Greetings.
What's the greatest movie opening of all time? I'm not really setting any parameters, but you can figure it out.
For your boy, it's Scream. Hands down. It's an absolutely captivating piece of film and some of the most brilliant writing in film history. It starts off so innocent and calm, and keeps building until something as benign as a telephone ring is the scariest sound in the world. I love how it all starts off so innocent, and the killer has his subtle slip ups like
"Why do you want to know my name?"
"Because I want to know who I'm looking at"
"...what did you say?"
"....I said I want to know who I'm...talking to"
And it builds until "YOU HANG UP ON ME AND I'LL GUT YOU LIKE A FISH!". Then they play the game, and man, I could just talk about the scene all day. Absolutely incredible.
How say you?
Also, I have an ask, my people. I've recently started working on short stories, perhaps working up to longer pieces of fiction someday. So, I've posted my first attempt at my website, and I'd like to know what the people who dig my work think. It's only about 3 pages long, so it won't take too much of your time. You can either let me know in the comments or email, caliberw@hotmail.com. Much appreciated, thanks. Also, while you're at it with the email, do send in your questions for the QOTD.
Caliber's Till Death Do Us Part Is For Sissies
What's the greatest movie opening of all time? I'm not really setting any parameters, but you can figure it out.
For your boy, it's Scream. Hands down. It's an absolutely captivating piece of film and some of the most brilliant writing in film history. It starts off so innocent and calm, and keeps building until something as benign as a telephone ring is the scariest sound in the world. I love how it all starts off so innocent, and the killer has his subtle slip ups like
"Why do you want to know my name?"
"Because I want to know who I'm looking at"
"...what did you say?"
"....I said I want to know who I'm...talking to"
And it builds until "YOU HANG UP ON ME AND I'LL GUT YOU LIKE A FISH!". Then they play the game, and man, I could just talk about the scene all day. Absolutely incredible.
How say you?
Also, I have an ask, my people. I've recently started working on short stories, perhaps working up to longer pieces of fiction someday. So, I've posted my first attempt at my website, and I'd like to know what the people who dig my work think. It's only about 3 pages long, so it won't take too much of your time. You can either let me know in the comments or email, caliberw@hotmail.com. Much appreciated, thanks. Also, while you're at it with the email, do send in your questions for the QOTD.
Caliber's Till Death Do Us Part Is For Sissies
The first Blade movie.
ReplyDeleteBank heist in Dark Knight.
ReplyDeleteRaiders Of The Lost Ark
ReplyDeleteAny of the Piss Brosnan Bonds
Saving Private Ryan. It's been 15 years and I bet it would still take my breath away like it did the first time I saw the beach scene.
ReplyDeleteTropic Thunder. Just this overblown war shot that's made by Stiller's death speech. Comedies don't normally have strong openings, and i had doubts about seeing it, but that opening made it a top favorite of mine.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the beginning of Blade is fantastic. Peeps like to give the credit to X-Men, but Blade was the start of the Golden Age of comic book films, which we're still very much in.
ReplyDeleteThe part that really got me was the guy who threw up. I mean, how fucking terrible. To know that the front is going down, and you're going to walk into a wall of bullets.
ReplyDeleteI remember the trailer for TT had a condensed version of that. First 10-15 seconds made it look like a Oliver Stone-ish war movie... until you see RDJ's overdone crying and an exasperated Stiller calling 'cut'.
ReplyDeleteThat opening scene should be mandatory viewing for all high schoolers to give them a better appreciation for the horror/sacrifices of war. It sure worked on me.
ReplyDeleteFor me, nothing beats Up. Anyone I've talked to have said they at least teared up. Me, I was close to bawling my eyes out. It's whimsical and heartbreaking all at the same time.
ReplyDeleteHellboy is another for me. With the WWII setting, mystical Nazis, a badass Kronen, and then you get a baby Hellboy and then boom, opening credits treated like Bigfoot sightings. Really cool stuff.
Maybe just the Italian side of me speaking, but I love the intros to both Goodfellas and The Godfather.
ReplyDeleteTemple of Doom
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I noticed no one mentioned the opening Heist from "The Dark Knight". I'm offended.
ReplyDeleteHow about end scenes? It might be because I am a comic geek and cause they were from the past few years, but I must mention as a tie: Lt. Gorden shows Batman the Joker card, and Nick Fury mentions the Avengers Initiative for the first time.
ReplyDeleteCliffhanger
ReplyDeleteJim Carey did it better!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9YOptg8D-U
The start of the Two Towers with Gandalf battling the Balrog.
ReplyDeleteGet Shorty.
ReplyDeleteNothing more shocking and hilarious than the unexpected punch John Travolta gives Dennis Farina right in the nose.
Opening scene from Inglorious Basterds
ReplyDelete"Once upon a time in Nazi occupied France" was one the most intense openings I have ever watched.
Here are some of my favorite opening scenes ever.
ReplyDeleteX2.
Jaws.
The Matrix.
The Ring.
Terminator 2.
The opening credits sequence in "Watchmen."
ReplyDeleteBeverly Hills Cop. Axel working undercover.
ReplyDelete"Hey, don't I know you?"
"Naw man I'm from Buffalo"
Since no one's mentioned yet, Snatch has gotta be up there.
ReplyDelete"Where is the stone?" *slugs poor sap*
"Where is the stooooooooooooone?"
