The film quiz of the year! What was Timothée Chalamet’s secret – and why did Tom Hanks disappoint his fans?

1. After the Capitol riots of 6 January, which British film-maker was subpoenaed to testify to the House select committee, because he was embedded with the Proud Boys?

   1. Nick Quested

   2. Kenneth Branagh

   3. Guy Ritchie

   4. Adam Curtis

2. In order to acknowledge the disgrace that was the Golden Globe awards this year, largely due to diversity failure, the January ceremony was …

   1. … marked by a savage on stage Ricky Gervais monologue about its failings

   2. … not televised

   3. … presented by people with brown paper bags over their heads

   4. … conducted entirely in morse code

3. In March, the entire film world united in sadness on hearing that Bruce Willis was retiring from acting due to an aphasia diagnosis. Which of these films released in 2022 did he star in?

   1. Wire Room

   2. White Elephant

   3. Wrong Place

   4. All of the above

4. In April, which film-maker described Vladimir Putin – whom he had interviewed in 2015 – in these terms: “The Putin I knew was rational, calm, always acting in the best interest of the Russian people, a true son of Russia, a patriot, which does not imply a nationalist”?

   1. Michael Moore

   2. Nikita Mikhalkov

   3. Saida Medvedeva

   4. Oliver Stone

5. In August, the Riverdance star Michael Flatley shocked the world with a bizarre film that he had bankrolled as a star acting vehicle for himself. Flatley played …

   1. An astronaut with telekinetic powers

   2. A secret agent with a luxury hotel resort

   3. A deep-sea diver with a degree in media studies

   4. A Nobel prize winning economist

6. This summer, Tom Hanks surprised and disappointed his fans with a film in which he spoke with a dodgy Dutch accent. He played …

   1. Colonel Tom Parker

   2. Vincent van Gogh

   3. Johan Cruyff

   4. King William III of Orange

7. Which iconic movie franchise had its 60th anniversary this autumn?

   1. Saw

   2. Harry Potter

   3. James Bond

   4. The Avengers

8. In this year’s hit film Bones and All, Timothée Chalamet plays a character who is a secret …?

   1. Xylophone virtuoso

   2. Anatomist

   3. Palaeontologist

   4. Cannibal

9. This autumn’s US hit Tár, starring Cate Blanchett, is so realistic that many on Twitter thought it was about an actual person. Cate plays …

   1. … an eponymous scouse comedian in a double-act with someone called Buck, jointly paying tribute to a legendary Liverpool figure

   2. … a lonely road-mender glumly spreading black bitumen on the M11

   3. … a jolly sailor whose first name is Jack

   4. … the principal conductor of a major German orchestra whose name is Lydia

10. Which national leader made an emotional address at the opening ceremony of this year’s Cannes film festival?

    1. Mark Drakeford

    2. Volodymyr Zelenskiy

    3. Jair Bolsonaro

    4. Jacinda Ardern

Solutions

1:A - Quested had been working on a hard-hitting documentary about US extremism., 2:B - Doing the ceremony in private was thought to demonstrate a proper degree of humility., 3:D - Willis had parts in 11 films this year, according to IMDb., 4:D - Stone describes himself an old-fashioned leftist and internationalist, although many commented it is possible to be these things without being so kind to President Putin., 5:B - The luxury beach resort afforded the opportunity to show lots of young women in bikinis., 6:A - Hanks played Elvis Presley’s sinister, Dutch-born controlling manager Colonel Tom Parker, né Andreas Cornelius van Kuijk, in the biopic Elvis – with a shtraiingsh voyyysh., 7:C - Dr No premiered on 5 October 1962., 8:D - This Twilight-style emo YA story is a metaphor for a young person’s hunger for survival., 9:D - Blanchett’s performance as a highly-strung orchestra conductor is stunningly plausible., 10:B - Cannes delegates listened as the Ukrainian president Zelenskiy talked about the invasion and cinema and said: “Hundreds of people die every day. They are not going to get up after the end.”

Scores

1. 10 and above.

   Cut! Bloody marvellous, darling. I was in tears. Kevin Bacon couldn’t do it in a thousand years. It’s Baftas all round. You’re going to need a new sideboard for the silverware.

2. 7 and above.

   Cut! Really rather good, darling. Honestly, I don’t think Kevin Bacon could have done it better.

3. 0 and above.

   Cut! That was absolutely terrible, darling. You’re fired from this film; a security guard will escort you from the lot and we’re replacing you with Kevin Bacon.

4. 4 and above.

   Cut! Mmm. I think I have notes, darling. We’re going to need to go again on that one and I’ve got a call-in with Kevin Bacon.