Popular movie? I hadn't heard of it. But I like movies like "Spider-Man: No Way Home" so maybe I'm not the right audience?Q: It's unusual for a multi-word movie title to consist entirely of words starting with vowels, none of which are the article "a." or pronoun "I." Can you name a popular movie with a five-word title — with word lengths 10, 10, 3, 2, 4 — all of which start with vowels?
Edit: Spider-Man: No Way Home also tells a story of a multiverse.
A: EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
That took one second, and I'm still asleep.
ReplyDeleteThat's what she said.
DeleteHey, watch it, it was the best second of her life.
DeletePoifect.LOL.
DeleteAnswer flooded my brain as WS said it. Whoosh that was unexpected.
ReplyDeleteI got it.
ReplyDeleteDon't think I ever heard of it.
I can't explain it, but after reading the two previous comments, the last three words popped into my head, and that lead quickly to the answer.
ReplyDeleteLED! The next time I encounter this error, I swear, I'm going to go plumb crazy!
DeleteYup. Typo. Sorry.
Deletejan, same process here. The last 3 words got me there.
DeleteThe names of this movie's writers also display an unusual commonality.
ReplyDeleteAnd they share that same commonality with two well-known film stars.
DeleteThere won't be alternative answers this week.
ReplyDeleteAnd no jampots either
DeleteOr maybe there will be. I guess it depends on how you look at it
DeleteTake the last letters of the movie title, move the last one four place earlier in the alphabet, double the fourth letter, add an S, rearrange, and you get a single word that pretty much means the same thing as the whole movie title.
ReplyDeleteI had also never heard of the film yet. The word counts saved me four days of frustration.
ReplyDeleteActually, I wonder what the puzzle might have looked like without the word counts. Can anyone think of another film with five words in the title that all begin with vowels?
DeleteI hadn't heard of the movie either, but a good guess at the first word garnered me the whole. --Margaret G.
ReplyDeleteI got there from the first word also. I remember hearing about it but I haven't seen it.
DeleteI searched several lists of five-word movie titles without success, which should have told me something.
ReplyDeleteEasy, once I figured out a good strategy to search for it.
ReplyDeleteTake the last letter of each word. Add the letters of an article of clothing. Rearrange, and you get the name of a company that advertises frequently during sporting event broadcasts.
I gotta be honest here: your second paragraph seems like a terrible search strategy to me. :P
DeleteLOL!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGotta love a before-Will-finished-reading-it puzzle.
ReplyDeleteThe weather report says there may be a storm here this morning, so I must go out for my daily walk/hike and turn to this later.
ReplyDeleteMusic Clue: Greenday
ReplyDeleteHey, you guys, it's not like you have to be an honors student to have heard of this movie. It rips my heart out that so many of you were unaware of it.
ReplyDeleteChestnut could also be used as a hint for this puzzle. lol
ReplyDeleteLike others, I am surprised that _everybody_ doesn’t know this completely surprising movie. I strongly recommend it.
ReplyDeleteTake the last letter of each word. Rearrange. You get a symptom of an unpleasant disease.
The movie has an interesting connection to a favorite small budget but highly acclaimed movie that's a favorite of mine, which in term has a close connection to a historical event.
ReplyDelete42
ReplyDelete42 is the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything.
DeleteIn short order, I came round to the answer.
ReplyDeleteThe actor who played "Short Round" in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", Ke Huy Quan, plays Waymond Wong, the main character's husband, in "Everything Everywhere All at Once". Somehow, my comment stayed up all week.
Deletehttps://www.imdb.com/name/nm0702841/?ref_=tt_cl_t_4
Right after I posted here that I too had not heard of this movie I realized that the title did sound somewhat familiar. I now recall it being talked about on NPR sometime back. I paid no attention to what they were saying though.
ReplyDeleteI listened to the audio of this week's puzzle again and Will clearly pronounced the beginning of each of the intended answer words differently—the same as I pronounce them. I don't believe he is aware of how he is pronouncing them. I wish he would listen to the recording.
ReplyDeleteLike Rick and Morty, which I'd never heard of, I've never heard of this "popular movie."
ReplyDeleteCompletely coincidentally, I just watched this movie last night!
ReplyDeleteI never heard of this movie. Clues helped a lot on here.
ReplyDeleteThis is not a clue, just an observation. Like many here, I had never heard of this movie before today and – were I the puzzle writer – would hesitate to characterize it as “popular.”
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
Deletetmi, quite searchable...
DeleteThanks, jan!
DeleteOK, I'd say that claiming a movie is popular means that it's one of the top grossing movies of its year.
DeleteI have the feeling it's probably based on a video game. You know, since....
DeleteI recall similar gripes about Academy Award-winning actor Rami Malek and, very recently, the popular show "Rick and Morty." There's a big old world out there, Chuck.
DeleteThe movie did well at the box office, and got very good reviews from both critics and fans. As Blaine says, not as popular as the Spiderman movie, but with a different target market.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many reasons why that comment should be deleted!
DeleteSeconded
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI doubt Blaine is monitoring things today. I think he has a family that most likely has their own agenda that includes his participation. But I agree with you. That outrageous racist bigotry has no place here. Maybe he can't find a MAGAt rally today.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteNatasha,
DeleteWhy give this asshole that much power?
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteBlaine is responsible for HIS site. He does a great job. It is not perfect. Nothing is. Please do not criticize Blaine for what this total jerk is posting.
DeleteI heartily second skydiveboy's praise of Blaine and his blog. The forum he provides for us is, simply, amazing. And, he has been doing it for 17 years!
DeleteLegoBlownAwayByBlaine'sDedication
He has done a great job. But something may need to be set up for emergencies...like contacting him.
DeleteNatasha,
DeleteIt's life. It ain't perfect, but it works just the same. Accept it for what it is; not the Shangri-La you would like it to be. In the mean time, please let us know when you reach perfection.
SDB: I do appreciate this blog and all Blaine has done. Things happen. That all goes along with blogs and postings. Take it or leave it, I guess. I never hope to reach perfection. It is the journey that has governed my life.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteBut apparently you haven't.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWow! Like many others who have commented here, I hadn’t heard of this movie before. At first I tried looking over the entire contents of any list Google would show me in multiple tabs across the whole range of browsers. But there was no way I could process such a deluge of information simultaneously. So I took a more step-by-step approach, which worked in the end. Phew! This was as much time as I want to give a Sunday Puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI apologize for being late in uploading this week's Puzzleria!, which I usually upload just after Midnight on Friday morning.
ReplyDeleteI DID, however, upload it about an hour-or-so ago. It features 11 puzzles.
Blaine provides a link in his PUZZLE LINKS. See the right-hand margin, above.
Thank you.
LegoLate
At this point, the only thing of interest about this challenge is whether I've heard of this movie and I guess I'll have to wait to find that out.
ReplyDeleteI am pretty sure that Will's often skewed notions of "well known" and "popular" are in play.
I am put in mind of a popular tv show.
ReplyDeleteSince everyone seems to be commenting on it, I have heard of this movie! I have not yet watched it, but I plan to do so.
ReplyDeleteIntentions Intertwine: Age of Ease
ReplyDeleteAnthropoid Evolutions Out Of Eden
ReplyDeleteFive words starting with the same consonant: 9,8,5,2,6
ReplyDeleteSomething Suddenly Seems So Simple
DeleteI'm beginning to ruin my week with this puzzle. At my age, I'm not into wasting anymore time on this.
ReplyDeleteWorst puzzle… sharp contrast to usual challenge to thought process… observations like this are not puzzle material
ReplyDeleteOur host Ayesha didn't give us the number of correct answers this week.
ReplyDeleteCan't believe how long it took me to get this! It has been on my list of movies to watch, also can't believe so many haven't heard of it....
ReplyDeleteDuh! Just watched the trailer and realized I did see the movie--great ride!
DeleteI'm with Blaine. I had never heard of it (but it looks really good). My son clued me in, as he has this on his watch list.
DeleteI agree with Sarma's comment, above. This is more suitable for Trivial Pursuit than the Sunday Puzzle. I guess Will feels compelled to pick something from an attendee at one of his international puzzle competitions and this was the best of the lot this year.
ReplyDelete'Twas a movie plug. That's all.
ReplyDeleteI agree!
DeleteThe only comfort I got in solving the puzzle this week was the reappearance of the automated email acknowledgment.
ReplyDeleteAbout as popular as I am these days. NOT!
ReplyDeleteI didn't get an email acknowledgment. Maybe I submitted before they fixed it.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteClotheslover - After reading some reviews, I agree that the movie sounds intriguing. I hope ,however that your interest was piqued and not peaked!
ReplyDeleteYeah, but I wonder if you peeked in a dictionary before posting that?
DeleteSorry, jan, but Lorenzo and M/W are correct.
DeleteThat's why I agreed with Lorenzo.
DeleteThen I misunderstood your post, sorry. Could you clarify what you meant? Was it a humorous post? Humor sometimes just does not come across in print.
DeleteYeah, just another homonym.
DeleteI got your pun, jan. It could actually be—probably has been—a good Jeopardy! question in one variant or another. ("What is 'peak' vs. 'pique'?" etc.)
DeleteIt's been done, several times. On Tuesday, October 23, 2018, there was an entire Double Jeopardy! category, "ZEBULON PIKE'S PIQUES".
