Which actor was the best James Bond?
Pierce Brosnan 56%
Sean Connery 18%
Daniel Craig 12%
Roger Moore 12%
Thanks for voting!!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
Review - Smart People
Noam Murro's Smart People doesn't bring much to the table at which sits the other great emotionally-stunted, dysfunctional family comedies like The Squid and the Whale and Little Miss Sunshine. It does, however, provide 95 minutes of semi-entertainment.
The film is clearly trying to poke fun at the pretentiousness of "smart people" but it leaves its audiences wondering what has happened to all of the smart directors. Murro does a textbook job of splicing the endless scenes of awkward family interactions but he fails to create any coherent storyline. His film seems to have been made by a first year film student with loud, disconnected musical transitions from scene to scene.
The script is even further complicated by the haphazard placement of scenes which make the storyline itself almost incomprehensible and makes the love story, which should lead to the redemption of everyone involved, so completely ridiculous and farcical that it discredits the entire movie. Murro's biggest mistake is that he doesn't give his audience any credit. He assumes that if he doesn't beat us over the head with something, then we won't understand it-- a sentiment which results in endless scenes where Lawrence (Dennis Quaid) doesn't recognize his students. In one scene, Murro even frames Page's character, a Young Republican, in front of a picture of Ronald Reagan.
The weaknesses of the film are not entirely the fault of the director. Screenwriter, Mark Poirier has crafted a story that is not so much a story as it is clips from several other stories. He tries and fails to tell a story about high school survival, unexpected love and literary ambitions, even trying to wedge incest into the mess of a plot that he calls a movie. The kiss of death is that the film suffers an identity crisis, unable to decide whether the story is about the romance or the family. In the end, it ends up being about nothing at all except for shoddy film-making.
A lackluster script, predictable performances and uninspired, overwrought directing never add up to a success. Smart People is no exception.
The film is clearly trying to poke fun at the pretentiousness of "smart people" but it leaves its audiences wondering what has happened to all of the smart directors. Murro does a textbook job of splicing the endless scenes of awkward family interactions but he fails to create any coherent storyline. His film seems to have been made by a first year film student with loud, disconnected musical transitions from scene to scene.
The script is even further complicated by the haphazard placement of scenes which make the storyline itself almost incomprehensible and makes the love story, which should lead to the redemption of everyone involved, so completely ridiculous and farcical that it discredits the entire movie. Murro's biggest mistake is that he doesn't give his audience any credit. He assumes that if he doesn't beat us over the head with something, then we won't understand it-- a sentiment which results in endless scenes where Lawrence (Dennis Quaid) doesn't recognize his students. In one scene, Murro even frames Page's character, a Young Republican, in front of a picture of Ronald Reagan.
The weaknesses of the film are not entirely the fault of the director. Screenwriter, Mark Poirier has crafted a story that is not so much a story as it is clips from several other stories. He tries and fails to tell a story about high school survival, unexpected love and literary ambitions, even trying to wedge incest into the mess of a plot that he calls a movie. The kiss of death is that the film suffers an identity crisis, unable to decide whether the story is about the romance or the family. In the end, it ends up being about nothing at all except for shoddy film-making.
A lackluster script, predictable performances and uninspired, overwrought directing never add up to a success. Smart People is no exception.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Review - Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is a pleasant surprise. Theaters have, for too long, been showing spoofs (and I use the term loosely) such as Meet the Spartans and Date Movie which are not spoofs at all but rather what appear to be collections of rejected MadTV sketches. Walk Hard actually manages to parody the world of musician biopics and be funny while doing so.
John C. Reilly, the most lackluster of the Judd Apatow troupe, steps up to show that he is capable of being the lead as the titular character and is joined by an eclectic group of actors/ actresses comprised of Apatow's regulars and several character actors.
