Early reviews of Alexander are coming in. This one's by an LJ friend who is a professor of classics. [link] No real spoilers.

Elektra has to be better than Daredevil if for no other reason than the fact that Jennifer Garner >> Ben Affleck.

Attendez, Nutty, Scrappy!

Essential Noir
November 26 through December 23
Film Forum

You're not going anywhere until you master the Noir Assessment Test! A real brain boost, the NAT is based on Film Forum's exciting Essential Noir series, 34 American classics from 1941 to 1958 including Laura, Double Indemnity, The Maltese Falcon, and a restoration of Force of Evil.

The only way to ace the NAT is to know the films. Then you can go to Noir University, where the students are jumpy. For the real geniuses—prizes! First: a private noir tour by Bruce Goldstein, Film Forum's repertory programmer and winner of France's Order of Arts and Letters, and lunch at Peter Luger with Goldstein and me. Second: two Film Forum tickets. Third: three tickets. Disclaimer: Seeing all the films will make you call your friends Ma and Pa and put on the feedbag and you'll feel queasy and want to confess. But you'll get over it.

Actual Quiz is here

I know the answers to this (you need to see the picture)...

1. Name the film above. And—just who is her lover and how did he become medically inclined?

...and this one for sure.

5. Kathie Moffatt is to Jeff Bailey as (choose one): (a) Annie Laurie Starr is to Bart Tare; (b) Phyllis Dietrichson is to Walter Neff; (c) Alice Reed is to Professor Wanley; (d) Chickamaw is to T-Dub.

...and some examples for both mirrors and portraits for this one.

6. Noir and the mirror—the doppelgänger, the Rankian concept of the double as insurance of the self, Slavoj Zizek's "non-symbolized surplus." Name three films that have big mirror revelation moments. Now think of three with portraits. There may be more, but I got tired and couldn't watch them all.

Film Forum Essential Noir Schedule

I've seen 23 out of the 34.

Wow, those questions are *tough*. And the last one is an essay question! It's like we're back in college.

I think I know the answer to #5 (the one about Kathie Moffat) and I'm pretty sure which film #7 is supposed to be (although not the answer to the first question). Then maybe a couple of mirror/portrait examples, but that's about it.

Have these pics from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory been posted here yet?

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It looks like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory starring Johnny Depp as The Crow.

Er, some of those questions I can't even figure out what they're asking (2, 4, and 11 leave me baffled). Of the questions I comprehended, I can answer some of 6, some of 9 (the highway question), all parts of 10, and I could probably write a humdinger of an essay for 12. Although I don't think Lydecker is the best example of the thesis the essay question is trying to put forward.

If anyone ever looked better than Rita Hayworth in Gilda it was probably Ava Gardner in The Killers, and they're playing as a double feature.

The Fishko Files on Essential Noir (Real Audio necessary.)

If anyone ever looked better than Rita Hayworth in Gilda it was probably Ava Gardner in The Killers, and they're playing as a double feature.

True, Ava's ungodly beautiful in The Killers.

I might have to save one of my votes for Hedy Lamarr though.

Still waiting for a Teppy report on Moulin Rouge. Double spaced in APA format, please.