My DVD Collection: Spot the Not Quiz

Answer: Without a Paddle

Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs" is about an organised diamond heist and stars Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen and Steve Buscemi. "3000 Miles to Graceland" revolves around a group of criminals, headed by Kevin Costner and Kurt Russell, with David Arquette and Christian Slater.

The gang all dress up as Elvis to rob a casino during an Elvis tribute. In "Bandits", the main characters, played by Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton, are bank robbers. "Without a Paddle", starring Seth Green, Matthew Lillard and Dax Shepard, is about childhood friends who reunite, after one of their original group dies, for a treasure hunt.

Answer: The Good Girl

"Heavenly Creatures", starring Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet, is about the true story of New Zealand teenagers Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme, who planned and carried out the murder of Pauline's mother in the 1950s. The narration in this film comes from Pauline Parker's actual diary entries. "Prozac Nation", also based on a true story, is about a young woman's battle with depression. Christina Ricci plays journalist Elizabeth Wurtzel, and the narration stems from Wurtzel writing the book from which the movie derives. "American History X" stars Edward Furlong and Edward Norton, and is about two brother's experience with extreme racism and violence, and how it affects the people around them. Furlong plays the younger brother, who is instructed to write a paper about his older brother (Norton) for his History class.

The narration comes from this paper. "The Good Girl" revolves around a woman (Jennifer Aniston) who is dissatisfied with her humdrum life and finds herself drawn into an affair with a mysterious, younger man (Jake Gyllenhaal). Aniston plays the woman, who fills in the story with her narration throughout the film, however the narration does not directly relate to anything she is writing.

Answer: Requiem for a Dream

"Prozac Nation", starring Christina Ricci, is based on the events from the life of writer/journalist Elizabeth Wurtzel. "Walk the Line" comes from the books "Cash the Autobiography" and "Man in Black" by country singer Johnny Cash, and stars Joaquin Phoenix. "A Beautiful Mind", starring Russell Crowe, details the life of mathematician John Nash, and is based on a biography by Sylvia Nasar. "Requiem for a Dream" does derive from a book by Hubert Selby Jr, however it is NOT a true story.

Answer: Office Space

"X Men", probably the most well-known of the choices, began as comic book characters created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and was first published in the 1960s. "Mystery Men" is a spoof of such big-budget comic-book movies such as "X Men" and "Spiderman".

It features an all-star cast including Ben Stiller, William H. Macy, Hank Azaria and Janeane Garofalo and is based on the series of comic books created by Bob Burden and published by Dark Horse. "Ghost World", which stars Scarlett Johansson, Thora Birch and Steve Buscemi, is based on a comic book by Daniel Clowes. "Office Space" comes from a series of short animated films by Mike Judge, who also created "Beavis and Butthead".

Answer: American Beauty

Although nominated, Annette Bening lost out to Hilary Swank for "Boys Don't Cry" in 1999. Bening stars in "American Beauty" with Kevin Spacey, portraying a superficial and self-absorbed real estate agent dealing with her husband's mid-life crisis and her daughter's lack of conformity. Frances McDormand won the Academy Award for "Fargo" in 1996.

In "Fargo" McDormand plays a small town Police Chief investigating murders linked to a bizarre kidnapping case. Halle Berry won the Oscar in 2001 for her role in "Monster's Ball" opposite Billy Bob Thornton.

Here Berry appears as a woman who becomes involved with the racist prison guard who assisted in the execution of her husband, after both she and the guard have experienced similar personal tragedies. Charlize Theron won the Oscar for depicting serial killer Aileen Wuornos in "Monster" in 2003, a film based on the true story of the woman dubbed "America's First Female Serial Killer". "Monster" focuses on Wuornos' relationship with her lover, played by Christina Ricci, as well as the lead up to and continuation of her killings.

Answer: Sling Blade

Sam Mendes' "American Beauty" picked up the 1999 Oscar. This is a film exploring the turmoil beneath the surface of a seemingly picture-perfect American family, as the husband/father (Kevin Spacey) indulges in a fantasy about his teenage daughter's friend; the daughter (Thora Birch) struggles with her low self-esteem and her first boyfriend; and the wife (Annette Bening) escapes into an affair with a colleague. "A Beautiful Mind", directed by Ron Howard, won the award in 2001.