The victims of this spot-on parody are abundant, most obviously Walk the Line, but the audience need not be familiar with these films to enjoy Walk Hard. It is enjoyable in its own right, achieving the perfect meld of penis jokes and parody. In one inspired song, called Let's Duet (amusingly sung as let's do it,]), Cox and his new duet partner (Jenna Fischer) perfectly straddle the barrier between acceptable and not, singing "I'm gonna beat off....all my demons" and "I wanna make out...what you're saying." The song ends with Fischer innocently inviting him to "come in [her] back door." Jokes like this abound in Walk Hard but they are deftly played against more subtle ones such as the repeated joke about Cox having cut his brother in half with a machete, a twist on the story about Johnny Cash's brother, who was almost halved by a chainsaw and died.
The best scene of the film is by far Cox's encounter with the Beatles, played by Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Justin Long and Jason Schwartzman. After "dropping acid with the Beatles," Cox embarks on a bad trip and ends up in a frightening cartoon version of the real world. The other cameos in the film are also memorable, both from real musicians playing themselves (The Temptations), and those tackling the memorable artists of the time (Jack White as Elvis).
The music is the bright spot of the picture, not only for its comedic value but also because its genuinely entertaining to listen to. Walk Hard succeeds because it actually does what it says and pokes fun at its intended subject matter, rather than relying on random American Idol and Britney Spears references. Some of its jokes are cheap and most of them are predictable but that doesn't make them any less funny. As a matter of fact, Walk Hard manages to be one of Apatow's funniest movies yet.
John C. Reilly, the most lackluster of the Judd Apatow troupe, steps up to show that he is capable of being the lead as the titular character and is joined by an eclectic group of actors/ actresses comprised of Apatow's regulars and several character actors.
The victims of this spot-on parody are abundant, most obviously Walk the Line, but the audience need not be familiar with these films to enjoy Walk Hard. It is enjoyable in its own right, achieving the perfect meld of penis jokes and parody. In one inspired song, called Let's Duet (amusingly sung as let's do it,]), Cox and his new duet partner (Jenna Fischer) perfectly straddle the barrier between acceptable and not, singing "I'm gonna beat off....all my demons" and "I wanna make out...what you're saying." The song ends with Fischer innocently inviting him to "come in [her] back door." Jokes like this abound in Walk Hard but they are deftly played against more subtle ones such as the repeated joke about Cox having cut his brother in half with a machete, a twist on the story about Johnny Cash's brother, who was almost halved by a chainsaw and died.
The best scene of the film is by far Cox's encounter with the Beatles, played by Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Justin Long and Jason Schwartzman. After "dropping acid with the Beatles," Cox embarks on a bad trip and ends up in a frightening cartoon version of the real world. The other cameos in the film are also memorable, both from real musicians playing themselves (The Temptations), and those tackling the memorable artists of the time (Jack White as Elvis).
The music is the bright spot of the picture, not only for its comedic value but also because its genuinely entertaining to listen to. Walk Hard succeeds because it actually does what it says and pokes fun at its intended subject matter, rather than relying on random American Idol and Britney Spears references. Some of its jokes are cheap and most of them are predictable but that doesn't make them any less funny. As a matter of fact, Walk Hard manages to be one of Apatow's funniest movies yet.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Review - Lions for Lambs
It’s easy to see why people didn’t like this movie. It’s preachy, didactic and there is little action; the entire movie really centers around two conversations. However, its message certainly cannot be ignored.
Robert Redford plays a college professor who has finally decided to confront one of his most gifted students, Todd, because he has been failing to come to class. The following argument debates the merits and the meaning of activism, finally resulting in that age-old question “what are you going to do?” Their conversation centers around two of the Professor’s former students who have enlisted in the army and are fighting and dying overseas in a controversial new military strategy inAfghanistan
Lions is adequately made although Redford doesn't so anything spectacularly memorable as director. His performance, like all of the others in the film is a knock out of the park. These are three veteran actors who prove that they are worth the hype.
Despite its pretentiousness, Lions for Lambs maintains some entertainment value. Mostly though, it is undeniably a call to activism- an issue movie, but its hard to fault Redford for making it such in the face of today's apathy.
