So as mentioned previously, I built my new comp (Ghazghkull) so that I could finally load up Mythic Entertainment's MMO "Warhammer: Age of Reckoning", aka Warhammer Online. I was completely prepared to either love this game or be very blah about it (like with WoW), and if it was the latter, I'm not paying $15/month for blah.

After about a week, I'm very much happy with it. First of all, I can play an Orc. Not just any kind of Orc, but a Games Workshop Orc. The British have a lot of good and bad, but one of their best aspects is the way they do Orcs. One of the designers of WAR described Orcs as "basically soccer hooligans", and that's spot on. They're mean, loud, and brutish, and their armor and weapons (usually called choppas) are covered in spikes. They refer to their main opponent, the Dwarves, as 'stuntiez'. I could play six different factions encompassing a total of 18 different classes, but at the moment I have no interest in in anything but the Black Orc.

Like many MMOs, there's the traditional questing....go talk to this guy, go kill X boars, etc. But there are also Public Quests, which occur throughout all of the races' zones. Once you happen upon them, you're informed of what needs to be done, and a time limit (sometimes). Since this is a "public" quest, any player can take part at any time, so often when you come upon it, the quest is in process of being completed. Taking part in PQs gets you both XPs and Influence that the big NPCs in control of the area look kindly upon.

Then there's Realm vs. Realm (RvR), which is like PvP, only on a larger scale. The world of Warhammer is nothing but war, and the landscape reflects that. In RvR scenarios, there are contested points (keeps, bridges, artifacts, et al) that both the forces of Order and Destruction fight over, and when you select to participate, you are transported to the site in conflict. Then for the next 5, 10, or 15 minutes, the side you represent (Order or Destruction) tries to control the critical objectives. You get XP and Renown for RvR scenarios...the more Renown, the more 'known' you are in the Realm. You also get cool stuff with high Renown.

The final thing I want to mention is the Tome of Knowledge. One of the neat things about WAR is that there are literally hundreds and hundreds of unlockables. You click on yourself 100 times, that an unlock. You kill 25 dwarves, that's an unlockable. You wander into a new area of the map, the Tome unlocks and updates with history and info. There's endless stuff that the Tome contains, and keeps track of the life of your character.

Overall, good stuff! :)

So before I talk about my new computer, let me just say...

I'm ENGAGED!!

I proposed to my g/f Grace on Saturday, and she accepted!

http://www.youtube.com/girl2point0

Many, MANY more details as they become apparent.

Speaking of successes, I fired up my computer (named Ghazghkull) and so far it's been error-free! I'm already booted up Warhammer Online with no lag whatsoever (even running AIM in the background). Huzzah!

Now, I'm just hoping that my car inspection goes as well. :)

So the final three pieces of the new comp have been ordered.

1. WinXP. I was going back and forth between Vista and XP, and settled on XP. Eventually, when Windows 7 comes out, I'll probably directly upgrade to that, but at least I'll have a fully legal copy of my OS, so that Windows will talk to my XBox 360, which will be cool. :)

2. Video Card. The ASUS EN9500GT GeForce 9500 GT (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121267). It's a pretty badass card...it's got 512MB of GDDR3 Ram at 128-bit. It also came with a free copy of Alone in the Dark for the PC.

3. A 3.5" Floppy Drive. So cheap, there's no reason not to get one. Also handy in case you need to load something on that's NOT on CD/DVD.

I've already assembled the rest of the comp, installing the motherboard, CPU, DVD, HD and PSU. I have yet to fire it up, and am hopeful that all the parts aren't DOA when I do.

And I've decided that the name of the comp is Ghazghkull. For the many of you who have no idea who this is, I invite you to check this out...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghazghkull_Mag_Uruk_Thraka#Ghazghkull_Mag_Uruk_Thraka

and this...

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/2398/art3bigye2.jpg

FMT Championship Game

Young Frankenstein
vs.
Airplane!

Well, this is it. After 7 months (!) of talking, listing, watching, and choosing films from a list that went from 93 to 236 to 238 to 65, it's now down to just two.

