Movie Meme

Another meme shamelessly ripped off from Tense Teacher (who shamelessly rips hers off from others. We’re like that freaking shampoo ad from the 70s!)

Name a movie you have seen more than 10 times.
I’ve seen a bunch of the Disney/Pixars at least that many times; A Bug’s Life, Monsters Inc., and Finding Nemo come to mind, as well as Atlantis: The Lost Continent, which isn’t a Pixar joint, but whatever. I’ve also seen The Hunt for Red October and Apollo 13 more than ten times, but I don’t really keep count.

Name a movie you’ve seen multiple times in the theater.
I don’t think I’ve seen a movie in a theatre more than once, though I did see two consecutive nights of Billy Joel in concert my senior year in high school…

Name an actor who would make you more inclined to see a movie.
I really love Will Smith. I’m also kind of loving Mark Wahlberg, but I have to be interested in the film to go and see it - plots are what’s important to me; actors aren’t what drive me to the theatres. Mind you, there are plenty of actors who push my buttons, but they’re not my only deciding factor.

Name an actor who would make you less inclined to see a movie.
Oh, THIS is an easy one, though I’m not limiting myself to one: both Tom Cruise and Mel Gibson have proven themselves to be morons on such a fantastic scale that I can’t justify spending any of my money on their work. I just can’t support their kind of whacko.

Name a movie that you can and do quote from.
Just ONE?!

The Hunt for Red October: “Russians don’t take a dump, Son, without a plan.”

Apollo 13: “I can ADD!”

LOTR The Return of the King: “You WILL suffer me!”

So I Married an Axe Murderer: “Look at the size of that boy’s heed!!…It’s got its own weather system!”

A Bug’s Life: “I’m OH-KAY!!” and “Oooh! Oooh! I’m askin’ ya with my brain!”

Jumpin’ Jack Flash: “Mick, SPEAK ENGLISH!”

The Fugitive: “Think me up some coffee and one of those donuts with sprinkles on it as long as you’re thinkin’.”

Braveheart (before Mel pissed me off): “YES, Father! The Almighty says don’t change the subject, just answer the fookin’ question!”

Atlantis: The Lost Continent: “You don’t wanna know. Audry, don’t tell him. You shouldn’t have told me, but ya did, and now I’m tellin’ you, you don’t wanna know!”

(I should probably stop now; my geek is showing….)

Name a movie musical from which you know all of the lyrics to all of the songs.
I’ve got nothing here. I don’t do musicals.

Name a movie to which you have been known to sing along.
The Lion King or maybe Aladin are the only ones that come to mind here. Like I said, I don’t do musicals.

Name a movie you would recommend everyone see.
Dances With Wolves - There’s a lot about it that is crap as far as its historical accuracy goes, but the story - and the moral - is important. Ditto with Glory and Nuremberg.

Name a movie you own.
I own a TON of movies. The ones that get pulled out most often, though, are things like Tombstone and Enemy of the State.

Name an actor who launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops.
I’m going with Tense on this one - Will Smith can actually act, and it doesn’t hurt to look at him, either. Harrison Ford didn’t do too badly, and I kind of wish that Harry Connick, Jr. would do more acting; I bet he’s better than we think he is.

Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? If so, what?
Nope - all the drive-ins in our area were pretty much done for by the time I reached movie-watching age.

Ever made out in a movie?
Are you KIDDING?! Why would I do that, after paying what we pay for tickets? I can make out in the car for FREE! Movies weren’t really big date things to do in my life, either, so really, no.

Name a movie you keep meaning to see but just haven’t gotten around to it yet.
Ugh - I’ve got a HUGE list for this. I still haven’t seen Ray or Crash or Million Dollar Baby or Friday Night Lights or….. (and those are just the movies I OWN!)

Ever walked out of a movie?
I walked out of Jaws 3D. Mr. Chili and I came this close to walking out of Dumb and Dumber, but we were having so much fun watching the three 12 year old boys in front of us having the TIME of their LIVES that we wound up staying despite ourselves.

Name a movie that made you cry in the theater.
I cry ALL THE TIME at movies. The end of Return of the King (when Arwen shows up) made me cry - and does again every time I see it. So, too, did/does the scene in Apollo 13* (see below). I also cried during Dances With Wolves, Brokeback Mountain, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

What’s the last movie you saw in the theater?
We saw Shooter. It was a LOT of fun!

What’s your favorite/preferred genre of movie?
Action/Adventure

What’s the first movie you remember seeing in the theater?
My grandparents took all of us to see the Disney movies at the Jerry Lewis Cinema, so I’m sure my first movie was something like Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty. The first one I REMEMBER seeing was Star Wars.

What movie do you wish you’d never seen?
Dumb and Dumber was really a waste of good money.

What is the weirdest movie you enjoyed?
I love So I Married an Axe Murderer. I’m not sure if that qualifies as weird, but there you have it. Oh, and if the thought of John Candy in a romantic lead seems weird to you, then I should mention how much I LOVED Only the Lonely.

What is the scariest movie you’ve seen?
I’m not a big scary movie fan. Silence of the Lambs scared the shit out of me. I’ve never seen The Exorcist or Psycho or any of the modern horror movies. I was FAR more creeped out by the novel than the film version of The Shining.

What is the funniest movie you’ve seen?
There are a lot of good funny movies out there. I love Jumpin’ Jack Flash and Men in Black. I’m also rather fond of Running Scared and I think that Uncle Buck is a riot.

(This question wasn’t on the original meme, but I’m adding it anyway

What is the best page-to-screen adaptation you’ve seen?

The Prestige. It was a very interesting experience for me - who almost always reads the books first - to see this film. In predictable movie fashion, the film’s plot took a 90° turn away from the book’s about two seconds into the opening credits, but for as far “off” of the book’s plot as it was, the film still managed to do a fantastic job of faithfully relaying the themes of the book. There were scenes in the film that never happened in the novel and, in my opinion, the final scene was quite a bit less creepy in the movie, but I came away from the film incredibly satisfied that the director had done an excellent job in getting the author’s points across. It was a fascinating thing for me, and I have dorky English teacher fantasies about building a class around the study of that story in its two forms.

*THE scene - I can’t even describe it to people without tearing up - is the one where Marilyn goes to the nursing home to break the news of the “problem” to Jim’s mother, Blanche. In this scene, Susan, the Lovells’ youngest daughter, starts to cry:

Blanche Lovell: Are you scared?
Susan Lovell: [nods]
Blanche Lovell: Don’t you worry. If they could get a washing machine to fly, my Jimmy could land it.

*sniff*