Favorite Cinematic Moments in Oscar Contenders for 2011 Part One
Now that the dust has settled and things are mostly over, all over but the shouting, what highlights stood out for you? In random order, here are some memories of the year that was — for Oscar movies and non-Oscar movies
Billy Beane unable to continue watching his losing team spends the rest of the game in the locker room and then Hattberg comes to the plate. It’s great because not only does Philip Seymour Hoffman hand the bat to Hattie, but we’re all waiting for something like that to happen anyway. So when he cracks the bat and the ball flies out into the stadium, Billy Beane’s head pops up — everything comes together. That would turn out to be the one big high in Moneyball. Audiences were waiting for something to happen beyond that, and those impossible expectations are apparently what prevented Moneyball from “doing well” in the Oscar race. We want our endings happy, savagely happy, incomprehensibly happy. But for me, that moment in Moneyball was so sweet because it was so true; I know that life is full of brief but memorable glimpses of happiness. There really isn’t such a thing as “happily ever after,” and yet, that’s what we require from our films.
Lisbeth Salander has cow-tied her rapist. She is calm, smoking a cigarette. She has blacked out her eyes with war paint. She calmly tortures him back, partly to repay him for what’s he’s done to her, partly to regain the control he briefly stole from her, and partly to prevent him from ever doing anything like that in the future. She leans over him, tiny, wiry body and crazy eyes and she says “It’s true; I am insane.” Lisbeth, as serious as she always is, as shy and receding as her manner is, there is something ridiculously funny about this. The humor in Dragon Tattoo is often missed. I think sometimes people are afraid to laugh when it edges into the realm of absurdity but that whole sequence, that moment where she leans over him was so gloriously rare in American film. Lisbeth is the muse throughout the film — the record level that rises and warps and then gets quiet. For all of her gentle and rough ways, she is a character I won’t soon forget.
Matt King is standing on the shore. A woman and her two kids come to the waterline. King looks over at the woman and strikes up a conversation with her. The woman is nice, a little worried, a little absent. She is kind to him as he probes her for questions about her family, specifically her husband who, it turns out, was sleeping with King’s wife before she slipped into a coma. His motives are sinister but she stops him from those motives because of her own distinct humanity. At once we are captivated not just by Judy Greer, the actress, able to volley between worrying about her kids in the water and who is this guy talking to her, but by the even more obvious fact that a guy who looks like George Clooney is talking to her. These two remnants of an affair, discards who are trying to figure out who they still are, make a connection. And that connection, along with King’s connection to his daughters, is what makes The Descendants resonate with me. I’m not sure why exactly but maybe it’s because there are no other female characters in any other film except The Help. But it is also the Descendants’ willingness to reveal the truth about people. This is Payne’s gift as a filmmaker. And this is perhaps why I find myself returning to his work and why I know I will keep coming back to The Descendants.
One of the most moving scenes in The Help is when Aibileen is having Skeeter over for tea. She’s wearing a fancy yellow dress, not wearing her uniform. Skeeter notices this and it’s a poignant exchange between the two women — while Skeeter spends much of the film trying to prove that she isn’t like those other white people and much of the time we’re convinced. But tis scene reveals as much about Aibileen as it does about Skeeter — and it reminds us watching that this isn’t a faceless, nameless maid again or someone to overlook, but a fully realized character. Way back when Hattie McDaniel played Mammy in Gone with the Wind, she exists only to support Scarlett, who can’t even be bothered to buy her a gift when she goes to New Orleans. But Rhett buys her a red petticoat, one little thing she gets to wear under her uniform. Yes, Viola Davis is still playing a maid. But she’s also playing a character, the leading role, in The Help. The other moving moment for me in the film is when Octavia Spencer as Minnie is forced to walk away from her job in the rain. The expression on her face as she walks away haunts me still.
There are such dazzling moments that run throughout War Horse. At some point, it really hits the skids but before that point, my heart was taken out of my chest when the War Horse runs through the war zone with barbed wire on each side. It’s hard to watch that movie without sobbing and someday I will watch it again. But I take from it that moment — and all of the moments where I wanted to shoot myself so as not to see that horse suffer anything else. It’s visually stunning, undeniably moving and deeply flawed. But oh, that horse.