It's a very odd feeling seeing the end of this project, but it's also very gratifying. I got to talk about my favorite movies, and a little more than just "it's great!", though I'm in no way a fantastic writer. The exercise caused me to look analytically at what I *thought* were my favorites, and then justify them (at least against each other). And after 63 matchups, I've arrived at two films that I can definitely say are my two favorites.

Each time a Round passed, the matchups got better, and my choices became harder, and this last one is no exception. But there is a winner...and I've pretty much known it since the Final Four were set. Once you get to this point, the choices become less connected to filling criteria, and more instinctual. You see two films' names, and you get a visceral reaction when you see one of the names. You just know it. And I did.

Young Frankenstein - 104
Airplane! - 101 (3 OT)

And that's it. Young Frankenstein is my favorite movie of all time. I want to thank everyone who've not only commented on this project (both in-person and online), but also just stumbled across it and read just one post. It always makes you feel good when someone finds interest in something you love to talk about.

Excelsior!!

The Final Four

Murder by Death
vs.
Airplane!

Okay, so let's follow the same formula for this side of the Final Four...

- Airplane! is mostly a parody of Zero Hour!, a film that had a main character named Ted Stryker and such famous "not meant to be funny" lines like "We have to find someone who can not only fly this plane, but who didn't have fish for dinner."

- It was while working on Murder by Death that Alec Guinness received the script for Star Wars. He read it between scenes in his dressing room.

- In Airplane!,Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's role was originally to be played by Pete Rose, but he was playing baseball at the time of the filming, so the part went to Kareem. He was offered $30,000 to appear in the film, but he asked for $35,000 to buy an oriental rug.

- In Murder by Death, the screaming woman sound used as a doorbell is Fay Wray's screams from King Kong (1933).

- Airplane!'s translated title in Germany was "The Incredible Trip in a Crazy Airplane".

- In Murder by Death, Orson Welles was originally considered for the role of Inspector Wang but was unable to accept because he was appearing in a play in Italy.

Both of these films are extremely funny. I think Murder by Death's big strength is its cast. Maggie Smith, Peter Sellers, David Niven, Alec Guinness, and Peter Falk are just some of the great actors in this film, and all of them are perfect in this film.

As for Airplane!, the entire film is perfect. It's the first of its kind, and has spawned endless descendants. The acting, the comedy, the absurdity of the entire situation is as good as it can be. And that's what's deciding this matchup.

Murder by Death - 86
Airplane! - 87

Final Four

Raiders of the Lost Ark
vs.
Young Frankenstein

As this is now the fifth time I'm talking about these two films in the Tournament, I've been trying to think of things to say about both Young Frankenstein and Raiders of the Lost Ark that would be interesting. I'm going to just throw out some little factoids about each...

• Raiders is the only non-comedy film left in the tournament
• In Young Frankenstein, Gene Hackman's turn as the blind man was uncredited, and his last line "I was going to make espresso" was ad-libbed.
• Raiders's original budget was about $7mil, but production costs tripled to $22mil...I can't imagine how cheap that is, even in '81.
• The joke regarding Igor's hump moving back and forth was evidently not in the script...Marty Feldman was surreptitiously shifting it back and forth without telling anyone. When the others found out, it was written into the script.
• In Raiders, the giant boulder that chases after Indy at the start of the film was made of fiberglass. The sound they used for it was of a Honda Civic rolling downhill.
• The original cut of Young Frankenstein was almost twice as long as the final cut, and it was considered by all involved to be an abysmal failure. It was only after a marathon cutting-session that they produced the final cut of the film, which both Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks considered to be far superior to the original product. At one point they noted that for every joke that worked, there were three that fell flat. So they went in and trimmed all the jokes that didn't work.

(thanks to the IMDB for those bitz)

For Raiders, the first thing that comes to mind when I hear the title is the music. That almost superheroic score by John Williams so makes the film...it's the kind of score that you turn the speakers up on the stereo to inundate yourself in. As for Young Frankenstein, it's also musical...the haunting sound of the violin that lures the monster is so beautiful it almost brings me to tears.

And I think that's the determining factor. Young Frankenstein is a Mel Brooks comedy, but it's also so much more...it's a beautifully shot cinematic treasure with wonderful acting (another shout-out to Madeline Khan), wonderful sets, and wonderful emotion.