DeleteI have been out of town and unable to post until today. I have the answer, but I have never heard of this film before (as others here have indicated)... Some of the above comments helped me...
ReplyDeleteI just now submitted my answer and I received NPR's auto reply... A good sign they are back to "normal."
DeleteA friend of a friend furnished me the answer to this abomination of a Sunday puzzle.
ReplyDeleteMy first comment is not suitable for this blog. Neither is my second.
Shame on Shortz. Will he claim he had heard of the movie?
I would be surprised it he hadn't heard of the movie. I had, but forgot at first that I had. It is a popular movie.
DeleteI don't think the puzzle is that bad. It is at least more satisfying, in my opinion, than the likes of Rick and Morty, Lindbergh, Berlin, and oink, pink. You put together pieces of a jigsaw puzzle where you have to find out what each piece is, and what the result shows. I will say I would have been lost if it hadn't been for a certain list on Wikipedia that helped me.
DeleteToday at six.
ReplyDeleteHmmm.... At 6:00 a.m. MDT, there was a, um, PEOTS in Eurasia.
DeleteOTOH, a half hour earlier in Boston, and an hour earlier in NYC....
DeleteYes, double strike.
DeleteI'm a lumberjack and I saw chips, but did Chips see me?
ReplyDeleteI saw this movie a few months ago, and enjoyed it. If it's well known for me to seek it out, then I'm happy with the description "popular."
ReplyDeleteEVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
ReplyDeleteLike jan, it came to me ALL AT ONCE.
On Tuesday, the movie was a clue on Jeopardy! which airs here at six p.m.
In keeping with Halloween, this week's Puzzleria! is going to be a bit scary... scary good!
ReplyDeleteOur friend Rudolfo has created a "Great Pumpkin Carving-up" puzzle in which you must "dig up" a Halloween-related word . (No spades or sharp knives will be necessary, but youand your gray matter will need to be sharp!)
We upload Puzzleria! early Friday, just after Midnight PDT.
Our menus also include:
* a Schpuzzle of the Week involving literal and figurative bonfires,
* a Three-Sided Slice containg “Triangular letters & triangular numbers,”
* a Dessert Slice telling an ancient hidden tale and seeking a description of one of its characters, and
* Four riffs of the present NPR puzzle; and 13 more riffs of the of the previous week's "conquer/concur" NPR offering (11 of them the brainchildren of our friend Ecoarchitect).
Stop by, treat yourselves to our trickery! Think of it as "Halloween candy for the cranium."
LegoWhoVowsEveryEarlyFridayToHandOutNotJustTwixButTrickeryNotJustTwizzlersButPuzzlersNotJustSnickersButSticklers...EverythingEverywhereAllAtOnce!
Everything Everywhere All at Once
ReplyDeleteMy clues:
“At first I tried looking over the entire contents of any list Google would show me [= everything] in multiple tabs across the whole range of browsers [= everywhere]. But there was no way I could process such a deluge of information simultaneously [= all at once].”
“It could actually be…a good Jeopardy! question.”
The Jeopardy! episode that aired this Tuesday (10/25), S40 Ep32, included the category “Recent Movies,” where the $2,000 answer was: “In 2022 she was ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ as Evelyn Wang.” (Q: Who is Michelle Yeoh?)
No clue here, but I also mentioned I would have been lost if it hadn’t been for a certain list on Wikipedia that helped me. That was this list. Fortunately I knew to look only at words starting with vowels, and only look at really long first and second words. That way, it didn't take all that long to get to the answer. Other common lists, on IMDb etc., didn’t seem to help.
As others have said, I don’t know about calling the movie “popular” (just yet). Although, from the audience reviews, “popular” may turn out to be the verdict of history.
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
ReplyDeleteNot being much of a fan of contemporary movies and because no classic movie titles (with which I am somewhat more familiar) worked, I guessed it might be an indie film and was then able to solve the puzzle as a result.
The popular tv show title that the film’s title put me in mind of was The Big Bang Theory.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
ReplyDeleteEverything Everywhere All At Once
ReplyDelete"Easy, once I figured out a good strategy to search for it.
Take the last letter of each word. Add the letters of an article of clothing. Rearrange, and you get the name of a company that advertises frequently during sporting event broadcasts."
The search strategy could not be commented before now, because that would clearly violate Blaine's rules. First is searched for long movie names, figuring there are not many movies with names five words or longer. That led me to an IMDB list. While looking at that list, I noticed the Adventures and Everything are both 10 letters, and realized they were good candidates for the first word in the title. When I searched for Everything movie, the answer came right up.
