Evolution Deniers and Litmi Tests

I saw chart on Little Green Footballs this morning that I found both amazing and unsettling. It was a survey of people in 34 countries and it asked how strongly they believed in the theory of evolution. Guess what? The only country whose population is dumber than the United States is Turkey. Yep, the U.S. finished 33rd out of 34 in terms of how strongly its population believed in Chuck Darwin’s crazy idea. The raw numbers are as follow …..just over 40 percent of Americans believe in evolution while another 20 percent aren’t so sure. That leaves forty fucking percent of this country believing that evolution is a crock of shit. For comparison sake, 90 percent of Icelanders think our great ancestors were swinging from trees. So I ask …..what is in the water that makes this country so fucking stupid? And when did “dipshit” become so fashionable?

I mention this study because I am fascinated by the evolution-denial industry. Moreover, I mention it because I use “evolution” as a litmus test to judge and guide my relations. If you believe in evolution ….you pass. If not, you get thrown in that bin with those who can’t be taken seriously on matters related to ……well, almost anything. Other litmi tests I have ……if you think SouthPark is funny, you don’t know funny. And if you like Wilco or Phish ……..well, I am not sure we have much to discuss when it comes to music. All this leads me to the following question ……Molly, what are those three or four (or five things) that you use as a litmus test to gauge someone’s thoughtfullness on a given subject.

Molly: Hey, I like Wilco! 
True story: I was once emailing back and forth with a guy I had bumped into on the internet and before we met in person (he was a friend of a friend of a friend) we did the obligatory back-and-forth email thing and bantered a little and at some poing in our exchange the question of dealbreakers came up and I mentioned that I'd have a hard time taking anyone who listed Ayn Rand and/or John Grisham as their favorite authors. A week or so later I ended up at his apartment and there on display was his collection of John Grisham books, alongside his collection of Yankee memorabilia and digital photo frame (a friend of mine had a mantra: Never go home with a man who has a digital photo frame.) I like to think I've matured beyond using something as superficial as 'what books are on display' as a litmus test but the truth is, I am sort of judgy about that. And home decor. Which is not the same as a litmus test, and is irrelevent in the face of true chemistry and compatibility (whether as friends or romantic partners), but I can't help it. I judge books.  (I've read all of John Grishams' books, by the way.  And I own all the Harry Potter books.  I never said I was being fair!)

That said, Ayn Rand devotees do not pass my litmus test.

Someone who DVRs Two and a Half Men might not share my sense of humor.

Prissiness is not something I do well around (although I can be prissy at certain times) so anyone who blanches at foul language will probably not pass the test.  Or someone who wears Lilly Pulitzer.

I'm not sure if this is a litmus test item or just a peeve of mine, but as soon as someone I meet starts either denouncing outer boroughs or referring to Manhattan as if it is the only part of New York City, they are dead to me.

"My dream vacation would be to an all-inclusive resort."

Don:  No digital frames for me but I liked Pelican Brief and don't you DVR "How I Met Your Mother?"  I think you may have slightly enlarged the topic (at least in my eyes) to perhaps capture some pet peeves but I'll give you a a few more that qualify as "tests" for me:
 
If you don't believe in physician assisted suicide, you don't have my vote and you should get the hell out of my living room.
 
If the first thing you say to a bartender is ...."what are your specials?" ...... we should part ways. 

There are plenty of celebs that I dislike wtih a passion but most -Colbert, Chevy, Dick Vitale, Brent Musberger, Brett Favre, Joba Chamberlin - are simply just objectionable. So if someone prays at their alter, it doesn't quite rise to a "failed test." However, the following quotes result in failing grades:

".....Oh, I love Michelle Malkin, she is so clever and does such a great job describing the big picture ..."

".......no funny women?  Have you SEEN Amy Sederis ......"

" .......nobody does physical like Robin Williams ........."
 
Other tests ....how one comes down on dogs and the Wire/Soprano debate.