Raiders of the Lost Ark - 80
Young Frankenstein - 83
 

So, very soon I will finally resolve this long-running Tournament and answer the question of what my favorite film is. A couple of thoughts/comments on where I'm at with this...

- Looking at the four films left, I'm very happy with the choices. If I were given Raiders of the Lost Ark, Young Frankenstein, Murder by Death, and Airplane! as finalists for Favorite Film at the beginning, that would be just fine. Again, there were definitely a couple of films that maybe shouldn't have been in the running at the start of the tourney, but at this point, there are no dark horses left.

- As one commenter mentioned on Livejournal, all four of these films are either homages or spoofs of previous films. Raiders drew upon the serials of the 30's and 40's (specifically the adventures of Allan Quartermain). Young Frankenstein is an homage to James Whale's Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. Murder by Death involves caricatures of the heroes of the Charlie Chan films, The Thin Man, and The Maltese Falcon. Finally, Airplane! is a straight-out spoof of Airport, Zero Hour, and other disaster films of the 70's. I certainly didn't intend for this specific type of film to do well, but in retrospect I can think of a few other films that do the same thing and did well (Singin' in the Rain and Who Framed Roger Rabbit come to mind).

The first half of the Final Four will face off within the next day or two. Stay tuned!
 

Fargo Region

#7 The Thin Man
vs.
#12 Murder by Death

The one odd thing about this matchup is that the two main characters of The Thin Man, Nick and Nora Charles, are actively spoofed in Murder by Death as Dick and Dora Charleston. And that's the strength of the latter film. The characterizations of the various characters...the Charlestons, Sam Diamond, Milo Perrier, Sidney Wang, and Jessica Marbles...all of them are spot-on and hilarious.

#7 The Thin Man - 86
#12 Murder by Death - 88

The Fargo Region's entry into the Final Four is Murder by Death!

The Elite Eight is complete, and the Final Four is set!

Raiders of the Lost Ark vs. Young Frankenstein
and
Murder by Death vs. Airplane!

New York Region

#6 Young Frankenstein
vs.
# 8 Blazing Saddles

This is a matchup between two excellent Mel Brooks comedies, but only one is so much more than a comedy. One is an homage to much older stories, with stark beauty, and fear, and so many other things. And it's really funny.

#6 Young Frankenstein - 88
#8 Blazing Saddles - 85 (OT)

The Hollywood Region's entry into the Final Four is Young Frankenstein!

Hollywood Region

#7 The Blues Brothers
vs.
# 8 Airplane!

Solid matchup...two great comedies...

#7 The Blues Brothers - 89
#8 Airplane! - 92

The Hollywood Region's entry into the Final Four is Airplane!!

Chicago Region

#1 Raiders of the Lost Ark

vs.

# 10 Who Framed Roger Rabbit

I remember when Raiders of the Lost Ark first came out...it was 1981, and I was 14 years old. I really had no idea what the movie was about, and actually assumed it was about *football* because of the word 'raiders'. When I did go to see it, I was floored at how different it was from any other movie I had ever seen. I had never seen any of the films that influenced Lucas and Spielberg when they made this piece, and it was so wonderful seeing Indiana Jones for the first time. Each of the three sequels to this film were good in their own way (yes, even Temple of Doom), but each one has something that is lacking. That's mostly because they have to be compared to Raiders.

Who Framed Roger Rabbithas so many things going for it: Its unique blend of animation and stop-motion; its fantastic cast of characters, including Jessica Rabbit, Judge Doom, and Benny the cab; the great 50's noir-style plot. It's just such a solidly-built film that probably a lot of people discount as a silly cartoon. It's so much more than that.

#1 Raiders of the Lost Ark - 79
#10 Who Framed Roger Rabbit - 77

The Chicago Region's entry into the Final Four is Raiders of the Lost Ark!

Hey all,

just letting all my loyal readers out there that the next round of the FMT will be starting very soon. The format ffrom now on will be very free-form...no criteria or anything like in the previous rounds. I'm just gonna write about what I think about the matchup, then make the choice.

So stay tuned...first matchup will most likely come out today (Wednesday)!