As for the clue, the last letters of the words in the title are GELTE. Add the letters for TIE, and rearrange to GILETTE. Oops! There are two L's in GILLETTE! D'oh! I took inspiration from WS, and decided not to correct my clue.
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE.
ReplyDeleteEVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
ReplyDelete> Take the last letters of the movie title, move the last one four places earlier in the alphabet, double the fourth letter, add an S, rearrange, and you get a single word that pretty much means the same thing as the whole movie title.
Gestalt
> I searched several lists of five-word movie titles without success, which should have told me something.
It should have told me this was a very recent film.
I wrote, “Take the last letter of each word. Rearrange. You get a symptom of an unpleasant disease.” GLEET is a symptom of gonorrhea.
ReplyDeleteI've treated lots of patients with gonorrhea. Never heard the term "gleet" before.
DeleteI would applaud you for teaching us about it, but I don't think it would be appropriate to give you a clap.
Deletejan, we're all gleetful for that.
DeleteI was in junior high school when I discovered a hardbound copy of James Jones's, From Here To Eternity on my parents' bookshelf. I loved reading that tome, but it took years for me to eventually understand what some of the characters meant by the clap being a cold in your pants. You'd think our social studies teachers would have informed us of this.
DeleteEVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE. My hint noted a "storm" in the forecast, a reference to Stormy Daniels. The film was written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (collectively known as "Daniels").
ReplyDeleteOh well.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteAs Will Shortz instructed us on 9/6/15 in this very Blog:
"Well, if people want to solve with computer assistance, that's fine. It's your puzzle. You can do it any way you like. But I *try* to present challenges that are solvable just as readily using old-fashioned brainwork."
That was not much help this week.
The whole post is worth re-reading.
Some here are questioning if this movie is truly "popular". After I solved it I looked to see if the library has it. I then placed a hold on it; I am #457 on 85 copies. That should indicate that it is indeed a popular film, but I then watched the trailer and am cancelling my hold on this trash. If a Hollywood movie is popular then I will most likely not enjoy it. There are some notable exceptions, but they are few at best.
ReplyDeleteHm, it's not a Hollywood movie. A24 is an independent film maker, based in New York.
DeleteI agree that it seems to be pretty popular. On IMDB it ranks ahead of "Thor: Love and Thunder" (now *that* is a Hollywood picture!), for example.
EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
ReplyDeleteI wrote that solving took one second, and I'm still asleep. Which was, in fact, true.
The Puzzlemaster has no control over this, of course, but the New York Times, which pays his salary, happened to run a giant Saturday 10/22 full-page spread on EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE. I had never heard of the movie until then, but it was top of mind when I was waking up on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Ayesha Rascoe used the work Nekkid on air last weekend. Seriously. That was almost as bad as rhyming NATO with the Greek letter Beta.
Ben: Perhaps your comment about the PM's salary indicates some knowledge of the subject.
ReplyDeleteDo you know how much NPR pays him for the weekly Wesun Puzzle?
I have no idea, Jim. You can always probe salaries at non=profit organizations because they are legally required to file Form 990 taxes, which list the top salaries at the organization. But that is usually easier for outing non-profit heads who make $500,000. I can't imagine Will Shortz is anywhere near the top at Npr.
DeleteBody of missing Indonesian woman discovered fully intact inside 22-foot python
ReplyDeleteThat got my attention. I have trouble getting inside my North Face goose down mummy sleeping bags. (yes, plural; one at a time though. There are always choices in life.) I prefer to chew my dinner.
Here it is almost Halloween and I purchased some apples I found on sale at a local market and then another store had caramels on sale, but when I got all that back home I was shocked to discover I cannot locate where I put all my old razor blades. Why does life have to be so difficult?
ReplyDeleteI am continuing to find living here in Washington State to be more difficult and tiring. What bothers me most is the condition of our roads. Not even a single one of them leads to Rome!
ReplyDeleteBe careful what you wish for. In Italy, Harold Alexander said, all roads lead to Rome, but all roads are mined.
DeleteI believe he marched to his own Tunis.
DeleteThis week's challenge comes from David Wagner, of Atlanta, Ga. Think of a common phrase in the form "___ of my ___." The word that goes in the first blank is the name of a well-known company. And the word that goes in the second blank sounds like part of the names of many of that company's products. What phrase is it?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteThanks, jan.
DeleteJust want to say, Blaine deleted my clue, removed two letters. and posted it as his own, pretty much.
DeleteThis week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from David Wagner, of Atlanta, Ga. Think of a common phrase in the form "___ of my ___." The word that goes in the first blank is the name of a well-known company. And the word that goes in the second blank sounds like part of the names of many of that company's products. What phrase is it?
ReplyDeleteYup. Pretty easy. Waiting for Blaine...
ReplyDeleteRight now!
ReplyDelete