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which gives backstory to the whip, the hat, the scar on his chin, the fear of snakes, "That belongs in a museum!", and his relationship with his dad. Also, the part in the train chase where the trunk collapses and young Indy is running away from the train while the snippet of the theme plays is one of my favorite moments in any movie.
ReplyDeleteFood choice. On a side note...why didn't they ever make a "Simple Jack" spin off movie. I'd be first in line to see it. Guess the PC crowd wouldn't like it.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I'm gonna have to disagree about Scream. Scream, to me, is THE most overrated horror film of all time.
ReplyDeleteThat opening though. Yea, it's pretty fucking good. But the movie fails to follow up that intense moment from the opening minutes of the film. I just think Wes Craven is overrated over all.
The opening to 'Up' is brilliant. The one problem it causes is that nothing in the rest of the film comes close to matching it.
ReplyDeleteGoodfellas
ReplyDeleteI agree that it's not great but think its "rated." It's 7.2 on imdb and never got great reviews. It's a good way to pass 90 minutes but don't remember it getting any real acclaim at the time. It's been awhile so correct me if I'm wrong.
ReplyDeleteOnly 1 choice here. The Godfather..."I believe in America."
ReplyDeleteDefinitely not the GOAT but I love the "proper burial" opening scene from Young Guns 2. Those movies are both so incredibly fun and some of my all time favorites.
ReplyDeleteSaw it again last month, its pretty lame. The best thing Wes Craven ever did was Nightmare.
ReplyDeleteCaliber, had some time and read your short story. I liked the structure and the payoff at the end was well done...I was actually getting pissed reading it thinking "hes not gonna tell us how the world ended." My only critique is that I think the settings (house, location of shootout, etc) could have been more descriptive to reflect/foreshadow the impending confrontation and grim state of the world. Other then that I liked it.
ReplyDeleteCame in here to say that.
ReplyDelete"As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster"
People give credit to X Men instead of Blade because 90 percent of people have never heard of Blade and didn't know anything more than Wesley Snipes and Vampires. That could have been completely original content and still been greenlit by any film company.
ReplyDeleteHowever X Men showed that people will go see a movie that is 100 percent identifiable with comic books. Blade was a good movie but it didn't spark Iron Man getting made or The Avengers.
There were virtually no comic book movies made between Blade and X Men and that was a two year span. However in the two years after X Men we get X2, The Hulk, Daredevil, Spiderman and League of Extrodinary Gentlemen. Not all of those films are classics but they all come directly after X Men to where as there was zero follow up to comic book movies for the two years after Blade.
Blade was a good movie and a good comic movie but it didn't in any way shape or form usher in any sort of golden age of Comics. It just so happened to be made two years before X Men ushers the era in.
The Thing and Halloween also have good openings. But the best of all time might be Saving Private Ryan.
ReplyDeleteI've pimped Rounders here before, and I really love the opening sequence. It gives you all the exposition you need about both Mike McD and Texas hold 'em, shows the gut punch of Mike's bad beat, and created the tropes of filming poker that ESPN later used to broadcast the WSOP.
ReplyDeleteUp has a great opening, but I think I like the start of the first Toy Story better. I saw it when I was in college, long before I or anyone in my peer group had kids, and that opening perfectly captured the long-forgotten feeling of playing with your favorite toys in your own bedroom.
Also, I'm a sucker for the sequence in the Blues Brothers where Jake gets out of prison.
Once Upon a Time in the West.
ReplyDeleteThe opening of Snyder's Dawn of the Dead is pretty amazing. Established a world and then completely turned it on its ear. Sarah Polley goes to bed normal and wakes up in Hell.
ReplyDeleteAlso I forgot to mention how mind blowing the opening of Star Wars was back in the day. No one had EVER seen anything like that Star Destroyer taking on the rebel blockade runner.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't hold up the same now but at the time - holy balls.
I love the opening so much but then the bus somehow rejoins a line of other buses? I just could never understand that part.
ReplyDeleteOne of my friends does a stand-up bit about watching that movie in high-school and having his teacher prep them for the part were the guy gets shot in the helmet, takes off his helmet to inspect it, then gets shot in the head. The teacher tells them that some might interpret that scene as funny but says that there will be consequences if he hears anyone laughing at that scene. Of course, my friend is primed, the scene comes and he bursts out laughing, resulting in his teacher yelling at him in front of the class for about 10 minutes, then sending him to the principal where he has to explain why he was laughing at the death of an American soldier.
ReplyDeleteIt's a funny routine, but it did make me wonder about whether Spielberg intended dark-comedy at that particular moment. There was a very deliberate and cartoonish element in that brief sequence of events which underscored the surrounding horror of the situation. I think there might have been an intention to juxtapose humor against tragedy in order to communicate the absurdity of such a battle.
Wouldn't call it the best ever, but it's worth noting how great the title sequence of Fight Club is. I remember seeing it in the theater and just knowing that I was about to witness one of the coolest movies I would ever see.
ReplyDeleteIt was the second scene mentioned in this thread
ReplyDeleteI just meant it was the start. It was the first great Marvel comic film, and then they went on a massive hot streak afterwards.
ReplyDeleteMe personally, I enjoyed the opening scene to Temple of Doom much more. It was so damn exciting, and perfect Indy.
ReplyDeleteOh, it got MASSIVE reviews when it first came out. It was number one for quit a few weeks. It was a huge deal, and spawned a million clones in it's wake, just like Halloween before, and Dracula before that. You had Urban Legend, Valentine, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and quite a few others.
