Oh no! The bulb burnt out on the projector. You can't see the movie anymore, but you can still hear it... can you name it? It's the Burnt Bulbs Movie Trivia Game

Quiz 80 7/22/2010 Movie Mash   Quiz 79 7/15/2010 Movie Mash   Quiz 78 7/8/2010 Movie Mash   Quiz 77 7/1/2010 Movie Mash   Quiz 76 6/24/2010 Movie Mash   Quiz 75 6/10/2010 Movie Mash   Quiz 74 6/3/2010 Movie Mash   Quiz 73 5/27/2010 Movie Mash   Quiz 72 5/20/2010 Movie Mash   Quiz 71 5/13/2010 Movie Mash   Quiz 70 5/6/2010 Movie Mash   Quiz 69 4/29/2010 Burnt Bulbs Featured Review from Quiz 67 My view on Woody Allen My opinion of Woody Allen changed very recently. I have always watched Woody Allen's movies and thought, "Why do people think these movies are smart? These movies aren't smart. They are people trying to sound smart and mostly just coming off as pretentious. Woody Allan is a knob. But then one day... More...   Quiz 68 4/22/2010 Movie Mashes Featured Review from Quiz 67 I Bore of Gore A while back I watched a film that I hated. It was approximately three hours long and it was all about a man being tortured. He was endlessly beaten while crowds watched on and cheered (except for a few who didn't like it, including his mother, who were helpless and stood back to watch the entire thing). The beatings and torture continued until the man was finally killed. I'm not exaggerating that this was the entire movie. It was a terrible, horrible movie with endless amounts of fake blood and gratuitous violence. It was called "The Passion of the Christ". More...   Quiz 67 4/15/2010 Poster Pieces Famous landmarks Featured Review from Quiz 63 Lost in Translation The reactions to this film are very odd. It appears, and I'm not making this up, that people that saw this movie in the theatre loved it. Those that waited and watched it at home, thought it was stupid. Somehow the feeling of being lost in this world is harder to achieve when you're sitting in your own home, but doesn't it seem contradictory that you'd feel more alone in a theatre full of people that in the privacy of your own home? More...   Hey Everyone! This week I decided to write a quiz playing just the movie's scores, and really all I did was steal the clips from iTunes. Being that it was pretty easy to do so, I decided to have two (real) quizzes this week. If you hear something and you just must buy a copy of it, remember to get it from iTunes as a thank you for helping me out!   Quiz 66 4/8/2010 Movie Scores Harder   Quiz 65 4/8/2010 Movie Scores Easier   Featured Review from Quiz 63 Nine In general, I do like to think that I'm open minded about films. But the truth is that I am not. For instance, I have no desire to see The Blind Side. "But Brian, it was nominated for best film and Sandra Bullock won best actress!" Yeah, I don't care. I'm sorry, I know that is horrible, but the truth is that I could care less to see a film that after the trailer I'm already in sugar shock. I know it's based on a true story, but based on doesn't mean it's what really happened, it means that the real story was coated in marshmallows of cliché and served in the gallon jug popcorn comes in these days. But to get more to the point, I don't want to see Nine. It was nominated for four Academy Awards, best picture critic awards, best comedy or musical golden globe, blah blah bleck. Do I have the right to judge a film that I haven't seen? Well, here goes my reasons and then you tell me. Not once have I seen a trailer or clip that interested me. I hated the director's last musical, Chicago. I hated Moulin Rouge! and everything that I have seen from this film screams of MR to me. Kate Hudson hasn't made a good movie since Almost Famous, and that wasn't good because of her. Of everything that it was nominated for, it barely won anything. The memorable quotes page on IMDB is shorter than my grocery list. So, now you be the judge. Knowing that I'm not getting paid for any of this, and watching this movie would be taking away my own free time, do I have the right to pre-judge the film without seeing it?   Bonus Quiz 4/1/2010 Quiz 64 4/1/2010 Featured Review from Quiz 63 Lost in Translation The reactions to this film are very odd. It appears, and I'm not making this up, that people that saw this movie in the theatre loved it. Those that waited and watched it at home, thought it was stupid. Somehow the feeling of being lost in this world is harder to achieve when you're sitting in your own home, but doesn't it seem contradictory that you'd feel more alone in a theatre full of people that in the privacy of your own home? I saw this film in the theatre and, thus, I loved it. Being one that has had to travel for work and spend up to 5 weeks in countries that barely speak English, I related to this film better than I wish I had... well, except for the younger woman craving to spend time with me, but I'll pretend that happened, too. It all came back to me as this film unfolded. One example is when I was in a remote town in northern Italy and "the city" shut down completely on Sundays. There was nothing to do but stay in the hotel and flip back and forth between the two English speaking channels all day long. I watched Formula 1 racing and curling. You want to know what boredom is, take a day and watch those for five or six hours... It's always funny to give a film a positive review when it makes you feel so awful. But, if you've read any of my previous reviews, you'll notice that I tend to like films that do that to me. I want a movie to make me feel something, good or bad (usually bad), happy or sad (usually sad), hopeful or mad (bet you've caught the pattern by now) and this film did that. What can I recommend, then? Go out and get yourself one of them gigantic flat screens, invite over 100 or so complete strangers, and enjoy.     Quiz 63 3/25/2010 Featured Review from Quiz 62 Cold Souls There is almost nothing worse than a brilliant premise thrown away. If you hadn't heard, the idea behind Cold Souls is that an actor, Paul Giamatti (realistically portrayed by Paul Giamatti) learns of a company that can remove the soul from your body. As it turns out, removing the soul is kinda like an appendectomy, it's not really all that useful of an organ and it can cause more problems that it's worth. The soul is put into storage, and kept in the case that the individual decides to put it back in. The script continues to be brilliant in other ways, too, as Paul rents souls to use for a few weeks. His wife starts to notice his acting strangely, and he finally decides he'd like his soul back. However, in the meanwhile, a new crime is on the rise; soul trafficking. Illegal transport and selling of black market souls. And wouldn't you know it, but Paul's soul is stolen. Now, if you're like me, you're thinking this is brilliant. There is almost no end to the possibilities that may occur at this point. It's Being John Malkovich meets Eternal Sunshine. The problem is that Sophie Barthes is not the writer Charlie Kaufman is, nor the director that Michel Gondry is. The script from scene to scene is flat and boring, and the movie is so visually dead. Ironically, the movie ends up having no soul. Perhaps this is the director's choice. Maybe Sophie is sitting at home knowing that she was just more clever than everyone else, and that we just didn't get it. If she's happy with that, then bully for her. But, if the movie is supposed to be a work for the viewer then it was a waste.     Quiz 62 3/18/2010 No Clues Use the Forums!     Quiz 61 3/11/2010 Featured Review from Quiz 60 Avatar I've taken a large amount of flak in my time for standing up for the movies that I love, even when it's unpopular. One of those movies was Titanic. Of course, at first I was in the majority, and everyone seemed to agree that the film was incredible. But then there was the backlash when suddenly it was no longer cool to like such a "sappy" film. Well, I refuse agree with the herd and still stand up and say that I love Titanic. So when Avatar was coming out, I was both excited and worried. I was excited to see another film written and directed by this master, but I was also worried that it could never live up to any expectations. In the end, it was a wash. I was glad that I was excited enough to have seen it in the theatre in 3-D, but glad that I didn't go in hoping to see a masterpiece. A masterpiece it is not. It's very good, and the effects are great, and the story is heartfelt, but there are too many things weighing it down to lift it to the level one hopes to. I could go on and on about how nearly every character is completely two dimensional, and how ridiculous the name unobtanium is, and on the other hand I could praise it for it's use of computer generated images to promote a story instead of being the story... but what I'm going to do instead is just use the cliché that Cameron bit off more than he could chew (and that was true even with the three hour run time) There's just too many massages here. There's people versus corporations, theirs destruction of environment, their acceptance of other's beliefs, there's prejudging people, there's the struggle between new and old cultures, or the gun versus the bow and arrow... it's just simply too much. What made Titanic wonderful is that it had one message; love concurs over class. It was Romeo and Juliet on a sinking ship. It was simple and beautiful. I'm not saying that any of the themes James was putting in forth in Avatar weren't worthwhile, they each were, but you can't fit the whole James Cameron bible into one film. Over all, it suffered from over ambition.     