Guess the Film from the Limerick Quiz

Answer: The Usual Suspects

The order in which the packages are given to the group in the pool room scene is the same order in which the characters are killed.

Explanation of hints:

1st line: The four thieves (McManus, Keaton, Fenster, Hockney) are used as "puppets" by Soze/Kint [Kevin Spacey] and they contrived revenge on the police at the start.

2nd line: As the film develops one is very unsure who is going to survive.

3rd and 4th lines: this is an obvious reference to Kujan, who tried to solve the puzzle mainly from Kint's story.

5th line: This refers to the fact that at the end of the film Kujan realised that Kint had fabricated parts of his story, using names from the wall on Kujan's office.

As well as being great films, the answers to all ten questions are also my top 10 films of all time. "The Usual Suspects" is (currently) my tenth favourite.

Answer: American Beauty

This film was offered to Terry Gilliam to direct, but he turned it down.

Explanation of hints:

1st line: Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) became "obsessed" with his daughter's friend, after first seeing her when she was cheerleading.

2nd line: Burnham subsequently dreamt often about her appearing naked in a bath with red petals. He dreamt of being "with her".

3rd and 4th lines: This is in reference to Jane Burnham who is a typically rebellious teenager. Lester's wife was very stressed, leading her to seek another sexual partner. Going by all their other problems one would think their marriage was on the verge of a "breakup".

5th line: The theme of mediocrity is developed to demonstrate how eccentric this family is. The rest of the world is too, however average it may seem.

The first time I saw "American Beauty" I knew at the end that it would feature prominently in my favourite films. It's a very well crafted story with some fine actors and has great repeat value - something very valuable to a film. It's number nine for me.

Answer: The Truman Show

People were not allowed to mention phrases from Carrey's earlier "silly" movies on set.

Explanation of hints:

1st line: The giant studio was built by Christof for his reality TV programme. It was Truman's "world" as he knew it and was built specifically for him. He was also on "his own" in the sense that everyone else knew his life was the subject of a television show, whereas he did not.

2nd line: Many events aroused his "suspicion" about the unusual things in his life, such as; the radio commentary while he was driving, the unusual behaviour of the general public and the fact that his wife crossed her fingers at their wedding ceremony!

3rd and 4th lines: The "blips" are the mistakes made by the authorities, such as dropping equipment from the roof of the studio and having the backstage revealed. Once he had come to his conclusion and decided what to do, he gave the director, Christof, his crew and cameras "the slip" by escaping through a hole in his basement, while pretending to be asleep.

5th line: By escaping at the end he could attempt to "atone" for all he had missed out on by being captive in the studio.

When I first saw it at the cinema I was blown away at the very concept of the film. I was also interested in how the details are brought about slowly, so that the viewer experiences the perspectives of Truman, the television viewers and the director. This is a wonderful story set to a brilliant score. The climax of this film is eclipsed for me only by the climax to my second favourite film.

Answer: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Eacept the fishing segment, the movie was shot in sequence.

Explanation of hints:

1st line: The "man" refers to the protagonist McMurphy (Oscar winning role for Jack Nicholson) whose state of mental health at the beginning of the film had not yet been "decided upon" by the senior doctors.

2nd line: This refers to his relationship with Chief, who is an extremely large man and is a "con" in the respect that he conned the institution and group into believing that he was unable to speak.

3rd and 4th lines: These refer to "nurse" Ratched (Oscar winning role for Louise Fletcher) who was the immediate, authoritative figure. The 4th line refers to the fact that she was so unremitting in her spitefulness and unreasonableness that even "the Devil" would find her difficult to live with!

5th line: This final line is in reference to near the end when McMurphy could no longer "look on" and he attempted to strangle Nurse Ratched. It also refers to his disruptive behaviour throughout.

This film is such a joyful experience. Nicholson is utterly brilliant, as is Fletcher. The supporting cast equally provide their share of gripping banter and quizzical looks. The ending is poignant and deserving of such a fabulous film. It's one of those movies where every character is enjoyable, especially Nurse Ratched and her manner of control. It is my seventh favourite movie.

Answer: Fargo

This film is not "Based on a true story".

Explanation of hints:

1st line: The "businessman" is Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy) was is in desperate debt. He schemes to make a lot of money.

2nd line: However, his plan is rather illegal (he hires two kidnappers to kidnap his wife). There is the unthinkable possibility that the plan will not work, in which case there is a "possible plight".