Okay, so the primary list of parts for my new comp…

• ATX Case
• Power Supply
• CPU
• Motherboard
• SATA HD
• SATA DVD
• Memory
• OS
• Video Card

Just ordered the next three pieces…

CPU - Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072

As I said before, I was considering quad-core, but this chip is still pretty bad-ass.

Motherboard - ASRock P43Twins1600 LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157130

It’s got *6* Memory slots, can take up to 8 GB of RAM, and can handle DDR2 or DDR3.

SATA HD - Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136075

Lots of memory for cheap.

So I’m now over two-thirds complete in my acquisition.

On a similar note, I’m still mulling over what I should call the computer. Originally, I was considering ‘Shiloh’, but this comp feels much more masculine than that. Grace suggested ‘Heracles’, which is pretty powerful AND Greek. More thought needs to be done.

OOooh...'Ghazghkull'. Hmmm.... :)

Hollywood Region

#4 The Princess Bride
vs.
#8 Airplane!

Criteria

• Quotability
• Watch on a Whim?
• Plot
• (The Princess Bride) Actors/Actresses
• (Airplane!) Emotional Impact

Quotability
The Princess Bride has buckets of great quick quotes, including "As you wish.", "Have fun storming the castle!", and "Inconceivable!". I think the best quote in the film for me (among many) is:

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

Airplane!. So easy..."Do you like movies about gladiators?"..."Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue."..."I'm doing everything I can...and stop calling me Shirley." As for my favorite...

Joey: Wait a minute. I know you. You're Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. You play basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Roger Murdock: I'm sorry son, but you must have me confused with someone else. My name is Roger Murdock. I'm the co-pilot.
Joey: You are Kareem. I've seen you play. My dad's got season tickets.
Roger Murdock: I think you should go back to your seat now Joey. Right Clarence?
Captain Oveur: Nahhhhhh, he's not bothering anyone, let him stay here.
Roger Murdock: But just remember, my name is ROGER MURDOCK. I'm an airline pilot.
Joey: I think you're the greatest, but my dad says you don't work hard enough on defense. And he says that lots of times, you don't even run down court. And that you don't really try... except during the playoffs.
Roger Murdock: The hell I don't. [grabs Joey and pulls him close] LISTEN KID. I've been hearing that crap ever since I was at UCLA. I'm out there busting my buns every night. Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes.

ADVANTAGE: Push

Watch on a Whim?
I think I can watch The Princess Bride on a whim, but I *know* I can watch Airplane! on a whim.

ADVANTAGE: Airplane!

Plot
The Princess Bride is a fairy tale, read by a man (Peter Falk) to his grandson (Fred Savage). It concerns Buttercup (Robin Wright Penn) and Westley (Cary Elwes) who share True Love. To realize this, they must brave kidnapping, dread pirates, shrieking eels, Sicilians, giants, and six-fingered men.

Airplane! is a spoof of disaster films, especially the Airport films of the early-mid 70's. This one follows Ted Stryker (Robert Hays) who boards a plane to Chicago to get back his girlfriend Elaine (Julie Hagerty). When the crew falls ill to food poisoning, Stryker must face his personal demons to successfully land the plane.

ADVANTAGE: Push

Actors/Actresses (The Princess Bride)
I could go into all the different actors and actresses in The Princess Bride, like Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Carol Kane, Christopher Guest, or Billy Crystal. But I don't need to. That's because I've also got Andre the Giant. If Fezzik was the only character in this film, I'd still watch it. I grew up watching him wrestle, and he always seemed to be a good person, and when I saw The Princess Bride, I thought "This is perfect!".

Emotional Impact (Airplane!)
Airplane! is funny...not just funny, but goofy, silly, nutty funny. There was no other film like it, and it makes me laugh out loud early and often.

ADVANTAGE: The Princess Bride

The Princess Bride - 114
Airplane! - 115 (5 OT)

Airplane! wins the most competitive game of the tournament, and advances to the Elite Eight!

That's the end of the 3rd Round...only eight films remain! The next round will begin very soon...stay tuned!

Hollywood Region

#6 The Philadelphia Story
vs.
#7 The Blues Brothers

Criteria

• Number of Times Seen
• Favorite Scene
• Timelessness
• (The Philadelphia Story) Music
• (The Blues Brothers) Director

Number of Times Seen
I've seen The Philadelphia Story about five times. I've seen The Blues Brothers LOTS of times.