Molly:  Yes, I DVR How I Met Your Mother.  You call into regional sports' radio talk shows; no one is perfect!  The evolution statistic surprises me as I'm not sure I know anyone who outright denies evolution, but I do know people who are quite religious (is that even possible?  Can you be a little religious or is that like being a little pregnant?) and some who are very vocal in their devotion and it's been a bit of an eye-opener to me and while I'm not going to propose we have theological debates any time soon, I don't have a problem with other people's religious beliefs, so long as they are not the Shouty Bride of Jesus types.  But if someone I met honestly told me they did not believe in evolution (science!), then I'd have a hard time talking about much else.  Faith is not a dealbreaker; turning a blind eye to empirical data is.

Social intolerance is probably one of the biggest sins someone can commit, in my mind; bigotry, racism and homophobia are pretty hard for me to overlook.  That might sound a little too much like a pageant answer but at the first signs of, 'homosexuality is wrong," I'm heading out the door.

I hate stand-up comedy and anyone who tells me he or she enjoys going to comedy clubs will never, ever, EVER be going with me. 

If my above examples were either too picky or not clear enough, maybe these help:
"Dogs? Ick."
"Gays? Ick."
"Brooklyn? Ick."
"I love the Hamptons."
"I love Ayn Rand."

Don:  My thought on evolution is in the same ballpark as you. If somebody wants to split the baby and go with the "evolution and faith in god are not necessarily exclusive," I will look the other way. I think its a pretty incredible argument to make but again, I will let it slide. However, if you reject carbon dating and think the world is 7000 years old, then I suggest you move to Turkey (or Kansas) where your fantasies will find an even more sympatheitc audience.  

Molly:  And take the Libertarians with you.

Motoring, Redux: Music and Movie Scenes

While it's not necessarily comprehensive and in no way complete, we worked long and hard (thatswhatshesaid) and came up with our top 10 movie scene/song combos.  It's a highly subjective selection, because duh, what's the fun in anything that isn't?  Enjoy!


DON SAYS:

(Because this is such a far-ranging question, I am going to impose some discipline and limit my list to only that music that existed before the film was made. As such, original background scores are out even though they sometimes are critical to a movie and are highly recognizable. So no Rocky and no Chariots of Fire. Also out………songs that were written specifically for a movie and achieved commercial success thereafter. So, there is no Saturday Night Fever, no Bodyguard, no Streets of Fire, no fucking Titanic. Lastly, my list will be determined by two factors: 1) what role did the song play in “making” the scene; and, 2) how strongly I associate the song with the film.)

I have to have at least one piece of classical music on my list and I have narrowed it down to two pieces …..Carmen from Bad News Bears and The Ride of Valkries from Apocalypse Now . This is a close call for me, especially as I am a huge BNB fan and I am one of the only 40 something males who thought AN was hugely overrated, but the helicopter attack scene from that movie is one of the greats in film history and that song absolutely made the scene. In a nutshell, you can’t think of that movie, let alone that scene, and not think of that song.

A Million Miles Away, the Plimsouls, Valley Girl: (song begins at 3:45) This movie is a big part of my childhood growing up in Santa Monica and I can’t think about this movie without thinking about the song. A funny thing about this inclusion though: in the film, Nick Cage is supposed to be a punk rocker and this song is supposed to represent his lifestyle. The movie was released in 1983 and I listened to a fair amount of punk rock that year. I don’t remember anyone ever linking the Plimsouls with the Dead Kennedy’s or the Circle Jerks.

Shadow on the Sun, Audioslave, from the movie Collateral: Michael Mann is just about the best in the business at doing “nighttime mood,” especially in Los Angeles and this song absolutely crushes it. Haunting and desperate. Chris Cornell’s vocals over-layed on a wolf running through the streets of downtown LA ……all worked perfectly for me.

You’ll be a Woman Soon, Urge Overkill, Pulp Fiction:One of the things that Tarrantino does so well is take obscure music and incorporate it into his films. There aren’t many people outside of hard-core Neil Diamond fans who could have identified this song before Pulp Fiction. After its release, is there anyone who couldn’t answer this question on Jeopardy?