ReplyDeleteIt's still quite a revered film, and I think it's hands down the greatest horror movie of all time. But that's just me. I think it's damn scary, with a great villain, and a fantastic ending that was insanely original. Plus it was very clever, and paid respect to the classics.
I know many will disagree with me on this, but...Batman Forever. I think I've said before that it's the Batman movie that I find the most FUN. Not the best, not by a long shot, but the most fun. I mean, the opening is fun alone just for Tommy Lee Jone's Two Face monologue:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGZVwW5nyrE
I've had that monologue memorized for years, along with Penguin's in Batman Returns.
Awesome, Farva. Thanks a lot for reading it, I appreciate that. I also really appreciate the ideas. I too thought I should perhaps flesh things out with a bit more description. Also, I originally had Till Death Do Us Part, but then I thought with the ending, and how that didn't really fit. Again, thanks for taking the time to read it, much obliged.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised no one has mentioned From Dusk Till Dawn. That opening sequence is insane, and reeks of brilliance.
ReplyDeleteI WAS NOT FUCKING SAYING HELP US!!
Drive had a pretty great opening. I love how the freaked out looks on the criminals faces against The Driver's unflappable cool. It was also a brilliant decision to score the chase with minimal droning synths rather than a big exciting rock or orchestra track, was a great commentary on the way the character perceives the situation. And the basketball commentary against the final escape was perfect. Then "Nightcall" kicks in. Awesome.
ReplyDeleteBatman Forever gets a bad wrap, but like you said, it is fun.They really screwed up Two-Face, and The Riddler is just Jim Carrey being Jim Carrey, but there's still a ton of great action.
ReplyDeleteCaliber, I think it's awesome that you've sorta carved a niche into this board for discussion on general topics like tv and movies. Ill definitely be checking out your site.
ReplyDeleteI always feel like a big time novice wading into "best movie ever talks"--I was a kid, then I was into high school sports, the college (/ partying) so I honestly think my serious stint at watching and evaluating a solid amount of movies is only about two years old.
With that disclaimer out of the way, I have personally never seen a better movie than Django Unchained.
I really didn't like the movie, and part of the reason why was because of how damn cool the beginning was. Awesome stuff.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Pinn. I'm really glad you're digging the effort, and hoping in on the conversations. I hope you dig Str8 Gangster too. Trust me, all the cool kids do.
ReplyDeleteDjango Unchained is a damn fine film, but I was disturbed by some of the violence that didn't have any pay off. I mean, if you're going to show us this person doing such vile, disgusting things, then I want to see them come back to him 100x fold. We didn't get that, so those scenes were soul crushing with absolutely no pay off. I understand that's how it is in life, but I don't go to movies to experience life. If I want to experience life, I'll quit watching the movie.
That's actually what inspired the question. I was watching it this morning.
ReplyDelete"and this guy's like, what do you want from me?"
"PHILLIP! PHILLIP, MAN! C'MON BABY GIMMIE KISS!"
ReplyDeleteNo problem man.
ReplyDeleteHow do you not like Drive? I saw it twice in theatres.
ReplyDeleteI should be seeing Only God Forgives next week. Damn the critics, I'm still looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteThat is not true. Scream was never #1 at the box office. It reached #3 twice.
ReplyDeleteI saw Only God Forgives. I liked it, though it's very pretentious and can drag at times. Drive is light years better.
ReplyDeleteThere's still some really awesome violence in it.
I just felt like it fell flat. It wasn't very interesting, and things happened for no reason. Like, why did he wear that stunt mask? It was just weird. Honestly, I'm a lot better at explaining why I don't like things, but I haven't seen the film in 2 years, or however long it's been since it came out, and don't recall a good portion.
ReplyDeleteI was expecting an independent, cool, noir style action film. Didn't get that at all. Except for the rad beginning.
Drive is the coolest. Sleazy Albert Brooks, pathetic Bryan Cranston. It took me two viewings to really appreciate it and embrace it.
ReplyDeleteCary Mulligan is also my favourite actress and I loved the scenes between them. Also, the scene in the hotel room with Christina Hendricks always makes me jump.
Gosling is the man.
Really? Well, I'll be. I saw a special on Scream when the super-disappointing part 4 came out, and I could have sworn it said Scream hit number 1 based on all the great press it was receiving. I can't believe it didn't hit number 1, it was such a big deal.
ReplyDeleteI have two favorite movie openings. Pixar's Up! for the 10 minutes or so where we see the life of the husband and wife sans dialogue, and the Star Trek reboot. I think they are both utterly brilliant for different reasons, but each has a supremely emotional impact on me every time I watch them.
ReplyDeleteI really liked it after the first viewing and LOVED it after the second. It owns me on just the soundtrack alone. And the scorpion jacket.
ReplyDeleteI loved how logical it all was, like he was piecing a puzzle together rather than just trying to get away.
ReplyDeleteWhat made Scream such a big deal was its longevity. It only opened to $6 million, yet grossed more than $100 million.
ReplyDeleteThat's unheard of.
http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=weekend&id=scream.htm
I actually liked Scream 4 a lot. It was fun seeing the gang back together, Emma Roberts was awesome and it meant the series didn't end with Scream 3.
I think it was a Titanic victim? I don't remember precisely but a lot of movies that put up great numbers that would have made it number one were getting crushed by all the people who never go to movies going to see Titanic.
