M3 2008: The Champion!

Mønti Pythøn ik den Høli Gräilen

With a final score of Holy Grail 4, Young Frankenstein 2, The Grail has prevailed!

And with final scores of 103 each, Paticus and Asbestos Dust are co-champions of this year's March Movie Madness pool! They, along with O'Tim and Teacake, picked The Grail as the best comedy (or funniest movie) of all time.

Paticus and Asbestos Dust will each receive a digital certificate that they will be able to proudly display on their own blogs, as well as being recognized here at Film Freaks Film Club. Congrats and great work, guys!

Special props to Nat who managed to come in third without picking the winning film.

Here is the final breakdown of scores, along with each person's pick for the best comedy:

Paticus 25+18+24+18+8+10=103; Holy Grail
Asbestos Dust 25+18+16+18+16+10=103; Holy Grail
Nat 26+24+24+12+8+0=94; Some Like it Hot
O’Tim 26+16+16+12+8+10=88; Holy Grail
Teacake 26+18+8+12+8+10=82; Holy Grail
Lucy 23+20+20+12+0+0=75; Airplane
Brad 27+20+20+6+0+0=73; Dr. Strangelove
Lady Strathconn 21+18+12+12+8+0=71; Young Frankenstein
Looney 22+18+16+6+8+0=70; Dr. Strangelove
Paula 25+16+12+6+8+0=67; Young Frankenstein
Sour Grapes 22+18+16+6+0+0=62; Life of Brian
Eden 23+14+12+12+0+0=61; Duck Soup
Cody Bones 24+18+12+6+0+0=60; Airplane
Jodie 26+22+8+0+0+0=56; A Fish Called Wanda
Krissy 27+12+12+0+0+0=51; A Fish Called Wanda
Emma 19+12+8+12+0+0=51; Life of Brian
Joe the Troll 24+14+8+0+0+0=46; Being There
Arlene 11+6+4+0+0+0=21; Princess Bride

Thanks to everyone for playing. Can't wait to decide what we do next year!

M3 2008: Round 5 Standings

Well, it's officially a three-person race now. Asbestos Dust was the only person who successfully chose both movies in the championship round.

Champion announced tomorrow!

Nat 26+24+24+12+8=94
Paticus 25+18+24+18+8=93
Asbestos Dust 25+18+16+18+16=93
O’Tim 26+16+16+12+8=78
Lucy 23+20+20+12+0=75
Brad 27+20+20+6+0=73
Teacake 26+18+8+12+8=72
Lady Strathconn 21+18+12+12+8=71
Looney 22+18+16+6+8=70
Paula 25+16+12+6+8=67
Sour Grapes 22+18+16+6+0=62
Eden 23+14+12+12+0=61
Cody Bones 24+18+12+6+0=60
Jodie 26+22+8+0+0=56
Krissy 27+12+12+0+0=51
Emma 19+12+8+12+0=51
Joe the Troll 24+14+8+0+0=46
Arlene 11+6+4+0+0=21

M3 2008: Semi-final Champ 2

SCORE: Young Frankenstein 4, Life of Brian 2


It's a Brooks vs. Python finale!

M3 2008: Semi-final Champ 1

SCORE:
Holy Grail 5, Blazing Saddles 0

M3 2008: Round 4 Standings

So we have Mel Brooks vs. Monty Python on the left, and Mel Brooks vs. Monty Python on the right. This round, each correct pick was worth 6 points. Nat maintains a (oh so very slight) lead, with Paticus nipping at her heels. Given that next round's picks are worth 8 each, and picking the champion is worth 10, there are still a possible 26 points out there to be had. Which means the top 6 or 7 peeps have a shot (including Teacake who, after falling mightily, found her footing and climbed heroically!).

Nat 26+24+24+12=86
Paticus 25+18+24+18=85
Asbestos Dust 25+18+16+18=77
Lucy 23+20+20+12=75
Brad 27+20+20+6=73
O’Tim 26+16+16+12=70
Teacake 26+18+8+12=64
Lady Strathconn 21+18+12+12=63
Sour Grapes 22+18+16+6=62
Looney 22+18+16+6=62
Eden 23+14+12+12=61
Cody Bones 24+18+12+6=60
Paula 25+16+12+6=59
Jodie 26+22+8+0=56
Krissy 27+12+12+0=51
Emma 19+12+8+12=51
Joe the Troll 24+14+8+0=46
Arlene 11+6+4+0=21

M3 2008: Zeppo Region Champion

SCORE:
Life of Brian 5, Raising Arizona 2

That does it -- the Final Four is set, and it's turned into the Mel Brooks vs. Monty Python competition!

I'll post standings tomorrow, but suffice it to say there are still a number of people in the running.

M3 2008: Chico Region Champion

SCORE:
Blazing Saddles 6, Annie Hall 0
A shutout!

Mel Brooks has two of the Final Four! Hooray, Mel!

M3 2008: Harpo Region Champion

SCORE:
Young Frankenstein 5, Some Like It Hot 2

M3 2008: Groucho Region Champion

SCORE:
Holy Grail 9, Dr. Strangelove 3

M3 2008: Round 3 Standings

Better watch it, everyone, or Nat's gonna run away with this thing...

Lucky for you there are three more rounds, so it's still definitely up for grabs. Brad remains in a solid second, and Paticus and Lucy made some big strides moving up the ranks. Poor Teacake stumbled mightily, and Looney, despite all his bitching and moaning, has moved into the top-half.

Correct picks were worth 4 points each this round. Next round they'll be worth 6!

Nat 26+24+24=74
Brad 27+20+20=67
Paticus 25+18+24=67
Lucy 23+20+20=63
Asbestos Dust 25+18+16=59
O’Tim 26+16+16=58
Jodie 26+22+8=56
Sour Grapes 22+18+16=56
Looney 22+18+16=56
Cody Bones 24+18+12=54
Paula 25+16+12=53
Teacake 26+18+8=52
Krissy 27+12+12=51
Lady Strathconn 21+18+12=51
Eden 23+14+12=49
Joe the Troll 24+14+8=46
Emma 19+12+8=39
Arlene 11+6+4=21

M3 2008: Harpo Region, Round 3

SCORES:
Some Like it Hot 7, Tootsie 2
Young Frankenstein 10, Best in Show 1

M3 2008: Chico Region, Round 3

SCORES:
Annie Hall 6, Airplane! 6 (what a match... went down to the wire, ended in a tie, and the tie goes to the higher seed)
Blazing Saddles 8, M*A*S*H 3

M3 2008: Zeppo Region, Round 3

SCORES:
Life of Brian 8, Duck Soup 5
Raising Arizona 4, Caddyshack 2

M3 2008: Groucho Region, Round 3

Sorry this took so long!!!

SCORES:
Dr. Strangelove 8, Odd Couple 2
Holy Grail 12, Fish Called Wanda 3

M3 2008: Round 2 Standings

This round, correct picks were worth two points a piece. Way to go, Nat! The numbers below are first round score, second round score, and total after two rounds.


Nat 26, 24, 50
Jodie 26, 22, 48
Brad 27, 20, 47
Teacake 26, 18, 44
Asbestos Dust 25, 18, 43
Lucy 23, 20, 43
Paticus 25, 18, 43
O’Tim 26, 16, 42
Cody Bones 24, 18, 42
Paula 25, 16, 41
Sour Grapes 22, 18, 40
Looney 22, 18, 40
Krissy 27, 12, 39
Lady Strathconn 21, 18, 39
Joe the Troll 24, 14, 38
Eden 23, 14, 37
Emma 19, 12, 31
Arlene 11, 6, 17

M3 2008: Chico Region, Round 2

SCORES
Annie Hall 9, Something About Mary 6
Airplane 12, Bringing Up Baby 2
MASH 8, Big Lebowski 6
Blazing Saddles 11, When Harry Met Sally 6

M3 2008: Harpo Region, Round 2

SCORES:
Some Like it Hot 8, Princess Bride 6
Tootsie 7, American Graffiti 5
Best in Show 5, The Jerk 5 (tie goes to the higher seed, Best in Show)
Young Frankenstein 12, Blues Brothers 2

M3 2008: Zeppo Region, Round 2

I have to admit, I'm terribly disappointed in the bottom-half of this region. I love Raising Arizona and Caddyshack both, but seeing It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and It Happened One Night both go down makes me sad. Personally, I think they deserved better. The voting on both of those matches was very, very close. Also, it was bad enough that I put Life of Brian up against Arsenic and Old Lace in the first round, but then it had to go up against Philadelphia Story in the second! What the hell was I thinking?

SCORES
Duck Soup 10, Ferris Bueller 6
Life of Brian 13, Philadelphia Story 1
Raising Arizona 7, Mad World 5
Caddyshack 7, It Happened One Night 6

M3 2008: Groucho Region, Round 2

A couple close ones here, but I don't think any huge surprises. The biggest upset was A Fish Called Wanda over The Graduate, but I don't think that was a huge surprise. Thoughts?

SCORES:
Dr. Strangelove 10, Spinal Tap 5
The Odd Couple 6, The Producers 5
Holy Grail 16, His Girl Friday 2
A Fish Called Wanda 8, The Graduate 5

M3 2008: A Letter from the Commissioner

There have been many comments, spanning a number of posts, relating to the notion that the winning films represent the most mundane, ordinary, lowest-common-denominator taste in movies.

Since this is a significant (and emotional) topic, I thought it deserved its own post.

I assert that, were this a contest with thousands of participants forming an accurate representation of the general movie-watching public, the above statement would be a hard one with which to argue.

But this contest has only 18 participants, none of whom would I describe as mundane, ordinary, ignorant, culturally lacking or lowest-common denominator. Far, far from it. What's cool as hell to me is that the people participating in this contest have actually seen a lot of these movies. With a different group of friends, I'd have had to put Tommy Boy and Scary Movie 3 in there just so they'd have something to vote for.

As I said in the last post's comments, the following "classics" won their first-round match-ups:

Dr. Strangelove
Odd Couple
Producers
His Girl Friday
The Graduate
Annie Hall
Bringing Up Baby
MASH
Some Like it Hot
Duck Soup
Philadelphia Story
It's a Mad... World
It Happened One Night
Blazing Saddles
Young Frankenstein
Holy Grail
Life of Brian

That's more than half of the winners. If only lowest-common denominator movies got picked, what's that say about the flicks above?