Monday, July 14, 2008

The movie logline quiz (part 3)

First, check out Part 1 and Part 2 of the quiz trilogy.

This is the final installment of loglines that creatively and intentionally do a lousy job of describing movies. Can you still identify the movie for each? Enter your guesses in the comments, or avoid the comments if you'd like to remain unspoiled and solve them all yourself.

21. A feisty but well-rounded competitor enters a contest that ends, quite literally, in a split decision.
Solved by: Julie

22. Despite the iron will of his coach and a teammate's sacrifice, a golden boy loses a tournament title to the unproven rookie who also stole his girlfriend.
Solved by: Scurry

23. A woman who is seen but never named is apprehensive about replacing her predecessor, a woman who was named but never seen.
Solved by: Julie

24. With his race locked in a battle against a mortal enemy and its resilient leader, a laconic representative undertakes an unusual mission to destroy the natural source behind that leader's very existence.
Solved by: Quinn the Brain

25. A military man begins to question his marital intentions to a wealthy woman when he starts to fancy the virginal babysitter.
Solved by:
Julie

26. Before he can devote his attention to more charitable pursuits, a consummate professional must first unleash a secret weapon in the fight against his corrupt industry.
Solved by: Quinn the Brain

27. A hardcore executive reconsiders his priorities after he witnesses his brother cut himself and a neighboring girl attempt suicide.
Solved by: Ceresina

28. Suddenly aware of the meaningless life he leads, a young man starts to beat himself up over the choices he's made.
Solved by: Jeremy

29. A salesperson praises the abilities of an actor he had initially dismissed as "like a Streisand." (The performer who portrays the salesperson was labeled as "kind of a Baldwin" in a previous but unrelated movie.)
Solved by: Quinn the Brain

30. Secrets unfold among of group of people and the natural order of things is disrupted. A wealthy but temperamental man (who can look a lot like Dumbledore) gets his final comeuppance in mysterious fashion. The proceedings are overseen by an intelligent woman (who can look a lot like Queen Elizabeth II).
(Two movies)
Movie #1 solved by: Julie
Movie #2 solved by: Quinn the Brain

I originally published these loglines when I started this forum thread. Feel free to read through it and find some very excellent contributions made by other writers.

And so the quiz trilogy concludes. As with movie trilogies, I could be convinced to create an unnecessary fourth installment... if the money were right.

27 comments:

Courtney said...

22. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Anonymous said...

28. Fight Club

Andy said...

21: Kill Bill 1

Anonymous said...

22. The Karate Kid
28. Fight Club

Neel Mehta said...

Okay, 2 correct answers and 2 interesting incorrect ones. Welcome, scurry!

#21: This one is so vague that it always elicits a wide range of responses. When I say "quite literally," I mean it, and when I say "split decision," I do not mean a tie.

Kill Bill 1 is probably the closest wrong answer I've seen -- you have the right idea, but the wrong movie. I'm looking for a comedy.

#22: The Karate Kid is correct. (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire doesn't meet all the criteria, but I'm nonetheless impressed because I never thought of the similarities.)

#28: Fight Club is correct. Jeremy got it first.

Julie said...

23. Rebecca

24. Lord of the Rings (Return of the King, specifically?)

Neel Mehta said...

Ha! Julie came to my party.

#23: Rebecca is correct.

#24: I can see how the sheer wordiness of this one might remind you of Peter Jackson's inability to put an end to anything. But the Lord of the Rings trilogy does not figure in this quiz.

Courtney said...

29. Paul Rudd is the Baldwin in question... so how about "The 40 Year Old Virgin"?

And I guess Harry didn't really steal Cho, since Cedric was already dead (although now he's a vampire! So more power to him.)

Courtney said...

30. Gosford Park?

Neel Mehta said...

#29: The 40-Year-Old Virgin is correct, and the logline also makes reference to The Bourne Identity and Clueless.

#30: Gosford Park is correct. The other movie is older and features the same actor and actress before they became household names.

Andy said...

I thought Kill Bill was hilarious. "If any of you have *anything* else to say...NOW'S THE F_IN TIME!!!!!" (pouts)

Neel Mehta said...

I'm sensing silence from all of you, so it's time for some hints.

#21: I never said the "competitor" was human.

#24: Read "mortal enemy" literally.

#25: Quinn wrote a much different logline for the same movie on her blog.

#26: Change "industry" to "businessman" and I'd be describing Iron Man too. But here I'm just dealing with one film, a comedy.

#27: It's a romantic comedy. If I recall, its remake does not qualify here.

#30: Even if you know nothing of this Gambon/Mirren film, you've heard of the title.

Julie said...

25. Sound of Music?

ceresina said...

21: Star Wars, the first one in real-time (A New Beginning?)

27: Since you said "remake" -- the original "Sabrina"

Neel Mehta said...

#21: There's a Star Wars in real time? I missed that one.

#25: The Sound of Music is correct.

#27: Sabrina is correct. Saying that it was a romantic comedy with a remake probably narrowed it down.

ceresina said...

Oh, fine, make fun of the non-humanities person for being language clumsy.
Ahem.
I meant the one that was released first, making it first in "real life," as opposed to the one that comes first in the overall story. It's chapter 4, and it's not really called Star Wars when it's on its own, but I don't remember its official name. C'mon! It's Star Wars! Not that other thing!
But I guess that's not the movie you're going for.

Neel Mehta said...

Ah. I know I sounded facetious, but I really hadn't figured out what you were talking about. (I assumed you meant some sort of Special Edition or something.)

I covered Star Wars (or A New Hope) in last week's quiz. And the other 5 films don't figure here. So no, those aren't the droids I'm looking for.

P.S. The competitor in #21 is not a droid/robot either.

K-Lyn said...

#26 Real Genius?

Julie said...

30. The thief the cook/wife/lover?

21. Haven't seen it, so don't know how it ends, but could it be Kung-Fu Panda? OR
Prince Caspian? (that I have seen). Or maybe 24 is an Aslan reference?

26. I keep thinking Office Space, but cant think of the charitable thing.

Neel Mehta said...

K-Lyn came to my party too!

#21: Not a recent movie. Here's a big hint about that "split decision." The competitor ends the contest by finishing 1st... and 3rd.

#24: Not a Narnia film. The "unusual mission" involves time travel.

#26: Not Real Genius or Office Space. The "secret weapon" is rumored for most of the film, but finally unleashed at the end. It is powerful, but not deadly.

#30: The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover is correct.

Courtney said...

24. Terminator?

Neel Mehta said...

Yep. The "natural source" is Sarah Connor.

Julie said...

21. Herbie the Love Bug?

Neel Mehta said...

Now we're cooking! The Love Bug is correct.

This leaves #26, which I thought would be easier. The "charitable pursuits" center on education, specifically literacy.

If that doesn't give it away, click over to actor James Marsden's filmography on IMDb and look for the most famous character name he's ever played.

Courtney said...

Zoolander! The secret weapon is Magnum (not to be confused with Blue Steel), and James Marsden plays John Wilkes Booth. Genius.

Neel Mehta said...

Zoolander is correct, and this quiz is really, really, ridiculously over.

The link to the forum thread is now up (or click here). This is where I first tried out these loglines. Plus there's another 30-35 loglines written by others. The answers were often written in white text; just highlight over the blank spaces to see the answer. (On the last page, someone compiled and listed all 60-something entries.)

movies forum said...

22. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
It was my favorite film out of all parts of Harry Potter series.