ReplyDeleteI think Nicholas Winding Refn does pretentious better than anybody else. I loved Bronson and recommended it to my brother and his critique was "a little too pretentious". I think it comes from the music video element in his direction. He often lets the images speak for themselves and uses a lot of drawn out shots with minimal dialogue. I always find it captivating but I can understand why some might see it as off-putting.
ReplyDeleteI hate the musical choice (Dylan is so overused for 60s montages) but I loved the way that looked. It was perfectly lit so that they all looked like what they were supposed to be: real people wearing costumes.
ReplyDeleteThe comic book convention scene in Chasing Amy. Maybe it's not the greatest opening scene of all time, but "You're mother's a tracer!" never fails to make me laugh.
ReplyDeleteScream 2 came out when Titanic was a juggernaut.
ReplyDelete#1s when Scream was out:
Beavis and Butthead
Michael
The Relic
Beverly Hills Ninja
Jerry Maguire
Star Wars
Yea, I can see why a lot of critics and hated Only God Forgives. It can be too much, especially Kristin Scott Thomas. But I loved it.
ReplyDeleteI saw Valhalla Rising and just couldn't get into it.
Halloween. God-Tier Carpenter.
ReplyDeleteI was goin for Inglorious Basterds, but someone else mentioned it. So I'll go for my old standby of Pulp Fiction. The interplay between Pumpkin and Honey Bunny could have been taken as the start of a love-slash-crime story, which I love (and apparently is big with Tarantino, judging by True Romance and Natural Born Killers). And then you don't see them again until the end of the movie. I couldn't ever see QT doing such a thing but i'd love to watch a Pumpkin and Honey Bunny spinoff movie. Even now, with Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer old as shit.
ReplyDeleteSidenote: did anyone ever hear the story that if Tarantino hadn't been able to land Travolta and Jackson, he'd have rewritten the parts and had Tim Roth and Gary Oldman as Jules and Vincent? I'd love to see Tarantino's take on the British gangster film.
Yep - earlier in the thread I agreed with someone who said 'Up' - it's fantastic.
ReplyDeleteAnd I also love the opening of Star Trek - I've watched that dozens of times.
The opening dialogue between two completely meaningless characters in Seven Psychopaths is some of the best shit ever
ReplyDeleteWhat are you talking about? It was an independent, cool, noir style action film.
ReplyDeleteYou beat me to it.
ReplyDeleteThe initial tracking shot in Touch of Evil.
ReplyDeleteThe first attack in Jaws.
The first game in the Hustler.
The transitions in Serenity, shifting perspective
Nope. Scream was well received at the time - but only a moderate hit in the cinema. I suspect it performed very well on home video through word of mouth though.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I like Scream, but I wouldn't classify it amongst the GOATs. However, I do recognise it's historical significance: it's success led to a sub-genre of 'knowing' horror films (although it could be argued that The Final Nightmare was the start of that genre) and it made the name of Kevin Williamson.
Without that - no Dawson's Creek (possibly not a bad thing) - but also no Vampire Diaries, which would be bad a thing. Still haven't seen Season 4 though.
Scream was a huge hit at the box office. A horror movie grossing over $100 million today is very rare, let alone in 1996.
ReplyDeleteI like Scream a lot and think it's a ton of fun. I don't think it's very scary though
A lot of Scream fans have such bile for part 3, and I don't understand for the life of me. It had some fantastic action scenes, a really great whodonit, because the girl playing Sid and McDreamy the cop were fantastic red herrings. Plus, the whole movie was about Sid, but we weren't focused on her the whole time. I loved it.
ReplyDeleteMy problem with part 4 was the whole "reinventing the rules" thing, and the fact ***SPOILERS*** Emma Roberts was the killer. Her motive was so pathetic, and a complete cop out. It should have been the aunt. Her reason could have been that her sister, Sid's mom, always got all the attention, even in death she was more beloved. Then Sid stole the spot lot from Emma, just like her mom did to her. Plus you had that obnoxious opening with TWO fake-outs, plus fake out phone calls. It was pathetic. When I first saw the film I got the biggest smile when I heard "I'll cut through your neck until I hit bone" because I thought 'oh shit, he's fucking BACK'. But then it was just a stupid fucking fake out. Then another. And it just set the movie off in a bad way.
When I first saw Scream I was 13. My parents rented it. One night I get home from my friends, it's like 10pm on a Friday, and my parents go to bed. So, I fire up the VCR and pop in Scream. I had to stop it before Drew was even killed because it was scaring [scarring?] the shit out of me. It wasn't until I saw Strangers for the first time that I felt like that again.
ReplyDeleteI was expecting Transporter, but in a realistic sense. Something along the lines of Payback, the theatrical version.
ReplyDeleteI'll trace a chalk-line around your dead fucking body!
ReplyDeleteThe tracer guy is Scott Moiser, Kevin Smith's best friend & producer. The guy he talks into not having Banky sign his work is Casey Affleck. But, most peeps probably know that now that he's a big star.
Good movie! By the way RIP Dennis Farina, always liked his portrayal of a mob guy.
ReplyDeleteAt first I was bugged about the way you didn't give Erin any lines and made her seem like a helpless thing that Roger had to take care of, so that played well as misdirect for the ending. I would definitely just add more description and less exposition though. Certain clues we can figure out on our own without being told outright. Also, maybe a little more emotion and tenderness in Roger's early scene with her? Having him be all bitchy about telling her about meat just seemed off. And Roger seems to more play into the archetype of the tough guy who's a softy with his woman. Basically, this seemed like a good first draft, but everything needs to be thickened and deepened.