It tells the true story of mathematician John Nash (played by Russell Crowe) and his frightening battle with schizophrenia, but how he overcomes it with the support of his wife (Jennifer Connelly). "Crash", directed by Paul Haggis, was a surprise Best Picture winner in 2005.

This film features a series of intertwined stories and characters, exploring racism and family relationships. Stars of "Crash" include Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Sandra Bullock, Brendan Fraser, Ryan Phillipe and Thandie Newton. "Sling Blade", a film written, directed by and starring Billy Bob Thornton was not even nominated for Best Picture Oscar in 1996.

This film, about a simple man set free from a psychiatric prison who returns to his home town and befriends a young boy and his family, did however the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Answer: Bloody Sunday

Starring James Nesbitt, "Bloody Sunday" originates from the UK/Ireland, and focuses on the massacre that occurred on January 30, 1972 in Northern Ireland. The other three Australian films feature Aussie actors that have gone on to make it big is US films: Eric Bana ("Chopper"), Russell Crowe ("Romper Stomper") and Heath Ledger ("Two Hands"). Bana plays the title role in "Chopper", which is based on the stories of infamous Australian underworld figure (turned author) Mark Brendan "Chopper" Read. In "Romper Stomper" Crowe portrays a vicious neo-nazi skinhead who, along with his gang of followers, wage war on the Vietnamese community, while also avoiding the police. Ledger appears in "Two Hands" as a young man in debt to a local gangster after a job goes wrong, and on the run from thugs while he tries to get the money back.

Answer: One Hour Photo

Edward Norton's character in "Fight Club" works in the office of a "major" car company as a Recall Coordinator. After the character becomes heavily involved in his Fight Club, his boss begins to question him about his disheveled appearance and notes relating to the club that he finds around the office. Norton's character ends up beating himself up, making it look like his boss did it, and is permitted to work from home. Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey), the main character in "American Beauty", begins the film working for "Media Monthly Magazine".

After the company hires an Efficiency Expert, and Lester has to prove why he should keep his job, he blackmails the company and leaves with a very tidy severance package. Lester goes on to work at a fast food outlet.

In "Office Space", main character Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) really hates his job at a software company called Initech, so his girlfriend tries to help him by taking him to a hypnotist. Unfortunately the hypnotist suffers a heart attack mid-session, while Peter is still in a state of deep relaxation, before he can bring Peter out of it. Peter continues in this state and decides he just won't go to work any more.

This irritates his boss, however it really impresses the two efficiency experts brought in to review everyone's performance, and they promote him. The main character in "One Hour Photo", Sy Parrish (Robin Williams) works in a photo lab at a department store. He becomes obsessed with a family whose photos he has been developing for several years, but is fired when his boss finds out that Sy has been keeping extra copies of the photos he's been developing. Gary Cole plays the boss in both "Office Space" and "One Hour Photo".

Answer: The Virgin Suicides

The 1999 film "The Virgin Suicides", directed by Sofia Coppola, does feature a group of girls (sisters), however the film takes the point of view of a group of male friends that become obsessed with these sisters. "Ghost World" stars Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson as best friends Enid and Rebecca whose lives begin to take separate paths after the pair leave high school. "Homeroom" focuses on the unlikely friendship that develops between a girl injured in a high school shooting (Erika Christensen) and another girl suspected of being involved (Busy Philipps). Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow star in "Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion", which is about two young women who concoct a story about having successful lives to impress people at their ten year high school reunion.

Answer: Sling Blade

The lead character in "Sling Blade", played by Billy Bob Thornton, kills one of the other characters and ends up in the exact same place where he began: the State Hospital. Kevin Spacey's Lester Burnham is shot dead at the end of "American Beauty". The central character in "Series 7", Dawn Lagarto (Brooke Smith), begins as the reigning champion of a reality tv show where the contestants must kill one another, but ends up dying in a suicide pact with an ex-lover who she cannot bring herself to kill.

The title character in "Donnie Darko" (Jake Gyllenhaal) is crushed to death by a jet engine that falls on his room.