Reel Life Blog

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) was selected by Canadians as their favorite traditional Christmas movie, followed by A Christmas Story (1983) and It’s a Wonderful Life (1946).  As you snuggle into another round of those comfort movies you love to watch again and again, it’s probably worth finding out how well you really know those old films.  Do you recognize the source of these Christmas movie quotes?

In 2006, Reel Life Wisdom posted its first set of Top Ten Movie Quotes of the Year.  The TOP TEN Smartest Movie Quotes, TOP TEN Funniest Movie Quotes, and TOP TEN Guilty Pleasure Movie Quotes from 2006 films were identified.  In January 2008, we will again be identifying the best quotes of the year from Hollywood screenwriters.  Check out these 2007 quotes and others from films not listed here and submit your nominations anytime in the month of December. 

The most popular topics in the Reel Life Directory demonstrate what we collectively think is most important as we direct our own lives. Which ten of the following topics do you think are most commonly visited on the site?                                                                                                               Identity vs Image, Vitality, Potential, Hope, Faith and Belief, Vision and Dreams, Purpose, Confidence, Courage, Perspective, Character, Happiness and Fulfillment, Choice vs Destiny, Change, Freedom, Proactive Living, Decision-Making, Education and Learning, Work, Play, Venture and Opportunity, Achievement, Youth, Maturity and Aging, Death and Dying, Meaningful Living, People, Family, Friends, Relationships, Men, Women, Communications, Feelings, Dating and Romance, Marriage, Sex, Love. 

Movie quote from: Elizabethtown (2005) - Claire Colburn (Kirsten Dunst)

People can get pretty serious about life.  In the touching movie, Elizabethtown, Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) is one of those people.  A high profile professional failure followed quickly by the death of his father has left him floundering in a whirlpool of self-pity and despair.  As luck would have it, he stumbles upon a delightful character who drags him reluctantly back into the healing land of the living.  We should all be so lucky.

We first noticed her in Mystic Pizza but her star was launched with the 1990 release of Pretty Woman.  Julia Roberts’ engaging and vulnerable characters have paved the way for romantic comedies to return to popularity.  Nominated three times for an Academy Award, she took home the Oscar in 2000 for her gripping performance as activist Erin Brockovitch.  How many of her movies can you identify from the following eleven quotes?

What is it about a superhero that fascinates our culture?  Perhaps we are disillusioned by the discovery that real heroic people aren’t perfect.  Maybe we’re all worn out by pop culture’s tendency to build a person up so we can collectively tear them apart.  If superhero films are escapes to a place we wish was true, then our life has needed a lot of escapism over the past 20 years.  More superfilms are coming with movies in production about Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, The Flash, and the inevitable Dark Knight.  Can you name the superhero films from which the following quotes were taken?

 

Movie quote from: The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) - Tom Ripley (Matt Damon)

When a person is faced with a sense of their own insignificance, as everyone is now and again, they have a choice.  They can become more involved with life, bouncing themselves off a variety of human experiences until they discover a meaningful identity for themselves or they can pretend to be someone else.  In the 1999 film, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Matt Damon's title character chooses the latter, assuming a variety of people-pleasing impersonations along the way.  As always, the consequences of the false path don't reveal themselves in the short term.  But they do come. 

Some call it Remembrance Day (eg. Canada, Australia, United Kingdom), some call it Armistice Day (eg. France, New Zealand), and others call it Poppy Day (eg. South Africa, Malta).  In the U.S., it’s called Veteran’s Day.  No matter what it is called, most countries pay respect to the soldiers of history on November 11^th.  Rather than offer quotes about war, here are the five best movie quotes about the importance of remembering.  Consider them as you remember those brave men and women who have served their country in war.

There are 65 topics in the Reel Life Movie Quote Directory.  They are organized into four sections, three that are ways to make your own life's movie great and one that features Random Bits of Wisdom.  Over 400 people visit the site each day to review the hand-picked collection of inspirational, thought-provoking, and funny movie quotes.  It is interesting to see which topics were most visited in the last 60 days.  It reveals what most concerns us when we set about directing our own unfolding life.

As the entertainment world awaited the potential strike by 12,000 members of the Writers Guild of America, we thought it timely to remember the importance of screenwriters to the film industry.  Great movies begin with a great story, constructed from the experiences and imagination of a talented wordsmith.  This website is dedicated to their collective wisdom.  In their honor, here are the 14 best quotes about the fine art of quality writing.