Robert Redford plays a college professor who has finally decided to confront one of his most gifted students, Todd, because he has been failing to come to class. The following argument debates the merits and the meaning of activism, finally resulting in that age-old question “what are you going to do?” Their conversation centers around two of the Professor’s former students who have enlisted in the army and are fighting and dying overseas in a controversial new military strategy in
Lions is adequately made although Redford doesn't so anything spectacularly memorable as director. His performance, like all of the others in the film is a knock out of the park. These are three veteran actors who prove that they are worth the hype.
Despite its pretentiousness, Lions for Lambs maintains some entertainment value. Mostly though, it is undeniably a call to activism- an issue movie, but its hard to fault Redford for making it such in the face of today's apathy.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Franchise Review - X-Men
Generation X (Jack Sholder, 1996)
This movie isn't about the same team of X-Men as the later theatrically-released movies, but rather tells the story of the next generation of X-men, a group of teenagers led by former X-Men teammates Banshee and the White Queen. Adapted from the critically acclaimed series of the same name this movie did it all wrong. The special effects were terrible, but not nearly as bad as the dialogue and character development. The team had virtually no chemistry and its leaders had no spine. None of the characters seemed like heroes and the noir-ish atmosphere of the fim didn't suit the story at all. The majority of this was probably the result of the film's low budget and straight to TV release but still, it would have been nice to see what one of Marvel Comics most interesting teams translated to on screen. This attempt was just a little too Saved by the Bell.
X-Men (Bryan Singer, 2000)
Bryan Singer managed to toe the line between political allegory and good old-fashioned superhero fun with his first X-Men film. X-Men forced legitimacy on a comic book series in which mutants wore spandex and fought villains with names like The Blob. In this film, they are leather-clad, opressed, repressed, sometimes depressed heroes with the power to save the world. The casting was pitch perfect for the entire team and, despite some alterations from the source material, each character was fleshed out and had a backstory. While the film plodded along at some points so that it was accessible to new fans, the action scenes were excellently choreographed and shot so that a woman who controlled the lightning didn't seem that far-fetched after all. The film does make a serious mistake in trying too hard to be science-fiction and not reveling in its comic book origins, a strategy that made Spider-man successful. Thus, we are forced to sit through a forced monologue at the beginning which tries to legitimize itself by offering scientific evidence of mutation. Fortunately, it is not a complete failure thanks to the gravitas of Patrick Stewart's delivery. The film does seem uneven at parts, as if it is setting up a story moreso than telling one. Even after their victory on top of the Statue of Liberty, it is clear that the story of the X-Men is nowhere near over.
X2: X-Men United (Bryan Singer, 2003)
The most universally praised of the franchise, X2 is actually the most lackluster. Strong performances abound and the special effects are ramped up a notch and look spectacular, especially the opening scene where Nightcrawler "attacks" the Oval Office. However, even with fascinating new characters and fanboy shout-outs, it just doesn't manage to bring enough new things to the table to truly outshine its predecessor. The only real change is Magneto's position as a good guy and the confusion that it causes over the classic good vs. evil debate. Singer continues to prove his excellency as a director, lending just enough real world angst and grit to the film to keep it from degenerating into a silly comic book movie. There is never any question that this is a film about societal issues that just happens to be told from the point of view of mutants. Singer also continues to develop the saga of each character and the team as a whole. He proves that sequels can be bigger and better without being overwrought and bloated. The story is a little bit complicated and takes up a lot of different threads of story but in the end they all pay off. Singer's second foray into the X-Men is another movie that burns with uncontrollable energy but has enough restraint to not quite explode, much like the Phoenix that we finally glimpse in the final seconds of the film. Singer's passion for the team and the genre is obvious, especially considering the number of years of comic book continuity that he manages to pay lipservice to. He continues to make one serious mistake though; he continues to focus on Wolverine as his main character. The biggest obstacle that X-Men faces is the fact that its most overused, uninteresting character helms the movie, despite the plethora of more interesting stories going on in the background. But even that can't stop what many consider to be the best superhero movie of all time.