ReplyDeleteHey, don't talk shit about The Creek! The Creek is awesome and it deserves our respect! Well until they get to college and later on, then it falls apart until we get to the finally. Also no talking bad about The Beek, he's great as well.
ReplyDeleteFair point regarding its gross, given the genre.
ReplyDeleteIt's more fun than the Dark Knight Rises, and less stupid.
ReplyDeleteThat's right, I said it.
I really liked the first season of Dawson - after that, not so much.
ReplyDeleteThe serious finally is one of the most gut wrenching episodes of television ever
ReplyDeleteHUGE agreement to the Star Trek opening scene. It was AMAZING. If only the rest of the movie had lived up to it...
ReplyDeleteVery underrated moive. Great opening scene too!
ReplyDeleteThe Bond series has some good ones. The parkour opening, especially, stands out.
ReplyDeleteI can understand more fun (I disagree but I understand where you're coming from), but less stupid? CAMAN!
ReplyDeleteWhat do you feel you got?
ReplyDeleteDefinitely my favorite opening credit sequence.
ReplyDelete"Touch of Evil" is a damn good choice.
ReplyDeleteIt really bugged me when people complained about "plot holes" (or just gaps in logic/plausibility) in Dark Knight Rises minutes after declaring Dark Knight a perfect film. There was a SHIT TON of stuff that had to go *just* perfectly for a lot of Joker's schemes to go off without a hitch. The line of buses was one of those things for me.
ReplyDeletePersonally I didn't mind it (it's just a movie!), but it bothered me that one film was being dinged for it while another one got a pass.
- Robin Blake figures out that Bruce Wayne and Batman are one and the same, based off "a look", when no one else could figure it out. And talks like Andrew Dice Clay the entire movie.
ReplyDelete- Miranda Tate/Talia might have one of THE worst revenge plans in history, that doesn't involve stabbing Bruce Wayne to death when SHE'S IN BED WITH HIM. But no, posing as an industrialist, funding money towards green energy that could become a bomb, and having Bane as a lackey seemed much smarter.
- Magic knee brace.
- Bane and Talia's entire premise is ripped directly from The World is Not Enough. Except Bond was smart enough to figure out that Elektra King was dirty.
Strangers scared me as well.
ReplyDeleteThe Drew Barrymore scene is very scary, though I don't think the rest of the movie is. I'm surprised you hadn't had the Drew Barrymore scene spoiled, since it wasn't really a big secret after the movie came out
Scream 3 is just so boring and lifeless. The killer was obvious despite their attempts to mask it. And it's not even written by Kevin Williamson. It's just a really bad, boring movie that I like to think didn't happen
ReplyDeleteYeah, that was pretty awesome.
ReplyDelete"The antidote to what?"
"The poison you just drank."
I'm there with you. Loved the opening, thought the rest was mostly flash. Not a terrible movie, just not much to it.
ReplyDeleteI thought the opening was fun and I love Aimee Teegarden. Scream 4 has that middle section that goes nowhere, but I think it's a fitting conclusion to the series.
ReplyDeleteEmma Roberts was great, the scene where she mutilates herself is unsettling.
I read through them all, then did a control F, then didn't see it, so I posted. Of course I get to work, and see it right away. Stupid Meekin. stupid stupid stupid stupid meekin.
ReplyDeleteI love that opening to Serenity. The second the buffer panel flies off the ship and Mal goes "What was that?" let me knew the franchise still had it.
ReplyDeleteAlso: Grenades!
Anyone here ever watch the opening of The Birdcage? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DV3aHWCB7e4
ReplyDeleteALRIGHT HERE WE GO!!!!!! Time to throw down like it's July 2012!
ReplyDelete-Bruce Wayne would be everyone's #1 guess for Batman's identity except for 1 reason: he's a dick. He parties like Charlie Sheen, spends money that he didn't earn, fucks models, and treats people lower than him like shit. He's Scott Disick (google him if you don't know). Blake could tell by "the look" that Wayne was putting on a facade, that in reality he was a guy who was in serious pain and had never gotten over his parents death. Once you see through that act it's not a huge leap to deduce "oh, this billionaire who was missing for years, whose parents were murdered by a petty criminal, and who came back to Gotham right around the same time Batman showed up... is probably Batman!" If the public knew what Blake did about Wayne's true emotional makeup, every person would've figured it out.
-Tate wanted Bruce to truly suffer, and she knew what Gotham meant to him. I thought Bane's speech when he dropped Bruce in the Pit (Wayne even asks him "why didn't you just kill me?") coupled with Miranda's after she stabbed him covered their thinking pretty well.
-Yeah, the knee brace raised my eyebows a little too. I wouldn't be surprised if technology like that exists (would it change your opinion if you found out there was a prototype for something like that but there's issues with cost/mass production/etc?) Regardless, it didn't bother me too much. I have no idea if the water vapourizer-thingy from Begins is a real thing and that didn't detract from my enjoyment of that movie.
-I have not seen The World is Not Enough.
I enjoyed season one as well, it's what hooked me. But the best season, for me, is easily season 3. That's when Joey started gravitating towards Pacey and the whole love triangle started. The season finale is excellant with Dawson telling Joey to go with Pacey since he can see that's what she wants. As she runs away Dawson just crumples to the ground sobbing. That was heartbreaking and I was a Pacey fan. It's funny, a year later something similiar would happen to me and I found out how truely heartbreaking that scene is.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, Jen dying was really sad and like you said gut wrenching. Although I remember CW had commercials for the last episode saying "Who will die!?!?" that didn't come off well to me. And the who will Joey choose had me on the edge of my seat. I was really happy when they showed Joey with Pacey on the couch.
