Category Archives: Scenes I Love

Scenes I Love: Eastern Promises

Posted on by Arleigh

EasternPromises

News that the sequel to Eastern Promises was one of the few pieces of news that really bummed me out when it made the rounds late 2012. The first film was one of my top ten for 2007 and consider it one of the better films about organized crime in the 21st century. A sequel to this film wasn’t needed, but most fans of the film wanted one just to see a furthering of the storyline between Viggo Mortensen’s character and that of Vincent Cassel’s character.

While the sequel may not be happening there’s still hope that it will get resuscitated in the future. Until that happens let’s take a look at what has to be one of the most realistic fight scenes on film. It’s the infamous (or famous depending on how you feel about the scene) Russian bath house scene near the end of the film. The scene sees Viggo Mortensen’s character of Nikolai Luzhin set upon by a couple of Chechen hitmen in the bath house where he proceeds to fight for his life in the most vulnerable fashion anyone can ever find themselves in.

Cronenberg has always been one of my favorite filmmakers and I continue to believe that his work body of work throughout his career puts him in the upper echelon, if not the elite level, of filmmakers living and working today. This fight scene has nothing glamorous about it. The cool factor that some attribute to the scene just emphasizes Cronenberg’s recent observation about the hypocrisy of those who denounce violence yet look at the violence he creates on film and call it art.

I consider this a scene I love just for the base simplicity of the scene itself. It’s primal and almost Darwinian in the lengths a person will go through to keep themselves alive for one second more. The scene also reminds me why Viggo Mortensen remains one of this era’s most underrated and greatest actors. Yes, it’s just a fight scene, but he gives so much into making it authentic that one could almost believe that his life was in danger and he did the fight for real (in fact Mortensen did injure himself so much during the several takes of the scene that his bruises afterwards became a problem for the make-up department who had to apply his vory v zakone tattoos every day).

Scenes I Love: The Final Five Minutes Of Trip With The Teacher

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yesterday, Arleigh shared the opening of John Woo’s The Killer.  For today’s scene that I love, I’m going to do the opposite and share the final five minutes of the 1975 exploitation film Trip With The Teacher.

Why is this a scene that I love?  Well, first off, you have to understand that Trip With The Teacher is a drive-in film from the 1970s and the final five minutes really are the epitome of low-budget 1970s cinema.  From the false feel of the happy ending to the insanely catchy (and borderline annoying) closing music, Trip With The Teacher feels like it should be in a time capsule.

However, the main reason why I love the end of Trip With The Teacher is because of what happens after the credits.  We get a montage of scenes featuring (and identifying) the film’s cast.  I love these type of cast montages because, while watching these randomly selected scenes and listening to these film’s closing music, it’s always tempting to imagine that these scenes have all been taken from a different, better film.  As such, you can take these random scenes and imagine the film that they could have been taken from.

Go ahead and try it.  It’s fun!

Scenes I Love: Saving Private Ryan

Posted on by Arleigh

With Veteran’s Day coming to a close I would just like to share a scene that encompasses the sort of people that make up the men and women of our military. While this scene is from Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan I think the sentiment shared by Capt. Miller to his squad works just as well today as we find more and more of our country’s civilians being called in to do their military duty as part of the nation’s Reserve Force.

Yes, the military now is an all-volunteer one, but it doesn’t count those men and women who make up the reservists force. These soldiers, marines, airmen and sailors have done their tour of active duty and decided to join the reserve force on a part-time basis. They do this knowing that when the time comes they might be called to answer the call from the country’s military to take up their uniform once again and deploy to a war zone as they have done so for the past decade in both Iraq and Afghanistan. These are doctors, police men and women, lawyers, teachers, construction workers and men and women from every walk of life.

I know that it’s not popular to venerate and admire these people in today’s day and age, because to do so means people like myself and others glorify war and against peace. People have become cynical to the point that they deride these people for getting themselves in the predicament of leaving behind their families and jobs to fight for a war they might not believe in. These people don’t understand the sacrifice and will to do their duty for their country even if its leaders might fail them in the end.

It’s not just soldiers of the US I speak to about celebrating but every man and woman brave and dedicated enough to do their job either as a volunteer or as part of their nation’s conscription call. It’s these very same people who understand the real cost of war and the first to wish for peace, but until the time comes when they’re not needed anymore they will always answer the call to do their duty.