3rd and 4th lines: The "key" to the plan was acting efficiently and with good sense. However the kidnappers were not able to take the woman without nearly killing her and they also had to murder a cop and people in a passing car. By the end Lundegaard realised he had been "sussed out" and so had no option but to flee.

5th line: "Blood red" refers to the gory amounts of blood and explicit scenes of violence in the film. "Snow white" refers to the Minnesota snow which made this film very white. Red also sticks out in white like a sore thumb, which meant Lundegaard realised it was obvious what he had done and made a break for it.

I have to admit the first time I saw this film I was not very impressed. It seemed okay and slightly quirky, but on reviewing it several times I realised how funny it was. The scripting is phenomenally good, (every utterance by Macey was scripted). The everyday life of Marge and Norm Gunderson is brilliant. I tried to get a "yah" in the limerick somewhere but failed yah!

Answer: Pulp Fiction

The visual of Vincent (John Travolta) plunging the needle into the chest of Mia Wallace was achieved by Travolta removing the needle and then running the shot in reverse.

Explanation of hints:

1st line: This first line is in reference to the mystery contents of the suitcase that Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames) is after.

2nd line: The character referred to here is Butch the boxer, who "kills" his opponent in the ring. This was contrary to the deal made with Wallace so that he could make his own money from the match.

3rd and 4th lines: However, Butch's girlfriend leaves his watch "behind" in his apartment, which they had deserted. As we find out in a rather amusing scene with legendary actor Christoper Walken, this special watch belonged to Butch's father, and was carried by him and Captain Koons (Walken) in a rather private area.

5th line: Finally Butch and his girlfriend escaped from town on Zed's bike after Butch agreed with Wallace to leave town after quite literally saving his...behind.

There are no words to describe Tarantino's masterpiece. One can only compare it to the combined brilliance of his other fantastic films, all of which any writer/director would be proud of. This one just gets everything right though. The subtleties are there. The opinionated nobody and the interesting conversation, coupled together with dark humour of the highest order, made the coolest movie of the nineties and possibly of all time. It begins my top five list.

Answer: Memento

It only took 25 days to shoot "Memento".

Explanation of hints:

1st line: The main character Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) continually refers to Sammy Jankis throughout the film, who he had thought was "feigning" his memory problem.

2nd line: On falling victim to the condition himself, Shelby knew the condition was genuine. At the end, Teddy's explanation of events heavily suggested Shelby was in fact Jenkis but had convinced himself it was someone else to give him purpose.

3rd and 4th lines: The film is phenomenally well written. Scenes from the chronological beginning of the film (shot in black and white) and the end of the film (in colour) play alternatively towards the middle of the story. The final scene changes from black and white into colour and brilliantly reveals the motives and reasoning behind the film in the middle of the story!

5th line: I am certainly not going to explain it here, because a) I would miss out many things, b) it would be far too long and c) I would probably get half of it wrong!

My friend not only gave this the highest praise and thoroughly recommended it to me, but actively forced me to watch it. I was stunned, it was so original, but not only that, it was also a phenomenal film! It's very well thought out and brilliantly pulled off so that the viewer is effectively seeing things from Shelby's perspective. It's a fantastic film and there is nothing else like it. It creeps up to my long-standing numbers 1, 2 and 3.

Answer: Monty Python and the Holy Grail

During the witch scene, there is a long pause in which Eric Idle begins to laugh, and so contains himself by biting his scythe.

Explanation of hints:

1st line: "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" is based on the legend of King Arthur and his knights of the round table at Camelot. It also covers the legend of the Holy Grail; the cup that Jesus used at the Last Supper.

2nd line: The brave troupe came across many obstacles and monsters including a castle full of taunting French soldiers, a three-headed indecisive being and the Bridge of Death.

3rd and 4th lines: These lines refer to how all were so brave in the face of comedic danger save for "Sir Robin the-not-quite-so-brave-as-Sir-Lancelot, who had nearly fought the Dragon of Angnor, who had nearly stood up to the vicious Chicken of Bristol, and who had personally wet himself at the Battle of Badon Hill". ("Get on with it!")

5th line: The last line recalls how instead of riding steeds each knight had his own servant who banged together two halves of a "coconut" to achieve the sound of horses galloping. It was cheap, funny and meant the cast didn't have to learn to ride horses...well real ones anyway.