X-Men: The Last Stand (Brett Ratner, 2006)
Ratner is lucky to still have a job in Hollywood after the audience response to this film. However, its reputation as the worst of the three films is undeserved. The Last Stand has a lot to offer. It is by far the most visually stunning of the three movies and it deals with the weightiest themes, which is perhaps why audiences were so upset that tt commits the same mistake as the first two films by trying to cram to much into its screenplay. Admittedly, there is less character development here. However, there is certainly just as much grappling with real-world issues. The Dark Phoenix storyline is one of the most loved of all comic fandom and is given fair treatment here. Though not the same as the comic book story, it is clearly explained and the stakes are just as high. When she finally starts giving into her power and disintegrating the world around her. The film becomes almost operatic in its treatment of the destruction. Ratner takes a lot more risks than Singer ever would have, killing off two major characters and depowering a third. It's a risky move, for sure, but served to up the ante a bit for the X-Men. Ratner also finally gives fans what they want, finally revealing not only Sentinels but the Danger Room, Moira McTaggart and dozens of other little shout-outs to X-Men fans.
One can't help but wonder at the introduction of new, long-awaited X-Men that just don't do much but it's still undeniably cool to see Shadowcat face down Juggernaut and Kelsey Grammar hanging from the rafters as Beast. All of the build-up from the first two movies finally explodes here and the action is non-stop, high stakes excitement. Yet, Ratner never forgets about the emotions and the ideologies that started the fire. It is the perfect stylish ending to the trilogy, a final battle-- a last stand-- that is more than worthy of the X-Men name. Personally, it's my favorite of the three.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Gavin Hood, 2009)
We can only hope that this film lives up to the hype. With all of the glorification that has gone to Wolverine in the first three movies that should have focused on the team, I doubt they will mess it up now that it is rightfully all about him. The list of cameos alone has got me excited for this movie: Gambit (finally), Deadpool, Beak, Silverfox. The cast is amazing; Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, Liev Schreiber, Dominic Monaghan. it would take something huge to mess this up now. The only real threat is Wolverine's convoluted history, which could fill a franchise all on its own.
X-Men Origins: Magneto (David S. Goyer, 2009)
Not much has been released about the second film in the Origins series except that it is coming...
This movie isn't about the same team of X-Men as the later theatrically-released movies, but rather tells the story of the next generation of X-men, a group of teenagers led by former X-Men teammates Banshee and the White Queen. Adapted from the critically acclaimed series of the same name this movie did it all wrong. The special effects were terrible, but not nearly as bad as the dialogue and character development. The team had virtually no chemistry and its leaders had no spine. None of the characters seemed like heroes and the noir-ish atmosphere of the fim didn't suit the story at all. The majority of this was probably the result of the film's low budget and straight to TV release but still, it would have been nice to see what one of Marvel Comics most interesting teams translated to on screen. This attempt was just a little too Saved by the Bell.
X-Men (Bryan Singer, 2000)Bryan Singer managed to toe the line between political allegory and good old-fashioned superhero fun with his first X-Men film. X-Men forced legitimacy on a comic book series in which mutants wore spandex and fought villains with names like The Blob. In this film, they are leather-clad, opressed, repressed, sometimes depressed heroes with the power to save the world. The casting was pitch perfect for the entire team and, despite some alterations from the source material, each character was fleshed out and had a backstory. While the film plodded along at some points so that it was accessible to new fans, the action scenes were excellently choreographed and shot so that a woman who controlled the lightning didn't seem that far-fetched after all. The film does make a serious mistake in trying too hard to be science-fiction and not reveling in its comic book origins, a strategy that made Spider-man successful. Thus, we are forced to sit through a forced monologue at the beginning which tries to legitimize itself by offering scientific evidence of mutation. Fortunately, it is not a complete failure thanks to the gravitas of Patrick Stewart's delivery. The film does seem uneven at parts, as if it is setting up a story moreso than telling one. Even after their victory on top of the Statue of Liberty, it is clear that the story of the X-Men is nowhere near over.
