Movie Game

Yes, that's the correct answer, Latrans. Canada is noted for developing and encouraging budding animators; the National Film Board and the Interior Ministry have programs to mitigate the costs of earning a Fine Arts degree, and give access to the art tools and studio equipment necessary to make animated films, which Canada regards as a national asset. The US could learn from the Canadian model. *sigh*

Rock & Rule, however, was an ambitious project by any standard. Perhaps taking cues from Heavy Metal, this animated film adhered to story conventions exploited by Disney and other established studios, and employed several tried-and-true tropes. Perhaps its albatross was the idea of a post-apocalyptic Earth: it's okay to put the Earth and humanity in jeopardy, but don't you dare pull the trigger. A similar fate befell 20th Century Fox's Titan A.E.

Released a few years ago on DVD by Unearthed Films. And now it's your turn to Break My Brain.

I'll pick an easier one this time.

This film, released in 1991 is widely regarded as one of the most iconic pulp sci-fi movies of all time.

Shortly before the outbreak of WWII, a mob boss and his thugs are hired to steal a highly secret prototype from the engineer who designed it. In their escape attempt, the prototype falls into the hands of a down-on-his-luck stunt pilot. Now chased by the media, the mob and the FBI, the stunt pilot must choose between turning himself in or risking the world to save his kidnapped girlfriend.

That's... The Rocketeer?

Bingo! Your turn!

In this 1997 movie, our hero, an FBI agent, finds himself surgically altered to appear as his criminal archrival. Meanwhile, our villian undergoes similar surgery to steal his life.

This has to be Face/Off, starring Nicholas Cage and John Travolta, directed by John Woo, a joint production from Paramount Pictures and Touchstone Pictures.

You are quite right about that. Your turn!

Thanks, Krysta. Now to think up another one.

This partly animated film made which premiered in 1996 was made seemingly completely opposite to how movies should be made. Nevertheless, it grossed almost $100 million in the United Stated, and almost a quarter billion worldwide.

Plot: When a group of Funny Animals are captured by the minions of an evil slavedriver, their one hope of regaining their freedom is to survive an Ultimate Game, with few rules and little hope. Fortunately, the Funny Animals have a ringer on their team.

[shot in the dark]Space Jam? It's been terribly long since I'd seen that movie (and wasn't actually all that fond of it anyways )[/shot in the dark]

For a "shot in the dark," that one was dead on target. The movie is very much Space Jam.

When Nike signed on Michael Jordan to promote their footwear, they sought the kids' market by tacking on some of Warner Brothers' Looney Tunes.
Later, Warner Brothers would sign on Michael Jordan for a movie to be written later; casting is usually done after the screenplay is written.
At the time, the Looney Tunes really hadn't done much after the Walt Disney Company bought ABC-TV, and bulldozed The Bugs Bunny Show off the air.
Some stuffed suit thought it'd be a great idea to make a Michael Jordan + Looney Tunes movie, based on the appeal of the Nike commercials.
Four writers and three producers later, Space Jam debuted on Thursday 15 November 1996.
It grossed about $90 million in the United States, and about $230 million globally, mostly on the strength of Michael Jordan.

The Funny Animals are the Looney Tunes. The minions are the Nerdlucks: Nawt, Pound, Bang, Blanko and Bupkus. The evil slavedriver is Mister Swackhammer, voiced by Danny DeVito. The ringer is, of course, Michael Jordan.

Space Jam is proof positive that Hollywood is almost entirely detached from reality.

Your turn, Latrans. And try to stay out of weird hemispheres. j/k

Out of weird hemispheres, huh? How about out of hemispheres all together?

Ok... In this film, released 1984, two great houses battle for control of the one source of a substance that lets men bend space and time. A third group, native to the area this substance comes from is initially ignored as a minor nuisance until, led by their messiah of prophecy, they effectively cut off production of this substance and bring both houses and the ruling empire to their knees.

Is it Avatar?

Not quite. Avatar came out in 2009 and only had one 'house' attempting to gain something. Also the Unobtanium wasn't used to bend space and time.

You are correct, however, in guessing that it's an epic sci-fi film.

Dune?

That is correct! Dune, based on the novel by Frank Herbert. The two houses are House Atreides and House Harkonnen which the Emperor has set up to war each other as they've become powerful enough to threaten his rule. The substance is the Spice Melange, a byproduct of the giant sand worms of the desert planet Arrakis. The plannet is home to the Fremen, a group of people nobody know much of anything about beyond 'they live on Arrakis' and their numbers are assumed (incorrectly) to be very small. The messiah of prophecy is Paul Atreides, who escaped an assassination attempt and was taken in by the Fremen.

This movie is an exceptional example of a 'bomb' that has withstood the test of time. When it was released, it was almost universally panned by critics, and yet remains a pillar of the sci-fi genre. Proof that movie critics really don't know what they're talking about.

Congrats, Mr. Table, it's your turn.

Love me some good Sci-fi.

This live action movie was released in 1993 and developed later into a cult classic that was described as "bad as a ______ movie, but good as a movie overall". Driven out of business by a mafia-like construction company, two brothers strike adventure gold when they stumble across a portal to another dimension, where a dystopia ruled by an evil king. It's up to the two brothers to rescue the heroine and stop the king before he's able to merge the two dimensions and rule Earth along with his run-down, crime-ridden kingdom.

This has Super Mario Brothers written all over it.

That would be CORRECT good sir!

Do you have any idea how hard it was to not say "Plumber"?

Probably about as hard as it was to not say 'spice'.

This film, released 1986, centers around a prototype autonomous weapon being developed for use during the Cold War. After being struck by lightning, its programing malfunctions and gains a near insatiable need for new information. Fortunately for us it's desires don't extend beyond needing new information and self preservation. In reality, it's quite friendly. Unfortunately, the military is out to destroy it for both being a potential threat to the public and a potential breach of national security.

...Crap, I know this movie-but I have no idea what the title is >.<

If you Google it, I promise not to tell anyone.

The movie in question is titled Short Circuit

Number Five is alive!

We have a winner! The movie was, indeed, Short Circuit. Proof that robots + lightning = awesome. Unless they're unmanned aerial drones. Then they become homicidal killing machines.

Krysta, you're up!

In this movie from the early nineties, our heroine arranges a vacation trip to celebrate her son's birthday and save her shaky marriage. However, their trip is hijacked by a trio of thieves looking to use her skill to help them escape.

Congratulations. You have stumped the coyote. I've been racking my brain for the last week over this. So I'm going to pull a random shot in the complete wrong direction and say... Duck Tales: The Movie.