ADVANTAGE: The Blues Brothers

Favorite Scene
My favorite scene in The Philadelphia Story is when Mike (James Stewart) arrives in a drunken state at the door of C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant). By the end of this scene, if you didn't know Grant's character's name, you definitely will as Mike uses it in every sentence when he speaks to Haven. It's a great scene where Grant plays an excellent straight-man to Stewart's drunk.

My favorite scene in The Blues Brothers is when Jake (John Belushi) and Elwood (Dan Ackroyd) first attempt to escape the police and end up taking that pursuit into a shopping mall. The conversation that occurs BEFORE the mall seems to be Jake being agitated, and taking it out on Elwood. Once they actually enter the mall, for whatever reason the attitude becomes much more relaxed.

ADVANTAGE: The Blues Brothers

Timelessness
The Philadelphia Story was originally adapted from a play, and has been remade into a musical (High Society). Throughout its different incarnations, it's always been about the main character as a cold, high society woman seeing how others see her. I think it holds up pretty well.

The Blues Brothers is steeped in Motown music, and the background is late 70's Chicagoland. It holds up well after 30 years, but it still has some elements that are part of the past.

ADVANTAGE: The Philadelphia Story

Music (The Philadelphia Story)
Unfortunately, I cannot recall any music in this film.

Director (The Blues Brothers)
John Landis has a directorial filmography of 40 films, beginning with Schlock in 1973, spanning until the present. Some of his better-known stuff includes Animal House, An American Werewolf in London, Coming to America, as well as Michael Jackson's seminal music video "Thriller".

ADVANTAGE: The Blues Brothers

The Philadelphia Story - 79
The Blues Brothers - 85

The Blues Brothers wins, and advances to the Elite Eight!

Fargo Region

#3 Singin' in the Rain
vs.
#12 The Thin Man

Criteria

• Favorite Scene
• Watch on a Whim?
• Plot
• (Singin' in the Rain) Intangibles
• (The Thin Man) Music

Favorite Scene
My favorite scene from Singin' in the Rain is definitely the "Make 'Em Laugh" musical number performed by Cosmo (Donald O'Connor). The whole sequence is funny, wacky, and unbelievably acrobatic. O'Connor literally runs up walls while he sings, dance, mugs, and cavorts for the audience's enjoyment. Fantastic!

My favorite scene from The Thin Man is when Nick (William Powell) introduces Nora (Myrna Loy) to a man named MacCaulay (Porter Hall). The evening before, Nora had attempted to match her husband's drinking, consisting of six martinis. So when she emerged to meet Mr. MacCaulay, she had a hot water compress on her head. What followed then was, wordlessly, the essence of the film. The completely silly things the two of them do to each other (I honestly can't describe them here...much too visual) made me love this film.

ADVANTAGE: The Thin Man

Watch on a Whim?
Singin' in the Rain is a great film, but as a musical it's a bit involved, and makes it a little harder to watch on a whim. The Thin Man is very light and easy to fall into.

ADVANTAGE: The Thin Man

Plot
The plot of Singin' in the Rain takes place in the 1930s, at the time technology is moving motion pictures into the talking era. Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) are the two major silent-era stars in Hollywood, and both are having a hard time adjusting to the new paradigm. Lockwood, his friend Cosmo (O'Connor), and up-and-coming star Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds) spend their time singing, dancing, and trying to adjust to talkies.

The Thin Man concerns the disappearance of a man named Clyde Wynant (Edward Ellis). The plot thickens when a body is discovered in Wynant's office, and he's suspected of foul play. Wynant's daughter Dorothy convinces old friend Nick Charles (Powell) to help her prove her father's innocence. A lifelong gumshoe, Nick is trying to stay retired, but his wife Nora (Loy) continues to egg him on to solve the case.

ADVANTAGE: Singin' in the Rain

Intangibles (Singin' in the Rain)
Singin' in the Rain takes place in Hollywood, and its subject is the movies. I'm a big fan of the movies. :)

Music (The Thin Man)
I'm sure there's music in The Thin Man, but I can't think of any.