Your Hand in Mine, Explosions in the Sky, Friday Night Lights: This instrumental is the background during the climactic scene where Permian comes up just short in the Texas State AAAAA Football Championship. There is no dialogue because this song captures the disappointment so perfectly. Kids dejected. Tim McGraw making amends with his kid. Coaches despondent. All backed by a couple of steel guitars that convey it all.  (ed. note: Don and I saw EinS this summer and I am pretty sure that HE CRIED for the love of the music. -- m.)

Sister Christian, Night Ranger, Boogie Nights: This song backs one of my favorite film scenes, PERIOD! But it does more than just back the scene. It helps make the scene. The scene is edited so fucking well that all the tempo changes in the song perfectly heighten the tension that is critical to the scene. The funny thing is …….when Sister Christian ends, the tape flips over to Jessie’s Girl and that song works almost as perfectly. At the end of the day, who can ever hear Sister Christian and not think about this crazy scene?

Layla, Derek and the Dominoes, Goodfellas: Is it cliché for a 40 year-old male like myself to include something from GoodFellas on a list like this? Probably, but there is no denying Scorsese nailed this one. As that fat little kid wanders up to the pink caddy and Clapton’s piano kicks in, you had film history. Scorsese might have listened to 1000 songs before settling on Layla and his choice probably would have been the same had he listened to 10,000. When it works, it works.

Moving in Stereo, The Cars, Fast Times at Ridgemont High: To a 14 year-old boy, what is more memorable than Phoebe Cates’ TITS? This song and Ms. Cates will be forever linked in my mind and most males born between the years of 1966 and 1971.

Tessie, Dropkick Murphys, Fever Pitch: I watch 150 Red Sox games a year. You don’t think I am going to include a song that is linked to the greatest comeback in baseball history? In the film, the song kicks in after a 90 second montage that summarizes those eight beautiful nights in October of 2004. I argue that it is the greatest 90 seconds in film history!

Lunatic Fringe, Red Rider, VisionQuest: This one is near and dear to my heart. The song backs a scene where Matt Modine is firing himself up to wrestle an unbeatable state champ. I found the scene and song inspiring and as a result, I had the song on a mix that I‘d listen to when I was psyching myself up in HS. How can such a song not be on the list?

MOLLY SAYS:

Golden Years, First Knight. Shut up, I like it. It's a silly movie, sure, but I could watch Heath Ledger (sniff) dancing over and over again, happily.

I am scrapping my Pixies cover/karaoke choice from (500) Days of Summer and adding Son of a Preacher Man by Dusty Springfield, in Pulp Fiction. It’s hard to choose between this song and the Urge Overkill song, but as frantic and restless as Uma Thurman made Mia (which was totally underscored by that song), John Travolta made Vincent sooooo smooth, and SooPM completely captures that for me. And I don’t even LIKE John Travolta!

Mad World, The Church (do covers count?), Donnie Darko: It might not technically fit the criteria (is over a montage at the end) but it’s moody and weird and I remember trying to buy the single after seeing the movie and at that time, it wasn’t available and I don’t know if it’s ever been released but even when I hear the original Tears for Fears version, I think of this odd, odd movie.

Be For Real, Afghan Whigs, Beautiful Girls: Greg Dulli’s voice is gritty and familiar in the same way that the characters and hometown in this movie are gritty and familiar. It makes me want to drink cheap beer and waste lots of money on a jukebox.

More Than This (potentially not allowed on this list as it is karaoke), Bill Murray, Lost in Translation: It makes my heart hurt. This is my idea of a perfect movie and while the karaoke might not be technically eligible in this category, Bill Murray says everything while he is singing to Charlotte/Scarlett.

In Your Eyes, Peter Gabriel, Say Anything: It's too obvious, sure, but how can I *not* include the boombox? I was a thirteen year old girl when I saw this movie. It was my prom theme, for christ's sake. I mean, COME ON!


This Woman's Work, Kate Bush, She's Having a Baby: (Starts at 3:20ish)Tears.  The first time I saw this movie I thought it was funny. I was a kid and things like ‘marriage’ and ‘fertility’ and ‘fatherhood’ were not really forefront in my mind, but I knew that when Kevin Bacon was in that waiting room, he was scared. When I watch that scene now, as an adult, it stings even more because I can appreciate how complicated relationships can be, but I also can appreciate those moments of clarity that come along every now and then.