It’s hard to pick one moment in The Artist. There are so many great ones. But I think one of my favorites is when George Valentin is confronted by his own movie character at the bar. The tiny George trying to get him to buck up and get back to work. It is what I love about the film and the filmmakers — that they never take themselves all that seriously. They are not afraid to dip into comedy and do what most people would be too mature to do. But since it’s Hazanavicius and Dujardin, of course, they do not shy away from silliness. You can talk about Uggie and about the tender love story but those unexpected moments of humor are what made the Artist enjoyable all three times I saw it.
I’m starting off with these but maybe this will get the discussion going. What moments resonated with you this year?
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Love the moment in Moneyball that you mention, Sasha. Here are some of my favorites of the year in this year’s Oscar contenders. SPOILER ALERT (of course)!
MONEYBALL – Two scenes that stick out in my mind. The first, when Beane turns down the GM offer from the Red Sox. Something to the effect of “I made one decision in my life based on money. I told myself I’d never do it again.” The second is when Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) relays the message to Carlos Pena that he’s been traded. Quiet brilliance. Honorable mention: Brand asking Art Howe if he wants the door closed. Hill improvised that.
HUGO – Sacha Baron Cohen sticking his head forward in the frame, inspecting the young protagonist (in marvelous 3D). It’s the most basic 3D shot one can really imagine yet it turned out to be the most effective 3D shot I’ve ever seen. Was stoked when I saw it made Kris Tapley’s annual top 5 shots! Also love the montage of Melies films in 3D. WOW.
THE DESCENDANTS – When staying in the hotel, Clooney’s Matt King notices the teenage oaf, Sid, awake in the middle of the night. After some discussion, Sid tells Matt that he recently lost his father. At that instant, it all makes sense Matt’s his daughter is hanging out with this guy. It instantly reversed my stance on the two previously unsympathetic teenagers (and one of them didn’t even have to be onscreen in that scene for it happen). That was the instant I was emotionally drawn into the film and it didn’t let me go from that point forward. Did anyone else get misty-eyed during that scene?
DRIVE – Can I talk about it because it managed to eke out a sound editing nomination? No? Okay. Well, I’m going to anyway. The whole movie floored me. But when shit goes down in the hotel room with Gosling/Christina Hendricks as the targets, I was reminded of the kind of intensity I hadn’t felt since another hotel room scene: the one in No Country for Old Men.
THE ARTIST – There was one particularly well-shot scene on a big staircase in some sort of Hollywood studio building (the scene between the two leads and a whole hell of lot of extras walking up and down the stairs). The scene is shot from afar and its gorgeous. I also loved every second in which that damn cute dog was onscreen.
Lovely list, Sasha…this should be an annual article from you. Much like Kris Tapley’s Top Shots, yours probes more into the souls of the films of the year, and this I enjoy.
My top ten are as follows (in no particular order) -
* Adventures of Tintin – The motorbike chase scene
* Bridesmaids – The competing speeches
* Drive – The elevator scene
* Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Smiley discusses his meeting with Karla
* Hanna – The container chase scene
* Martha Marcy May Marlene – John Hawkes (Patrick) singing
* Melancholia – planets collide
* The Ides of March – the argument behind the flag
* The Tree of Life – March of Life scene
* Young Adult – sex scene b/t Charlize Theron and Patton Oswalt’s characters…awkward yet truthful and vulnerable
I love the moment in Hugo when the Automaton starts up again after initially stopping mid-drawing. The way Howard Shores music picks back up, along with Isabelle’s “It’s not done!” had me smiling ear to ear. Such a great movie moment. Then, of course, to have it culminate with the image Hugo’s father described to him was absolutely wonderful.
John W: Love it! The music in Hugo makes the movie. It’s actually a significantly better score than the one in The Artist. Shore is amazing. It’s just that the score for the soon-to-be BP The Artist is virtually the only thing audible, so there’s no way it can lose.
Dragon Tattoo- Those amazing opening credits.
