# Great moments in otherwise mediocre movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 18, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-otherwise-mediocre-movies/514252 "2009-10-18T22:12:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-otherwise-mediocre-movies/514252/61 "2009-10-21T17:08:12Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#): > > I think we can all agree that the best two things about The Matrix 2 was [Monica](http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e252/mojuice/Sci%20Fi%20Babes/monica-bellucci.jpg) [Bellucci](http://wallpaperspictures.com/albums/userpics/monica_bellucci.jpg). And tied for third would be [The Twins](http://images.allmoviephoto.com/2003_The_Matrix:_Reloaded/2003_poster_twins.jpg) and [Seraph](http://api.ning.com/files/28cnadnQY1QTugI6-h7DvDBMDO8WKk7nxiQLaxRVfMMOlW141MqKzTQDgQBw0C5AT8w5b1V7LZSUwvjMbnRBPisgJ4W1ibYN/seraph.jpg). I didn’t click your links (because I wanted to have an excuse to say I didn’t click your links), so I can’t comment on Seraph and the Twins. But I’ll agree that Bellucci is the best thing about those movies, as she is the 2nd most beautiful woman on Earth. But her pulchritude alone cannot redeem those films–or, otherwise, the Star Wars prequels, showcasing numbers 1 and 3 on the list of Earth’s most beautiful women, would be works of genius. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-otherwise-mediocre-movies/514252/62 "2009-10-21T17:30:21Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > The movie previously showed that he needed a few seconds of concentration (kneeling on the ground) before getting airborne. The Smiths were trying not to give him those few seconds. > > Still doesn’t make sense why they attacked outdoors. I don’t think it mattered where they attacked. Unless they somehow tricked him into a bunker underneath 10 or 15 feet of concrete, Neo was more than capable of tossing a few Smiths through a wall to make an escape hole. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-otherwise-mediocre-movies/514252/63 "2009-10-21T17:37:11Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > The movie previously showed that he needed a few seconds of concentration (kneeling on the ground) before getting airborne. The Smiths were trying not to give him those few seconds. > > Still doesn’t make sense why they attacked outdoors. That was my point. > [@](#): > > On paper, it was a great movie. In practice it was Exhibit 1 on why films should be directed by directors and not by special effect technicians. That wasn’t my point, but I’m going to pretend it was. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-otherwise-mediocre-movies/514252/64 "2009-10-21T18:06:15Z")
One of my favorite movie scenes of all time is from the utterly mediocre flick _Captain Ron_. In fact, I bought the DVD just for this scene. I don’t remember the exact lines, so I’ll paraphrase. [Captain Ron has bought a gun and brought it onboard the family vessel. Martin Short is not pleased, and asks CR why on Earth he bought a gun.] CR: For protection! From pirates. MS: Pirates??? What pirates??? CR: The pirates of the Caribbean. MS [incredulously]: _Been to Disneyworld one too many times, Captain Ron?_ CR [deadpan]: No, I’ve never been to Disneyworld. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-otherwise-mediocre-movies/514252/65 "2009-10-21T20:00:11Z")
_Cold Mountain_ pretty much defines mediocrity most of its running time. Except for Natalie Portman’s scene. It’s not just her acting; the quality of that scene is just so much better than the rest of the film, it’s like they brought in a guest crew or something. ---
**Author:** ![SunSandSuffering](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@SunSandSuffering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunSandSuffering)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-otherwise-mediocre-movies/514252/66 "2009-10-21T22:30:57Z")
Obvious choice but “Signs” is a pretty stupid movie with an annoying payoff (you are supposed to hit them with a bat, duh) and improbable aliens (who can’t stand water). Except, the alien jumping on the roof near the start and the alien at the birthday party are absolute spine chilling GOLD. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-otherwise-mediocre-movies/514252/67 "2009-10-21T22:43:42Z")
Did not like Blair Witch Project, wanted to slap the characters silly. But oh man, the very last scene scared the crap out of me. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-otherwise-mediocre-movies/514252/68 "2009-10-21T23:20:10Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > But then we get Daredevil incapcitated by the sound of a subway train rolling by but a gunshot going off right next to his ears, doesn’t faze him. Oh well. Thank you for spelling ‘faze’ correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Satchmo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/satchmo/32/4223_2.png) [@Satchmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satchmo)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-otherwise-mediocre-movies/514252/69 "2009-10-22T18:38:12Z")
My favorite moment in “The Monster Squad”, which went right over the heads of almost all the kids that watched it, was when they were leaving the scary German Guy’s house and the fat kid says, “I bet you know a lot about monsters.” They show just a trace of his concentration camp serial number tattoo as he’s closing the door and he says “Yes, I know a lot about monsters.” ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-otherwise-mediocre-movies/514252/70 "2009-10-22T18:40:47Z")
> [@Satchmo](#): > > My favorite moment in “The Monster Squad”, which went right over the heads of almost all the kids that watched it, was when they were leaving the scary German Guy’s house and the fat kid says, “I bet you know a lot about monsters.” They show just a trace of his concentration camp serial number tattoo as he’s closing the door and he says “Yes, I know a lot about monsters.” While I disagree that the rest of the movie is only “mediocre” that is a REALLY great example. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-otherwise-mediocre-movies/514252/71 "2009-10-22T19:20:04Z")
