What a great first round. I apparently told you all about it through a video on Saturday even though I have no memory of said event. Fun times.
Now we’re down to the Sweet Sixteen. Congrats to those of you who made it, unlike my local team Pitt who just hates advancing in these silly March tournaments. (Some people from my hometown just murdered me with their minds.)
Here’s a look at the updated bracket.
Who will advance and who will bow out?
Many of you have submitted your writeups on time. As for the rest of yous, I’m gonna have to mosey on over to Slacker City to rustle up some missing movie defense pitches. Please email me your stuff if you were late like my life mascot in that image to the right.
I’m putting up 3 matches today and 5 on Friday. Once again each pairing will be up for voting for 3 full days.
So point and click and build support for the movie (or person?) you care about most! Can’t wait to see who will reach the Elite 8.
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Ghost (Wendy-Herding Cats in Hammond River) vs.
The two advantages that “Ghost” has over “The Princess Bride” are:
1. Star Power: Patrick Swayze (“Dirty Dancing”, “To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar”, “Point Break”, “Donnie Darko”, etc.) over Cary Elwes (Cary Who???)
Demi Moore (“A Few Good Men”, “Mr. Brooks”, “G.I. Jane”, etc. – married to Bruce Willis and now Ashton Kutcher - Go girl!) over Robin Wright (“Unbreakable” – was married to Sean Penn - yuck!)
Whoopie Goldberg (“Sister Act”- 1 and 2, “The Color Purple”, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”) over Mandy Pantinkin (“Criminal Minds”, “Yentl” - groan!)
2. Sex Appeal: “Princess Bride” had PG-rated kissing, while “Ghost” had PG-13-rated foreplay!
The Princess Bride (Piper-Author Piper Bayard)
The most satisfying moment in movie history: “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die. . . . Offer me money. . . . Power, too, promise me that. . . . Offer me everything I ask for. . . . *stabs through the heart* . . . I want my father back, you son of a b****.”
The King’s Speech (Leanne-Ironic Mom) vs.
Time for the two kings to battle it out. And their fate is up to you: you can choose The Lion King, which means Elton John will be stuck in your head, or you can vote for The King’s Speech, which means Colin Firth will be stuck in your head. And don’t worry if you’re male; I’ll almost guarantee that some of Firth’s charm will rub off on you if you vote for The King’s Speech. Women will swoon.
The Lion King (Jess-Meet the Buttrams)
Can you feel the love tonight? Simba certainly did, and now he’s up against yet another heavyweight with the golden statue in its corner,The King’s Speech. If my original post wasn’t enough to convince you to place Simba & Co. squarely in at least the Final Four, here are some more reasons: Hollywood goofballs Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, and Nathan Lane blended seamlessly with (be prepared…) Shakespearean-trained actor Jeremy Irons (who won the coveted Best Actor Award 2 decades before Mr. Darcy, wet tee-shirt notwithstanding), Sir Elton John on the mic, and the timeless story itself influenced by mega-hits from the Bible, as well as by Hamlet (thanks to jlheuer for that nugget). Do I need to mention that it remains the highest-grossing hand-drawn animated film in history, or would that be overkill?
Apollo 13 (Rick Reynolds-Website) vs.
Apollo 13 is nearly the perfect movie: personal drama, real heroes facing real danger, and a wonderfully triumphant but bittersweet ending! And because it is so faithful to what really happened, you learn a lot about real space travel. See what I did there? Subtle little dig against the superhero movie I’m up against?
The Dark Knight (Rob Shepherd-RobShep.com)
In a day when most sequels = stank (not a typo) The Dark Knight shines. In a day when most movies fail to create something original (think about all the movies that are based off of books, real life events like creating Facebook or not making it to the moon…cough cough Apollo 13, or remakes of good movies like the Karate Kid) the Dark Knight shines. Sure it is based off of Batman but it’s an original story. In a day where movies are successful because of good special affects (anything made by Michael Bay) but lack any character development (anything made by Michael Bay) the Dark Knight shines. Basically it’s a great movie.
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Thanks for voting! Be sure to push for your favorites. Have fun with this in the comment section and check out the links of our participants. You guys are fantastic!
Related Articles
- March Movie Madness: Part Deux (educlaytion.com)
- March Movie Madness: It’s on! (educlaytion.com)
I love the idea of a March Madness for movies, Clay. The first two were pretty easy for me, but I hesitated over whether to click Apollo 13 and The Dark Knight. They’re both really good movies, but I picked Apollo 13 over The Dark Knight because I think The Dark Knight kind of got off track toward the end. Particularly the stuff with Harvey Dent and Two-Face. It was just too much, and it diluted the last act. Rule of thumb that Hollywood keeps forgetting: One iconic villain per superhero movie is enough. Besides, Apollo 13 is more quotable: “Houston, we have a problem.” “Failure is not an option.” I mean, c’mon. How do you vote against that?
You make good points, and now that I think about it you’re right about the impact of that 2nd villain. Not that the movie isn’t terrific (they both are), but diluted is an accurate term in some ways.
I like the point you made about two villains, but that was sort of the whole point: turning one who was pure and good into something… not.
While Apollo 13 was well done, the brilliance of Heath Ledger as the Joker far outweighs the “star power” in Apollo 13. If I had to pick a movie to be stuck on a deserted island with – Dark Knight far outweighs the competition.
Todd, I second your comment. The first two picks are easy but my finger is twitching over the voting button for Apollo 13 and Dark Knight. So hard.