Tinker Tailor- “La Mer” playing over the last few minutes, don’t want to ruin it though.
Warrior- That end fight where you have a hard time choosing who to root for.
The Muppets- “Life’s a Happy Song” both times
X-Men First Class- Michael Fassbender picks up the submarine, true movie magic.
J. Edgar- When Edgar’s mom dies and he tries on her dress.
Moneyball- The very last scene, perfect ending to a great movie.
Midnight in Paris- When Gil is almost caught stealing his fiancee’s earrings.
Take Shelter- The final shot.
Like Crazy- Where she reads him her poem.
The Descendants- Clooney confronting Brian Speer.
The Artist- The tapdancing competition.
For me the best moment of the year was in Hugo, in the library when they discover who Papa George really was. Or maybe it was that opening scene when Marty turned the working clock gears into the moving city of Paris at night. Or maybe it was that ending when George is being honored and puts on a show for the many old and new fans he has. Magical.
Though I would also point out in The Artist, when Dujardin and Bejo dance in the film, and have to take many cuts to get it right as he falls for her. Or that amazing ending dance sequence.
Or maybe it is the final scene of The Descendants, when Alexander Payne lets us know it is going to be ok over a bowl of ice cream.
Or every single shot in The Tree of Life.
Or maybe it was the end of times in Melancholia.
Or Abilene telling Hillie how Godless she was.
Or Minny’s pie.
You pick for me.
The Iron Lady: Opening scene where Margaret Thatcher goes out to buy milk.
Take Shelter: When Michael Shannon finally emerges from the storm shelter to see a clear, blue sky. Absolutely astounding in its execution.
The creation sequence in the Tree of Life is probably one of the most impressive and moving series of images I’ve ever seen on film. That one is going to stay with me for a long time.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes: “NO”
The Artist: Peppy with George’s coat in his dressing room was magical.
And of course, the single best line reading of the year. Octavia Spencer in The Help. “Eat my sh*t”
Some spoilers below:
Drive- The elevator scene. And the opening.
Melancholia- The planets collide.
X-men First Class- Magneto puts the bullet in Shaw’s head.
Moneyball- The scene you mentioned.
The Artist- The dream in sound.
The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo- Lisbeth’s revenge.
There’s plenty of others, but those are the first that came to my mind.
Three from my top three films (little scenes, but revealing ones):
Drive: Driver leaves his apartment during the welcome home party next door and sees Irene sitting on the floor in the hallway. Just as you feel them connect, Standard comes out with a bag of garbage, kid in tow (thank god).
Shame: Watching Brandon’s face as David (James Badge Dale) comes on to Cissy over drinks. Also, watching Brandon’s face on the subway, in the bar….
Tree of Life: Young Jack and Pitt heading back to the house at summertime sunset. Pitt is trying to keep his hand on his son’s back while he lectures him, “don’t do what I did” (or words to that effect), but McKraken’s body language and gum chewing is having none of it.
The shit-pie scene in The Help
The motorbike chase in Tintin
The scene in the dressing room in Drive
The glass hitting the table scene in The Artist
The scene where Tommy finds his dad drunk in Warrior
The scene where Caesar first speaks in Rise of the Planet of the Apes
The creation of the universe in The Tree of Life
I’d have a dozen or so other scenes on my list if we could include non-Oscar nominated films, but I don’t mind. Some people just can’t abide by the rules, can they…?!?
In Oscar contenders? …. uh…….
Not remembering any moments from the BP movies really. HUGO to me is an all around achievement. In movies that never had a chance there are loads.
SPOILERS FOR ALL THE FILMS SO DON’T READ PAST THE TITLE IF YOU DIDN’T SEE IT.
YOUNG ADULT. Charlize’s freak out scene and when they’re all pissed at her for it. Rotten bastards.
WARRIOR. The casino scene when Nolte gets a face full of quarters. (my favorite moment of the whole year is the quarter who lived.) The “Why am I looking at pictures of people I don’t know” scene.” The Captain Ahab scene. Fighting with a F’ed up shoulder. “Do your job, Josh!”… Should I continue? lol
50/50. Joseph Gordon Levitt’s freak out.