American Girl, playing as Brooke Smith drives to her abduction in Silence of the Lambs: Classic. I can think of several singing-along-in-the-car scenes that stand out (Tom Cruise singing Free Fallin’ in Jerry Maguire, John Mahoney singing Ricky Don’t Lose that Number in Say Anything), but this one wins for me because the actress is so open and comfortable yet you still can feel something sordid and dark on the edge of the scene and them BOOM, she’s putting the lotion in the basket.

Tiny Dancer, Almost Famous: So sincere it is impossible not to love. This entire movie is sweet and sun-dappled and watching this scene is like leaning against your best friend’s shoulder and getting a soft hug in return. Or something like that.

Sister Christian by Night Ranger, in the scene with Alfred Molina and the coke, Boogie Nights: Duh. It’s uncomfortable to watch it’s so tense and vivid and everything about it is strung out and it’s pretty much perfect.

I have to give one honorable mention to the song Breathe Me by Sia which was played over the last scene of Six Feet Under and is therefore forever and always linked to my greatest emotional breakdown, ever. EVER! For months and months I could not hear that song without almost choking. No other song has ever had a lasting and visceral impact on me like that, no other scene has ever caused MASSIVE EMOTIONAL TRAUMA the way the end of Six Feet Under did, but as it's not in a movie I am leaving it off my list. Or at least, off *this* list.  Layla/Goodfellas, Gimee Shelter/The Departed, If You Leave/Sixteen Candles, Stuck in the Middle With You/Resevoir Dogs, I’m Shipping Up to Boston/The Departed, Dry the Rain/High Fidelity are all on my short(well, shortish) list as well.

The Wire .......The Greatest Scenes from Television's Greatest Show

So the writers of Tuesday's Paw have just finished a five-month project to watch all 60 episodes of The Wire and both agree that is was the greatest television program of all-time. And because its still so fresh in our mind, today's question is .......what are the ten greatest scenes from television's most perfect program?

Don's List...

Honorable Mention

15) Marlo goes to prison to hook up a connection with the Greeks only to find out that Avon is still a player. Avon’s handling of that meeting is both comical and revealing. It doesn’t matter where he is ......he is still the man. And the Game is the Game. (V)

14) Cutty goes to Avon for cash to furnish his gym ….Avon fills him on the spot, laughing at the paltry amount. (III)

13) Prez mistakenly kills another cop and sees his life upended just after finding his true calling: investigative police work. (III)

12) Michael says goodbye to Bug and Dukie. I still can’t figure out why Dukie’s best option was to live on the streets with a junk man who shoots heroin and owns a broken down horse, but does it matter? This scene just crushes the sole. (V)

11) Michael kills Snoop: Similar in many ways to Marlo killing Prop Joe as there is some poetry involved. She knows she is cooked and spends her last moment checking out her braids in the mirror. When asked about her look, Michael says “you look fine girl” just before he blows her head off. Hard to keep this out of my top-10 but it is a bit redundant with Joe's murder (#4)and it just doesn’t quite make it. (V)

And Top-10

10 ) Cutty exits the game …..with Avon’s blessing …..”he a man today” (III) The show has a few success stories (Carver, Namond), but this is the one that I found most inspiring.

9) Slim Charles, out of the blue, blows Cheese away. There is so much revenge and finality to this scene that it demands inclusion. This killing is for Butchie, who got sold out by Cheese. It’s for Joe, who got sold out for Cheese. And in a way, it’s a “thank you” to Omar who once let Slim off the hook.

8) D’Angelo gets lured to Wee-Bay’s crib and he thinks he is being set up but it turns out that Bay just wants D to take care of his fish. (I) This is just a good scene.

7) Bodie and Poot kill Wallace: Talk about the end of innocence (I) A couple of 15-year olds killing a 14 year-old who is caring for a bunch of eight year-olds.