ADVANTAGE: Singin' in the Rain

Singin' in the Rain - 88
The Thin Man - 89 (OT)

The Thin Man wins, and advances to the Elite Eight!

Fargo Region

#1 Dr. Strangelove
vs.
#12 Murder by Death

Criteria

• Emotional Impact
• Quotability
• Intangibles
• (Dr. Strangelove) Number of Times Seen 
• (Murder by Death) Actors/Actresses

Emotional Impact
Dr. Strangelove is a film that drifts from funny to scary and back before you realize it. It's not laugh-out-loud funny for the most part, and not dive-under-the-cushions scary, but that's what makes it even more real. The most unnerving thing about this film is that I can see this happening without much of a stretch.

Murder by Death is a very funny film. A lot of what's so funny about it is specific to me, in that its a combination of iconic characters (including two that are stars in a film still alive in this Region) played by excellent actors and actresses. It's always much more fun to watch something that has people that you love in other films. 

ADVANTAGE: Push

Quotability
Dr. Strangelove is thick with great quotes. For example...

Major T.J. "King" Kong: Well, I've been to one world fair, a picnic, and a rodeo, and that's the stupidest thing I ever heard come over a set of earphones.

or...

General "Buck" Turgidson: Mr. President, I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed, but I do say no more then ten to twenty million killed, tops. Depending on the breaks.

or...

President Merkin Muffley: Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room.

As for Murder by Death...

Sam Diamond: Locked, from the inside. That can only mean one thing. And I don't know what it is.

or...

Dick Charleston: Up there, Dora, look - a blind butler.
Dora Charleston: Don't let him park the car, Dickie.

or...

Jamesir Bensonmum: May I get your bags, sir?
Sidney Wang: Oh, no, no. Son will get bags. That is why I adopted him.

ADVANTAGE: Push

Intangibles
One of the reason why I love Dr. Strangelove is Peter Sellers. I grew up loving all of the Pink Panther movies, which Sellers starred in. More than a couple other of his films, Sellers appears in multiple roles, and does an excellent job at it. He's just so talented, it just makes me like the film more.

With Murder by Death, I get Sellers again, plus I get David Niven and Maggie Smith as Dick and Dora Charleston who are wonderful parodies of Nick and Nora Charles from The Thin Man.

ADVANTAGE: Murder by Death

Number of Times Seen (Dr. Strangelove)
I've seen Dr. Strangelove perhaps four times.

Actors/Actresses (Murder by Death)
What can be said that hasn't already been said? Alec Guinness is fantastic as Jamesir Bensonmum, the blind butler. Truman Capote as eccentric Lionel Twain, a man with no pinkies. Nancy Walker as the deaf, mute, ethnic maid. Elsa Lanchester as Jessica Marbles. James Coco as Milo Perrier. One of the film's great strengths.

ADVANTAGE: Murder by Death

Dr. Strangelove - 64
Murder by Death - 81

Murder by Death pulls the upset, and advances to the Elite Eight!

Chicago Region

#3 Saving Private Ryan
vs.
#10 Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Criteria

• Quotability
• Uniqueness
• Timelessness
• (Saving Private Ryan) Plot 
• (Who Framed Roger Rabbit) Favorite Scene

Quotability
I don't consider Saving Private Ryan a very quotable film...there are fantastic lines, but perhaps because of the weight of them, it makes it more difficult to use them outside of the film. Keeping that in mind, my favorite...

"My dear Mrs Ryan: It's with the most profound sense of joy that I write to inform you your son, Private James Ryan, is well and, at this very moment, on his way home from European battlefields. Reports from the front indicate James did his duty in combat with great courage and steadfast dedication, even after he was informed of the tragic loss your family has suffered in this great campaign to rid the world of tyranny and oppresion. I take great pleasure in joining the Secretary of War, the men and women of the U.S. Army, and the citizens of a grateful nation in wishing you good health and many years of happiness with James at your side. Nothing, not even the safe return of a beloved son, can compensate you, or the thousands of other American families, who have suffered great loss in this tragic war. I might share with you some words which have sustained me through long, dark nights of peril, loss, and heartache. And I quote: 'I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the alter of freedom.' -Abraham Lincoln. Yours very sincerely and respectfully, George C. Marshall, General, Chief of Staff."