RAMPART. When Woody explains why he’s not racist to Ice Cube.
HORRIBLE BOSSES. The allergy attack/adrenaline scene. The coke scene. The party.
Another party, from TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY. The Christmas party. And from the same movie, what happened to Irina and what happened to the Owl.
SOURCE CODE When you finally see what the silver globe thingy was and you realize what you realize.
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN. When that kid purposely poops and you understand how in control that little f*cker is.
CARNAGE. The wet phone scene.
RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES. Charging on the bridge and/or Why Cookie Rocket?
THE RUM DIARY. The getaway/driving the broken car.
THE SKIN I LIVE IN. When they “get together”.
I mean there are many. Just not in the nominated films.
One of my absolute favorite moments in a theater this year was seeing Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocal at the Minnesota Zoo IMAX (the only real IMAX in the state). Yes, it’s the moment everyone assumes when talking about this movie, Tom Cruise on that building in Dubai. But it is a marriage of technique, cinematography, actor, technology and something only experienced in a theater that makes the moment.
The movie was partially shot with IMAX film, and partially with traditional 35mm film. As such, at the IMAX, the aspect ratio switches depending on the film format. It fills the whole, gigantic square-ish screen for IMAX sequences, and is presented with black bars for the widescreen 35mm sequences.
Now, we are in Dubai, and Tom Cruise is about to step out of that window and climb the side of that gigantic building. The shot starts in the widescreen format, with the black bars on top and bottom of the screen. We are behind Cruise, moving in as he approaches the open window. The camera slowly starts to climb up, over his head and out the window, looking straight down the 100′s of stories to the ground as he steps outside. Only as the camera climbs, the black bars begin to shrink, the frame expands from widescreen to the full, gigantic 6 story, 65mm IMAX frame, in harmony with the camera move and character moment. It heightens every vertigo-inducing feeling ten fold. It is one of the single most effective marriages of technique and technology I’ve ever experienced in a movie, and is something only possible seeing it in the intended presentation at a true IMAX theater, something that will never be duplicated at home on Blu-ray.
Senna’s final answer to the question as to who his greatest rival is.
The young kid collapsing to his knee and dropping his yoghurt in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The edit from Ben Kingsley putting on a top hat, to Meiles in a top hat 100+ years ago.
THE TREE OF LIFE: Hard to pick one moment from this movie, but if I had to, it’d be the scene where the boys chase after the DDT truck. It perfectly captures the wonder of childhood, when anything seems possible.
HUGO: When the automaton starts up again. A close second being when George Melies talks about his past.
HANNA: When we first see what Hanna is capable of.
CITY OF LIFE AND DEATH: The most wrenching scene in the entire movie is when the woman basically volunteer to be raped. Also the most wrenching scene I saw all year.
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY: When Smiley is talking about his meeting with Karla, and you realize Karla, as well as the unfaithful Ann, are ghosts Smiley’s been chasing for quite some time. A close second (spoiler alert) would be the final scene between Bill Haydon and Jim Prideaux.
THE TRIP: When Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan do their dueling Michael Caine impressions. A close second is the scene where Coogan wishes he could do a costume drama.
A SEPARATION: The opening scene, and how well it sets the tone for everything that follows.
THE DESCENDANTS: When George Clooney kisses Judy Greer.
THE HOUSEMAID: The delirious, over-the-top ending.
THE SKIN I LIVE IN: The reveal.
That’s from my top 10 movies. Here are a few more:
MONEYBALL: When Billy Beane and Peter Brand meet with the scouts and make it clear the rules are going to change.
ORANGES AND SUNSHINE: When Emily Watson’s character stares down the Brothers at the orphanage that had mistreated all of those boys.
WE BOUGHT A ZOO: (spoiler) When Benjamin finally listens to his staff’s wishes about the tiger.
DRIVE: When the driver takes Irene and Benicio out driving while College’s “A Real Hero” plays in the background. A close second is when Irene’s having a welcome home party for Standard while the driver sits in his apartment and broods while Desire’s “Under your Spell” plays.
