Saturday, February 2, 2019

10 best scenes in 2018

The most wonderful time of the year is finally here! It's when I get to share my love for the greatest things in movies from last year. Just like in 2017, I'm starting with best scenes of the year. Unfortunately I didn't see all the films I planned - Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse, Destroyer, Vox Lux and I didn't finish the one I don't want to watch but have to - Roma, so here we go, this is the list of the best scenes out of 77 2018 releases I watched.

18. The snap, Avengers: Infinity War
17. Moon landing, First Man
16. Hard stare, Paddington 2
15. The ending, The Favourite
14. Atlanna vs the soldiers, Aquaman
13. The Trench, Aquaman
12. Lee's statement in court, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
11. Always Remember Us This Way, A Star is Born

10. The landing, Deadpool 2
There have been plenty of hilarious moments in 2018 films but few made me laugh harder than the ridiculous sequence in which Deadpool's shiny new team gets slaughtered one by one thanks to lack of attention to weather and really bad luck. It has everything - a wood chipper, acid vomit and yes, even Brad Pitt cameo.

9. Sarah returns, The Favourite
The Favourite is filled with combat - word against the word, intrigue against the intrigue, lie against the lie. But the best of it comes after lady Sarah returns from the dead - that is the poisoning by Abigail. There is no charade here - they both know they want the other one gone. And watching them admit that in the open is quite simply delicious to witness as are Weisz's and Stone's wicked performances.

8. The accident, Hereditary
The single most shocking sequence in years. If you didn't know it was coming, you were probably as shocked as Alex Wolfe's character was when it happened. In this scene his character is driving frantically, since his little sister Charlie is having an allergic reaction. When he sees an animal on the road he takes a sharp turn....one that decapitates the sister on a telephone pole. What made it even more shocking was a very smart marketing campaign from A24 which made it look like Charlie is going to be a major part of the film.

7. The lobster tank, Venom
I still don't know whether it was unintentionally or intentionally hilarious but whatever the intentions behind it, the ridiculous sequence in which Tom Hardy, who is clearly having the time of his life in this film, jumps into a lobster tank in a crowded restaurant is one of the most memorable scenes from last year. Yes, there are many better CBMs out there. And their makers would be so lucky to have a gem of such an iconic scene in them.

6. Commanding the sea, Aquaman
This is probably the most epic moment I've ever seen. Arthur, finally wielding the Trident of Atlan, commands the sea creatures to stop fighting.  They obey scattering around him as we go further and see Arthur standing on the head of Karathan, as a King ruling his realm at last. It's amazing that Aquaman starts above the water with a simple lighthouse keeper and the journey leads to such magic under the surface.

5. The dance, A Quiet Place
I was not the fan of this movie, I found the script to be both derivative and incredibly silly. However John Krasinski's direction was really good, particularly when he was directing his beloved wife Emily Blunt (it's a shame she wasn't at the very least nominated for her work here). The film has some genuinely touching moments, all thanks to the acting. The most heartwarming scene happens when the couple - both off and on screen - dance slowly, just the two of them, forgetting about the horrors around them for a moment.

4.The ending, A Star is Born
There have been no moment more shattering the whole 2018, perhaps even if we combined all the other moving scenes in 2018, than the second to last editing cut of A Star is Born. As we watch Ally sing her song for her dead husband we suddenly cut to the happier time when Jackson was still alive and the two were working on that very song together. And then we get one more cut, taking us back to Ally, looking up as if she was trying to see Jackson and then right back at us.

3. The ending, First Reformed
In many ways this right here is the most beautiful scene of the year. In my interpretation this right here is the last thought our protagonist had. In the last moments of his life he imagines the only person he had left who he cared about caring about him back and exchanging a passionate kiss. It's a stunning moment and the second time during the film where it breaks from cold reality. And in what an ecstatic, rapturous way it does so here.

2. Welcome home, Aquaman 
In the astonishingly gorgeous moment Arthur and the audience get their first look at the underwater kingdom of Atlantis. Jason Momoa captures his character's amazement so well and the images we are seeing are simply stunning. All of this is accompanied by the score's best track which sound like something out of Blade Runner. It's been a while since we saw such an intricate and fresh new world in cinema and thanks to the wonderful reception of the film, we will be coming back to Atlantis.

1. Shallow, A Star is Born
In the stunning sequence that is the heart of the movie Ally finally decides to go see Jackson's concert. As she is approaching the stage we hear one of the best tracks from the soundtrack - "Out of Time". Then the song seamlessly goes into "Alibi" and after that Jackson greets Ally. And we all know what happens next. Jackson sings Ally song and she joins him and very quickly magic happens. The love of creating. The love of music. The love of sharing your song with the audience. And sharing it with the one you love. Gaga, beautifully directed by Cooper, sings her heart out and the moment she reaches the biggest part of the song, but not before glancing at her beloved and grabbing the microphone, finally, at last, doing what she always wanted to do - is transcendent and never fails to move me to tears.

28 comments:

  1. I thought your #1 and #2 would be flipped around! I actually forgot about that dance scene in A Quiet Place, I'm glad you included it. It was really sweet.

    I'm here for Venom being on here. I don't care how bad it was, I laughed my ass off more in that than I did Deadpool 2.

    I'm rewatching Hereditary again tonight and I can't wait to watch my husband's reaction to that scene.

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  2. Hereditary was awful during that scene.. in the best way possible. I think you would have had a favourite from Spiderverse too, it's filled with just super busy animation, which is so interesting and different, and I loved it!

