Harry spun on the spot, lost balance, and nearly fell over. He was not the only one. The whole Hall was suddenly full of staggering people; Neville was flat on his back; Ernie Macmillan, on the other hand, had done a kind of pirouetting leap into his hoop and looked momentarily thrilled, until he caught sight of Dean Thomas roaring with laughter at him.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – J.K. Rowling
Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love movie speeches. And as today is the 4th of July, I will once again be reviving Friday Favorites for today in order to feature one of my favorite all-time speeches. In fact, this was my first ever favorite speech, and my first memory of ever intentionally memorizing film dialogue. I would rewind this scene again and again just so I could get not only the text of the speech down but also the cadence, timing and delivery. And considering I make a point to watch Independence Day every July 4th, today seems as good a day as any to post this speech:
Buffy: Well, we’ll be ready whenever it is.
Giles: Which is tonight.
Buffy: Tonight, okay… Not okay! It can’t be tonight!
Giles: My calculations are precise.
Buffy: Nuh! They’re bad calculations! Bad!
Willow: Buffy has a really important date.
Buffy: Owen!
Giles: Alright, I-I’ll just jump in my time machine, go back to the twelfth century and ask the vampires to postpone their ancient prophecy for a few days while you take in dinner and a show.
Buffy: Okay, at this point you’re abusing sarcasm.
Giles: Buffy, this is no ordinary vampire. But we have to stop him before he reaches the Master.
Buffy: But… Cute guy! Teenager! Post-pubescent fantasies!
Giles: Those will just have to be put on hold! The dark forces are aligning against us, and we have a chance to beat them back. Tonight we go into battle!
[Cut to the graveyard. Giles and Buffy are sitting on a large gravestone.]
Giles: Perhaps I miscalculated.
Buffy: I’m thinking yes.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 1: Episode 5 – “Never Kill a Boy on the First Date”
The quoting of an aphorism, like the angry barking of a dog or the smell of overcooked broccoli, rarely indicates that something helpful is about to happen. An aphorism is merely a small group of words arranged in a certain order because they sound good that way, but oftentimes people tend to say them as if they were saying something very mysterious and wise.
A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Vile Village – Lemony Snicket
Jake Sisko: Come on, Nog.
Nog: No.
Jake Sisko: Why not?
Nog: It’s my money, Jake. If you want to bid at the auction, use your own money.
Jake Sisko: I’m human, I don’t have any money.
Nog: It’s not my fault that your species decided to abandon currency-based economics in favour of some philosophy of self-enhancement.
Jake Sisko: Hey, watch it. There’s nothing wrong with our philosophy. We work to better ourselves and the rest of humanity.
Nog: What does that mean exactly?
Jake Sisko: It means… It means we don’t need money.
Nog: Well if you don’t need money, then you certainly don’t need mine.
Jake Sisko: How much latinum do you have? How much?
Nog: Five bars.
Jake Sisko: Five bars!
Nog: Look, it’s taken me a lifetime to save up that much money, and I’m not going to just throw it away for some baseball card.
Jake Sisko: Not even for my father, the man who made it possible for you to enter Starfleet Academy.
Nog: Oh no, that’s not fair.
Jake Sisko: The man who believed in you when no one else would.
Nog: Oh, this is so low.
Jake Sisko: I can’t believe you would rather keep your filthy money locked away in a box under a bed than use it to give him endless moments of happiness.
Nog: Argh! All right, all right. I’ll do it.
Jake Sisko: That’s very generous, Nog. I’m proud of you. Now let’s get that money.
Nog: Hew-mons.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Season 5: Episode 25 – “In the Cards”
Welcome to “Trailer Tuesday” where I talk about trailers for upcoming movies.
It’s interesting how many trailers have been released for The Boxtrolls. In addition to the two teaser trailers from earlier in the year there’s now a third teaser trailer and the first full trailer for the film. These two use a lot of the same footage, but the teaser trailer is shorter and set to Cee Lo’s version of “(You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care,” originally made famous by Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly, a perfect song choice, while the full trailer gives us more of an idea about the film’s story.
“Ah, Harry, how often this happens, even between the best of friends! Each of us believes that what he has to say is much more important than anything the other might have to contribute!”
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – J.K. Rowling
Found this while cleaning out my parents’ house. I’d totally forgotten about it!
Welcome to “Trailer Tuesday” where I talk about trailers for upcoming movies.
Some trailers try to sell you on an entertaining premise, loading two minutes with jokes or explosions or scares. Others, however, are built to simply scream “Oscar bait!” as loudly as possible. They typically appear around this time of year in anticipation of movies coming out in the last three months of the year. Oscar bait trailers usually highlight their impressive casts, are often about family drama, and frequently revolve around a death. Here’s the first one I’ve seen so far this year:
