Ich bin ein Liebster!

So I got another one of these Liebster Award thingies. I don't know if this sort of thing is common among bloggers in general or film bloggers in specific - I never saw anything like it when I did my comics blog - but it's a nice idea, and if nothing else, it shows that somebody thinks kindly of this blog. In this case, that somebody is Brian from Films From Beyond the Time Barrier (awesome blog title).

That said, this particular award has been rather... generously spread out, so I don't feel the need to pass it on further. However, I will answer Brian's little personal quiz:

1. What is your guiltiest movie pleasure? I dunno... Dude Where's My Car?

2. What is your favorite character actor/actress? I wouldn't call him my all-time favorite, but I always liked J.T. Walsh.

3. What movie would you show to an alien visitor to best illustrate the meaning of life on earth and being human? Perhaps The Apartment. It depicts the struggle to succeed in ultra-competitive modern life, the pettiness, cruelty and absurdity of humanity along with the nobility, the compassion and the grace, with both humor and drama.

4. What movie made prior to 1970 would you show to a teen or twenty-something who insists that nothing that old could be any good? Maybe A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Young protagonist, simple coming-of-age story, based on a book that's probably still taught in schools, not too long.

5. What movie or actor/actress that you were indifferent about or maybe even disliked at the start, has grown most in your estimation over the years? I thought Bradley Cooper was just another pretty face until I saw him in Silver Linings Playbook.

6. What movie or actor/actress has declined the most over the years? Not that he was ever an outstanding actor to begin with, but once upon a time Nic Cage had an edge to him that made his roles eminently watchable. I'm thinking of movies like Wild at Heart, Red Rock West and even Moonstruck. He has not had that edge in so long it's not true. He needs to make an indie movie or two again (though if the stories of his financial troubles are accurate, I understand why he probably never will).

7. What actor or actress is most like you? That's an odd question. I don't know any movie stars personally! If, however, I am to assume that this is based on their overall on-screen persona... I still wouldn't know the answer. Sorry!

8. Which would you prefer to do: direct, produce or write? Definitely write.

9. What 3 neglected, underdog movies are most deserving of a revival on TV, DVD and/or online? (A) It Should Happen to You, because I love, love, LOVE Judy Holliday, it's Jack Lemmon's first film, and its themes of advertising and instant celebrity still hold up today; (B) The Thief and the Cobbler, because it's a crying shame how its talented director got screwed over by Disney because of it; (C) Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain, because I thought it was better than people thought at the time it came out.

10. Boris Karloff or Bela Lugosi? Karloff.

11. What unfamiliar movie genre terrain are you most keen to explore? Even though I devoted a week to kung-fu movies, I've only scratched the surface of them - though I suspect there's little in the way of variety.

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Related:
My previous Liebster Award win