Playground Squares XI: And here we go again!

[Lex-Kat]

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You have chosen......

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Ding! Ding! Ding! Wisely.

Will TheCountAlucard please choose a category and a square, please.

Categories

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A) Action
B) Comedy
C) Horror
D) Romance
E) Suspence
F) Family

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Encino Man

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bladescape|vs.|CountAlucard, the
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B

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C

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Play

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Ground

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Squares

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Bushranger, the

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Castaras

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super dark33

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B

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Cristo Meyers

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Alarra

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Fawkes

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Mangosta71

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Zeb the Troll

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Helgraf

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[TheCountAlucard]

I would like Alarra to tell me more about Comedy, please.

[bladescape]

YAY! ... And whew at the same time.

[Atreyu the Masked LLama]

*Blinks* I...really should have a question for this. Am I so out of practice?

[Lex-Kat]

I'm sorry, Mr. Llama. But yes, I think you are. And it's all my fault.

Miss Alarra, Vibes is one of my favorite movies. It's a comedy about two psychics tricked into searching for an ancient treasure in Ecuador, starring Jeff Goldblum and Cyndi Lauper.

What are Sylvia's (Lauper) two psychic abilities?

[Alarra]

*wakes up* Hmpf? what? Sorry, on vacation, can't think now.
But you're holding up the game!
What game? I didn't sign up for any games. Leave me alone. Can't you see I'm sleeping and sunning myself by the pool?
You're not by a pool...you're in a square. Everyone's waiting on you!
But the waves and alligator...whisper whisper My imagination? Are you sure? *looks around at stage and audience staring expectantly*

Err....oh....um....Vibes, you say? I think I've seen that movie! I do love psychics after all and Lauper is always so fun... *think think think* I seem to recall her abilities were Astral Projection and Precognition.

[TheCountAlucard]

Arrgh, I can't be sure; I've never seen this movie! Umm, I think I'll disagree.

[super dark33]

*Blam!*

o hai im just shooting some goblins.

*Blam* *Blam!*

you got to try it.

[Lex-Kat]

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Correct.

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Ding! Ding! Ding! She had Astral Projection and also Contact with a Spirit Guide.

Your turn Bladescape.

Categories

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A) Action
C) Horror
D) Romance
E) Suspence
F) Family

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Encino Man
Vibes

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B

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C

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Play

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Ground

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Squares

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Bushranger, the

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Castaras

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super dark33

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C

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B

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Cristo Meyers

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Alarra

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Fawkes

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Mangosta71

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Zeb the Troll

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Helgraf

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[bladescape]

So....
Helgraf, what can you tell me about an Action film?

[Helgraf]

So....
Helgraf, what can you tell me about an Action film?

Action movies usually involve a fairly straightforward story of good guys versus bad guys, where most disputes are resolved by using physical force. Action movies are usually "high concept" films where the whole movie can be easily summarized in a simple sentence (eg. "a scientist brings dinosaurs back to life only to find them trying to dominate earth, again" for Jurassic Park). Who exactly the good guys are differs from film to film, but in Hollywood films they usually are patriotic and rather conservative Americans, whereas the bad guys are usually either criminals or agents of foreign powers. In the 1980s and before, they were very often Communists, which brings some action films fairly close to propaganda films. With the fall of Communism, Communists were no longer the villains, and the focus turned to drug lords or Middle Eastern terrorists. Action movies also tend to have a single heroic protagonist and often portray institutions such as the military or police as incompetent and limited by rules and regulations which the protagonist has no regard for. This creates the stereotypical conflict between an action hero and the establishment.

Action films tend to be expensive requiring big budget special effects and stunt work. Action films are mainly an American genre, although there have been a significant number of action films from Hong Kong which are primarily modern variations of the martial arts film. Because of these roots, Hong Kong action films typically center on acrobatics by the protoganist while American action films typically feature big explosions and cool gadgets.

Action films also constitute very good examples for feminist film theory, because in them, the separation between the physical male who controls the scene and the look and the female, who is almost always the object of the look is very clear. Although female characters in most action films are nothing more than objects, a prize for the winner, hostages, loving wives and the like, there has been a move towards stronger female characters. These are maybe best exemplified in works by James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow.

Current trends in action film include a development toward more elaborate fight scenes, perhaps because of the success of Asian martial arts films in Western film. Actors in action movies are now much more skilled in the art and aesthetic of fighting than they have been in the past, apart from a few acknowledged fighters like Steven Seagal. Now, a distinction can be made between films that lean toward physical agile fighting, such as The Transporter, and those that lean toward other common action film conventions, like explosions and plenty of gunfire, such as Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever or Lethal Weapon, although most action movies employ elements of both.

The first modern action film was The Seven Samurai of Akira Kurosawa. Although the plot is more complex than many action movies today, the premise was very simple: set in Feudal Japan, the basically good, weak villagers are about to be attacked by a large horde of bandits. So, the villagers hire seven samurai to protect their village and train their people for the upcoming onslaught. This movie introduced basic, recurrent action film themes such as good vs. evil, sacrifice, the vigilante spirit of the protagonists, and the use of an action climax (which until then had been restricted to westerns).

