Category Archives: Scenes I Love

Brad’s “Scene of the Day” features Alicia Witt in LONGLEGS (2024)! 

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Happy Birthday to Alicia Witt! Born on August 21st, 1975, I mainly know Alicia because my wife loves to watch Hallmark Christmas movies, and she was a mainstay on the channel for years. I’ll be honest, I love some of her Hallmark movies. Back in 2024, we went to the movie theater and watched her in the horror film LONGLEGS. I thought she was one of the best things about the movie. 

In honor of her 51st birthday, I thought it might be fun to share this clip from LONGLEGS. It’s about as far from Hallmark as it gets! 

Scenes I Love: Peter Weir’s Witness

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s scene that I love comes from Peter Weir’s 1985 film, Witness.  In this scene, the Amish come together and raise a barn.  This scene celebrates community and also gives Harrison Ford a chance to show off his real-life carpentry skills.

Scenes That I Love: Amy Adams In Arrival

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to my fellow redhead, Amy Adams!

Amy gave one of the best performances to not be nominated for an Oscar in 2016’s Arrival.  Today, my scene that I love is the poignant and thought-provoking ending of that film.

Scenes That I Love: L.Q. Jones and Strother Martin Argue Over The Dead In The Wild Bunch

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Today would have been L.Q. Jones’s birthday.  Jones was one of the great character actors and a pretty good director as well.  A favorite of Sam Peckinpah’s, Jones often played dangerous outlaws who teamed up with Strother Martin to keep the west wild.

In this scene from Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch, Jones and Martin play two greedy bounty hunters who arrive in a town after the Wild Bunch have already shot the place up.  While their boss, Robert Ryan, watches in disgust, Jones and Martin loot the dead and argue over who gets what.

Brad’s “Scene of the Day” features Clint Eastwood & his Dog in TIGHTROPE (1984)!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

When I was a teenager growing up in Toad Suck, Arkansas, we only had 5 TV channels. My favorite of those channels was Fox 16 out of Little Rock, because they showed a lot of movies. Many of my favorite movies to this day are the movies that showed on Fox 16 in the mid-80’s. One of those movies that they played frequently was TIGHTROPE. This being the TV edit of the movie, I was too young and naive to realize just how different of a character Wes Block was for Clint Eastwood. Sure, he was a badass cop, but he also indulged in somewhat perverse sexual activities with the ladies of the night in New Orleans. It’s actually an incredible performance and the type that helps separate Eastwood from so many of his contemporaries.

TIGHTROPE was released 42 years ago to the date on August 17th, 1984. Let’s celebrate by watching this interesting clip from the movie. It’s definitely tame compared to many others in film, but I love the payoff !

Scenes That I Love: Travis Bickle’s Paranoid Monologue from Taxi Driver

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Taxi Driver is 50 years old but it’s still one of cinema’s most definitive portraits of urban paranoia and societal detachment.  Travis (played by Robert De Niro) obsesses on the city that he harshly judges even though he’s as much a part of New York as those who he wishes will be washed away.

This scene features Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Schrader at their definite best.  I imagine that, for a lot of people, this is one of those scenes that solidified their opinions on New York City.  For the record, the last time I was in New York, everyone was fairly pleasant.  They weren’t exactly friendly but I also didn’t get my bag stolen.  (Those of us who don’t live in New York tend to assume that we’ll get mugged as soon as we leave JFK.)

 

Scenes That I Love: Steve Carell in Foxcatcher

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to actor Steve Carell.  This scene that I love is from Foxcatcher and it features Carell cast against type, as the sociopathic John du Pont.  (Carell received his first and — to date — last Oscar nomination for his performance as Du Pont.)  In this scene, Du Pont corrupts a young wrestler played by Channing Tatum.

Brad’s “Scene of the Day” features OPEN RANGE (2003)!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

I love westerns! Absolutely love them! Every now and then someone still gets them right, and director and star Kevin Costner delivered a great one in OPEN RANGE. Of course, one of his best decisions was casting Robert Duvall as the lead in his film. It’s a film I rewatch each year. As a matter of fact, I watched it just a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it again.

In recognition of OPEN RANGE being released 23 years ago today, on August 15th, 2003, I thought it might be fun to share this scene from one of the best westerns of the 21st century! 

Scene That I Love: Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to one of the better actresses of her generation, Jennifer Lawrence.  This scene that I love comes from 2009’s Winter’s Bone.  I still think this is Lawrence’s best performance.