Pfangirl Through the Looking Glass

Following on from some choice life advice in the graphic novel Superman: Earth One , today we're turning from the printed page to the silver screen. What would a mentor and pupil martial arts movie be without inspiring, mystical sayings? DreamWorks Animation 's Kung Fu Panda certainly doesn't stray from expectation. Although Shifu ( Dustin Hoffman ), the kung fu master directly responsible for the training of chubby panda Po ( Jack Black ), is disgruntled and impatient, Shifu's mentor, the (apparently) doddery tortoise Oogway ( Randall Duk Kim ) is the model of zen thinking and shared wisdom... as the following lines of dialogue reveal. One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it. - Oogway Quit, don't quit? Noodles, don't noodles? You are too concerned about what was and what will be. There is a saying: yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the "present." - Oogway ...

So, I just finished reading J. Michael Straczynski's standalone 2010 Superman graphic novel Superman: Earth One . Until I have time to write a full review I'll just say that the thing that most struck me about this "relatable" 21st Century take on the Man of Steel is the dialogue. Straczynski puts some powerful words into the mouths of characters... particularly sage soldier-turned-farmer Jonathan Kent. Not only do the following quotes penetrate right to "core" of Superman - what he believes in; what he stands for in the minds of Metropolis residents and readers alike - but even transplanted from a comic context to our reality, they're inspiring. Enjoy.   "When we say I won't take this anymore, that's when we know who we are and what we'll tolerate. Until we're tested, we don't know those things. That's when we wake up. That's when we know who we are. That's when people will show up and take your side... ...

We haven't done one of these "Most Quotable Movie" features in a while. Here's a recent goodie from last year - and one of my favourite films of 2007. If you had to describe 300 in one word, it would have to be "Stylised". And that visual stylisation carried through to the film's dialogue as well, which was just so deliciously over-the-top and epic. Pretty much every line seems to end with an exclamation mark. Of course, it's all in keeping with the fact that Frank Miller's graphic novel, on which the film was based, is not meant to be a historically accurate account of the Battle of Thermopylae. Rather, it is history filtered through a patriotic Spartan storyteller who is attempting to inspire soldiers by transforming history, with all its inconvenient greys, into legend, with its stark whites, blacks and archetypes. Enjoy! ------------------- Leonidas: This is where we hold them! This is where we fight! This is where they die! --...

Some fun for Friday… I actually completely forgot about this one, which is strange because even in our office it’s one of those rare movies which everyone can quote back and forth. I know a lot of film fanatics will always be prejudiced against Forrest Gump , given how this unashamed, often quite corny crowd pleaser trumped the ultra-hip Pulp Fiction at the Academy Awards that year. However, 14 years have passed since Forrest Gump’s release and time has mellowed people’s reactions to some of the Diabetes-inducing, greeting card-style quotes the movie spawned. You no longer automatically vomit a little bit when someone begins, “Life is like a box of chocolates…” Please bear in mind that to maximise enjoyment of these quotes you need to adopt Tom Hanks’ Southern sing-song idiot accent from the movie. ------------------- Forrest Gump: My momma always said, "Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." ------------------- Forrest G...

The Simpsons Movie is the most recently released movie to feature in the "Most Quotable Movies" series on this blog. I'll admit that the first time I watched The Simpsons Movie, I enjoyed it, but ultimately couldn't view it as anything more than an extended episode of the TV series. However, having now seen the film 4 times since its cinema release, I've grown convinced of its comic genius. The Simpsons Movie is damn funny, combining hilarious sight gags, one-liners, wisecracks and some very taunt scripting. I'm actually very disappointed that The Simpsons Movie wasn't nominated in the Best Animated Film category at this year's Academy Awards. D'oh! Big mistake, Hollywood. Anyway, here are some of the highlight quotes from the movie: --------------------------------------------------------------------- President Schwarzenegger: I was elected to *lead*, not to *read*. Number Three! ----------------------------------------------------...

"I'm just like every modern woman trying to have it all. A loving husband, a family. I only wish I had more time to seek out the dark forces and join their hellish crusade." - Morticia Addams Look, I admit this isn't the most obvious entry in the Most Quotable Movies feature . However, after recently seeing these screenshots from Addams Family Values on My New Plaid Pants , it reminded me of the film's endless series of quips and comedic comebacks. Although the comments are interspersed with some wonderfully twisted sight gags, you really have to listen carefully or you'll miss them. Being an Adams (one "d" short of an Addams), with a decent resemblance to Christina Ricci's Wednesday character, I admit that the 2 Addams Family movies, with their gloriously twisted black humour, have a special place in in my heart. This said, I think I enjoyed Values more, with its Summer Camp scenes and Joan Cusack's chance to shine. Man, I really ne...

I'll be erecting tents and scaling mountains in the Drakensberg on Friday, so here's tomorrow's post a little early, to introduce the weekend on a fun note. I've already covered 2 cult comedies in the Most Quotable Movies feature: Zoolander and Monty Python and the Holy Grail . I'd probably classify this third entry in the series as a cult comedy too, because although it lead to 2 massively successful sequels, the first movie was only really "discovered" by audiences when it reached video stores. In other words its release predated the mainstream leap onto the bandwagon, when suddenly we were inundated with horrible "Shagadelic", blobby font advertisements and our parents started gleefully using catch phrases like "Groovy, baby, yeah!" I'm talking, of course, about Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. Personally, I think it remains the best of the series. ------------------------------------------------- Austin...

In a break from misery-wallowing, here's another cult quotable movie. Some people love it, some people hate it, but there's no defying the absurdist humour of Monty Python and the Holy Grail ... --------------------------------------------------- Knights of Camelot: [singing] We're knights of the Round Table, we dance whene'er we're able. We do routines and chorus scenes with footwork impec-cable, We dine well here in Camelot, we eat ham and jam and Spam a lot. / We're knights of the Round Table, our shows are for-mi-dable. But many times we're given rhymes that are quite un-sing-able, We're opera mad in Camelot, we sing from the diaphragm a lot. / In war we're tough and able, Quite in-de-fa-ti-gable. Between our quests we sequin vests and impersonate Clark Gable / It's a busy life in Camelot [solo] Knights of Camelot: I have to push the pram a lot. --------------------------------------------------- Minstrel: [singing] Brave Sir Robi...