X2: X-Men United (Bryan Singer, 2003)The most universally praised of the franchise, X2 is actually the most lackluster. Strong performances abound and the special effects are ramped up a notch and look spectacular, especially the opening scene where Nightcrawler "attacks" the Oval Office. However, even with fascinating new characters and fanboy shout-outs, it just doesn't manage to bring enough new things to the table to truly outshine its predecessor. The only real change is Magneto's position as a good guy and the confusion that it causes over the classic good vs. evil debate. Singer continues to prove his excellency as a director, lending just enough real world angst and grit to the film to keep it from degenerating into a silly comic book movie. There is never any question that this is a film about societal issues that just happens to be told from the point of view of mutants. Singer also continues to develop the saga of each character and the team as a whole. He proves that sequels can be bigger and better without being overwrought and bloated. The story is a little bit complicated and takes up a lot of different threads of story but in the end they all pay off. Singer's second foray into the X-Men is another movie that burns with uncontrollable energy but has enough restraint to not quite explode, much like the Phoenix that we finally glimpse in the final seconds of the film. Singer's passion for the team and the genre is obvious, especially considering the number of years of comic book continuity that he manages to pay lipservice to. He continues to make one serious mistake though; he continues to focus on Wolverine as his main character. The biggest obstacle that X-Men faces is the fact that its most overused, uninteresting character helms the movie, despite the plethora of more interesting stories going on in the background. But even that can't stop what many consider to be the best superhero movie of all time.
X-Men: The Last Stand (Brett Ratner, 2006)Ratner is lucky to still have a job in Hollywood after the audience response to this film. However, its reputation as the worst of the three films is undeserved. The Last Stand has a lot to offer. It is by far the most visually stunning of the three movies and it deals with the weightiest themes, which is perhaps why audiences were so upset that tt commits the same mistake as the first two films by trying to cram to much into its screenplay. Admittedly, there is less character development here. However, there is certainly just as much grappling with real-world issues. The Dark Phoenix storyline is one of the most loved of all comic fandom and is given fair treatment here. Though not the same as the comic book story, it is clearly explained and the stakes are just as high. When she finally starts giving into her power and disintegrating the world around her. The film becomes almost operatic in its treatment of the destruction. Ratner takes a lot more risks than Singer ever would have, killing off two major characters and depowering a third. It's a risky move, for sure, but served to up the ante a bit for the X-Men. Ratner also finally gives fans what they want, finally revealing not only Sentinels but the Danger Room, Moira McTaggart and dozens of other little shout-outs to X-Men fans.
One can't help but wonder at the introduction of new, long-awaited X-Men that just don't do much but it's still undeniably cool to see Shadowcat face down Juggernaut and Kelsey Grammar hanging from the rafters as Beast. All of the build-up from the first two movies finally explodes here and the action is non-stop, high stakes excitement. Yet, Ratner never forgets about the emotions and the ideologies that started the fire. It is the perfect stylish ending to the trilogy, a final battle-- a last stand-- that is more than worthy of the X-Men name. Personally, it's my favorite of the three.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Gavin Hood, 2009)We can only hope that this film lives up to the hype. With all of the glorification that has gone to Wolverine in the first three movies that should have focused on the team, I doubt they will mess it up now that it is rightfully all about him. The list of cameos alone has got me excited for this movie: Gambit (finally), Deadpool, Beak, Silverfox. The cast is amazing; Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, Liev Schreiber, Dominic Monaghan. it would take something huge to mess this up now. The only real threat is Wolverine's convoluted history, which could fill a franchise all on its own.
X-Men Origins: Magneto (David S. Goyer, 2009)Not much has been released about the second film in the Origins series except that it is coming...
Monday, April 7, 2008
Feature - Top 10 Film Speeches/ Monologues
1.) Edward Murrow in Good Night and Good Luck (2005)
"We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof, and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine. And remember that we are not descended from fearful men. Not from men who feared to write, to associate, to speak and to defend the causes that were, for the moment, unpopular...The actions of the Junior Senator from Wisconsin have caused alarm and dismay amongst our allies abroad and given considerable comfort to our enemies. And whose fault is that? Not really his. He didn't create this situation of fear -- he merely exploited it, and rather successfully. Cassius was right: the fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves. Good night, and good luck."
