Five Best!

[tzikeh]

Back in the day, gwyn_r, feochadn, movies_michelle, and a few other folks and I used to hang around in chat and play "Five Best or Five Worst" from time to time. Simple concept: we'd come up with a movie or tv-related "Five Best" or "Five Worst" question and then just blurt out answers and capslock YES! at one another and have a jolly time.

Because it was so much fun and mostly everyone likes fun, I thought I'd adapt it to lj format and see if takes off. We'll start with a Five Best and with movies. Next week will be Five Worst and tv, if it catches on -

Five Best Unexpected Moments in the Movies - not necessarily "twist endings" (though those are perfectly legitimate answers), but something where your reaction was "Well, *that* was a surprise!"

Mine:

1) Wash's death in Serenity. I kept looking at just_eunice and could see that we were both thinking "Um... they're gonna *fix* this, right? Soon? Somehow?"

2) The doorbell-ringing sequence in Silence of the Lambs, where they cut back and forth between Clarice's ringing the doorbell at her scut-work follow-up "interview" and the FBI squad buzzing the door of the "killer", and then Jame Gumb opening the door to reveal Clarice standing there. OH NOES!!! FUCK ME!!! AAAAAAAAA!!!!!

3) The "Hellfire" number in Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame. I was like - "Dude, they just went fuckin' Sweeney Todd on our asses in a "kids'" film. And the number it's based on is usually cut from productions of Sweeney Todd because it's TOO RISQUÉ! AWESOME!

4) "No. I am your father" from The Empire Strikes Back. Nowadays it's such a cliché that it's hard to remember what a freaking shock it was at the time.

5) Brad Pitt's character walking across the street and getting hit by a car in the first ten minutes of Meet Joe Black. WTF!?!?! And the effect of his body being catapulted into the air drew gasps from the entire audience. To bad the rest of the movie was so dull, IMO.

Okay - hit me! Give me yours!

Comments

[st-crispins.livejournal.com]

3) The "Hellfire" number in Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame. I was like - "Dude, they just went fuckin' Sweeney Todd on our asses in a "kids'" film

That was my thought, too, though it wasn't a surprise because I'd heard the soundtrack.

Hunchback is probably Disney's most underrated film. They should have brought this one to B'way instead of Tarzan.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

I agree - completely underrated. Terrific movie.

[cereta.livejournal.com]

1. I'm with you on the Empire Strikes back moment. Because yeah.

2. The ending of The Ring. Because not only had everything led up to Rachel finding Samara in the well, but the "horror" ending would have been just that: the victim finding peace by having her body found and story known.

3. I'm gonna say the reveal of what the Matrix was in The Matrix, in part just because I was expecting a really pretty but dumb movie, and also because I just...really wasn't expecting that ;).

4. Okay, I'll admit it: The Sixth Sense fooled me utterly.

5. Possibly cheating, but can I say how surprised I was that PoTC was actually really good?

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Possibly cheating, but can I say how surprised I was that PoTC was actually really good?

That's not cheating at all - in fact, I think that's a great answer, and one many of us probably share. ;)

[cereta.livejournal.com]

Seriously, that was like the shock of the year.

[st-crispins.livejournal.com]

I can think of a couple in the movies I screen in class.

In Rear Window, when Grace Kelly gets caught in the killer's apartment and he looks down at the ring and then up, across the courtyard, to James Stewart. There is always an audible gasp in class.

Also, when my students see To Kill a Mockingbird for the first time, they always expect Atticus to win the case and are shocked when he doesn't.

In Jaws when the shark suddenly surfaces as Chief Brody is throwing chum over the side --- ie: "I think we need a bigger boat."

Spock dying in Wrath of Khan. I remember the audience in the theater was speechless then in tears.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Oooh - the shark popping up. I *still* start and I know it's coming.

[st-crispins.livejournal.com]

I thought of another. In Places in the Heart , the shot starts with a close-up of Sally Field's painfully and methodically separating cotton from the plant. And then the camera pulls back and you see this huge field in back of her and you know what an enormous task she has ahead of her.

Another scene that always elicits a gasp in class.

[klia.livejournal.com]

1) Janet Leigh's character getting killed in the first half of Psycho. It's old hat now, but the first time I saw it, I was *shocked*.

2) Three-way tie between Bud White NOT being dead in L.A. Confidential and Gay Perry NOT being dead in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, and Paul NOT being dead in Black Widow.

3) Jacob's Ladder. Just... the whole mind fuck.

4) He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not totally blindsided me. Whoa.

5) The end of The Sting made my young brain go *boom*.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Oooh - yes, on the not being dead one. I was particularly fond of the Abe Lincoln cameo. ;)

[klia.livejournal.com]

Heh. Brilliant.