SHAME: The beginning and end of the movie, when Michael Fassbender is in the subway with the same redheaded woman sitting across him, and both times, you can sense the attraction between them. A very close second is the scene where Carey Mulligan sings “New York, New York”.
@paddy m. I love the shit pie scene as well
Drive- the elevator scene
Rise of the planet of the apes- when caesar says NO!
GIRL with the dragon tattoo- the opening sequence obviously to me
Harry Potter- snape’s flashback
Hugo- when hugo said that he dont understand why his father died
The artist- all of it
Moneyball- the ending scene
War horse- when joey ran through the war scene
And much more
All you people who love the poopie pie scene aren’t going to have many dinner guests in the future. Just sayin’.
Well, there’s so much to pick, but I’ll try to remember the most impressive cinematic moments of this year.
Midnight in Paris: It may sounds weird, but I’m in love with the opening of this film, The one with the screen in black and Owen Wilson just talking in awe of the beauty of Paris. I love it!
1) Warrior: the ending scene, that elevates the movie to classic in my books. Listening The National on the background doesn’t hurt either.
2) Rise of the PotA: No! scene. The whole cinema was in silence after that.
3) Take Shelter: the shelter scene after it stops raining (According the wife of the protagonist).
4) The Tree of Life: creation scene.
5) Drive: elevator scene and the hotel scene (what a great work of sound editing and mixing!).
6) Moneyball: a lot of scenes, but my 2 favourite are the moment Pitt and Hill begin to choose their team; and the final scene when Hill tells Pitt what is all really about.
7) The Help: “You is Kind, You is Smart, You is Important” scene said at the beginning and at the end of the film.
9)Tin Tin: the motobyke scene on Africa.
10) Violeta went to heaven: A film from my country has one of the best scenes I saw last year. The “Jardines Humanos” scene” is devastating cinema.
11) I Saw the Devil: the last scene with the protagonist just walking in the road… but with so much happening on a subtle way.
12) Hanna: Hanna’s escape.
13) Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy: Smiley talking about Karla.
14) Rango: the ride of the Valkirias scene.
15) Bridemaids: the same mentioned before here. Tears of laughter were shed.
16) The Ides of March: a movie that I didn’t love, but the flag scene is a marvel to watch.
17) MMMM: Hawkes singing scene.
18) The Girl wtDT: the “this is my family” scene.
The cinematic scene that ripped me was Arthur in no mans land, the companion scene to Joey horrendous run….. two animals, equine and human. shattered.
His shaking hands as he tries to pull the granade pin….Andrews disappearance into gas.
As I wrote this it occurs to me that Joey’s leap onto and over the tank is a metaphor for Arthur’s, the soldier’s, climb out of the trenches into machine gun fire. Insanely impossible for a horse to do that, but it is insanely impossible that tens of thousands of men would charge into suicide near simultaneously.
As I wrote this it occurs to me that Joey’s leap onto and over the tank is a metaphor for Arthur’s, the soldier’s, climb out of the trenches into machine gun fire. Insanely impossible for a horse to do that, but it is insanely impossible that tens of thousands of men would charge into suicide near simultaneously.
really nice analysis.
THE INTERRUPTERS – When the little girl struggles to communicate her feelings about watching violence unfold on her street – I lost it. When Ameena gives her speech at Duke’s funeral – I lost it. When the boy goes back to the place he robbed that put him in prison – I lost it. This movie had me in tears the whole way through, but it never was sappy or overly manipulative. The invisibility of the direction and editing makes everything feel as organic as anything else. The snub from the Academy makes them look like an even bigger joke than ever.
THE MUPPETS – Pictures in my Head really got me and I dare say that it’s the best song from the film, another snub. I love it because Kermit is realizing that there was more to the Muppets than just nostalgia and that he brought happiness to himself as he did to others. The paintings coming to life was an incredibly moving and hilarious image that I won’t soon forget.