2.) Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
"Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not, for my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere. Yes, even between the land and the ship."
3.) V in V for Vendetta (2005)
"Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villian by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengence; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V."
"Good evening, London. Allow me first to apologize for this interruption. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of the everyday routine, the security of the familiar, the tranquility of repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke. But in the spirit of commemoration - whereby those important events of the past, usually associated with someone's death or the end of some awful bloody struggle, are celebrated with a nice holiday - I thought we could mark this November the fifth, a day that is sadly no longer remembered, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat.
There are, of course, those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now orders are being shouted into telephones and men with guns will soon be on their way. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there?
Cruelty and injustice...intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance, coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well certainly there are those who are more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable. But again, truth be told...if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror.
I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War. Terror. Disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you and in your panic, you turned to the now High Chancellor Adam Sutler. He promised you order. He promised you peace. And all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent.
Last night, I sought to end that silence. Last night, I destroyed the Old Bailey to remind this country of what it has forgotten. More than four hundred years ago, a great citizen wished to embed the fifth of November forever in our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice and freedom are more than words - they are perspectives. So if you've seen nothing, if the crimes of this government remain unknown to you, then I would suggest that you allow the fifth of November to pass unmarked. But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek...then I ask you to stand beside me, one year from tonight, outside the gates of Parliament. And together, we shall give them a fifth of November that shall never, ever, be forgot!"
4.) Sam Loomis in Halloween (1978)
"I met him fifteen years ago. I was told there was nothing left. No reason, no, uh, conscience, no understanding and even the most rudimentary sense of life or death, of good or evil, right or wrong. I met this six year old child with this blind, pale, emotionless face, and the blackest eyes, the devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized that what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply evil..."
5.) Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs (1991)
"You're so ambitious, aren't you? You know what you look like to me, with your good bag and your cheap shoes? You look like a rube. A well-scrubbed, hustling rube, with a little taste. Good nutrition's given you some length of bone, but you're not more than one generation from poor white trash, are you, Agent Starling? And that accent you've tried so desperately to shed - pure West Virginia. What does your father do? Is he a coal miner? Does he stink of the lamp? You know how quickly the boys found you. All those tedious, sticky fumblings in the back seats of cars, while you could only dream of getting out. Getting anywhere, getting all the way to the FBI. A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chi-an-ti. You fly back to school now, little Starling. Fly, fly, fly. Fly, fly, fly."
6.) Howard Beale in Network (1976)
"I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's worth, banks are going bust, shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it. We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TVs while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that's the way it's supposed to be. We know things are bad - worse than bad. They're crazy. It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out anymore. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is: 'Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone.' Well, I'm not gonna leave you alone. I want you to get MAD! I don't want you to protest. I don't want you to riot - I don't want you to write to your congressman because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write. I don't know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street. All I know is that first you've got to get mad. (shouting) You've got to say: 'I'm a human being, god-dammit! My life has value!' So I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell: 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!"
"You people and sixty-two million other Ameicans are listening to me right now. Because less than three percent of you people read books. Because less than fifteen percent of you read newspapers. Because the only truth you know is what you get over this tube. Right now, there is a whole, an entire generation that never knew anything that didn't come out of this tube. This tube is the gospel, the ultimate revelation. This tube can make or break Presidents, Popes, Prime Ministers. This tube is the most awesome, god-damned force in the whole godless world...We deal in illusions, man. None of it is true! But you people sit there day after day, night after night, all ages, colors, creeds - we're all you know. You're beginning to believe the illusions we're spinning here. You're beginning to think that the tube is reality and that your own lives are unreal. You do whatever the tube tells you. You dress like the tube, you eat like the tube, you raise your children like the tube. You even think like the tube. This is mass madness. You maniacs. In God's name, you people are the real thing. We are the illusion. So turn off your television sets. Turn them off now. Turn them off right now. Turn them off and leave them off. Turn them off right in the middle of this sentence I am speaking to you now. Turn them off!"