[michael-j-lucid.livejournal.com]

Seven.

(or, Se7en, if you prefer.)

Yeah, Gwen's pretty little head in a box, and Mills causing John Doe to be the last victim of the 7 deadly sins...that was a surprise.

Also, if you watch the extras on the DVD and find out about the ending that was never shot...excellent as well.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Okay - that's one... where are the other four?

[michael-j-lucid.livejournal.com]

Damn, I'm just chiming in, stop the pressure! STOP THE PRESSURE!

*sobs*

[jackiekjono.livejournal.com]

The Usual Suspects.

Kevin Spacey picks up his watch and his lighter from the sergeant as the fax is coming in.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

See above comment to michael_lucid. ;)

[jackiekjono.livejournal.com]

see Michael Lucid's comment to you.

*g*

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

LOL!!!

[dargie.livejournal.com]

Verbal Kint's transformation into Keyser Sose.

And why it should have been unexpected, I don't know, but it was: The "Whose hand was I holding?" moment from "The Haunting."

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

You need three more!!! :-D

[dargie.livejournal.com]

If my brain kicks into gear and provides them, you'll be the first to know! *g*

[way2busymom.livejournal.com]

1. Darth Vader revealing he was Luke's father. A year or so ago, Brian & I were watching the DVD of this movie and Maggie joined us and litterally GASPED and screamed What the....NO WAY... It was great reliving that moment with her.

2. The kiss montage at the end of Cinema Paridiso. I went in to the movie blind, no idea what I was even seeing and that ending blindsided me. I bawled all the way through it. In public. With no kleenex. I was a mess but damn it was sooo good.

3. All of The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover. The art directions. The way all of the costumes and setting changed colors as they moved through the movie. The ride in the van of rotten meat. That movie was a visceral shock to my system.

4. LA Confidential. When Capt. Smith turned and calmly shot Sgt. Jack Vincennes. I mean, you knew the Capt. was corrupt, but to have the Farmer from Babe turn & kill like that? Wowza! Gives new meaning to the phrase That'll do pig.

5. Batman Begins. Sheer joy that they didn't fuck it up. No seriously. Our wedding party went to see the first Batman movie after our rehersal dinner. Batman is a BIG deal in our household. And we were disappointed in all of the movies til this one.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

I miss this SO MUCH. Of course you know I will play. Also, don't forget: The Terminator fits almost every category!

1. The ending of Courage Under Fire, when the camera pulls around to show Denzel's character waving sadly to the pilot of the Medevac chopper, and it is Meg Ryan. My god, I was just breathless -- you don't know if he's remembering reality, that it was in fact her and he had this brush with her before undertaking his job, or if it was him reimagining that moment with her in it, because of how he came to know her. Gorgeous, just gorgeous.

2. The communion scene in Places in the Heart, with all the dead characters there, together, everyone joined for the first time. Heartbreaking.

3. When James Cromwell shot Kevin Spacey in LA Confidential. Whoa.

4. It wasn't the reveal in Unbreakable that surprised me, but the moment when Bruce Willis starts to realize that he does have superpowers. I was so not expecting that.

5. This isn't a movie moment, but I went to see Star Wars on the opening day, second showing. None of us knew what to expect -- SF at that time sucked beyond words. When those letters first rolled up the screen, and those opening shots unfolded, and then there were good old-fashioned wipes being used, I was like, this is the coolest thing *ever*,

[keiko-kirin.livejournal.com]

1. Very last scene of Some Like It Hot.

2. Luke Skywalker's hand flying off.

3. Roy Batty's head coming through the wall in Bladerunner. (Still makes me jump, and I've seen the movie a gajillion times.)

4. Head blown off in back of car in Pulp Fiction.

5. Sixth Sense, The Unusual Suspects, and The Sting all hoodwinked me. In the very best way.

[valarltd.livejournal.com]

1) Not the ESB moment, but Obi-Wan confirming it in RotJ. Until then, I had clung to the idea that Vader was lying to get to Luke in a moment of weakness.

2) The end of Random Hearts. Boy does not get girl. It looks a lot like the end of Casablanca

3) "It's getting bad out there, isn't it?" from In the Mouth of Madness. The whole movie, really, from the Pickman House Hotel on.

4) Christopher Reeve not just being murdered and coming back from the dead but kissing Michael Caine in Deathtrap. Made my young slashy heart sing.

5) Mary Shelley walking in on Percy sitting adoringly at Byron's feet and understanding everything. "What love between a mad god and the devil?" Gothic is a brilliant, mostly unknown little movie.

[darthhellokitty.livejournal.com]

God, I *love* Gothic.

