for my contact lenses.

25) Ewan McGregor or Ewan Bremner?

McGregor

26) One of your favorite line readings (not necessarily one of your favorite lines) from this or any year

John Morghen’s “And they ate his genitals” from Cannibal Ferrox, or anything Pam Grier says in Coffy.

27) What, if any, element in a film, upon your hearing of its inclusion beforehand, would most likely prejudice you against seeing that film or keeping an open mind about it?

Whoopi Goldberg

28) Favorite Terry Gilliam Movie

Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

29) Jean Smart or Annie Potts?

This is the best you can come up with? How about Sophia Loren vs. Claudia Cardinale, or Tura Satana vs. Dyanne Thorne?

30) Is it possible to know with any certainty if you could like or love someone based on their taste in movies? If so, what film might be a potential relationship deal-breaker for you, or the one that might just seal that deal?

Not alone, but if a girl loved exploitation movies and wasn’t A) ugly and B) destitute, that would probably do the trick for me. Not many dealbreakers other than something like snuff films or child porn. If she liked Master of the Flying Guillotine I’d probably want to [censored] her.

[ClassicBob]

I'm going to answer only some of these, because I'm watching the World Cup and don't want to put in tons of effort.

1) Does film best tell the truth (Godard) or tell lies (De Palma) at 24 frames per second?

This is one that would require effort, but it also gives me the option to say I love Godard, so, truth?

3) Favorite special effects moment

I was always a sucker for the kung-fu training scene in the first Matrix film.

4) Matt Damon or George Clooney?

Good Night and Good Luck makes this not even close. Clooney is awesome.

5) What is the movie you’ve encouraged more people to see than any other?

Hmmmm, lately, this would be The Third Man. But, back when I was in high school, I read a review for a small film called Memento when it was first released. It sounded cool, so I saw it on the first weekend, then told everyone else to see it. Then it exploded. I take full credit.

9) Favorite film made for children

I'm not sure if Spirited Away is made for children or for everyone, but it is awesome. I was always a mark for The Neverending Story, too.

10) Favorite Martin Scorsese Movie

I'll probably have to go with Raging Bull here, though Taxi Driver gives it a run.

11) Favorite film about children

The 400 Blows is awesome, but for sake of being different from Pryor, I'll nominated Forbidden Games and The Night of the Hunter.

12) Favorite film of 1954

Seven Samurai. Next.

14) Walter Matthau or Jack Lemmon?

I don't know a lot about Matthau's work, but Lemmon was great in The Apartment, and his performance in Some Like It Hot might be the finest comedy work on film.

15) Favorite character name

Dirk Diggler. Not really a joke, just love the way it sounds, plus it doubles as my favorite NBA player's nickname.

17) Favorite film of 1974

Anything other than The Godfather: Part II here is criminal.

21) First R-rated movie you ever saw

It's weird that I remember this, but I saw Total Recall on HBO with my Dad. First theater R-Rated movie was The Last of the Mohicans.

22) Favorite X-rated film (remember that, while your answer may well be a famous or not-so-famous hard-core film, the "X" rating was once also a legitimate rating that did not necessarily connote pornography)

Can't deviate from Pryor here, it's A Clockwork Orange.

23) Best film of 1994

As Pryor said, most people will say Shawshank or Pulp Fiction, and we may even get some Forrest Gump love. I'm going with Hoop Dreams, my favorite documentary, and one of my favorite films.

[diebitter]

1) Does film best tell the truth (Godard) or tell lies (De Palma) at 24 frames per second?

If it's good, it reveals to us the truth about the world and ourselves, and whether it is using lies, trickery or truth doesn't matter one iota.

2) Ideal pairing of actors/actresses to play on-screen siblings

Paul Bettany and Kiera Knightley

3) Favorite special effects moment
Kong on top of the Empire State Building (the 1933 version)

4) Matt Damon or George Clooney?
George Clooney, easy choice given 'From Dusk Till Dawn'

5) What is the movie you’ve encouraged more people to see than any other?
The Shawshank Redemption

6) Favorite film of 1934
March of the Wooden Soldiers

7) Your favorite movie theater
The Odeon, Leicester Square (London). Saw several James Bond's there before they went on general release (Spy who Loved Me, Man with the Golden Gun etc)

8) Jean Arthur or Irene Dunne?
Dunno

9) Favorite film made for children
Disney's Jungle Book

10) Favorite Martin Scorsese Movie
Taxi Driver

11) Favorite film about children
A Christmas Story [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

12) Favorite film of 1954
Rear Window (I'm pretty sure this is the ONLY film I like from this year [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img])

13) Favorite screenplay written by a writer more famous for literature than screenplays
Streetcar Named Desire

14) Walter Matthau or Jack Lemmon?
Matthau!

15) Favorite character name
Humbert Humbert

16) Favorite screenplay adapted from a work of great literature, either by the author himself or by someone else
If it counts, The Man who would be King. Or Fellowship of the Ring. IF that doesn't count, Dr Zhivago.

17) Favorite film of 1974
The Longest Yard (Mean Machine)

18) Joan Severance or Shannon Tweed?
Neither

19) jackass: the movie-- yes or no?
YES [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

20) Favorite John Cassavetes Movie
Rosemary's Baby, but the Dirty Dozen is very close.


21) First R-rated movie you ever saw
Debbie Does Dallas

22) Favorite X-rated film (remember that, while your answer may well be a famous or not-so-famous hard-core film, the "X" rating was once also a legitimate rating that did not necessarily connote pornography)
Alien

23) Best film of 1994
Pulp Fiction

24) Describe a moment in a movie that made you weep
Iron Giant. As he flew up towards the bomb, and said 'Superman' to himself. Weep might be a bit strong though.

25) Ewan McGregor or Ewan Bremner?
McGregor

26) One of your favorite line readings (not necessarily one of your favorite lines) from this or any year
Ed Norton's 'F**K you' monologue in 25th Hour.

27) What, if any, element in a film, upon your hearing of its inclusion beforehand, would most likely prejudice you against seeing that film or keeping an open mind about it?
Made in India. Hate bollywood etc

28) Favorite Terry Gilliam Movie
Life of Brian on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, 12 Monkeys on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays

29) Jean Smart or Annie Potts?
Dunno

30) Is it possible to know with any certainty if you could like or love someone based on their taste in movies? If so, what film might be a potential relationship deal-breaker for you, or the one that might just seal that deal?
Deal breaker - they didn't like A Christmas Story
Maker - Withnail and I or possibly Black Narcissus

[Moneyline]

Good Call on O Brother Where Art Thou for the great literature question.

The more I think of it, the more X rated movies I would put in the category for best ever. Dawn of the Dead is up there, and I agree that Clockwork Orange is in the running too.

[pryor15]

[ QUOTE ]
Good Call on O Brother Where Art Thou for the great literature question.

The more I think of it, the more X rated movies I would put in the category for best ever. Dawn of the Dead is up there, and I agree that Clockwork Orange is in the running too.

[/ QUOTE ]

i saw you actually added yours to the blog list. huzzah. it really is a great film blog.

"Dawn of the Dead", btw, didn't get an X from the MPAA, only from the UK and France