This is the pinnacle of mad comedy. The first time I saw this I couldn't believe how many amazingly funny sequences there were. The actors have so many subtleties one doesn't pick up on every viewing, and it is extremely quotable, to the annoyance of anyone who dislikes it. Ni!

Answer: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The trailer has Angel Eyes as "The Ugly" and Tuco "The Bad," which is the reverse of that in the actual movie. This is due to the Italian title ("Il Buono, il Brutto, Il Cattivo") which when translated into English is actually "The Good, the Ugly, the Bad", not "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly". The Italian trailer also had "The Ugly" and "The Bad" in that order. When transferred to English, "The Ugly" and "The Bad" were not reversed in the trailer to coincide with the altered title, resulting in the incorrect designations.

Explanation of hints:

1st line: This is in reference to the final showdown scene where Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallachs' characters stand for a historic three way shoot out among the graves of Civil War casualties, one of which contains $200,000.

2nd line: Clint Eastwood is the main "victor" and is indeed the "Good" character. He also had to be "good" in the sense of being a capable shooter and cunning enough to survive and keep the money.

3rd and 4th lines: The one to "die" is the "Bad"; Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef) who is shot in the shoot-out by the "Good". The "third" and last is Tuco (Wallach); the "Ugly", whose gun had previously been emptied of bullets by the "Good" and so tried to shoot but couldn't. Instead of killing him, Eastwood's character made him "stand high", hung from a noose balancing on a rickety cross. Eastwood then rode to the edge of the graveyard and shot the rope. Tuco was then free to collect his remaining share of the money.

5th line: This line is a reference to an earlier scene where Tuco met his brother, Father Pablo Ramirez. Tuco said that how when growing up where they did, children either became a priest or a bandit and that he had chosen the harder profession. Perhaps then he should have chosen to become a priest.

"Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo" is brilliantly shot. The cinematography by Leone is visually stunning. Morricone's score is equally dignified. As previously mentioned, this movie has my favourite ending to a film; the final twenty minutes are pure cinematic heaven. The music plays out, the trio come fourth and decide in a triple shoot out who will take the gold they have spent so much energy on finding. This scene is perfectly crafted, using gradually increasing close-ups and music which crescendos to the height of the heavens. Throughout, one admires the coolness of Eastwood, the sharpness of Cleef and the smell of Wallach.

Answer: The Blues Brothers

"The Blues Brothers" once held the world record for most cars crashed in a film. Steven Spielburg makes a small cameo at the end of the film as the Cook County Tax Assessor's Office clerk.

Explanation of hints:

1st line: "Penguin" is a well known reference to nuns and indeed Elwood refers to Sister Mary Stigmata as "the penguin" at one point early in the film. While visiting her she indirectly gave them their mission ("the word" often synonymous with the "word of God") for the film by telling them the orphanage they grew up in would be closed down unless $5,000 was found.

2nd line: Frequently breaking the speed limit on America's roads, Jake and Elwood managed to outrun (i.e. they were merely a "blur") the cops (on numerous occasions) and The Good Ole Boys (the band dressed as cowboys who were supposed to play at Bob's Country Bunker).

3rd and 4th lines: The "bar tab" is that which The Blues Brothers band runs up while playing a gig at Bob's Country Bunker. They were due to be paid $200 for their performance but their $300 bar tab meant they were not paid. The fourth line refers to when Bob's wife was asked what music is played at Bob's Country Bunker and she replied, "Oh we got both kinds, country AND western".

5th line: Elwood and Jake comprised the two occupants of the (new) Bluesmobile while Elwood obviously thought "God" was on their side; he also claimed they were "On a mission from God".

My dad originally showed me "The Blues Brothers" because he thought I'd like it, because it had lots of crashes in it! Well he was right, but there's also a dozen other crazy things which all add up to the most brilliant and fun movie experience one could wish to have. The music is fantastic; Ackroyd and Belushi are perfectly droll and eccentric in equal measures and the supporting cast add depth. This is a cult classic.

Many thanks for doing the quiz, I hope you enjoyed it. I have no idea what inspired me to use limericks but I certainly enjoyed thinking them up. Feedback is much appreciated, so feel free to send me a message.

Hope you're not too dissappointed by my top ten films. All are wonderful and if you haven't seen any of them get to it!