6) McNulty flips Bodie while they peacefully eat breakfast sandwiches. The kicker for me on this one is where McNulty basically applauds, or at least respects, Bodie for being a loyal soldier, and in doing so, endorses the “game,” as it was played under its previous rules. In a nuthell, this scene explains there is THE game and there is Marlo’s game. One is acceptable and the other is not. (IV)

5) Dukie gives Prez a pen set. (IV)

4) Marlo takes the life of Prop Joe. The poetry that went along with this killing is what gets this scene into my top-10. Here is Marlo, the coldest of cold, comforting Joe as the moment nears. “Just close your eyes Joe ……”

3) “Where’s WALLACE!” ….D’Angelo’s tirade against Stringer is probably the best acted scene in the whole show. I might name my next dog Wallace just so I can yell, "WHERE'S WALLACE?"

2) Randy, seeing his life destroyed, screams at Carver ….”you gonna look after me! You gonna take care of me now ……” Not only is this scene painful at a personal level but it shows just how hopeless the situation is for kids in West Baltimore. The kid is destroyed. Carver is destroyed. That whole damn neighborhood is destroyed.

1) Stringer and Avon, reminiscing about the old times while glancing out over the Inner Harbor, each knowing that they intend to the kill the other in short order. The classic Greek tradgedy set in West Baltimore (III)

Molly's list ...

Honorable Mention

15) Front and Follow (S1)

14) Frank Zbotka walks to his death (S2)

13) Marlo shows some fire in prison: MY NAME IS MY NAME (S5)

12) Dukie gives Prez the desk set (S4)

11) Slim shoots Cheese in the head: That's for Joe (S5)

And Top 10

10) Prop Joe's death. Chilling, which is probably the best way to describe Marlo (who shows heat only twice: in prison, and when he bails on the politician's dinner to mess with the corner boys, just because he can (which reminds me of the line - and I don't know if it's actually said in the show or not, or who says it but I think it might be Omar? - Heavy is the head that wears the crown. Marlo didn't want out of the game so much as he wanted down from the throne.) (S5)

9) Omar in court, with his tie looped around his neck, giving it back to the pay lawyer: I carry the gun, you carry the briefcase but it's all the same (S2)

8) Marlo visits Avon is prison: Avon is not only still in the game, he still loves the game (which is what Marlo lacks - Heavy is the head and all that) and it comes easy to him. Avon knows what he is, and he knows what he's not and he's one of the few characters who seems totally content with his place and his actions. He walks into the room and suddenly we realize how much we missed him. (S5)

7) McNulty in Stringer's apartment: Who the fuck have I been chasing? (S3)

6) The 'fuuccck' crime scene with Bunk and McNulty (S1); never has so much been said with so little, and never are Bunk and McNulty better than with each other

5) McNulty turning Bodie, offering him the breathing space that he was unable to give D'Angelo; Bodie's subsequent death (This is MY corner). (S4)

4) Carver visits Randy in the hospital: You gonna look after me NOW, Sargeant Carver? Huh? (S4)

2) Stringer and Avon on the balcony + Stringer's death; technically two scenes but I can't rank one over the other so I'm letting them do double duty. Brother versus brother is a story that's as old as time but none of that makes Stringer's selling out of Avon any less poignant. To Us, man. And subsequently, Stringer's death ("Get on with it, Motherfu-") brings him right back down to the street he was trying to rise above. (S3)

1) Bodie and Poot shoot Wallace. This is where it all starts for me: the violence, the heartbreak, the chain of command, the orders, the inescapability, the speed, the finality, the loyalty, the lack of dignity, the fear, the game. (S1)

Memorable Scenes: Boogie or Brokeback?

So today's question ...what are your ten favorite movie scenes in film history?
No rules ........

Molly's List  (It's too hard to list the 10 "best" or even my all time favorite so I guess it's more a list of 10 Movie Scenes Near and Dear to My Heart): 

• Jake Ryan, standing outside his red Porshe, waiting for Molly Ringwald as she looks behind her after leaving the church at the end of Sixteen Candles. "Yeah, you." Sigh. It's hard to overstate the significance of Jake Ryan on impressionable 10 year old girls' minds.  
• I'm a sucker for this movie and while I can admit the dialog here is a little over-written, I will nominate the scene with Willy and Andira, sitting in the ice house, in Beautiful Girls. "Can you think of anything more romantic than making love to an attractive stranger?" "Going back to Chicago, Ice cold martinis. Van Morrison." Note: I'm submitting the ice house scene, but it's hard for me not to include Good Night Sweet Girl.
• I have to include the scene in Almost Famous where everyone starts singing Tiny Dancer. It's the best scene EVER of friends making up: no words, but just through singing that song they all get past being angry at Russell and he gets over feeling embarassed and the tension disappears and the bus keeps driving and no apologies are necessary.
• I'm having a hard time narrowing down the scenes in this movie, but I have to include the karaoke scene from Lost in Translation. I'd have to write a 12 page essay on all the reasons why I love Lost in Translations and all the subtle and sad little moments that grabbed me, but I think the karaoke scene sums up the sadness and sweetness of Bob and Charlotte pretty well. But there are a million tiny moments that deserve mention (the Sauntory commercial, their fight, Bob telling Charlotte about having kids, the very end, Bob talking to his wife on the phone, Charlotte asking him, "Did I scowl at you?")
• "...And then do you know what happens? Six years later you find yourself signing Surrey with a Fringe on Top IN FRONT OF IRA!"
• It's hard for me to single out any one scene from Silence of the Lambs because the whole movie is SO FUCKING GOOD but I'm going to go with the end, when Buffalo Bill shuts out the lights in the basement and Clarice knows he's there, hunting her, and he's just watching her with the night vision goggles and she's all wide-eyed and alert and I can hardly breath when that scene comes on and part of the reason I love it so might be because I've read the book so often that I hear the narrative in my head when I watch it and I know how she hears the almost silent click of his gun and reacts to it and then her ears are ringing and right before he dies he says, "tell me what it's like...to be...beautful" and THAT IS SOME INTENSE AND CREEPY SHIT RIGHT THERE.
• I'm not generally a sucker for the emotional tearjerker type movies but Terms of Endearment is a really good movie with some really funny bits but there is one scene that KILLS ME and makes my heart hurt whenever I watch it: Debra Winger is in the hospital and her two little sons (sweet sweet Teddy and Tommy) come to visit her and say goodbye to their dying mom and they are scared and nervous and she puts on makeup before they walk in to try and cover up her pallor and they walk in and stand there so scared and uncomfortable and she reaches out to the older one who has a shaggy bowl cut and she says, You need a haircut. And when they leave she says to sweet sweet Teddy, "I was so scared. But I think it went pretty well, don't you?" AND THEN I DIE INSIDE.
• Ferris Bueller in the parade, Twist & Shout. Pure joy.
• The opening to Woody Allen's Manhattan: 3 minutes of voice over with Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue playing while we see black and white shots of NYC culminating in fireworks over Central Park. Also in that movie: Isaac's reasons for living.
• Okay, bear with me on this one: Brokeback Mountain packs a wallop from start to finish but two scenes stand out for me, and they are tied together so I am having a hard time separating the two. First, Ennis (Heath Ledger) goes to visit Jack's (Jake Gyllenhaal) parents after he learns of his death (Jack's wife told Ennis it was a car accident; he was actually beaten to death because he was gay) and walks into this stark, spare little prairie house in the middle of NOWHERE (in Wyoming) and meets Jack's parents who are these very grave, serious, devout but ultimately kind people, and before he leaves they ask if he'd like to see Jack's room which turns out to be this spartan space upstairs and he sits there and looks around and then opens the closet and finds his old plaid shirt with dried blood on it (which is from the first summer he and Jack met, 20 years prior; the blood is from a fight they got into) hanging on a hanger with one of Jack's shirts (jack's shirt is on the outside) and he grabs the shirts and breathes in their scent. He takes the shirt and asks Jack's parents if he can have it (Ennis, by the way, can barely speak. Throughout the entire movie he speaks in this very forced mumble; he's so closed off and afraid of who he is that he is physically unable to communicate). Then, in the last scene of the movie, his daughter comes to visit him in this sad little trailer where he's living and tells him that she is engaged, and asks if he can come to the wedding. He mumbles about how it's a busy time for him (rancher, has to drive the sheep) but before she goes, he asks her if her fiance loves her (which might be the only time the word 'love' comes out of his mouth in the entire movie; it took him a lifetime to realize that love is important). After she goes, he stands looking out the back of his sad little trailer and we can see that he has the two shirts he took from Jack's house hanging on a peg with an old postcard from Brokeback Mountain (where he met Jack). Only now, his shirt is wrapped around Jack's. And he stands there and just says, "I swear, Jack..." Brokeback Mountain was probably one of the most powerful movies I have ever seen. Ever. It's basically perfect.

