Thursday, March 22, 2007

Movie Madness: And Then There Were Two

Two movies. Two contestants.

Sorry Brad, but this is the end of the line for the Mockingbird.

It's down to Jen and Looney now, because the final match is:

On the Waterfront
vs.
Casablanca

If On the Waterfront wins, Looney wins. If Casablanca wins, Jen wins. It's that simple.

Here are the standings:

Jen: 105 (Casablanca)
Looney: 102 (On the Waterfront)
Brad: 75 (To Kill a Mockingbird)
Schadenfreude: 72 (Casablanca)
Paticus: 71 (Godfather)
Nat: 70 (To Kill a Mockingbird)
Don: 63 (Citizen Kane)
O'Tim: 60 (American Graffiti)
Paula: 55 (Chinatown)
Sylvia: 54 (Casablanca)
Joe the Troll: 53 (Casablanca)
Ravenous: 53 (Citizen Kane)
Fez: 51 (Godfather)
Jackson: 47 (The Graduate)
Lucy: 45 (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)
Caley Adams: 41 (Star Wars)
Venessa: 39 (Gone With the Wind)
Emma: 39 (To Kill a Mockingbird)
Eden: 37 (Gone With the Wind)
Arleen: 34 (M*A*S*H)
Lady Strathconn: 34 (Godfather)
Jeff Adams: 31 (Star Wars)

Winner will be posted tomorrow, and will recieve her/his choice of DVD from the field of 64!

Who are you rooting for and why?

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm hoping Patton make a surprise attack and takes it away from both of em!

Okay, since I picked Casablanca to take it all and its winning could get me a respectable 3rd place finish, of course that puts me in the Nobody camp (sorry Looney, the only movie I've loved half as much as Casablanca is Star Wars, and that attachment to the former I'll take to the grave).

Casablanca has it all -- incredible dialog, amazingly rich characters, believably complex and real internal conflicts, laughs, tears, wit, love all with gorgeous cinematography and a story that captivates each and every time viewed.

I stick my neck out for no one... except Rick.

Paula said...

Even though I've only seen part of Casablanca, I have to root for Bogey over Brando. Sorry, Looners!!

Natsthename said...

Ahh, well, Mockingbird still surprised with it's final four finish! YES!

I'll root for On The Waterfront, since I can watch OTW over and over and always love the performances. I'm not that crazy over Casablanca (I know, it's blasphemy!)

Natsthename said...

And, by the way, if you want to visit my blog and contribute to the craziness over Samuel L. Jackson and snake movies, please do!

Brad said...

Boooo. I'll write about it in my Blog.

http://stabfilm.blogspot.com/

Sour Grapes said...

"Who are you rooting for and why?"

I'm rooting for you, because in the midst of current unpleasantness elsewhere, you've just gone and done the friendliest, most cooperative blogging thing seen in ages. Great response, no animosity, one winner and no losers.

And I mean this sincerely, even though I admit I did make myself throw up in my mouth a little.

Don said...

Forget that, all that matters is I'm ahead of Paula.

Anonymous said...

I'm rooting for me. Cause I like free DVD's.

Seriously, it's a tough call. These are the two I had making it to the last round, and they're both such great movies. The performances in Waterfront are particularly outstanding - there is nobody that can stand up to the young Brando, and I include Jimmy Stewart in that. :) Karl Malden brilliant as well.

But for my money, nothing beats Casablanca. It's the movie every other movie measures itself against. The acting, obviously. Bogie is the quintessential man here, and his chemistry with Bergman is outmatched only by his chemistry with Claude Rains. And it's just a gorgeously shot movie - every shot is composed like a photograph. Of course, trumping all is the sweeping story that's got the proverbial something for everyone: tears, laughter, love, friendship, mean Nazis and heroic Frenchmen. What more could you want?

And if you're looking for cultural impact, I can think of no movie that's so widely and frequently misquoted. :)

Plus, OTW is so much more of a downer.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Grapes. Three cheers for Jeff! This was totally fun.

Don said...

I'm rooting for Jen cause I like pixie chicks with tattoos. Oh, and Casablanca's my fave. Right up there with Key Largo.

Webmiztris said...

i haven't seen either of those movies. if these were all Johnny Depp movies I'd be SOOOO there. ;)

Kos said...

Thanks, SG. All that blog nastiness ain't my style 'cause I'm a big sweetie. How come you didn't join in the fun, though?

Anonymous said...

Screw 'em both. I'm bitter. :-)

Looney said...

Well, obviously I'm rooting for me! But this is one case where I couldn't grouse about losing to Casablanca. In the end I had to go with my heart. OTW is so raw, visceral, tragic, yet hopeful. The difference one man can make in his world is more... tangible to me in OTW than in Casablanca.

That said, Casablanca has everything folks here have said, and I struggled for a long time with which one to pick.

It has been SOOOOOO much fun. Jeff, you're a genius, even if you *did* dump Schindler out of my bracket, LOL... I'd be almost a shoo-in if I hadn't lost that one!!

Looney said...

OH! And best of luck, Jen!

Anonymous said...