[vonnie-k.livejournal.com]

1. Just watched this a couple of weeks ago, but Woody Allen's "Match Point" surprised the hell out of me. There they were, characters doing despicable things to one another, and the camera was like this cool observer, making no moral judgment at all. Quite extraordinary. IN particular, near the end of the movie, there is this slo-mo shot of a wedding band bouncing off a railing along The Thames, visually echoing the very first shot of the film -- a tennis ball bouncing off the center-net -- and the visual and thematic symbolism of the moment was so elegant and sharp, it made me gasp out loud.

2. Ditto on Wash's death. OMG.

3. The end of My Brilliant Career, which is one of my fave movies to this day. I was expecting a standard romantic happy ending, so when Sybilla turned him down, I was surprised and ultimately delighted.

4. The big reveal in The Crying Game. I damn near fell off my seat.

5. The CARNAGE in X3, especially Xavier's "death". Surprised AND irritated, 'cause it was so sloppily done.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

What I loved so much about the ring bouncing back is that it *seemed* to be saying that he'd be caught. That sometimes, luck bounces backwards. And then he *isn't*. I thought that was brilliant.

[boniblithe.livejournal.com]

I've been scrolling down the comments muttering "The Crying Game! OMG no one is mentioning The Crying Game!" And then you saved me from despair at thinking I was the only person who went OMGWTFBBQ in the theater.

[debchan.livejournal.com]

I'm going to try to not spoil, if I can.

1) The reveal at the end of Dark Harbor. Not so much for the reveal itself, but rather how suddenly, for me, it went from a disjointed, irritating "Why am I watching this?" piece of artsy crap to something that made perfect, brilliant sense and demanded an immediate re-watch.

2) Boondock Saints, when the brothers finally meet up with the guy who is supposed to kill them.

3) The end of Fight Club.

4) Memento Another great reveal.

5) The scene in the cave in Ravenous when suddenly everyone realizes (too late) just who they've been travelling with. Plus, "He was licking me!" never gets old.

[stormheller.livejournal.com]

I must be the only person who didn't know Leonardo died at the end of Titanic. Gah. And Sixth Sense; I totally didn't see that coming.

Most other stuff I'd been spoiled for; me? I like spoilers, by and large, hence I reading this.

[darthhellokitty.livejournal.com]

1. At the end of Revenge of the Sith, when Yoda tells Obi-Wan he'll be "communing" with Qui-Gon in the desert - Obi-Wan's look of absolute delight, the relief for me that he isn't alone on Tattooine all those years, and my astonishment that Lucas had more or less affirmed my OTP made up for the serious lousiness of the last two movies in the series.

2. Fight Club, I hadn't a clue.

3. A movie called Penn & Teller Get Killed, and the title is totally a spoiler, and I was STILL surprised at the end.

4. The post-credits monkey scene in PotC, which has caused me to sit through SO MANY movie credits JUST IN CASE of a post-credits scene!

5. Japanese Story, a movie about people traveling in the Australian outback and getting into serious trouble.

[melina123.livejournal.com]

It took me all day but I finally thought of one -- the ending of the underappreciated Denzel Washington movie Fallen (no relation to the recent ABC Family movie) sends chills up my spine just thinking about it.

[vass]

1. My favourite underrated bad movie is The Core. One of the death scenes in it (I'm trying to avoid spoilers) makes me cry and go "wow" every time, because I suddenly like him so much.

2. Bring It On: they do the right thing and they don't win. OMG. And the team that deserved to did. YAY!

3. Sky High: that it was good, and also the actual villain's actual backstory. I totally did not see it coming. Which makes up for all the lines I *did* see coming. (I said right along with the actor, "Let's call them what they really are: heroes." Yes, I'm a terrible person to watch movies with.)

4. MIB: no, I didn't anticipate that. I am bad at predicting these things.

5. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. They did it right. Killed him off in the first scene to allay all those rumours that he was going to die... then killed him again. Psych!

[tripodella.livejournal.com]

1. "To Live and Die in L.A." - Billy Petersen's character being shot in the face and killed. Shocked the hell out of me. And the whole partner thing, where his partner sort of becomes a version of him after he dies - that surprised me as well.

2. I totally did not see the whole "Sixth Sense" ending coming, either.

3. Making it into Columbia College's Music Composition for the Screen program- Okay, so this isn't a movie, but it was a shock to me!

4. Yes, I was tricked by "The Others." I didn't see that they were ghosts themselves. I must have been the only person in the room who hadn't figured that out at least halfway through the movie.

5. The entire "V for Vendetta" movie. I kept expecting the Chief Inspector to change, and to shoot someone from his own side, or something. I mean, he did change, but it was more subtle than I expected (which I liked). And the whole Evey in prison thing and then finding out it was V who tortured her. That was a surprise. I didn't see that one coming.