 (There are MANY ommissions. The birthday pool party in Rushmore. Anything from Broadcast News or All the President's Men. WHY'D YOU MAKE ME PLAY SECOND BASE in Parenthood, You know how I know you're gay? in 40 Year Old Virgin, Catherine Zeta Jones in Chicago. Mia Wallace dancing in Pulp Fuction. All of Forrest Gump. Many ommissions.)

 
Don's  List (A nearly impossible exercise ...but here is my list, in no particular order):

• Boogie Nights: Dirk, John C Reiley and their knucklehead friend go to Alfred Molino’s house and try to rob him of his drugs and money. Many have tried, but no scene in history has ever done drug paranoia like that. Moreover, no one has ever done “bottoming out” better.
• No Country for Old Men: Coin Flipping scene. This scene literally sucked the air out of the theatre. Literally. I mean, there wasn’t enough air left. No really, I actually was chocking.
• I have to have a war scene on my list ….and the competition comes down to the beautifully-staged and adrenaline-packed Helicopter attack scene in Apocolypse, the Opening to SPRyan and the Steve Mcqueen motorcycle chase scene from The Great Escape. I will focus this selection on SPR but just the scene where The Company is on the boat and headed to shore. The uneasiness and weight of the moment on that boat is palpable. I don't need the whole opening 20 minutes. Those two minutes on the landing craft are plenty.
• Final Timeout in Hoosiers ……Gene Hackman maps out a play that is poorly received and then Jimmy chimes in and confidently calls for the ball: ”I can make it coach!!" The most inspiring moment of any sports film and that includes both Kurt Russell's pre-game speech in Miracle and then his pre-third period speech. If you can outdo Coach Herb Brooks screaming: "You can beat these guys!" than you know you know you have watched something special.
• Rocky getting in shape in Rocky I …..maybe the best original score ever in the background as Rocky runs through the streets of Philadelphia. If this scene didn't (doesn't) get you off the couch, perhaps you deserve a sedentary life that ends with diabetes.
• I love a good vengeful jury verdict ……..and my favorite was probably from The Verdict, where Paul Newman is able to get enormous damages off the Church in a malpractice suit. I am a total sucker for these scenes and I always enjoy seeing The Church get burned.
• There are so many great scenes from Raising Arizona and it’s hard to pass over the Opening, which lasts for 20 minutes, but I am picking the scene where Nicholas Cage and Tex Cobb square off in a custody battle over the baby. Chris Kuhner and I spent three weeks in college saying nothing to each other than the lines from this scene. We used to watch reruns of this movie, in different rooms, with the doors open and end up dying when this scene came on.
• Dance scene in Little Miss Sunshine. I can’t imagine laughing harder or feeling better after watching a movie scene.
• Bad News Bears: Scene where Vic Morrow’s son stands up to his dad on the pitching mound and his abusive Dad ends up hitting him while he takes him out of the game. this reminds me of so many things including Southern California in the 70s, youth baseball and the time my Dad tossed me into a rose bush!
• Defending Your Life: Final scene where Albert Brooks has failed his test in Judgment City but then rallies and shows the requisite courage to get Meryl Streep back and “move on.” This is my “pull at the heart” nominee, but it was close over every scene from the last 20 minutes of Field of Dreams and many more.