7.) Dr. Jed Hill in Malice (1993)
"I have an M.D. from Harvard, I am board certified in cardio-thoracic medicine and trauma surgery, I have been awarded citations from seven different medical boards in New England, and I am never, ever sick at sea. So I ask you; when someone goes into that chapel and they fall on their knees and they pray to God that their wife doesn't miscarry or that their daughter doesn't bleed to death or that their mother doesn't suffer acute neural trauma from postoperative shock, who do you think they're praying to? Now, go ahead and read your Bible, Dennis, and you go to your church, and, with any luck, you might win the annual raffle, but if you're looking for God, he was in operating room number two on November seventeen, and he doesn't like to be second guessed. You ask me if I have a God complex. Let me tell you something: I am God."
8.) William Wallace in Braveheart (1995)
"Yes, I've heard. He kills men by the hundreds, and if he were here he'd consume the English with fireballs from his eyes and bolts of lightning from his arse. I am William Wallace, and I see a whole army of my countrymen here in defiance of tyranny. You have come to fight as free men, and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight? ....Aye, fight and you may die, run and you'll live....at least a while. And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies...that they may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!
"I know what you’re thinking. Did he fire six shots or only five? Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I’ve kinda lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do ya punk?"
10.) Amon Goethe in Schindler's List (1993)
"Today is history. Today will be remembered. Years from now the young will ask with wonder about this day. Today is history and you are part of it. Six hundred years ago when elsewhere they were footing the blame for the Black Death, Casimir the Great - so called - told the Jews they could come to Krakow. They came. They trundled their belongings into the city. They settled. They took hold. They prospered in business, science, education, the arts. With nothing they came and with nothing they flourished. For six centuries there has been a Jewish Krakow. By this evening those six centuries will be a rumor. They never happened. Today is history."
"We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof, and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine. And remember that we are not descended from fearful men. Not from men who feared to write, to associate, to speak and to defend the causes that were, for the moment, unpopular...The actions of the Junior Senator from Wisconsin have caused alarm and dismay amongst our allies abroad and given considerable comfort to our enemies. And whose fault is that? Not really his. He didn't create this situation of fear -- he merely exploited it, and rather successfully. Cassius was right: the fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves. Good night, and good luck."
2.) Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
"Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not, for my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere. Yes, even between the land and the ship."
3.) V in V for Vendetta (2005)
"Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villian by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengence; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V."
"Good evening, London. Allow me first to apologize for this interruption. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of the everyday routine, the security of the familiar, the tranquility of repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke. But in the spirit of commemoration - whereby those important events of the past, usually associated with someone's death or the end of some awful bloody struggle, are celebrated with a nice holiday - I thought we could mark this November the fifth, a day that is sadly no longer remembered, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat.
There are, of course, those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now orders are being shouted into telephones and men with guns will soon be on their way. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there?
Cruelty and injustice...intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance, coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well certainly there are those who are more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable. But again, truth be told...if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror.
I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War. Terror. Disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you and in your panic, you turned to the now High Chancellor Adam Sutler. He promised you order. He promised you peace. And all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent.
Last night, I sought to end that silence. Last night, I destroyed the Old Bailey to remind this country of what it has forgotten. More than four hundred years ago, a great citizen wished to embed the fifth of November forever in our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice and freedom are more than words - they are perspectives. So if you've seen nothing, if the crimes of this government remain unknown to you, then I would suggest that you allow the fifth of November to pass unmarked. But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek...then I ask you to stand beside me, one year from tonight, outside the gates of Parliament. And together, we shall give them a fifth of November that shall never, ever, be forgot!"
4.) Sam Loomis in Halloween (1978)
"I met him fifteen years ago. I was told there was nothing left. No reason, no, uh, conscience, no understanding and even the most rudimentary sense of life or death, of good or evil, right or wrong. I met this six year old child with this blind, pale, emotionless face, and the blackest eyes, the devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized that what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply evil..."
5.) Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs (1991)
"You're so ambitious, aren't you? You know what you look like to me, with your good bag and your cheap shoes? You look like a rube. A well-scrubbed, hustling rube, with a little taste. Good nutrition's given you some length of bone, but you're not more than one generation from poor white trash, are you, Agent Starling? And that accent you've tried so desperately to shed - pure West Virginia. What does your father do? Is he a coal miner? Does he stink of the lamp? You know how quickly the boys found you. All those tedious, sticky fumblings in the back seats of cars, while you could only dream of getting out. Getting anywhere, getting all the way to the FBI. A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chi-an-ti. You fly back to school now, little Starling. Fly, fly, fly. Fly, fly, fly."
6.) Howard Beale in Network (1976)
"I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's worth, banks are going bust, shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it. We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TVs while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that's the way it's supposed to be. We know things are bad - worse than bad. They're crazy. It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out anymore. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is: 'Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone.' Well, I'm not gonna leave you alone. I want you to get MAD! I don't want you to protest. I don't want you to riot - I don't want you to write to your congressman because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write. I don't know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street. All I know is that first you've got to get mad. (shouting) You've got to say: 'I'm a human being, god-dammit! My life has value!' So I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell: 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!"
"You people and sixty-two million other Ameicans are listening to me right now. Because less than three percent of you people read books. Because less than fifteen percent of you read newspapers. Because the only truth you know is what you get over this tube. Right now, there is a whole, an entire generation that never knew anything that didn't come out of this tube. This tube is the gospel, the ultimate revelation. This tube can make or break Presidents, Popes, Prime Ministers. This tube is the most awesome, god-damned force in the whole godless world...We deal in illusions, man. None of it is true! But you people sit there day after day, night after night, all ages, colors, creeds - we're all you know. You're beginning to believe the illusions we're spinning here. You're beginning to think that the tube is reality and that your own lives are unreal. You do whatever the tube tells you. You dress like the tube, you eat like the tube, you raise your children like the tube. You even think like the tube. This is mass madness. You maniacs. In God's name, you people are the real thing. We are the illusion. So turn off your television sets. Turn them off now. Turn them off right now. Turn them off and leave them off. Turn them off right in the middle of this sentence I am speaking to you now. Turn them off!"
7.) Dr. Jed Hill in Malice (1993)
"I have an M.D. from Harvard, I am board certified in cardio-thoracic medicine and trauma surgery, I have been awarded citations from seven different medical boards in New England, and I am never, ever sick at sea. So I ask you; when someone goes into that chapel and they fall on their knees and they pray to God that their wife doesn't miscarry or that their daughter doesn't bleed to death or that their mother doesn't suffer acute neural trauma from postoperative shock, who do you think they're praying to? Now, go ahead and read your Bible, Dennis, and you go to your church, and, with any luck, you might win the annual raffle, but if you're looking for God, he was in operating room number two on November seventeen, and he doesn't like to be second guessed. You ask me if I have a God complex. Let me tell you something: I am God."
8.) William Wallace in Braveheart (1995)
"Yes, I've heard. He kills men by the hundreds, and if he were here he'd consume the English with fireballs from his eyes and bolts of lightning from his arse. I am William Wallace, and I see a whole army of my countrymen here in defiance of tyranny. You have come to fight as free men, and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight? ....Aye, fight and you may die, run and you'll live....at least a while. And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies...that they may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!
9.) Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry (1971)
"I know what you’re thinking. Did he fire six shots or only five? Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I’ve kinda lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do ya punk?"
10.) Amon Goethe in Schindler's List (1993)
"Today is history. Today will be remembered. Years from now the young will ask with wonder about this day. Today is history and you are part of it. Six hundred years ago when elsewhere they were footing the blame for the Black Death, Casimir the Great - so called - told the Jews they could come to Krakow. They came. They trundled their belongings into the city. They settled. They took hold. They prospered in business, science, education, the arts. With nothing they came and with nothing they flourished. For six centuries there has been a Jewish Krakow. By this evening those six centuries will be a rumor. They never happened. Today is history."