    I agree with A Star is Born scenes, I loved both of those a lot. Even though I saw the last one through some tears.

    I haven't yet thought about my 2018 lists because I haven't seen everything I want to watch. But man, I saw Roma.. .. man.

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    1. I am gonna HAVE to see Roma before the Oscars, but ugh. Spiderverse looks really fun but animation movies don't usually work for me, maybe this is gonna be an exception!

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  3. That Tom Hardy gif made me laugh out loud. It was pretty epic though

    I'm so happy to see the dance scene in A Quiet Place made it to the list :) and that Shallow is #1

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    1. His expression is so hilarious there! Hardy still makes my best actor line up

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  4. GREAT list, and an excellent choice for number 1. What a sequence that was. And I thought that Venom scene was hilarious as well, intentional or otherwise. Hardy was having a blast in that movie.

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    1. Hardy was so great in this! His performance alone makes me excited for the sequel

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  5. Awesome list! Happy to see Shallow as number one. I got chills seeing it in theaters, and that skip she does to the front mic from the back mic was perfect. The Grammy scene is also a great step-up from the previous versions too...And Black Eyes...Actually, just the whole movie for me lol.

    I wish Big Tuna and Mrs. Tuna had gotten some more love for A Quiet Place. Even if it was divisive, I would've liked it more than what we got with GR/BR.

    I honestly did not see that Hereditary scene coming at all, especially because of the marketing.

    Love that scene from Venom. You're so right about other superhero movies - there's a lot of memorable characters, but not a lot of memorable scenes.

    Still bummed I missed Aquaman in theaters. I'm sure the whole movie would've blown me away.

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    1. Oh no! Well when you have a chance watch Aquaman on huge TV at least!

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  6. Love this post, and I completely agree with your #1. Despite seeing clips of this scene in trailers, I still got CHILLS when I saw the entire sequence in theaters. I'm still so shocked by this movie. Great stuff.

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    1. The buildup to that scene was so amazing! Great work from Cooper, what a shame he's not nominated for Best Director

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  7. Ah I loved the lobster scene :) Silly as that movie was I give it credit for actually taking Eddie to a hospital like I think most people would do instead of any other comic book movie. Bit by radioactive spider? Poisoned by gas cloud? Ah, I'm just gonna sleep it off...

    Also impressed Shallow was still such a great scene despite being in all the previews and by then I had already listened to the song 200 times!

    And pro anything Aquaman naturally.

    Great list!

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    1. Yeah you are right, that was a nice touch! :)

      Same! It was such an incredibly powerful moment!

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  8. Hell YES for Venom being in this Top 10, haha. So many hilarious moments in that movie, although like you said, I guess not all of them were intentional!

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  9. Great scene selection, I'm with you on the snap, ASIB shallow performance, and the Aquaman welcoming. Also, Venom!!! so cool to see it on your list. I have yet to see A Quiet Place and First Reformed, I have to get to them soon

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    1. First Reformed is outstanding. It's not for everyone but I really loved it

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  10. Great post and a ton of really good scenes. It is really hard to argue with your #1. For me that scene definitely starts when they get out of the car and make their way through the backstage area. As you mentioned you can hear the muffled boom of the music. But Gaga sells it so well. She is overwhelmed with excitement and then overwhelmed with emotion once she's on stage. So freaking good.

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    1. It's so fantastic! The only thing I look forward to when it comes to Oscars this year is them performing the song live

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  11. Wonderful list! I am 100% on board with Venom's lobster tank scene. I honestly don't know if it would have worked without Tom Hardy in that role.

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    1. Hardy totally made that movie so entertaining, without him it would be forgettable

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  12. That entire concert sequence in A Star is Born (from the second "Out of Time" starts playing) is goddamn ELECTRIC. Far and away the best thing in that film. It falls apart after that, I thought, but goddamn, it should win the Editing Oscar just for that second to last cut ALONE. Absolutely brilliant.

    Alex Wolff in THAT scene in Hereditary is just.... UGH. There are no words.

    There are so many great scenes in The Favourite, it is hard to pick just one. Lady Sarah's return is REALLY great, though. I also love the scene in the woods where the guy is chasing Emma and she reels him in and just knees him in the balls. Also the scene where Sarah "shoots" Abigail. "I do fear confusion and accidents." Those ladies are so BRILLIANT!

    I think my favorite in Aquaman is the trench, actually. The cinematography there is surprisingly gorgeous.

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    1. Trench was amazing! It's my favorite shot of the year, when they jump off the boat, it looked so incredible!!

      ASIB being snubbed left and right for technical categories at the Oscars is so ridiculous, it was such a well shot and edited movie

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  13. My memory is too bad to remember scenes in detail properly so long after seeing them, but its good to see the lobster tank one there hehe. And w The Favourite I reckon there is a bunch you could choose from. When I next watch it I'll keep an eye out for your description. Same goes for First Reformed, I can't remember that ending exactly at all. I think that means I need to watch it again!

    For me, of your list it'd be Hereditary just cos it was so shocking I still remember it, VIVIDLY, and it was ages ago when I last saw it too.

    Another nice job, I dunno how you have the energy to put these type of things together sati. Great stuff :)

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    1. Well I manage to post twice a week....some people in our blogosphere post every two days :)

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  14. man every two days. Crazy. I'm not sure I have even posted this month! I need some of that ADD medication!!

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    1. Eh, lists are quick to make. The number of reviews I have been posting is small for a reason

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