WEEKEND – The final sex scene between Russ and Glen was not only incredibly sexy, but also well acted and very intimate. You really do feel the connection between the two which is so rarely felt in modern day romance films. The “coming out” scene afterwards was just icing on the cake of sweetness and beauty. A sweet romance most deserving of a Best Original Screenplay award, but was snubbed.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE GHOST PROTOCOL – The entire battle in the parking garage is just a joy to watch. I love how it just increases in ridiculousness as they struggle against each other. The end of the sequence – where Ethan drives a car off the ledge – is one of the most intense adrenaline pumping finales to any action scene in film released in the past 10 years.
HUGO/DRIVE – The beauty of the pre-titles opening to both films lie in the simplicity of establishing both characters through their actions. Driver is graceful, yet reserved. Hugo is guarded, yet eager. Both openings are, for the most part, quiet and lowkey with the characters, however they are both beautiful and intense to watch.
Drive – Opening Getaway
Drive – Bernie Rose Telling Shannon’s Story
Crazy Stupid Love – The Backyard Confrontation
Super 8 – The Train Crash
Super 8 – The Liftoff Ending
Hugo – Georges Melies’ flashbacks
Hugo – Isabelle’s First Movie Experience
We Bought a Zoo – Ben’s Story of Meeting His Kids Mom
War Horse – Joey’s Run Across the Battlefield
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close – The Mom’s Side of the Story
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 – 19 Years Later
The Tree of Life – Earth Being Born
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Daniel Craig Being Tortured
50/50 – Breakdown in the Car
Midnight in Paris – Ending Scene on the Bridge
Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol: Tom Cruise on the Building
The Muppets – Life’s a Happy Song Intro
Blank Check – The Kid Getting a Check for a Million Dollars
Moneyball – The Comeback in the 20th Game
Moneyball – Trading Deadline Phone Scene
The Descendants – The Ending Credits (them watching TV)
The Adventures of Tintin – The Big Chase Scene in One Take
Melancholia – The “Ending”
The Ides of March – Final Scene with Ryan Gosling and George Clooney
Those are all my favorite scenes from 2011.
The invisibility of the direction and editing makes everything feel as organic as anything else. The snub from the Academy makes them look like an even bigger joke than ever.
HahaLives,
I’m coming to feel that The Interrupters is The Wire of documentaries. I feel bad/mad/sad for people who didn’t give it a chance. But at the same time I’m so glad that it’s found a cult following who see its brilliance.
Knowing or Not Knowing about the The Wire and The Interrupters is a pretty accurate measure for deciding which people I want to spend time with.
The Descendants – When Judy Greer talks to the wife and it becomes a really sad touching moment that becomes immediately comical with Clooney’s timing. It’s brilliant.
Deathly Hallows Part 2 – Ron and Hermoine’s kiss. Different from the book yet perfect in execution.
Dragon Tattoo – When she comes into the room with the golf club and smacks the villain and lets Craig loose only to ask “can I kill him?”
Moneyball – the winning shot.
Like Crazy – The final shot of them hugging in the shower – so heartbreaking.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Smiley’s drunken recollection of Karla as the camera looks him in the face as he “speaks” to him.
War Horse – the panning shot Spielberg does when they lost the battle in the woods and the casualty of the Brits and the horses on the field.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes – The moment the Ape speaks.
Crazy Stupid Love – when we find out who “Nana” is and the riotous fighting ensues.
Super 8 – The exhilarating train crash sequence – the best action sequence ever made last year.
Midnight in Paris – When they try to explain what happened to the inspector following Owen Wilson.
Hanna – when she escapes and the thumping beat of the Chemical Brothers score blasts through.
Shame – when he’s in bed with the woman he’s actually having feelings for and all of a sudden he can’t perform.
War Horse is a masterpiece.
*drops mic*
The scene from Dragon Tattoo that has always stuck with me, is probably a less obvious one to most people. It’s the scene where Bjurman gets onto the elevator and once the doors shut, Lisbeth turns around and reveals herself to him. It was just such a moment of strength for her to me. A moment of pure control over him even as she stood in front of him, tiny and dwarfed by his largeness but poking him in the forehead and asserting her dominance. In many ways, to me, that moment was more triumphant than her “revenge” on him.