Quiz 60 3/4/2010 Featured Review from Quiz 59 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory I just sat down last week and watched this film with my two and a half year old daughter. As this scene approached, I reminded her that it's just a movie and it's only make believe. It scared her a little bit anyway. In fact, it made me realize that I hadn't seen this film since I was very young, too, and I remembered the scene was coming... it must have affected me as well. Am I a callous father for selecting this clip, then, to put on my site? In any case, the clip is a perfect example of the oddity that is this film. Not only in that the scene itself is very strange, it makes me think, "Who is this film for?" This segment is certainly not for youngsters. Juxtapose this scene with that of the fat kid getting stuck in the chocolate tube, a moment that plays solely for the juvenile. So who is the target audience? The answer: Weirdos. Yes, that's right, all of you out there that like this movie should consider yourself officially labeled. Being that I give it 3 stars, I must be pretty strange myself. It starts out as a simple story, a loving, slow moving story about a family very much down on their luck and needing to catch a break. Then, the moment the old man who runs the candy factory performs a summersault, the film turns into a late night snack induced dream from Tim Burton (and not the far inferior remake by the novel's actual name). It's a silly, scary, blink inducing eye candy feast that takes us through a series of Survivor challenges for the poorly raised. And in the end, does the moral really ring true? Isn't it only Charlie that even has the opportunity to make amends while the others were hurriedly escorted stage left by Gregorian chanting Oompa Loopas? Why is it that Charlie gets a second chance to put things right? Oh, that's right, because he's the main character (or is he, being that the title was changed to focus attention on the chocolate chortler). Well, whether this all makes sense to me or not, I've discovered that it made lots of sense to the little girl next to me (who still shows her age with a peace sign). So much so that when I need to ask her to not do something more than once, I get to add, "What happened to Violet when she didn't listen to Willy Wonka?" The quieted reply always comes as half statement, half question... "She turned into a blueberry?"     Quiz 59 2/25/2010 Use the Clues It's a tough week Helping hand Digg it and Stumble it I looked at this week's quiz and I thought, man, this one is just a little too hard this week. And so, for your benefit, I'm posting the first clues at the same time as the quiz itself. Hopefully you find them helpful. To help me back, because I know you want to, you can click on the Digg and/or Stumble links about to share this site with others! I'd very much appreciate it!     Quiz 58 2/18/2010 Another Featured Review from Quiz 56 Funny People This is my favorite film of 2009 (thus far... there are some I still need to see). It has everything going for it. Humor, sentiment, and nothing over the top. Simple people living real lives and having real problems. I'm very sad that there weren't more people that saw this film and that it was completely forgotten for awards season.     A Quiz where the sun don't shine Quiz 57 2/11/2010 Featured Review from Quiz 56 The Hurt Locker I agree that The Hurt Locker is a very, very good movie. But it is too difficult for me to overlook the problems I had with the film to agree that it should win best picture. The biggest problem being that there is really no through-line to the story. Nothing builds up from one scene to the next, there is no end goal, and so what is it the audience is waiting for? There is no finish line for the viewer. The film could be sliced into 6 sections, jumbled, and put back together without it being noticed. Secondly, don't tell me that it is how war really is. Igniting smoke bombs to mask yourself from your own protection? Bomb squad personnel investigating, tracking and chasing possible bombers and endangering their brothers? Third, and I'm not spoiling anything here, but early in the movie the psychiatrist is told that he needs to come out and see the action in person some day... I'm not going to spoil the obvious conclusion. Lastly, and I admit that this is nit picking, but it was horrible casting to place Ralph Fiennes in the middle of the action. It completely pulls you out of the movie to say, "Hey, that's Ralph Fiennes" and later see shots of the character where his face isn't showing and think "I bet that's a double, and not him..." I found myself thinking more about an actor's shooting schedule than the gun fire on screen!     Quiz 56 2/4/2010     Sound Film-iliar Name the films from these sound clips.     