30-day movie challenge
The missus and I plunged into this irresistible meme...
Your favorite movie:
Me: Sullivan’s Travels (Sturges)
Wife: It's A Wonderful Life (Capra)
The last movie you watched:
Me: The Swindle (Chabrol)
Wife: Forbidden Room (Maddin)
Your favorite action/adventure movie:
Me: North by Northwest (Hitchcock)
Wife: Brazil (Gilliam)
Your favorite horror movie:
Me: Night of the Living Dead (Romero)
Wife: Rosemary's Baby (Polanski)
Your favorite drama movie:
Me: Tokyo Story (Ozu)
Wife: Late Spring (Ozu)
Your favorite comedy movie:
me: too many ties, but let’s go with Bringing Up Baby (Hawks)
Wife: The Lady Eve (Sturges)
A movie that makes you happy:
Me: My Father’s Glory (Robert)
Wife: My Father's Glory
A movie that makes you sad:
Me: My Mother’s Castle (Robert)
Wife: The 400 Blows (Truffaut)
A movie that you know practically the whole script of:
Me: Blazing Saddles (Brooks)
Wife: It's A Wonderful Life
Your favorite director:
Me: Preston Sturges
Wife: Alfred Hitchcock
Your favorite movie from your childhood:
Me: Paper Moon (Bogdanovich)
Wife: Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Stuart)
Your favorite animated movie:
Me; Beavis and Butthead Do America (Judge)
Wife: Spirited Away (Miyazaki)
A movie that you used to love but now hate:
Me: Killing Kind (Harrington)
Wife: Manhattan (Allen)
Your favorite quote from any movie:
Me: “We gotta get outta here!” - any movie
Wife: "Why don't you kiss her instead of talking her to death?"
The first movie you saw in theaters:
Me: The Love Bug (Stevenson)
Wife: The Aristocats (Reitherman)
The last movie you saw in theaters:
Me: Get Out (Peele)
Wife: The Fabulous Baron Munchausen (Zeman)
The best movie you saw during the last year:
Me: Talk To Her (Almodovar)
Wife: The Fabulous Baron Munchausen
A movie that disappointed you the most:
Me: Love and Friendship (Stillman)
Wife: Author! Author! (Hiller)
Your favorite actor:
Me: Chishu Ryu
Wife: Jack Nicholson
Your favorite actress:
Me: Ginger Rogers
Wife: Katharine Hepburn
The most overrated movie:
Me: Last Tango In Paris (Bertolucci)
Wife: La La Land (Chazelle)
The most underrated movie:
Me: Firehouse Dog (Holland)
Wife: Walking and Talking (Holofcener)
Your favorite character from any movie:
Me: Edith Massey as Cuddles Kovinsky in Polyester
Wife: Melissa McCarthy as Megan in Bridesmaids
Favorite documentary:
Me: The Last Waltz (Scorsese)
Wife: The Jinx (Jarecki)
A movie that no one would expect you to love:
Me: Tougher Than Leather (Rubin)
Wife: Midnight Run (Brest)
A movie that is a guilty pleasure:
Me: Mr. Deeds (Brill)
Wife: Bridesmaids (Feig)
Favorite classic movie:
Me: Night of the Hunter (Laughton)
Wife: Citizen Kane (Welles)
Movie with the best soundtrack:
Me: Elevator to the Gallows (Malle/Miles)
Wife: Vertigo (Hitchcock/Herrmann)
A movie that changed your opinion about something:
Me: National Lampoon’s Class Reunion (Miller)
Wife: Static (Romanek)
Your least favorite movie:
Me: Whiplash (Chazelle)
Wife: Forrest Gump (Zemeckis)
It's a tribute to either our innate compatibility or the levelling hands of time that I'd gladly change my choice out for hers in almost any category. I haven't seen Author! Author! and can hardly believe it's so insulting to the intelligence of a 13-year-old that she would leave the theater in disgust after the first reel, as Donna says she did. So there might lie a difference of sensibility, but I can't see us coming to blows over it. And speaking of blows, the 400 don't make me sad. Any movie that well-made and deeply felt, regardless of its content, makes me happy that someone took the trouble, got the money, and carried through, despite all odds.
Needless to say some of these categories are kind of stupid -- guilt, why guilt? Under- or overrated by whom? What kind of dummy lets a movie change his mind about something? Well, I began changing my mind about the sacredness of the National Lampoon trademark upon attending its second filmic release (after Animal House, which I also didn't like too much, but didn't get around to seeing until later), Class Reunion, starring Gerrit Graham with a special assist from Mr. Chuck Berry. I was dismayed to such an extreme that I wrote an offended letter to the magazine, which was at that time edited by Fred Graver. Fred graciously wrote back, admitting the film was a grievous embarrassment (!), apologizing (!!), and refunding my $5 (!!!!!!!). Try that with Grown Ups 2. Grievous embarrassments are now just another day at the office in LaLa Land.