Blastr.com wrote a quick article about 15 of their favorite Science Fiction cameos. A cameo is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts. An actor needs not fill such a role: short appearances by film directors, politicians, athletes, and other celebrities are common. [Wikipedia].

They’re short, they’re sweet, and they usually feature an actor or celebrity as never seen before. With movies like Iron Man (2008), Thor (2011), and most recently X-Men: First Class (2011), cameos have become the norm. However, not all cameos are created equal: The best cameos are often those in which real people play themselves on screen, making it a huge surprise for the audience when they appear. Cameos don’t need to be ironic or funny to be memorable; they just need to be innovative and surprising.

(more…)

Popularity: 26%

A catch phrase (or catchphrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through a variety of mass media (such as literature and publishing, motion pictures, television and radio), as well as word of mouth. Some catch phrases become the de facto “trademark” of the person or character with whom they originated.

We all know someone who’s a walking catchphrase waiting to happen; they relish that moment when they can slip in to a conversation their favorite over-used movie catchphrases. The interesting thing is that most people use the same ones, over and over again. – moviefone.com

Moviephone’s The 10 Most Over-Used Movie Catchphrases:

1. “You had me at hello.” Jerry Maguire (1996)
2. “I’m the king of the world!” Titanic (1997)
3. “Say hello to my little friend!” Scarface (1983)
4. “Run Forrest, run!” Forrest Gump (1994)
5. “Show me the money!” Jerry Maguire (1996)
6. “You can’t handle the truth!” A Few Good Men (1992)
7. “May the force be with you.” Star Wars (1977)
8. “Houston, we have a problem.” Apollo 13 (1995)
9. “… Bond. James Bond.” (James Bond)
10. “I’ll be back.” The Terminator (1984)

Other catchphrases that we’ve heard people use:

(more…)

Popularity: 12%

Recently David Madison posted an article on Unreality Magazine listing The Most Memorable Fictional Drugs in Movies and Television. The list itself is interesting, and I have to admit the author did a fine job finding screen captures for each of the drugs mentioned.

However, I had the feeling that there must be other well-known, fictional drugs in cinema. A little bit of research (thanks to Google and Wikipedia) turned up a plethora of pharmaceuticals the author neglected to mention…
(more…)

Popularity: 10%

“He looks determined… without being ruthless. There’s something heroic
about him. He doesn’t look like a killer. He comes across so calm…
acts like he has a dream… eyes full of passion.” – The Killer (1989)

Assassin movies are a guaranteed hit with moviegoers. And for some reason, we too often cheer on this ‘bad guy.’ Why?

Hitmen are the inevitable descendants of our Western gunslingers like Gregory Peck in The Gunfighter (1950) or Alan Ladd in Shane(1953). Even when those films were made, there was acknowledgement that such killers had already outlived their usefulness and had no place in civilized society. But modern cinema isn’t so “civilized,” because professional killers are thriving in it. The reason is most likely that hitmen are ‘cool’ because, like rebels, vampires, psychopaths, and Lords of the Sith, they operate totally outside of societal norms and do whatever they want. Such freedom is enviable, but naturally not the sort of behavior most people would think of emulating. That’s sort of the basic pleasure of cinema: escapism.

In the vein of celebrating these anti-heroes, Movie Trailer Talk has compiled the “Top 10 Badass Hitmen Movies” (summaries added from IMDb):

1. Léon aka The Professional (1994) – Leon is a first-class hit man, but is also a sensitive guy who loves his potted plants. He is moral: “No women, no children” is his professional motto. He is sympathetic to his neighbor, Mathilda, a typically rebellious twelve-year-old who has trouble with her family. But when her father runs afoul of drug kingpin Norman Stansfield, Mathilda turns to Leon for assistance.
2. Pulp Fiction (1994) – Jules and Vincent work as hitmen for crime boss Marcellus Wallace. Wallace is currently dealing with Butch Collidge, a boxer who failed to throw a fight after taking Wallace’s money and is now planning to flee the city, but can’t leave his father’s watch behind. Vincent faces some problems of his own when Wallace asks him to show his wife Mia a good time while he’s away. Some of these people redeem themselves and some don’t, and all meet an end appropriate to their choices.
3. El Mariachi (1992), Desperado (1995), Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) – El Mariachi just wants to play his guitar and carry on the family tradition. Unfortunately, the town he tries to find work in has another visitor…a killer who carries his guns in a guitar case. The drug lord and his henchmen mistake El Mariachi for the killer, Azul, and chase him around town trying to kill him and get his guitar case.
4. Dip huet seung hung aka The Killer (1989) – A violent Hong Kong action film, this is the story of an assassin,
   Jeffrey Chow (aka Mickey Mouse) who takes one last job so he can retire
   and care for his girlfriend Jenny. When his employers betray him, he
   reluctantly joins forces with Inspector Lee (aka Dumbo), the cop who is
   pursuing him. Together, the new friends face the final confrontation of
   the gangsters out to kill them.
5. Kill Bill Vol. I, II (2003, 2004) – The lead character, called ‘The Bride,’ was a member of the Deadly
   Viper Assassination Squad, lead by her lover ‘Bill.’ Upon realizing she
   was pregnant with Bill’s child, ‘The Bride’ decided to escape her life
   as a killer. She fled to Texas, met a young man, and on the day of
   their wedding was gunned down by an angry and jealous Bill (with the
   assistance of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad). Four years later,
   ‘The Bride’ wakes from a coma, and discovers her baby is gone. She,
   then, decides to seek revenge upon the five people who destroyed her
   life and killed her baby. (more…)

Popularity: 20%