Buffy: I told one lie, I had one drink.
Giles: Yes, and you were very nearly devoured by a giant demon snake. The words ‘let that be a lesson’ are a tad redundant at this juncture.
Buffy: I’m sorry.
Giles: So am I. I… I drive you too hard because I-I know what you have to face. From now on no, no more pushing, no more prodding. Just, uh, an inordinate amount of nudging.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 2: Episode 5 – “Reptile Boy”
‘But in any case you will never be flogged — no, no; you shall not be flogged,’ he added, gazing with pure affection, and with something like awe, at so magnificent a prodigy, at an ignorance so very far beyond anything that even his wide-ranging mind had yet conceived.
Master and Commander – Patrick O’Brian
Quark: Let me tell you something about Hew-mons, Nephew. They’re a wonderful, friendly people, as long as their bellies are full and their holosuites are working. But take away their creature comforts, deprive them of food, sleep, sonic showers, put their lives in jeopardy over an extended period of time and those same friendly, intelligent, wonderful people… will become as nasty and as violent as the most bloodthirsty Klingon. You don’t believe me? Look at those faces. Look in their eyes.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Season 7: Episode 8 – “The Siege of AR-558”
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 could definitely have benefitted from dropping the saga’s title and just sticking with that of Suzanne Collins’ novel. While it is the continuation of the story that began two years ago with The Hunger Games, it is the first film in the series not to feature the titular games, although their impact looms large over Katniss’s mental and emotional state. The “Part 1” has renewed the debate over splitting books into multiple films (a complete success with Harry Potter, a disaster with Twilight, and the jury is still out on The Hobbit), as well as what is actually required to distinguish a film as more than just an extended TV episode, but at this point it’s so common as a practice that it’s been grudgingly accepted by many. But the most important part of the title is right there in the middle: Mockingjay. Mockingjay focuses almost entirely on the idea of the Mockingjay, as a symbol and as a person, and to that end it’s an extremely successful and engaging film despite its occasional faults.
“Well, happy birthday anyway.”
“Wow — that’s right, I forgot! I’m seventeen!”
Harry seized the wand lying beside his camp bed, pointed it at the cluttered desk where he had left his glasses, and said, “Accio Glasses!” although they were only around a foot away, there was something immensely satisfying about seeing them zoom toward him, at least until they poked him in the eye.
“Slick,” snorted Ron.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling
