A Deep Dive into Weirdo Cinema [14] Quiz

Answer: Priest

Shyalaman's follow-up to "The Sixth Sense" and "Unbreakable", "Signs" may have been the first indication that his seemingly-patented 'there's always a twist ending' scheme was faltering, but it shouldn't detract from an otherwise strong story. In this one, an unconventional family, living in their grief and unfortunate circumstances, try to make ends meet on a farm just as an alien invasion begins to unfold. The four of them are forced to contend with fate and faith to survive.

"Signs" starred Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix as brothers Graham and Merrill and the pair catapulted the film to more than $400,000,000 USD in the box office. Is it a lasting film? Maybe. In the canon of Shyamalan's works, it's definitely on the stronger side and particularly memorable for a handful of frightening 'should have seen that coming' scenes involving beings from outer space.

Answer: I Am Number Four

With Michael Bay producing, "I Am Number Four" seemed to be the next hit in the 'teenagers with powers' genre, putting Alex Pettyfer's 'Number Four' up against the Mogadorian race, but it wasn't a success. Instead of leading to the numerous sequels in the book series, all rife for adaptation, plans were scrapped entirely due to poor box office take... which is odd because both "The Hunger Games" and "The Maze Runner" hadn't released yet. The comparison point? It was actually "Twilight". Internationally, the film made zero movement.

Had the series gone as planned, 'Number Four', implanted on Earth to protect himself and the other Lorien sent there, had to contend with his humanity and his special powers while also locating his fellow 'Numbers'. There were seven books in the original series followed by several spin-offs and a sequel trilogy, all written by Pittacus Lore... actually "A Million Little Pieces" writer James Frey under a pseudonym.

Answer: Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz

There's something to be said for the eternal success of the "Gundam" series; some people just love to watch big, mechanized robot suits battle it out in space. "Endless Waltz" was no exception, following up on the "Mobile Suit Gundam" TV series as a three-act animated film/OVA taking place after the war, but just on the brink of another rebellion seemingly led by a seven-year-old-- exactly who you'd expect to be heading a space colony. What it takes to win out is Gundams (of course).

While the suits were redesigned for this film, the battle sequences that ensued were renowned by fans and critics; it was popular in Japan and overseas alike.

Answer: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

At the point when "Rogue One" released, LucasFilms had only released trilogies of films in the 'Skywalker Saga' and a handful of other "Star Wars" media (including TV shows, books and video games). Where things changed in the cinemas as with "Rogue One", which released stand-alone in 2016 and followed a group of rebels who set out to collect plans for the Death Star from a vault on the planet Scarif. What follows links directly into the events that lead into "A New Hope".

But is it worth it? Absolutely. "Rogue One" might have the tightest and most rewarding storytelling of most "Star Wars" films, and doesn't rely on the ongoing story of the core "Star Wars" series. Not to mention it boasts a large ensemble cast including Diego Luna, Felicity Jones, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, and others. It was massively successful at the box office, taking in over a billion (USD) worldwide.

"Solo: A Star Wars Story", which released two years later, wasn't quite as successful.

Answer: Baseball

"Bobbaayyyy!" Robert De Niro was the fan in question; he played crazed Gil Renard, who became more and more mentally unhinged in this sports-themed thriller from Tony Scott. As the movie progressed, his enthusiasm towards Snipes' baseballer, Bobby Rayburn, came to a head when he made a simple request: hit a home run at the next game or he'd murder his son.

Based on a novel by Peter Abrahams, the film may have been a bit long and it may have been a bit dark-sided, but it's still a weird and interesting spot in Scott's filmography (which includes "Top Gun" and "Days of Thunder", amongst other 1980s/1990s classics). If anything it's worth it to see De Niro take on the role of a homicidal maniac for a change, even if Snipes wanted the role for himself originally. Unfortunately, the movie flopped at the box office.

Answer: Megan

Pertaining to a young girl who goes missing and her friend, who digs a bit too deep into the mysterious disappearance, "Megan is Missing" was created on a shoestring budget towards the end of the found-footage phase that emerged in horror after the release of "Paranormal Activity", but its disturbing contents kept it on viewers' minds, making it see a bit of a resurgence in popularity in the 2020s (mainly due to TikTok). Because of its contents, the film was banned in New Zealand once it found a distributor. It's a disturbing work, and likely not palatable for the everyday movie viewer.

Michael Goi, who created and shot the film in its unconventional manner, had previously created "Web Therapy" with Lisa Kudrow, leaning into the 'video call' concept. He would, after "Megan is Missing", join up with Ryan Murphy to work on "American Horror Story" and "Scream Queens", remaining within the genre.

Answer: Titanic: The Legend Goes On

Released just a bit too late to capitalize, truly, on the release of James Cameron's "Titanic" back in 1997, "Titanic: The Legend Goes On" showed up in 2000 in both Italian and English and featured a convoluted storyline amounting to 'a number of rich and poor people and a LOT of animals have problems on the voyage'. Between the drama of the humans and the actual partying of mice, dogs, and other animals in the cargo bay of the ship, one might almost forget they hit an iceberg in the final act, starting off a chaotic attempt at escape that sees several animals (and the ship's cook) saved by... of all things... dolphins.

But one important thing to note is the music. Somehow, this movie also features a handful of original songs including "Party Time", performed by a rapping dog from New York, and a Mexican-themed song performed by mice moments before the iceberg hits. Oh yeah, and Pongo and Perdita from "101 Dalmatians" appear to be in it as well. I couldn't tell you why.

Answer: Ratatoing

If there's something to be said about Vídeo Brinquedo, it's that they had a unique way of altering well-known, popular animated films of their era and really pulling them back for a bargain bin audience. Take "Ratatoing", for example, a heist movie about rats in an Italian restaurant, living in the walls and trying to evade capture while eating well in Rio de Janeiro. You might think: "Huh. Something about this seems just off enough from the highly-regarded Pixar film 'Ratatouille'." That's the intent.

Vídeo Brinquedo was also responsible for the films "The Little Cars: In The Great Race", "Little Bee", "The Little Panda Fighter", "Gladiformers", and "What's Up: Balloon to the Rescue", amongst other films. They might as well have been 'The Asylum' of animated film distributors. Unfortunately, they stopped churning these out in 2011, leaving us with baffling gems like "Ratatoing".

Answer: Leprechaun

Pre-dating "Friends", this 1993 feature about a family stumbling upon a leprechaun's cursed gold may not have made a splash for Aniston, but it did launch a series of low-budget horror films starring Warwick Davis as the titular foe. While still comedic (I mean, it's about a leprechaun!), these movies quickly pushed into the absurd with the leprechaun granting monkey-paw level wishes to gain back his treasures (even doing so in space).

But the original is a bit of a cult classic, still holding up as a straight-forward story at a time when these kinds of movies weren't really hitting mainstream cinema. It's campy, even if it's not all too complex. Costing just under a million (USD) to make, it earned nearly eight times the amount in the box office.

Answer: False

While it was nominated for the award, the Oscar actually went to "Top Gun" for Berlin's "Take My Breath Away". "Somewhere Out There", nonetheless, was a lasting track, being composed by James Horner and performed by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram-- neither of whom were the mice in the movie. The song did, however, win Song of the Year at the Grammy Awards.

"An American Tail", the story of a family of mice fleeing to America, followed Fievel, who managed to survive being lost at sea only to end up washed ashore in New York City and making his way through his new world. A classic Don Bluth movie, he film was a box office success and resulted in a sequel, "Fievel Goes West", in 1991.