Other common action film conventions saw their birth in the release of James Bond series (containing many of the original elements of spy movies still seen today) and Bullitt, which contains one of the earliest car chases, a feature that is almost standard in action films.

[TheCountAlucard]

Now we know!

[super dark33]

And knowing is half the movie.

I just had to do it.

[bladescape]

-snip-

I'll Agree.

[Lex-Kat]

Helgraf, your third paragraph reminded me of one of my favorite action movies, V. I. Warshawski. In 1991 this is the first movie I ever saw with a strong and smart female lead character, and Kathleen Turner played her perfectly.

The question is, can you tell me what her first name was? I'll give you a hint. It began with a V.

[Fawkes]

I'm learning so much about movies I've never heard of.

[Helgraf]

Come now ... did you expect me to flub her first name?

Victoriana Iphigenia Warshawski, called “Vic” by her friends, is the daughter of the Italian-born Gabriella Sestrieri and Polish police officer Anton “Tony” Warshawski, a member of the Chicago Police Department. Both her parents are deceased; Gabriella died of cancer, two years before Vic went to college, and ten years before the death of her father in 1976.[1] This implies that Vic was born in about 1950. We also learn from Blood Shot (published as "Toxic Shock" in the U.K.) that Vic was last at her high school some 20 years previously; therefore this story was set in 1988, the year of the book’s publication. Sara Paretsky pointed out, in an interview, that Warshawski aged in real time.

[bladescape]

Well...

I can honestly say I have no idea. I've never watched the show....

I'll Agree on the basis that Helgraf put so much information in.

[Fawkes]

Victoriana Iphigenia Warshawski, called “Vic” by her friends, is the daughter of the Italian-born Gabriella Sestrieri and Polish police officer Anton “Tony” Warshawski, a member of the Chicago Police Department. Both her parents are deceased; Gabriella died of cancer, two years before Vic went to college, and ten years before the death of her father in 1976.[1] This implies that Vic was born in about 1950. We also learn from Blood Shot (published as "Toxic Shock" in the U.K.) that Vic was last at her high school some 20 years previously; therefore this story was set in 1988, the year of the book’s publication. Sara Paretsky pointed out, in an interview, that Warshawski aged in real time.

Citing a footnote there, Helgraf?

[Lex-Kat]

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BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTT!!!!

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Incorrect. The characters name was Victoria. Helgraf's added 'na' at the end might have thrown some off.

And if this is her correct name in the books, then I wouldn't know. She's never called Victoriana in the movie, just Vic, Vicki, and once Victoria.

Now, who will TheCountAlucard choose?

Categories

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A) Action
C) Horror
D) Romance
E) Suspence
F) Family

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V. I. Warshawski
Encino Man
Vibes

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bladescape|vs.|CountAlucard, the
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B

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C

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Play

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Ground

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Squares

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|

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Bushranger, the

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Castaras

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super dark33

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C

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B

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Cristo Meyers

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Alarra

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Fawkes

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C

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Mangosta71

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Zeb the Troll

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Helgraf

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[Helgraf]

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[COLOR="DarkOrchid"]BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTT!!!!

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Incorrect. The characters name was Victoria. Helgraf's added 'na' at the end might have thrown some off.

And if this is her correct name in the books, then I wouldn't know. She's never called Victoriana in the movie, just Vic, Vicki, and once Victoria.

Muah ha ha ... my clever ploy worked flawlessly. Yes, her real name was Victoria.

[Atreyu the Masked LLama]

Go with Superdark and Horror.

He makes an awesome cannibal pony!!

[TheCountAlucard]

Tempting, tempting, but I think I'll go with Bushranger and Family.

[bladescape]

Muah ha ha ... my clever ploy worked flawlessly. Yes, her real name was Victoria.

Damn you, Helgraf! ... Good Job.

[The Bushranger]

"...in five years, the Corleone Family is going to be completely legitimate...oh, not the family you were thinking about, hm?"

[Fawkes]

Copy/pasting wikipedia and changing two letters... ingenious.

[super dark33]

My pony wasnt cannibal... he just bit anouter pony's tail.

[Atreyu the Masked LLama]

My pony wasnt cannibal... he just bit anouter pony's tail.

Sure, that's how they all start off. Then its "whoops, mistook your cutie mark for a sandwich" and within the year, they are opening a restaurant called "Sweeny Todd's Soylent Green Oats Emporium."

[TheCountAlucard]

On an unrelated note, it turns out that Lix Lorn is quite delicious when cooked properly.

[Lex-Kat]

On an actually unrelated note....

Bushranger, in the 1961 classic "The Parent Trap", Haley Mills plays twin sisters seperated at birth. One lives in Boston, Massachusettes; the other in Monterey, California.

They find one another by accident at Camp Inch, and instantly hate each other. After their hooliganism (fighting) at the dance, they are moved into a cabin together, for the rest of their stay.

What is the cabin's name?