Oscar Nominations Disappointment Maybe I'm just getting old and crotchety. I have seen most of the films up for best picture, and all I'm hoping is that none of those take home the statue. None of them were horrible, most of them were good if not very good... but none of them have that pow that makes me root for them. Last year I would have screamed at the TV if Slumdog didn't win... this year I almost just don't care. Who is your pick? Best Picture Avatar The Blind Side District 9 An Education The Hurt Locker Inglourious Basterds Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire A Serious Man Up Up In The Air     Quiz 55 1/28/2010     Movie Mash #2 Combining Movie Titles     Featured Review from Quiz 54 The Hangover This is the highest grossing R-rated comedy, ever. That's pretty impressive when you start putting it against the competition. And as much as I would like to complain a little about the R-Rated comedies that I would rather be the top grossing, I'll instead be nice and just talk about whether or not this film deserves it... kinda. There's nothing really wrong with the movie. It makes you laugh, it goes on an adventure, it has a good plot and great characters... so why do I only say kinda?!? Well, because after I left I though, "that was a good movie." That is all that I thought. I didn't think "I need to tell everyone I know to rush out and see this" and I didn't think "I need to see this movie again"... and the worst for the studio, I didn't even think "I have got to get the DVD when that comes out!" I really just thought "That was a good movie." The movie has some similarities to Sideways. Sideways left me feeling exactly the same way (and I've yet to see that movie again, too). In the end, would I tell somebody they had to see this film? No. But if somebody asked if they should see the film, I'd say yes. There is a fine-line between the two.     Quiz 54 1/21/2010     Respect the Specs Their futures are so bright     Featured Review from Quiz 53 Up - Got worse with every newly introduced character Sigh. The first 10 minutes is some of the best writing and animation work ever. It's super sweet and touching and happy and sad and just plain incredible. Then the boy joins the old man and it's cute and fun. Then the bird shows up and I felt like saying, okay, that's fine... and then there was the talking dog. Really, I never felt the film recovered after the introduction of the talking dogs. With the introduction of each new character I started to care less and less. I just wish that the story stayed as simple and sweet as it was in the begining.     Quiz 53 1/14/2010             Don't Miss It The Golden Globes Be sure not miss the Golden Globes this weekend hosted by Ricky Gervais! What are your picks? Best Motion Picture - Drama Avatar The Hurt Locker Inglourious Basterds Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire Up In The Air Best Motion Picture - Comedy Or Musical (500) Days Of Summer The Hangover It's Complicated Julie & Julia Nine     Quiz 52 1/7/2010     Movie Mash #1 Combining Movie Titles     First Movie Mash Quiz! A new quiz type A movie mash quiz provides a poster of two separate movies combined into one. For instance, it could should knights stripping nude, and the answer would be "The Full Monte Python and the Holy Grail".     Top 10 movies of the Decade ... or 12 (why 12? Because I said so!) Lately everyone is posting their favorite films of the decade. On one hand I think that these lists are completely stupid, because nobody is ever going to agree on the best movies of a decade, they can't even agree on best films within a year. This argument really hit home when I read Roger Ebert's best films of the decade and it had "You, Me, and Everybody We Know" on it, a film that I would put as one of the decade's worst. So then I asked "What is the point of making such a list?" Eventually I decided that there are upsides to making it. One is that it tells you all who it is you're talking to. The second is that if you like some of the list below, and you're not familiar with others, then maybe, just maybe, I can promote a film that I'd like more people to see. Thus, here is my list. I'd love to hear your opinions on it. comments@filmbabel.com. #12. Brokeback Mountain (2005) #11. Crash (2004) #10. Pan's Laberynth (2006) #9. Juno (2007) #8. Revolutionary Road (2008) #7. Hotel Rwanda (2004) #6. Adaptation (2002) #5. Old Boy (2003) #4. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) #3. Synecdoche, New York (2008) #2. Requiem for a Dream (2000) #1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)     Quiz 51 12/31/2009     Legs They know how to use them.     First Poster Pieces Quiz! A new quiz type A poster pieces quiz provides a portion of a poster and asks if you can name the film. If you need a closer look at the piece, click the image to see its full size version. Good luck and have fun.     Older Archived Quizzes