ReplyDeleteArmand: "What are these pirin tablets, what the hell are you giving him?"
ReplyDeleteAgadore: "It's aspirin with the 'as' scrapped off!"
Armand: "That's brilliant."
- You'd think Jim Gordon would have at least figured it out.
ReplyDelete- That's my problem with these long drawn out plans. Making people "suffer" is stupid unless you're trying to get information. Just fucking kill the guy.
- Bane takes his bat suit from him and drops him in the Pit after breaking his back, but leaves the knee brace.
- It's a semi-decent Bond flick, with interesting villains. Denise Richards is awful though.
Oh, and some other things:
- First and foremost, BATMAN NEVER QUITS. That blew my mind that the first thing they tell you is that Batman disappears after "killing Harvey Dent" and Bruce Wayne suddenly becomes a recluse (and again, are people in Gotham taking stupid pills that they couldn't put THAT together). His parents dying RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM is what makes him Batman. His girlfriend blowing up on the other side of town shouldn't have made a dent like that (oh, and I love how fast he got over that startling revelation that she didn't love him, by sleeping with Tate not twenty minutes later).
- A guy wearing a mask on his face that has tubes on it, you'd think that would have been the first place Batman aimed with the blades on his wrists. Even the CIA agent at the beginning was smart enough to ask about it.
- That Bane dialogue audio is TERRIBLE, he voice comes in so loud and clear in the opening scene when the plane door is opening when everyone else is shouting and can barely be heard.
I'm just pissed that Batman felt that it would be better to jump into the fight at the end of the movie and not stay in the Bat which was pretty much the only armour that the Good Guys had in the final battle. Not to mention his no guns stance would have left a lot of those cops killed.
ReplyDeleteNo one's mentioned either of my favorites yet!
ReplyDeleteWarriors - That opening scene is just so cool. The Ferris Wheel is creepy!
Belly - This is a stupid, silly movie I can't watch enough. It's a bunch of mid-90s rappers trying to act and I highly doubt there was a script. That said, it's breathtakingly gorgeous. The opening scene is amazing. Then it's immediately followed by a clip from Gummo.
Mad Max and Road Warrior - Both have awesome openings.
Anything Kubrick is also automatically God tier.
Saving Private Ryan
ReplyDeleteor Full Metal Jacket.
ReplyDeletetheres nothing funny about that.
ReplyDeleteI always liked Bram Stoker's Dracula- The music, the narration by Anthony Hopkins and the cool/creepy battle scenes, plus it really set the tone.
ReplyDeleteI was always a fan of Batman Forever... but it has not held up well- but I thought Kilmer was a great Batman and Nichole Kidman... just pure hotness at the time.
ReplyDeleteYES! The Star Trek Reboot opening is amazing. Especially the music that plays as all the little ships float out into the stars. Epic.
ReplyDeleteLove Rounders and I considered the opening scene as well- I used to have an argument about it with a friend who said there was noway a player as good as Mike would fall into that trap, but I thought it really played up the idea that he was not playing smart because he was thinking about Vegas already.
ReplyDeleteI had some problems with the end, because when he traps Teddy at the end and Teddy is monologueing like a super villain, Mike still appeared to have a sizable chip advantage- if that "Ace could not have helped him" he could have just folded and moved on...
As a super diehard TOS fan I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I saw that scene.
ReplyDeleteYes! Agreed! Drive was great! The tragedy of the film is that the events unfold in such a way that no
ReplyDeleteone wants to commit the heinous acts they're forced to do. Since
everyone in the movie's hand is forced, the tension mounts because none
of these people want to be doing any of this nasty violent stuff
to each other.
More here: http://www.starpulse.com/news/Paul_Meekin/2011/09/17/review_drive_steers_clear_of_movie_cli
Watchman had a great opening and an AWESOME trailer (the one with "The Beginning Is The End Is The Beginning") that made me want to love the film.... but man did it end up missing the mark in every way.
ReplyDeleteIt's weird. I had a chance to bug my friends, and then some of Chicago's Film Critic "elite" about the movie. My friends who like "arty" movies really dug it. My friends who don't, didn't. Similarly, all the "Critic"-elite kind of found it...meh. Weird, weird, weird, movie reaction wise.
ReplyDeleteEither Raiders (more excitement in under 10 minutes than Michael Bay fit into 150 minutes in the Transformers sequels) or the iconic A New Hope opening with the narration crawl eschewing opening credits and then the Star Destroyer looming from the top of the screen.
ReplyDeleteI think Blade gets credit to some extent- the people at Marvel give it credit all the time, because they were in a dark place financially and organizationally when it came out. I think it opened the door for X Men, who in turn set the stage for Spiderman (and I do not like Spiderman- but credit due)- at that point, Marvel had the balls to go in to business for themselves in terms of production.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who doesn't like that opening dance number needs better taste.
ReplyDeleteWhat's worse is I think that was the point. Sucker you into thinking it's one thing, then turn around and deliver this brooding, arty, over-the-top-but-somehow-understated noir crime film. I love it. Especially all of Albert Brook's references to his career in the 80s.
ReplyDeleteIt's my favorite of the quadrilogy, although they squandered Two-Face after that awesome opening monologue and turned him into Joker 2.0. Still, it was great to see this film dedicate itself to developing Bruce Wayne, as opposed to the Burton films, where all Bruce did was watch TV.