I gotta echo the props to Jeff.

I came into this a stranger -- only recently becoming acquainted with Looney and Paula initially and I've felt welcomed from the very beginning here. Though I am usually ultra-competitive by nature, that hasn't mattered so much as this game has been so much fun because of the awesome interactions and it's felt great to be a part of it.

I don't think I've looked forward to reading a blog this much in a long long time. Great idea, Jeff, and more importantly, great crowd.

Anonymous said...

I'd be almost a shoo-in if I hadn't lost that one!!

Not really... Schindler made it pretty far on mine too. :)

But I echo the sentiment of non-grousing. Losing to On the Waterfront wouldn't be nearly as painful as, say, Midnight Cowboy or Godfather II. ;) :)

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Brad said...

Yeah,

Totally kick ass.

I like make fun times with movie competition.

When's the next one? Will Mockingbird be on that one too? Joking! Joking!

My favorite movie of all time is Touch of Evil, so therefore, we need a competition with Noir films.

Kos, get on it and I expect to see the brackets by next week.

b

Kos said...

I was planning to make this an annual event. I think I'll still have the big tournament happen in March, but I'm thinking of smaller variations on it for the months in between. As a rabid lover of film, this has been so much fun for me to see everyone's picks and hear their opinions. I certainly intend to...

Holy shit, I just had an idea. Seriously, that wasn't planned. I was in the middle a sentence and had the idea and used an elipsis to communicate that fact.

To the idea: A blog-based film club. I specify a film and we have a certain amount of time to watch it. Then we have an online discussion about the film. We can pass the baton, so to speak, so each month or so someone else gets to choose the film. Maybe the designated film chooser for the month comes up with five or 10 questions/discussion prompts. Ooh, this is good and so am I. I'll do a full post about it later.

Anonymous said...

I'm in on the film club!

Paula said...

Me too me otot me oot!!!

And as far as this all that matters is I'm ahead of Paula - all I have to say is thhbpppppppttttttttt!

Natsthename said...

I'd love to join the film club!

Paticus said...

On a personal taste level, these both fall probably near the back of the Top 10 for me, but I would have to choose On The Waterfront because of Brando.
I'm still secretly hoping Diner will show up at the last minute and whisk the Championship away.
I would also like to concur with Sour Grapes and extend a laurel and hearty handshake to our new...Jeff. Thanks for this Jeff, it was fun. Do we really have to wait a year for another ?

Anonymous said...

"Holy shit, I just had an idea. Seriously, that wasn't planned. "

You usually plan to have ideas ahead of time?

I was thinking of the exact same thing on a local basis, but that probably won't happen, so having it on the blogs would be the next best thing! I get to pick a Hitch flick!

Looney said...

A blog-based film club.

OMG YES!!! I am so IN!! Can't wait to hear how you'd want to structure it. Too cool...

Looney said...

My favorite movie of all time is Touch of Evil, so therefore, we need a competition with Noir films.

I rilly-rilly like that idea too. Really into Noir right no, so that sounds quite inviting...

Natsthename said...

Paticus - I have loads of "Diner" love, too. When my hubby and I saw it at the theater years and years ago, he fell asleep. He continues to do so whenever it's on. I don't see how he can fall asleep, when it's one of the funniest things ever! ANd that cast! Bacon, Stern, Daly, Guttenberg, Rourke, Reiser, and Barkin are all top-notch with a superb script.

Looney said...

I want to know what movie Jen's gonna pick if she wins :-)

Anonymous said...

I want to know what movie Jen's gonna pick if she wins :-)

None. I'll respectfully decline my free DVD and tell Kos buy his kids an ice cream instead. Cause if he doesn't deserve a little Carvel for all this festivity, I don't know who does.

Sour Grapes said...

Jeff goes: "How come you didn't join in the fun, though?"

I was reading along, and enjoying it as a spectaculator.

I saw the initial premise and I thought, man I love half of those films and I have no opinion at all about the other half, how can I possibly put them in competition with each other? I just couldn't have made up a list that wasn't totally arbitrary, so I thought I'd just watch from the sidelines.

I like your other idea, the book-club thing only more movular. That'll be fun, judging by this whole thread thingy here. Get started right away.

Stephanie said...

i don"t like casablanca that much and i"ve never seen all of otw

i"ll root for otw

sorry about the caps & non_punctuation

lapop is dying

Deadman said...

Sorry about la pop, eden. I hope he dies a painless death...

:o)>

See, Jeff, see? I didn't do the work and I picked the two finalists. And I still say Casa.

Looney said...

Ah, well, if 'tis I, I can't be so altruistic.

Cuz I like prizez. :-)

Ooh, that reminds me... I still *owe* a prize!

Paticus said...

natsthename- Another Diner fan !! Yay !!!
I think that makes 4- My brother, my best friend, me and you.
I quote that movie endlessly.

"Who am I ? Rand McNally ?"

Kos said...

Make that 5. And I'm sure there are more here.

"You know what word I'm not comfortable with? Nuance. It's not a real word like gesture. Gesture's a real word. With gesture you know where you stand. But nuance? I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong."