Scott “Kubryk” Sawitz is one of the backbones of the Popcorn Junkies and The DVD Lounge but he’s never seen a challenge quite this daunting. This week he takes a moment away from the cinema to sit atop… the Hot Seat

1) We always start with geometry… an angle formed by two chords in a circle that originate from a single point is called what type of angle?

Kubryk: A right angle? I majored in Philosophy, not math, so anything beyond 1 + 1 = 2 is a bit beyond my abilities.

Unfortunately this is an inscribed angle. 0 out of 1

2) With the Oscars having just ended, which Oscar winning Best Picture do you believe is the least deserving in Oscar history?

Kubryk: Shakespeare in Love. It beat out Saving Private Ryan, one of the best war films ever. It wasn’t even a good film, to be honest, which is the worst part. If it had been like Dances with Wolves over Goodfellas or Ordinary People over Raging Bull, I’d understand. Those were cases of great movies winning out over great movies. But Shakespeare in Love was the case of a mediocre movie beating out a masterpiece.

You have the judges sold! 1 out of 2

3) World famous candy site candy for dinner lists over a dozen types of Hershey Kisses released in the past year. Put these types of Kisses in order of how they sound (sound good vs. sound gross). A) Cherry Cordial b) Dulce De Leche c) Expressio d) Dark with Orange e) Special Dark Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut.

Kubryk: e, c, d, b a. Any time you have the word special in your name, it’s always going to be great. And if it sounds like coffee, it probably is really good too. Everything else sounds like a Mrs. Fields cookie type.

An interesting analysis. One glaring error is the low ranking of the Dulce de Leche, as well as the wrong top 2. doesn’t look you did enough right to get the duke but it was a great effort 1 out of 3

4) Can you provide a logical explanation for the success of Ghost Rider despite being played by Nick Cage?

Kubryk: It’s a decent movie with special effects early on in the year, and it feels like a big summer blockbuster, ergo people will flock to it. With the derth of quality in the current market, anything that’s decent that isn’t a leftover from 2006 will look great in comparison. It has great special effects and has had a terrific trailer, as well as a good advertising campaign. I hate to admit but sometimes being marketed well trumps quality, as people will flock to a great trailer. Silent Hill was the same way last year; the first weekend it opened was relatively large because it had such a phenomenal trailer, despite the fact that it was kind of bad.

The judges agree that they don’t like Nick Cage, but that is a good explanation of the reasons the movies succeeded despite him being the lead. 2 out of 4

5) Compare and contrast Nacho Libre and Ready to Rumble, discussing their strengths, negatives, and overall portrayal of the professional wrestling world.

Kubryk: Both were relatively horrible films, but for different reasons. Ready to Rumble was a bad film that portrayed the entire industry and its fan base as imbeciles and was a direct insult to their intelligence, as well as it absolutely buried the entire WCW roster to a couple of c-list actors. Nacho Libre was a bad film because it was a screwball comedy that wasn’t very screwy nor was it very funny. It had almost a sort of reverence for the sport, as it didn’t go out of its way to insult it like Ready to Rumble did. Jack Black’s character wanted to do it because it was his heroes, as he wanted to be the guy saving the day, as opposed to David Arquette and James Caan’s kid doing it because they think it’s real.

The judges also hated both films. A thorough and enjoyable answer. 3 out of 5

A solid performance by Kubryk, who did a great job with movie analysis and not so great on the other stuff. You can read Scott all over both Popcorn Junkies and The DVD Lounge. We posted this a bit late this week but we’ll be back Friday with Kevin Wong.

-ths

2007 Hot Seat Results
Friday February 2 – Shawn M Smith – 1 out of 5
Friday February 16 – Gordi Whitelaw – 3 out of 5
Friday February 23 – Scott “Kubryk” Sawitz – 3 out of 5

After emailing your entry, be sure to check out The Number 23’s homepage, as well as the film’s trailer. You can also check out just how the number 23 has had an impact on your life.

The psychological thriller The Number 23 stars Jim Carrey as a man whose life unravels after he comes into contact with an obscure book titled The Number 23. As he reads the book, he becomes increasingly convinced that it is based on his own life. His obsession with the number 23 starts to consume him, and he begins to realize the book forecasts far graver consequences for his life than he could have ever imagined.
Directed by Joel Schumacher (Phone Booth), the film co-stars Virginia Madsen (Sideways), Danny Huston (The Constant Gardner, The Aviator), Logan Lerman and Rhona Mitra.

The screenplay is written by Fernley Phillips and the producers are Beau Flynn and Tripp Vinson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose). The Number 23 is scheduled for a February 23rd, 2007 release.

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