ReplyDeleteLOL, reminded me of Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman ripping on TDKR.
ReplyDelete"I get only two looks in da orphanage: One is the 'I wanna fuck that boy' look! And da otha' is da "I'm Batman!" look! And ya gave me da look!...Not da 'I wanna fuck ya!" look, but da otha one!"
And I love that it ends on a cliffhanger for the very next scene.
ReplyDelete"Nice try, Lao Che!" *enters Lao Che plane*
"Goodbye...Dr Jones!" *evil laugh*
This obviously isn't the greatest movie opening of all time, but the one that's the most memorable to me is the first Austin Powers. I went with a friend when we were in jr high, just one of those nights we had nothing to do and picked the only movie playing we hadn't seen, knowing nothing about it. When he was dancing during the introduction we were both losing it.
ReplyDeleteAgain, Gordon has dealt with Bruce Wayne, he'd never believe that spoiled douchebag was Batman. I loved Blake figuring it out (for the reasons he did) cause it 1) established Blake as a smart detective, capable of filling Batman's shoes and 2) it gave them a connection that felt genuine and real, a tough thing to do when the guys only know each other for 1 movie.
ReplyDelete"Making people "suffer" is stupid unless you're trying to get information. Just fucking kill the guy."
I don't agree with that. A lot of people feel like the death penalty is too "quick" and "easy", they like to see people they despise truly suffer. I don't understand what's so hard to see here, they don't just want him dead (they know he doesn't fear death), they want him to *wish he was dead*. They want him to know he failed, that his parents death was for nothing, that the city he beloves, and the people he believes in, are tearing themselves apart. I get that in some movies you're just like "KILL HIM! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD JUST KILL HIM NOW WHILE YOU HAVE THE CHANCE!", but I don't feel like this is one of those. They explicitly explain why they didn't just kill him right away, why they wanted him to live through it (Talia specifically tells Bane not to killl him before the blast).
I really feel that stuff like the tubes thing is nitpicking, and you could do that to any film. Watch Dark Knight again (assuming you liked it better), you could nitpick *so* much stuff, like all the shit that has to perfectly fall into place for all of Joker's schemes to be pulled off. For a guy who's all about CHAOS he sure does have super intricate plans that could get fucked up if anyone (including the people he's plotting against) miss their cues. Like, what was he going to do if the cop in the interrogation room DIDN'T attack him for besmirching his friends' names? And he had a gun at that dinner party when he was looking for Dent. Why didn't he just walk up to Batman while he had Rachel, and shoot him in the lower half of the face? Why did none of his thugs fighting with Batman have guns?
-HOWEVER-
The shit about Batman not quitting I'm 100% with you on, that bothered me when I heard about it. I'd have preferred him keeping a lower profile, but still getting shit done in the meantime. Ultimately I just accepted that this was Nolan's vision for the character, but it didn't work for me, no. That was probably my only major gripe of the movie. Stuff like the Bane audio I was fine with. I understood him, that's all I cared about.
I listened to that entire thing, I think it was like 1 hour long. I wanted to throw smash my phone while I was listening to it. The one guy was nitpicking the movie to death, and Kevin Smith (who I Iike) started jumping in on it too even though I heard his *other* commentary where he raved about it.
ReplyDeleteI'll always love the first 2 best, but I thought Kilmer was the best Batman of the 3. I'd have loved to see him instead of Keaton in the first 2. To this day I do not understand the people that fawn over Michael Keaton's interpretation of Batman.
ReplyDeleteThe start of Pacific Rim was pretty epic.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think he was joining in with Garman just for the lulz, but I think if you asked him straight, he still loves it. I mean, Smith was fucking in tears just trying to recap the final moment between Bruce and Gordon. But like Smith, I think I can chuckle at some of the WTF stuff but still enjoy the film. A lot of that stuff was funny for me because it was true, but I still had a terrific experience with it.
ReplyDeleteAh ok. Musta been thinking about Scream 2.
ReplyDeleteWeird question: does the studio or DC just retain the rights to that song, since it was originally on the Batman and Robin soundtrack? I wonder.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the Blake/orphanage complaining is one of my pet peeves and even I was laughing at some of their back and forths. The stuff about Bruce fucking a chick for the first time in forever was pretty funny too if I remember.
ReplyDeleteThinking about it now, that movie had Dylan songs all over it: "The Times They Are A'Changing", Hendrix's "All Along the Watchtower", and My Chemical Romance doing "Desolation Row" over the end credits. Should have gone with an all-Dylan theme, since he was the one referenced in the comic. Anything better than friggin' "99 Luftbaloons" (because its the 80s! And nuclear panic!). If I ever saw Zack Snyder's iPod I think I'd bust a gut laughing at how obvious it all was.
ReplyDeleteYeah, thanks to that episode, I can't unhear it now (after I listened based on your recommendation). Hilarious episode.
ReplyDeleteGood review. The movie it kinda reminded me of was Vanishing Point, with the nameless driver and existential angst.
ReplyDeleteScream 2 came out the week before Titanic/Tomorrow Never Dies and opened at #1. Then Titanic came out and that was it.
ReplyDeleteYes! Just got back from seeing it. I really like the formula they used. Simple to the point exposition, a critical scene to establish the main characters back-story, opening credits, picking up in the present (5 years later in this case). It's a lot like the initial pages of a graphic novel.
