New Year's Movie Meme

Hi everyone! I'm on my holiday vacation (and I've still a week more) and have been having a wonderful time! I actually plan to do a post about what I've been up to later this week, but for now I'm going to do Rachel's New Year's meme.

I love surveys, though I haven't done any yet on this blog so I'm excited to do this! Rachel's doing this in celebration of her reaching fifty followers. I too reached fifty last week, and I also had been pondering about taking the leap of faith and doing my own movie survey. I don't know, what do you guys think? Let me know - if I know people are interested I'll have more confidence to make one! (If I do, it'll probably be in a month or so).

As for now, here are my answers to Rachel's!

1. What is your all-time favorite Grace Kelly costume?

This is a cruel question. I really can't pick just one, absolutely everything Grace wore was beautiful and gorgeous. I don't think I could possibly choose an all-time favorite but for me, here's one of the strongest contenders for that title:

from "High Society" (1956)

I honestly didn't even like "High Society" all that much, but this dress is simply gorgeous. *swoons*

2. What classic film would you nominate for a remake?

This is also a hard question because I don't really believe in remakes of the classics. Even if a film wasn't all that good the first time, well, Hollywood today couldn't make it any better than it originally was. So out of my devotion to Classic Hollywood I can't really come up with an answer for this one.

3. Name your favorite femme fatale.

Gilda.

She was my first experience with a femme fatale, and I think Rita Hayworth did a wonderful job. To me Gilda is the posterchild for a femme fatale, and especially since she was willing to simply "put the blame on Mame," for everything she did.

4. Name the best movie with the word "heaven" in its title.

Hmmm... See the sad thing is, I haven't even seen "Leave Her to Heaven," which I know is pretty terrible and I'll have to remedy that soon enough. (I also really need to see "All This and Heaven Too".) The only movie I can think of (which also happens to have Gene Tierney in it), though it's probably not the best, but I'll go with it anyway, is: "Heaven Can Wait." (1943). Don Ameche stars in it.

5. Describe the worst performance by a child actor that you’ve ever seen (since Laura gave me the idea).

Don't kill me, guys. Don't send me hate mail or anything! But I'll have to go with Shirley Temple in "The Littlest Rebel" (1935). I actually detest that movie on several levels, and here's another confession: I'm really not that much of a Shirley Temple fan. I respect her because she was one of the biggest movie stars of that era, and I do like a number of the films she made as a teenager, but... still not her biggest fan.

6. Who gets your vote for most tragic movie monster?

Guys, I'm sorry to be annoying again, but I really haven't seen any monster films at all! So I'm going to have to pass on answering this. But for that matter, do you have any suggestions for monster movies?

7. What is the one Western that you would recommend to anybody?

I'm not much of a Western person either but I'm going to say "The Searchers" (1956). My dad had to force me into watching this (he also forced me into "High Noon", but I like this one better), and in the end I had to admit it was pretty good. (NO, I was totally not influenced by Natalie Wood's presence in this movie... what? what are you suggesting there?...)

 

What? No? Natalie had nothing to do with it....

8. Who is your ideal movie-viewing partner?

Pretty much anyone who is a classic movie lover. Anybody who has ever watched a classic film with someone who isn't a fan of it will know what I have endured. Partly it's my own fault because I decide to be all stubborn and force some of my friends to watch classic films because I think by some miracle they'll be converted and we'll just sit around and have conversations about Greer's voice or Bette vs. Joan or the horrors of Cary Grant growing a mustache. A good example is when I made a group of my friends watch "Gone With the Wind" (1939). I told them about Rhett trying to smash Scarlett's skull and Atlanta burning to the ground and Rhett swearing and all that exciting stuff, and I put it on. But they only lasted about twenty minutes before taking to Facebook. And I was sitting there like an idiot, going, "Look! Atlanta's burning! Melanie's dying!"  (Mind you, these are the same people that said that Greer's voice wasn't perfect...)

I will never get people who don't love classic film. But, each to their own, as they say...

9. Has a film ever made you want to change your life? If so, what was the film?

As much as I love film I can't think of one particular film that changed my life. I try not to let things influence me to that certain of an extent. But classic film in general has a big influence on me and the way I act though. (Does that totally override my last statement?). Classic movie stars are my role models and inspirations, which some people may roll their eyes at, but I think I'm getting a lot more out of looking up to Lucy than I would Kim Kardashian (or any other "reality star" of today for that matter). So the basic answer is not one particular film but just classic movies in general. They have a positive influence on me definitely.

10. Think of one performer that you truly love. Now think of one scene/movie/performance of theirs that is too uncomfortable for you to watch.

Hmm. Well one performer that I obviously truly love is Lucy. And I will watch her in absolutely anything, even an advertisement for Snuggies. However, I have to admit, "The Big Street" (1942) is uncomfortable to watch because Lucy is really mean in it. Like, her character is awful. Not to mention it's also a pretty bad movie, THOUGH at the same time I feel she gave one of her best performances (she also looks really gorgeous in this movie). Does that make any sense at all?

I guess what I basically mean is that it was hard seeing Lucy play a character so mean and heartless because we're used to the Lucy we all love. But at the same time she did a really good job of playing this cold character, in what is still a 2 star movie. (??? sigh).

11. On the flip side, think of one really good scene/performance/movie from a performer that you truly loathe.  

Before I answer this, I want to make a point of saying that I DON'T LOATHE HER, she's just not one of my favorites and I do think she is overrated. Yes, just a little. But please don't send me hate mail (and besides, I'm actually praising her in this answer).

So who is this "her"?

Yes, Marilyn Monroe. But I really liked her in "Some Like it Hot" (1958) - it's one of my favorite films in fact and she was quite good in it. In general, Marilyn tends not to be one of my favorites, but I really did like her in this. 

12. And finally, since it will be New Year's soon, do you have any movie or blogging-related resolutions for 2012?

I think to get better at my movie critiquing and a little more serious about it. So basically to become a better movie reviewer. And I think to also be able to strip down layers of the film - stuff like the actors, the movie score, heck, even the poster - to its core and really be able to analyze that better. I think that's what a real critic would do, and then think about the other stuff afterwards, whereas for me it tends to be in reverse. And since I review a movie every Sunday, I'm definitely going to get a lot of practice in doing this!

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I had a lot of fun answering these questions and finally being able to do a meme! Thanks for making this, Rachel, and congratulations on reaching fifty followers! :)

I'm probably going to write another blog sometime later this week about the fun classic Hollywood related stuff I've been doing over break. But if I'm not able to get around to doing it, well.. then... Have a really happy New Year! And I'll see in you in 2012!

PS: If I made a meme of my own and you think you'd do it, let me know. :)