Who Framed Roger Rabbit has a bunch of great quotes, including the now immortal "I'm not bad...I'm just drawn that way." My favorite...

Roger Rabbit: Jumpin' Jeepers.
Benny the Cab: Hey Roger, what do you call the middle of a song?
Roger Rabbit: Gee, I don't know
[sees that they're heading for...]
Roger Rabbit: A BRIDGE!

ADVANTAGE: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Uniqueness
Saving Private Ryan is not unique because it's a WWII film...it's unique because of the story within the war, of the men who were sent to find one man in the middle of the largest conflict of the largest war the world had ever seen. The soldiers who take part in this mission are just normal people...no heroes, no ultra-charismatic leaders. It's an excellent portrayal of the hell of war, and the importance of a single person within it.

With apologies to the forgettable Cool World and Space Jam, there is no other film like Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The incredibly seamless mix of animation and live-action is incredible, as well as the wonderful mixture of Disney, Warner Brothers, and other animated icons who populate this film. Finally, it's a great noir film with great acting by both Bob Hoskins and Christopher Lloyd.

ADVANTAGE: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Timelessness
Saving Private Ryan, as mentioned above, is about D-Day. It demonstrates in vivid detail the horror of that day, as well as the days and weeks afterward. It will stand for all time as one of the preeminent historical films describing that period of human history.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is also a film that takes place in the past. Its characters are a mix of hard-boiled 40's detective-era archetypes and looney animated toons. It also has a bit of history, showing the pre-freeway Los Angeles with its cable cars and lack of pavement everywhere.

ADVANTAGE: Saving Private Ryan

Plot (Saving Private Ryan)
As partially described above, this film takes place in Normandy. After the initial attack on 6 June 1944, it was discovered that three brothers had all been killed in combat, and a fourth named James was still fighting in the Normandy area, exact location unknown. US Army Command decided to send a small force of soldiers to find Ryan and send him home. The soldiers slog their way through war-torn France considering the strange irony of sending a group of men into harm's way to rescue a single man. 

Favorite Scene (Who Framed Roger Rabbit)
As I've already mentioned, one of the things I like most about this film is the mixture of toons from different studios. My favorite scene is the piano duel between Donald Duck and Daffy Duck. They're both awesome, and it's great to see that even though they look completely different, both of them are borderline-psycho.

ADVANTAGE: Push

Saving Private Ryan - 80
Who Framed Roger Robbit - 89

Who Framed Roger Rabbit wins, and advances to the Elite Eight!

Chicago Region

#1 Raiders of the Lost Ark
vs.
#5 Glory

Criteria

• Number of Times Seen
• Director
• Watch on a Whim?
• (Raiders of the Lost Ark) Emotional Impact 
• (Glory) Music

Number of Times Seen
I've seen Raiders of the Lost Ark a number of times, including more than a couple when it was first released in theatres. I've seen Glory probably 4-5 times.

ADVANTAGE: Raiders of the Lost Ark

Director
Raiders of the Lost Ark was directed by Steven Spielberg. Mr. Spielberg was spoken about in the same criteria for Saving Private Ryan, so you can go back and look at the matchup with that movie with Toy Story 2.

Glory was directed by Edward Zwick, who has a filmography (both film and television) of 17 works, including Legends of the Fall and The Siege.

ADVANTAGE: Raiders of the Lost Ark

Watch on a Whim?
I might sit down and watch Raiders of the Lost Ark on a whim...it's a very fun film to just kick back and watch. Unfortunately, Glory is much heavier and solemn...not as easy for me to just up and watch.

ADVANTAGE: Raiders of the Lost Ark

Emotional Impact (Raiders of the Lost Ark)
Raiders of the Lost Ark has a great mix of action, humor, and romance. It's makes me laugh at times, while also keeping me on the edge of my seat.

Music (Glory)
One of the ghreat strengths of Glory is its soundtrack created by James Horner. Most striking of which is the music for the final scene, which continues to be one of my favorite pieces of music in a film.

ADVANTAGE: Glory

Raiders of the Lost Ark - 99
Glory - 79

Raiders of the Lost Ark wins, and advances to the Elite Eight!