ReplyDeleteGuillermo Del Toro is one of the best. I imagine a lesser director would have felt the need to play it tongue-in-cheek with such a larger than life plot, but Del Toro handled it masterfully. No one handles monsters better. I was kind of annoyed that I had to pay extra because the movie was only showing in 3D at the IMax screen, but I think this one was actually worth it.
In a movie with giant robots fighting giant monsters, Ron Perlman steals the movie.
ReplyDeleteSlightly wrestling related. I love the opening of Faster where Rocky just comes out of prison, gets his car & gun and kills a guy before you even know what's going on. Also the opening of Zombieland showing the attacks in slowmo with Metalica playing over it pretty much overshadows the rest of the movie.
ReplyDelete"One prophylactic... one soiled."
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, Rounders is a very underrated movie.
"It's an absolutely captivating piece of film and some of the most brilliant writing in film history."
ReplyDeleteI'm not reading any fiction by anyone who wrote that sentence in earnest.
Ah is one of the greatest comedy films of of all time though.
ReplyDeleteAnd I've just realised, I've been calling Alpha Papa (Alan Partridge) that as well.
That won't mean much to most here, but I went to its world premiere and it was ruddy brilliant.
Ah-ha. You got downvoted for that. Suck it.
ReplyDeleteShit, I gotta jump in on this. The biggest problem with TDKR is as such...
ReplyDeleteThey took Bane, the biggest, baddest, coolest, most gnarly motherfucker in the history of film, and what do they do? WHAT DO THEY DO?! They turn him into some crying little bitch who's stuck in the Friendzone! I mean, where's that deleted scene, where Talia explains the plan?
Talia: Bane, my protector. My best friend. Remember when you saved my life when I was younger, and you've been there ever since.
Bane: Yes
Talia: Well, now we must go to Gotham. Finish my fathers work, and avenge him. Kill the man who betrayed him.
Bane: What's the plan?
Talia: Well, I'll pose as a wealthy industrialist who's into clean energy and stuff. I'll live in fancy motels, wear fancy clothes, drive fancy cars, and eat well. Meanwhile, you live in the sewer, working day and night, putting your life on the line. Oh, and I'm gonna fuck Bruce Wayne.
Bane: Um....*Bane then thinks to himself* If I do whatever she says, she's bound to respect me!
And a nuke?! A FUCKING NUKE?! That's some bullshit out of a fucking Bond film.
Not to mention, how many times were there "oh snaps we're saved at the LAST ABSOLUTE SECOND"? At least 4 I can count. When Gordon's on the lake, when Robin is about to be shot, when the cop army is about to be mowed down, when Batman is about to be shot, and shit, when the nuke is about to explode. So there's at least 5.
Plus, I never understood why Batman had to take the wrap for Harvey anyway. Just say someone else did it. Anyone.
Once Short Round burns Indy, that movie hits absolute 10 out of 10 on any scale you want. Like you said, it becomes a master class in action.
ReplyDeletePeople no longer use their imaginations, man. They can't just go into a film and have fun. It's pathetic.
ReplyDeleteIf Raiders had come out today, man, people would be having a hay-day.
I gotta know, what did you controlF for? Because the guy said "bank" "heist" "dark" and "knight". Did you type Joker Dollars or something?
ReplyDeleteThe faster opening is really good
ReplyDeleteIf you read that quote to a hundred random people, not one would guess what film he's talking about.I don't know if Caliber actually is a moron,or if he just does this persona to get people riled up, but he comes across as the kind of simpleton who makes you embarrased to say you watch wrestling.
ReplyDeletethe transformers: the movie
ReplyDeleteunicron silently approaching while ominous music plays. all the peeps on their planet're goin' 'boot their business... kids are playin, robots shopping... then the two scientists see their chemicals are all shaking and they realize it's unicron
"the ships! get to the ships! its out only chance!!!"
and arbulus makes it out while his friend is *almost* away but gets sucked into unicron while screaming, while the entire planets gets nommed
then you see the inside of unicron munching and churning and getting all the energy and then it all flows through him not unlike a really good poop exiting ones body.
AND THEN IT FUCKING KICKS INTO THE TF THEME METALIZED BY LION, YEAH!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lo7JPLJUUU
goddam goosebumps watchin' it
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Reservoir Dogs yet. That diner sequence is just amazing.
ReplyDeleteI saw it mentioned once earlier in the thread but the opening to X-Men 2 where Nightcrawler is fighting his way into the White House is incredible and probably my favorite action scene ever.
ReplyDeleteWith "Watchmen" and "Man Of Steel", Snyder has cornered the market on having AMAZING trailers for his frustratingly up-and-down movies. When the scenes in those two movies work, they WORK, and when they don't....>_<
ReplyDeletePost-Walking Dead, I can't unhear Merle Dixon when I see Michael Rooker.
ReplyDeleteI am probably the exact target audience for that movie (I love big, loud popcorn movies- and I am a Godzilla fan) so obviously, I am not a completely unbiased opinion... but I loved Pacific Rim. It was in no way a perfect movie- but it was fun, felt epic enough and totally enjoyable. I would take it over the sullen, joyless train wreck that was Man of Steel any day.
ReplyDeleteMy only complaint was that sometimes the scope of the monsters was diminished by the constant rain, darkness and motion. It would have been nice to see a few unblemished tracking shots of the monster to really evoke a sense of awe and menace.
I typed in Dark and Knight. and then Dark Knight, and then Heist, and then cried.
ReplyDeleteThat and Pulp Fiction.
ReplyDelete