Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Movie Scenes

OK, what are your favorite movie scenes(not to be confused with favorite monologues, etc.)? Any scene will do; just post your top 5 or 10 in the comments...

1 Comments:

At 9:57 PM, Blogger Robert said...

Here they are. I tried to avoid spoilers, but you might want to be careful.

20 - Anger Management
Jack Nicholson pulls the emergency brake on Adam Sandler’s car in the middle of a bridge, then makes Sandler sing “I Feel Pretty” from West Side Story as part of his therapy. The song ends up as a duet by the end of it. One of the funniest scenes ever.

19 – Big
Big was one of my favorites growing up, despite not being allowed to watch a certain scene. I’m pretty sure this movie is a big reason I’m such a Tom Hanks fan today. My favorite scene from the movie is the one where Josh and Billy play the big foot piano in front of a crowd. It makes me wish you could actually walk into a toy store and buy one of those things. Bonus points for this movie because of the discussion about whether or not video hockey and golf are sports.

18 - Back to the Future
I love the scene towards the end where they get the Delorean to hit the wire just as lightning strikes. Only in an 80’s movie. “Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.”

17 - Remember the Titans
Bertier and Julius have that great conversation that I love to quote: “Attitude reflect leadership, cap’n.” Then comes the practice. Bertier stands up to his friend, and that strange cheer follows: “Left side! Strong Side!” Awesome.

16 - Neverending Story
Another childhood favorite. This movie is the epitome of the archetypal Quest, but the scene that stands out in my mind is the one where Bastian figures out that he’s part of the story, making the whole story a perfect metaphor for imagination. Highly underrated film.

15 - Full Metal Jacket
When most people think of this movie, one scene comes to mind. That’s not the scene I’m talking about. I’m talking about the scene where Private Joker shows up at his new assignment with “Born to Kill” on his helmet and a peace sign on his lapel. When his colonel asks him what it’s about, he explains that it’s about the duality of man. This is a good summary of a movie that also happens to be one of the best apologies against war in our time.

14 - Sixth Sense
What a classic. I love the scene where you figure the whole movie out. Not only do you realize you’re a doofus; the movie shows you just why you are. Genius.

13 – Glory
When Jodi and I worked at Tenth & Broad, Keith used to always replicate the scene this movie was named after with the youth group whenever it was time to encourage each other. The soldiers, young and old, are getting ready to go into the heat of battle, and they pause to acknowledge the glory of the Lord and encourage one another in such a memorable way.

12 - Anchorman
One of the funniest scenes I’ve seen in a while is the one where Will Ferrell knocks Jack Black off of his motorcycle with a burrito and Jacko punts Ferrell’s beloved dog off the bridge. I still laugh out loud when I think of it. “That’s how I roll!”

11 - Unbreakable
This one isn’t Shyamalan’s most revolutionary (see Sixth Sense), but the ending is better. You think it’s over and you’ve got everything figured out, but M. Night throws in an extra twist that you never could have guessed. This one would have cracked the top ten, but I hate the subtitles at the very end, which took away from the effect.

10 - A Few Good Men
Cliché, maybe, but a classic. Tom Cruise vs. Jack Nicholson. Two men we now know to be certifiably crazy going at each. What’s not to like? Seriously, this has some good dialogue, and I just have to put it here.

9 – Pirates of the Caribbean
When this movie first came out, I was cautiously optimistic. A real action pirate movie! But…it’s produced by Walt Disney Pictures. Disney surprised me and everybody by putting out a great flick with a good storyline, awesome special effects, and of course, excellent music. These three elements come together in the final fight between Captains Sparrow and Barbossa. Sometimes when I’m bored, I put this movie in and watch that scene.

8 - The Patriot (Mel Gibson, not Steven Seagal)
“Aim small, miss small.” This is the scene where Mel Gibson decides that the war is necessary after all (sound familiar?), and his two sons help him take down what seems to be an entire platoon of the enemy. What makes this scene for me is the tomahawk. No way does that work anywhere today, and that’s what makes it great.

7 - Dead Poets Society
It’s funny how many of my professors here at ACU will quote and reference this movie during class. Most recently, Randy said, “Writing a sermon is not laying pipe. It’s an art.” He didn’t exactly refer to anybody as excrement, but we all got the point. A lot of people love the end of this movie, but the one that sticks in my mind is the one where they all stand on the desk. What an excellent way to say, “Think for yourself!”

6 - Monty Python & the Holy Grail
I could put several scenes in this place: The black knight, the two peasants, the witch, the dead collector, the soldier with a keen interest in birds, etc. But my absolute favorite scene is the one with the killer rabbit. The whole thing is set up by Tim the Enchanter, who tells the knights that “Death awaits you all with nasty, big, pointy teeth!” The ridiculous rabbit kills two or three men (“I soiled my armor I was so scared!”), then they decide to turn to the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch. They then consult the Book of Armaments, which is apparently what they should have done all along. Somewhere in the middle, King Arthur says, “What an eccentric performance.” Indeed.

5 - Mr. Holland’s Opus
This is one of the most underrated films ever. If you have a heart of all, the ending scene where Mr. Holland finally gets to debut his opus (Duh!) gets to you. This is the ultimate tie-it-all-together ending. This is exactly how I want to retire: I want to get forced out just when I’ve gotten too old, reconcile with whatever family members I’ve estranged, and have everybody that ever mattered to me show up for a big finale.

4 – Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The third installment of this series is universally considered the best (and it should be), but the scene that stands out in my mind is not Frodo throwing the ring into the fire or any one of the three endings. It is Gandalf riding down the hill at the exact hour that he promised delivering the good guys from certain defeat at Helm’s Deep. What a triumphant moment!

3 – Saving Private Ryan
A lot of people remember the opening scene when they think of this movie. I do too, but I wouldn’t consider it a favorite. Instead, there’s a conversation the men have that talks about their different justifications of war. The entire discussion is juxtaposed by one of the soldiers copying a blood-stained letter onto a clean sheet of paper. Tom Hanks and Tom Sizemore at their best.

2 - Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith
In my opinion, this is the best one of the six, and it’s because of the fight between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader. Much has been made of the contrived logistics of the fight, but it’s the dialogue and the emotion of it that I’m concerned with. When Obi-Wan yelled, “You were The Chosen One!” it made up for the other two new movies. Excellent.

1 - Field of Dreams
Some of the things my Dad and I liked to do when I was growing up involved going to baseball games, playing catch in the backyard, or even keeping score in front of the TV. So when Ray asks his estranged father to play catch, I identify with it immediately. It’s a great scene that transcends generations and cultures.

 

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