It showed her to be truly shrewd and completely in control and the look of fear and trembling of this large man in the presence of this small girl when he is NOT tied up, just really spoke so much to how she owned that motherfucker. How mindfucked he must have been after having assumed earlier on how easily he could control her and do as he pleased……who’s the bitch now?
Thank you for posting this and generating this discussion. As for some of my favorite moments this year:
1) It’s hard to pick a favorite moment from ‘The Tree of Life,’ but the moment in which Brad Pitt is playing ‘The Mysterious Barricades’ on the piano as the younger brother harmonizes with him on the guitar made me choke up all 4 (yes, 4) times I saw the film. But so did many other great scenes from that beautiful, intimate, humble, and wholly individual experience.
2) In ‘The Artist,’ the moment in which George Valentin can’t do the dancing-through-the-crowd scene right because he’s so enamored by Peppy …. Lovely.
3) Hard to pick a scene from ‘Midnight in Paris’ …. a just about perfect movie. Can I include that entire experience? Okay, if I had to name just one scene, it might be the moment in the art museum in which Gil gives the beautiful commentary on the Picasso painting. Again, though, tough to pick!
4) The ending of ‘Higher Ground.’
5) The image from ‘Melancholia’ of Kirsten Dunst riding on the golf cart in her wedding dress …. so dreamlike and surreal!
6) From ‘Wild Life’ (up for Best Short Animated film), the opening image of feet walking through snow.
“The Artist” the girl and the hand in the coat sleeve moment. Missy Pyle being pissed that George has Uggie come on stage and do tricks, first.
Uggie running for his life down a Hollywood street to save his Master.
George sinking in the quicksand. George BURNING his own film cans.
The music turning suddenly to “Vertigo” (sorry, Kim Novak)when Peppy is searching for George.
The audience applauding wildly. With no sound.
George hearing SOUNDS all around, then realizing HE CAN’T SPEAK!!!
Amen to that mention of Higher Ground! That scene where Corinne finds herself cast out with the dogs was one of the year’s best moments.
Here are my 5 that spring to mind fastest:
-Lisbeth saying “I have made a friend” in the most plaintive manner near the conclusion of Dragon Tattoo
-The daffodil/be my little speedy scene between Dench and DiCaprio in J. Edgar was a depressing highlight featuring dramatic geniuses at their best.
-The Descendants scene Sasha mentions above. Judy Greer elevated every scene she was in and I would have given her a nod.
-War Horse’s editing sequence that goes: Machine Gunner – Soldier on horse – Machine gun – Horse riding through the woods without a rider
- Brenden’s jog through Manhattan in Shame, which had that blue light pierced by the urban neon which made for a haunting sequence. Plus, it’s great to see a movie acknowledge how much work goes into a dude staying fit
“In ‘The Artist,’ the moment in which George Valentin can’t do the dancing-through-the-crowd scene right because he’s so enamored by Peppy …. Lovely.”
See, every time I want to be critical of The Artist, I think of that scene and a melt. Love it, love it.
Damn it, again with not being able to edit!
“I” melt, not “a” melt.
Favourite scenes from the best pic nominees.
The Artist – the it’s either him or me
Hugo – Cohen telling Mortimer that the uncle had died
The Descendants – crying underwater
The Tree of Life – all souls coming together
War Horse – Joeys look of anger, sadness, exhaustion, betrayal and a flicker of determination.
Midnight in Paris – opening scene with Stoll
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close – playback scene with Von Sydow.
Moneyball – driving and listenening to daughter
The Help – Introduction scene with Howard and Spencer
@Mattoc: The scenes in Hugo with Mortimer and Cohen may have been my favorites. When he blurts out that his leg was hurt in the war and it will never be right, it was so sad and touching, an impressive feat from someone broadly painted as “villain” initially.
Jesse, yeah I thought they were both effective and effective enough for another movie entirely. Cohen especially effective in a more showier role obviously. The ability for any actor to wipe the smile off your face is worth the price of admission. I did enjoy the smiles too.
I think I said effective 3 times in that paragraph – what am I writing, a review? I thought they were great.
I too enjoyed the opening scene of A Seperation – the scene is set. Who do we root for? What does our heart say? Both.