 

Scenes That I Love: The Candidate

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

(SPOILER WARNING)

It’s election day!  Today is the day that American citizens select the person that they’ll be angry with for the next four years.  Have you voted yet?  I did and, after I turned in my ballot, this guy at the polling place told me that I was the prettiest voter that he had seen all day.  Awwwwww!

Today’s scene that I love is particularly appropriate for Election Day.  In The Candidate (1972), Bill McKay (played by Robert Redford) runs for the U.S. Senate.  Directed in a documentary fashion by Michael Ritchie, The Candidate features excellent supporting performances from Melvyn Douglas and Peter Boyle and it’s one of the best films ever made about the American political system.

The scene below takes place at the end of the film, after the votes have been counted.  And, of course, the entire scene is a spoiler so don’t watch it if you haven’t seen The Candidate.

Horror Scenes I Love: Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

Posted on by Arleigh

Last night we saw the return of Michael Rooker as Merle Dixon in season 3 of AMC’s The Walking Dead. He’s been one of those actors who has made a living in genre film and projects and for this he has gained quite a loyal and zealous fan-base which includes myself. Not many people actually know that he starred in one of the most disturbing piece of filmmaking in the last quarter-century. Many people will throw the word “most disturbing” all the time, but with the film I’m taking the latest “Scenes I Love” entry it’s been a consensus amongst genre fans and just film-lovers in general that it’s a film that deserves all the praise thrown it’s way.

It’s not a film that’s really enjoyable. In fact, it’s a film that’s made to elicit a reaction that ranges from disgust to plain creepiness. The film I’m talking about is John McNaughton’s classic horror film simply titled Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer.

The film has so many sequences that has become etched in the minds of those who have seen the film. Whether it’s the opening of the film where we see Henry going about his business like some average joe interspersed with scenes of violence and degradation left behind. Another infamous scene that many has decried the film for being tasteless and is the home invasion scene. Even the final scene of the film is disturbing for the fact that we don’t see the redemption we thought the end of the film was going for, but instead just another start in a new cycle of violence and death for the title character.

The one scene I picked and saying I love this scene is pushing it. Let’s just say that this is the scene that really solidified the film to me as a horror classic. It’s a scene between Henry and his old pal Otis on a double date and it’s a date that horrible goes awry. The horror of Henry killing people is enough for some, but the reaction afterwards of both Henry and Otis just shows that these events do happen in real-life and that the banality of evil in everyday life is more horrifying and disturbing than any horror fiction people can come up with.

Horror Scenes I Love: La Horde

Posted on by Arleigh

[spoilers]

I know, I know. Another zombie-related post. Well, if you’ve been visiting the site enough these past three years or so then you’d realize by now that this site loves it’s zombies. Well, not love in that way, but in the “what would I do if put in the middle of the zombie apocalypse” type deal. Call it the American trait of self-reliance and stubbornness in the face of overwhelming odds. Also, this love for the zombie apocalypse seem to stem for the fact that as a society we Americans seem to be very apocalypse-obsessed.

Well, enough of that and time to get on the latest horror-themed “Scenes I Love” entry. This time around it comes courtesy of the very awesome French zombie film La Horde from 2008. This particular scene arrives very close to the end of the film so it’s going to be spoiler-heavy. So, being warned now to either watch the clip and be spoiled by the fate of a certain character or watch the film first and relive just how awesome this scene is the second time around.

The scene is just something that we as fans of the zombie apocalypse hope to go out doing if the end is near. No crying in the corner pleading at something that has no emotions. No cowardly act killing oneself before the shambling (or in the case of this film they’re sprinting like Usain Bolt) gets to them. This is the scene that shouts to the Gods in their heavenly thrones to watch how a true warrior dies. Not with a cry and whimper but with a shout of defiance and scream of bloodlust and frenzy to rival those trying to kill you.

As the video’s title succinctly proclaims: “Going out like a BOSS!”

Horror Scenes I Love: A Man Chooses… A Slave Obeys

Posted on by Semtex Skittle

Video games have scenes to love, too! And I’ll be your guide through some of the finest in this space.

If you have never played BioShock, stop right now, go buy the game, and play it. Wait, it came out six years ago and you can’t be bothered? Oh well. If you’re even considering playing Bioshock, you may not want to spoil this clip for yourself. On the other hand, it might inspire you to actually play the game – something I readily encourage. In either case, would you kindly join me in enjoying what earnestly could be the greatest scene in any video game ever made?

Would you kindly. A powerful phrase.