Superman vs telephone

Superman suffers a crisis of respect in our modern age. He may not have been the first super (the Phantom is generally regarded to be the first), but the success of his appearance in Action Comics in 1938 was undoubtedly formal adoption of the superhero genre, and so he automatically deserves some kudos. Nonetheless, it’s difficult to fully acknowledge this today. Compared to everyman heroes like Spider-Man, or characters such as Batman who are more suited to gritty sensibilities among modern comic readers, Supes is just yesterday’s jam, a symbol of an American ideal that never truly existed. Even his counterpart in Marvel comics, Captain America, has been more successfully lifted from his origins as a simple propaganda figure into the true meaning behind the patriotic rhetoric.

It’s a shame, but Superman is often still regarded as a big blue boy-scout unsuited to a more cynical age.

And in a way, it is this that makes the phone-booth scene in the Superman movie work. It’s a brief, very amusing acknowledgement of the characters mythology. Clark Kent needs to quickly change into Superman, and so – as is tradition – he heads to a booth make the switch. However, the plan comes to naught when he finds his preferred box-styled booth has been replaced by a kiosk. And so modernity once again defeats the Caped Crusader.

Shaolin Soccer: Hand in Pocket

Shaolin Soccer is a very special kind of film. It’s different from other spoofs, such as Austin Powers or the awful Scary Movie series, in that it belongs squarely in the genre of film it’s seeking to spoof. Even the revolutionary Airplane does not fully achieve this (despite being a taken almost entirely from the same script as Zero Hour). Really, the only other films that can claim a genuine attachment to the films they’re mocking are An American Werewolf in London, Hot Fuzz and of course Scary Movie’s inspiration Scream.

The reason these films work is simple. They recognise the clichés of their genre, and instead of avoiding them they embrace them fully. In the case of Shaolin Soccer, it’s a kung fu movie that realises the absurdities of kung fu movies, but instead of trying to find some way of having it make sense – ala The Matrix – they just run with it. They know it’s all about fun, and Shaolin Soccer is a very, very funny film.

And this scene arguably captures this better than any other. It’s cool in a badass kind of way, it’s a terrifying display of villiany, and it’s hilarious. Seriously, I literally spent about minute laughing when I first watched it.