# Brilliant moments/sequences in otherwise God-awful movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 27, 2006, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brilliant-moments-sequences-in-otherwise-god-awful-movies/341884 "2006-01-27T19:27:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brilliant-moments-sequences-in-otherwise-god-awful-movies/341884/21 "2006-01-28T05:38:50Z")
After reading a review, I actually had to watch The Country Bears, to see Christopher Walken dance around a model of the Country Bears theatre while smashing it to bits. Just having him play the villian in a Disney movie is strange enough but that scene was hysterical. The rest of the movie was, in fact, painful to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brilliant-moments-sequences-in-otherwise-god-awful-movies/341884/22 "2006-01-28T05:44:17Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > After reading a review, I actually had to watch The Country Bears, to see Christopher Walken dance around a model of the Country Bears theatre while smashing it to bits. …curse you… ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brilliant-moments-sequences-in-otherwise-god-awful-movies/341884/23 "2006-01-28T06:30:07Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > After reading a review, I actually had to watch The Country Bears, to see Christopher Walken dance around a model of the Country Bears theatre while smashing it to bits. > Just having him play the villian in a Disney movie is strange enough but that scene was hysterical. > > The rest of the movie was, in fact, painful to watch. Damn it man! Now I have to go to Netflix and change my queue! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brilliant-moments-sequences-in-otherwise-god-awful-movies/341884/24 "2006-01-28T07:06:38Z")
Truly awful, D-grade movie that even the Scifi channel wouldn’t play till three in the morning, _ **Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies** _. THe kind of movie you know that everyone involved was– A) more desperate for work than they ever thought they’d be B) being blackmailed C) changing their name and going into hiding afterward. Production values about half a step above _Manos, Hands of Fate._ In it, Satan–or some minor demon, I forget–manifests in our world, and ends up in jail. (No, seriously.) Where he goes about getting people to promise him their souls in exchange for favors. So this inmate, asks a favor–I forget, something evil; kill another inmate or something–then goes, in bargaining mode, “So what do you want?” And the devil guy goes, “Your soul . . . and a pack of cigarettes.” I tell you I about peed. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brilliant-moments-sequences-in-otherwise-god-awful-movies/341884/25 "2006-01-28T07:34:17Z")
The swimming pool fucking scene and Ninja Nipples Nomi stomping the Rockin’ Rapist were almost enough to redeem _Showgirls_. Almost. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brilliant-moments-sequences-in-otherwise-god-awful-movies/341884/26 "2006-01-28T07:44:41Z")
Red alert! lissener-baiting! _smacks Otto’s nose with a newspaper_ Bad Otto, bad! ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brilliant-moments-sequences-in-otherwise-god-awful-movies/341884/27 "2006-01-28T09:11:52Z")
It was a coincidence, I swear! OK, so it wasn’t a coincidence, lissener’s name on the last post reminded me of _Showgirls_, but I said the exact same thing about the movie long before I knew of lissener’s…intense…interest. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brilliant-moments-sequences-in-otherwise-god-awful-movies/341884/28 "2006-01-28T14:30:19Z")
Travolta’s character spends all of _Battlefield Earth_ trying to accumulate gold. At the very end: he ends up trapped inside Fort Knox! All that gold but he can’t do a damn thing with it. ---
**Author:** ![Squee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@Squee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squee)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brilliant-moments-sequences-in-otherwise-god-awful-movies/341884/29 "2006-01-28T15:20:27Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Red alert! lissener-baiting! _smacks Otto’s nose with a newspaper_ Bad Otto, bad! I heard lissener-baiting makes you go blind and grow hair on your palms. You were right to smack him with the newspaper. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brilliant-moments-sequences-in-otherwise-god-awful-movies/341884/30 "2006-01-28T21:40:45Z")
The opening scene from the original **Highlander** was really good with the Queen music, the wrestling match, and the sword fight in the parking garage. After that it pretty much sucked (sorry fanboys). ---
**Author:** ![Julius\_Henry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@Julius\_Henry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Julius_Henry)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brilliant-moments-sequences-in-otherwise-god-awful-movies/341884/31 "2006-01-28T22:03:34Z")
The wheat toast scene saved \*\*Five Easy Pieces \*\* for me. ---
**Author:** ![Arch\_Trout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9f8e36/32.png) [@Arch\_Trout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arch_Trout)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brilliant-moments-sequences-in-otherwise-god-awful-movies/341884/32 "2006-01-28T22:19:38Z")
> [@Malodorous](#): > > Similarily, while not god awful, everything in Saving Private Ryan after the excellent Normandy invasion bit in the beginning was kinda ho-hum. Totally agree. The opening sequence was immense, all the more so for knowing that my grandfather was there. To me - a brutally honest and emotionally charged sequence. Rest of the movie was ho-hum in my mind also. ---