I loved Heath Ledger (RIP) as the Joker. He was BRILLIANT. That’s right, I used all caps – wanna make something of it? However, I have to really dig to remember the overall story in the film.
In the end, I think the fact I remember how compelling the Apollo 13 story is, years after I last saw the film, tips the balance.
OK – voting now before I change my mind. Again.
That Jess acknowledged Mr. Darcy’s wet t-shirt. Well. Isn’t that enough for a Final Four push for The King’s Speech?
For you that’s probably enough to get through the week. btw, people keep finding my site by searching for “Colin Firth Canada connection.” I blame you.
I know, I hesitated before adding that…on the other hand, feline fetishes can only get me so far. But then I decided, hey, even if I lose a few votes by conjuring up that little visual, then, really, we’re ALL winners.
I, too, hesitated between Apollo 13 and The Dark Knight. That was hard. But I went the other way. I went The Dark Knight because Heath Ledger was so creepy. Soooooo creeepy. It haunted me for a while. In Apollo 13, everything is all nice and resolved. Sometimes the viewer wants more mess than that.
Messiness does have some appeal. Of course, Apollo 13 was based on true events, so it’s hard to change the story. Both films are very neat-o.
Ditto about the Joker – I love how unpredictable his character is. His lack of motives keep you guessing, something lacking in so many movies these days.
Would anyone really know if I voted for The Princess Bride AND Ghost? I want to break the rules. I want to break the rules BAD.
Also, Wendy– I kinda want to vote for you just because you used the word “foreplay.” That was brave (and a little exciting), my friend.
Question: Would Tamara really go to the trouble of finding a second computer to cast a 2nd vote and break the rules.
Answer: Most definitely.
But then if you vote for both movies what you’ve really said is nothing.
Have you seen the pottery wheel scene, Tamara? Sexiest. Scene. Ever. Thanks for your support!
Wendy
Um, yeah… I’m gonna have to agree with you on that. Wow.
Maybe I better vote for The Princess Bride just to get my mind out of the gutter.
I enjoyed Ghost, I did. It was “fun”. Demi Moore is so…. blah in most of though – could you get someone to put a little emotion into a character?
It is inconceivable that ANYONE could have issues with not voting for The Princess Bride. Screw the pottery wheel scene – Cary Elwes is effing AWESOME (and hot!) as Wesley. “As you wish” makes the heart melt faster than Swayze’s undulating hips.
The acting in Princess Bride is amazing. I could watch Inigo Montoya and Fezzik do a cooking show (can you just imagine it) so engaging are the characters and their relationships. Vincinni = 2nd funniest villian ever (just behind Dark Helmet in Spaceballs).
If you had to be stuck on an island, and you could only pick one of these two movies – which would you choose? Which one is more engaging and less likely to get old.
The Princess Bride
VOTE SPACEBALLS tomorrow!
“Cary Elwes is effing AWESOME (and hot!) as Wesley. “As you wish” makes the heart melt faster than Swayze’s undulating hips.” Oh, this is so true. I’m torn between two different kinds of sexy. Damn.
I completely agree and I feel bad for Wendy’s luck of the draw. Ghost is a fantastic movie. The pottery wheel scene makes me want to cut my hair and take up pottery every time.
Kelly makes a good point: There are so many great scenes and quotes in The Princess Bride that give it that much extra oomph. From “As you wish…” to “Have fun storming the castle…” to “Anybody want a peanut?” . . . to . . .augh…”Since the invention of the kiss . . ..” I think that last one is my all-time favorite from the movie. Well, tonight it is. Tomorrow I’ll be back to “My name is Inigo Montoya. . . ” So sorry, Wendy!!!
I suppose we can still be friends, Hippie [sniff]…at least we still have music…
Wendy
By the comments I am a little scared of how the voting will turn out. I agree with your comment about The Dark Knight and not just because I’m backing the Dark Knight.
Time will tell!
Okay, I’m done torturing myself– I voted. Tamara out!
Princess Bride is my pick to win it all. I can’t think of anyone I know who doesn’t like it. Too much funny, and too much wit. If I ever get married, I totally want the officiant to use the “Mawwiage” speech.
Of course that’s possible but I am constantly surprised in how voting turns out in these here tournaments and there’s a lot of tough competition!
Oh Wendy, if I was voting for the blogger, you’d get my vote hands down (no offense Piper). But Princess Bride is one of my all time favorites. Sorry, loved Ghost, REALLY LOVED Princess Bride. So Piper, “As you wish.”
So it is written; so it shall be
I’ve never seen the Princess Bride. There. I said it.
Wendy, I sort of preferred the spoof of the pottery wheel scene in Naked Gun to the original version in Ghost.
And I still can’t believe that Tombstone didn’t advance. I understand Legends of the Fall going down. In fact, the movie I was actually thinking of when I nominated it was A River Runs Through it.
Good luck to everyone who remains.
“In fact, the movie I was actually thinking of when I nominated it was A River Runs Through it.”
That explains a lot.
Oh, and trust me on this: rent The Princess Bride. You will appreciate the witty dialogue, the buddy-buddy aspects, and the hilarity of “Inconceivable!”
It would be a great thing to watch with KAW too.
Plus, you’ll finally understand all of the references everywhere..
Chase, you’ve just gots to see The Princess Bride. But I agree with you about the Naked gun pottery scene! That’s funny about River Runs Through it though. I’m glad you said Legends.
I’m still getting used to this blog, but I love what I’ve seen so far!
Thanks for that Hook!