Just a general comment…
I prefer to break my movies up with moments. Scenes are scenes and are grea for all sorts of reasons. But moments, moments are when you decide this movie is…what it is.
For example – when Lisbeth said hey, hey for the second time – for a standalone scene it is not powerful…but in context it is heartbreaking.
The closing scene with Demian Bichir and his son at the lockup was BRUTAL. Bichir is so good in that moment – brought tears to my eyes like no other scene has this year.
George’s dream in The Artist is pretty great, specifically that feather floating to the ground and the anticipation for what it will do when it gets there.
One more – Brandon jogging to coll off steam after his sister jumps in bed with his boss in Shame. Uncut through NYC with such aggression and hatred for himself and his life, like he caused all of this and has to get away. Excellent scene – filmed brilliantly.
War Horse is not my favorite movie this year but it’s the only one that made me cry, something I rarely do at the movies. Particularly the scene where Joey plows the field. It broke my heart the way that horse struggled and endured. I’m a dog lover so, of course, could not resist the adorable dog in The Artist. I love the scene where he saves his master’s life.
Dane Marvin: I agree with your comment about Hugo’s score, by far the best imo. In act, as a lover of both books and films, I love that movie and it’s the one that touched me more than any other this year.
Forgot one; the scene in SUPER 8 where Alice “acts” for the first time.
@Seankgallagher: That WAS a nice moment. I know it would make no sense financially, but I wish Super 8 was just about the kids making their movie, no aliens, no sci-fi. The stuff with the kids and their parents was really cool.
My moment consisted of 136 moments. I’m old enough to remember Clint Eastwood from his Spaghetti Westerns which oddly enough were what this site calls “fanboy” movies back in the 60′s and in some cirlces have achieved a cult status almost bordering on classic. Some of his directorial efforts have greatly impressed me some not so much. I really didn’t want to watch Grand Torino but when I did I regretted not having seen it sooner. With that in mind I quickly grabbed the opportunity to see Invictus and Hereafter, of which both left me rather dissappointed. I waited for J. Edgar. I wasn’t going to rush to a theater too see something that critics crucified and the public based on the critics reviews stayed away from.
Earlier in some other comment section I made a comment about the portrayal by Christopher Plummer in Beginners. About how it was exciting to see a gay man portrayed with dignity.
I think after seeing J Edgar the critics got it wrong. You don’t need to see J Edgar waltzing around in women’s clothing, you don’t need to see Leo and Armmie in bed together to understand the nature of their relationship. Perhaps Eastwood didn’t go as far as everyone else would have liked him to go but he went far enough for me. Whether you like J. Edgar or hated him, whether you respect his position or not, Eastwood did not make a caricature out of him. There were two moments in the film that really threw me because I could relate to them. The first was the brief fist fight between Clyde and J Edgar. Been there done that. The second was when J Edgar gets up from the breakfast table and walks around and then cracks Clyde’s boiled egg for him. I’m surprised that this film was annihilated by the critics. It’s a bit slow but it needs to be. It’s isn’t a tell all and it doesn’t need to be. Eastwood by not dragging out the cross dressing issues treated the relationship between Clyde and J Edgar the exact same way that it would been treated between gay men in that era. People may have known we were gay but it was still illegal for two men to even dance in a bar together and clubs were raided in the sixties. So the story Eastwood told from the perspective of their personal relationship is really what most of us would have allowed anyone outside our sphere of close confidantes actually see or know. Eastwood told their story from a perspective of what they allowed others to see. You only heard glimpses of some information he collected on people. You only saw glimpese of his personal relationships. This was a defining moment in film.
Yeah the makeup bothered me. But that’s all I could really complain about.
Other defining moments were Joseph Gordon Hewitt shaving his head in 50/50.
Adrien Brody as Dali and Kathy Bates as Gertrud Stein in Midnight in Paris. Not enough of either of them. Actually makes me excited to see Nero Fiddled.
Isn’t that ‘Descendants’ picture from a different point in the movie, when Matt and his youngest daughter are about to go into the beach club for lunch?
The one you mentioned happened at dusk.
And I’ll echo the mention of the storm shelter scene in Take Shelter.