**Author:** ![want2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@want2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2know)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brilliant-moments-sequences-in-otherwise-god-awful-movies/341884/33 "2006-01-28T23:15:15Z")
The girl climbing out of the TV in **The Ring** – the only time in that snorefest that something actually _happened_ ! ---
**Author:** ![Comrade\_Snarky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e480ec/32.png) [@Comrade\_Snarky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Comrade_Snarky)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brilliant-moments-sequences-in-otherwise-god-awful-movies/341884/34 "2006-01-28T23:59:08Z")
The use of a tiny lightsaber to slice and toast bread in **The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy**.I always knew somebody would think of a good use for the things. ---
**Author:** ![FlippyFly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@FlippyFly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlippyFly)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brilliant-moments-sequences-in-otherwise-god-awful-movies/341884/35 "2006-01-29T00:13:38Z")
The part in the new “War of the Worlds” where the refugees are all walking, the train gates go down, and a train zoom past, out of control and on fire, and then is gone and the gates go back up. No one screams or says a word, they are all just stunned. It was a very cool way to convey just how bad the situation was. ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brilliant-moments-sequences-in-otherwise-god-awful-movies/341884/36 "2006-01-29T02:16:05Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > The fight scene in the park in Billy Jack. The rest of the movie helps define the word terrible. You know, I came in here to post the exact same thing, and this is pretty much sets the standard for great scenes in awful movies. Along the same line, [The Born Losers](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061420/) is mostly dreck except for when Billy Jack shoots the leader of the bike gang right between the sunglasses, points the rifle at the biker beside him and says something to the effect of “Now you’re in charge.” Billy’s demands are met very soon after. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brilliant-moments-sequences-in-otherwise-god-awful-movies/341884/37 "2006-01-29T02:42:06Z")
> [@Malodorous](#): > > Similarily, while not god awful, everything in Saving Private Ryan after the excellent Normandy invasion bit in the beginning was kinda ho-hum. I thought the same about apocolypse now , after the village was erased by the choppers , blah Declan ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brilliant-moments-sequences-in-otherwise-god-awful-movies/341884/38 "2006-01-29T02:51:23Z")
People always talk about the “opening scene” of _Saving Private Ryan_, but they are usually referring to the Normandy invasion scenes. Which are not the opening scenes of the film. The opening of that movie is indeed one of the most powerful scenes in the film (or any film). It is when the old man (James Ryan, we find out at the end) is walking through the American cemetary in France with his family, and falls to his knees in front of Captain Miller’s headstone. It knocked my for a loop, and still does every time I see it. A nitpick, I know, but it’s important to me. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brilliant-moments-sequences-in-otherwise-god-awful-movies/341884/39 "2006-01-29T03:15:09Z")
> [@EJsGirl](#): > > People always talk about the “opening scene” of _Saving Private Ryan_, but they are usually referring to the Normandy invasion scenes. > > Which are not the opening scenes of the film. > > The opening of that movie is indeed one of the most powerful scenes in the film (or any film). It is when the old man (James Ryan, we find out at the end) is walking through the American cemetary in France with his family, and falls to his knees in front of Captain Miller’s headstone. It knocked my for a loop, and still does every time I see it. > > A nitpick, I know, but it’s important to me. This is a major plothole in this movie. Seeing as how the Matt Damon character wasn’t even there for most the scenes he is “remembering.” How can he flashback to the D-Day beach invasion when he wasn’t there in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brilliant-moments-sequences-in-otherwise-god-awful-movies/341884/40 "2006-01-29T03:38:09Z")
> [@EJsGirl](#): > > People always talk about the “opening scene” of Saving Private Ryan, but they are usually referring to the Normandy invasion scenes. > > Which are not the opening scenes of the film. > > The opening of that movie is indeed one of the most powerful scenes in the film (or any film). It is when the old man (James Ryan, we find out at the end) is walking through the American cemetary in France with his family, and falls to his knees in front of Captain Miller’s headstone. It knocked my for a loop, and still does every time I see it. > > A nitpick, I know, but it’s important to me. > [@Stephe96](#): > > This is a major plothole in this movie. Seeing as how the Matt Damon character wasn’t even there for most the scenes he is “remembering.” How can he flashback to the D-Day beach invasion when he wasn’t there in the first place? That’s not really a plothole since the film isn’t flashing back through the memory of Ryan. If that were the case, the movie would’ve followed the younger Ryan around rather than concentrate on Captain Miller and his platoon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brilliant-moments-sequences-in-otherwise-god-awful-movies/341884.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brilliant-moments-sequences-in-otherwise-god-awful-movies/341884.md?page=3)