My favorite moment in the **X-Men** movie is a very low-key one: when Rogue and Wolverine are riding in his truck, shortly after they meet. She stares at his hands, and asks, “Does it hurt when they come out?” A short pause, then Wolverine answers, “Every time.” It’s a two-word delivery, but it’s done so well, both grim and off-handedly factual at the same time. Okay, so maybe **X-Men** was better than mediocre, but still. ---
**Author:** ![gang\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f07891/32.png) [@gang\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gang_green)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-otherwise-mediocre-movies/514252/72 "2009-10-22T19:47:58Z")
Jackie Chan’s _City Hunter_. Overall not one of his better efforts, but the fight in the arcade was comedy gold. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-otherwise-mediocre-movies/514252/73 "2009-10-22T21:34:08Z")
> [@panamajack](#): > > _Cold Mountain_ pretty much defines mediocrity most of its running time. Except for Natalie Portman’s scene. It’s not just her acting; the quality of that scene is just so much better than the rest of the film, it’s like they brought in a guest crew or something. Yeah, based on her performance in that scene, I really wish they had cast Natalie in the lead role. I think it would have lifted the whole movie. (Though the baby in that scene was distractingly GIGANTIC.) ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-otherwise-mediocre-movies/514252/74 "2009-10-22T21:38:49Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I didn’t click your links (because I wanted to have an excuse to say I didn’t click your links), so I can’t comment on Seraph and the Twins. But I’ll agree that Bellucci is the best thing about those movies, as she is the 2nd most beautiful woman on Earth. But her pulchritude alone cannot redeem those films–or, otherwise, the Star Wars prequels, showcasing numbers 1 and 3 on the list of Earth’s most beautiful women, would be works of genius. You can click on the Monica Bellucci links now. You will be rewarded for your efforts. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-otherwise-mediocre-movies/514252/75 "2009-10-22T22:22:03Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > (snip)“Daredevil” is 80% utter shit, 10% ‘meh’, 10% awesome. That 10% is the scene where Daredevil comes home from a night a heroing and you see what life would really be like for a hero. His body is covered in scars, he non-chalantly removes a loose tooth, he downs handfuls of painkillers. Being Daredevil-with super hearing and all- must sleep in a sensory deprivation chamber as he can hear all the sounds of the city and the cries for help and sirens and he sighs because he knows it will never be enough. > Best “what it would be like” scene in a super hero movie.(snip) Another scene in this move that makes it for me is during the fight Electra has with Daredevil in the playground. They are both in their civilian persona, and Matt Murdock says to Elektra, “You’re holding back.” She says “Yes.” and he answers, “Don’t.”. She smiles and those dimples light up the screen. I’d never been impressed by Jennifer Garner before, never got into the _Alias_ show, or even watched any of it. She always seemed slightly vapid, the kind of actor who is appealing to men without being threatening to women, but at that moment I fell in love with her. She was, and remains, incandescent. ---
**Author:** ![Lethal\_Babydoll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3be4f8/32.png) [@Lethal\_Babydoll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lethal_Babydoll)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-otherwise-mediocre-movies/514252/76 "2009-10-22T22:33:30Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > [DC Cab](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085387/) wasn’t good for much, but it was good for a scene in which the cabbies have, with some trepidation, agreed to form their own cab company. As the decision is reached, Gary Busey jumps up on the hood of a cab and says to the assembly (in grave earnest): > > "I just want to get one thing straight: I don’t work on January 8… > > …'cause that’s Elvis’s birthday." > > (At which point Busey commences Elvis-style gyrations and the other cabbies burst into laughter.) > > I use that line in every job interview. My man! I use that line at work whenever we set a date for something. I did it just today. “You want to reschedule the change to the 44 inch web for Nov. 17? I don’t work on Nov. 17 cause that’s Elvis’s birthday.” Heads, that have heard it so many times, roll eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-otherwise-mediocre-movies/514252/77 "2009-10-23T03:30:40Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > One of my favorite movie scenes of all time is from the utterly mediocre flick _Captain Ron_. In fact, I bought the DVD just for this scene. I don’t remember the exact lines, so I’ll paraphrase. > > [Captain Ron has bought a gun and brought it onboard the family vessel. Martin Short is not pleased, and asks CR why on Earth he bought a gun.] > > CR: For protection! From pirates. > MS: Pirates??? What pirates??? > CR: The pirates of the Caribbean. > MS [incredulously]: _Been to Disneyworld one too many times, Captain Ron?_ > CR [deadpan]: No, I’ve never been to Disneyworld. The “There are no gorillas in the woods” thing also deserves mention. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-otherwise-mediocre-movies/514252/78 "2009-10-23T04:34:27Z")
[Here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAzukxMOAZw&feature=player_embedded)’s the Cable Guy scene at Medieval Times. The serving wench was definitely well cast. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-otherwise-mediocre-movies/514252/79 "2009-10-23T18:10:55Z")
“There was no silverware IN medieval times therefore there is no silveware AT Medieval Times. Can I get you another pepsi?” “They had pepsi in medieval times?” “Dude, I got a lot of tables.” Not sure that is verbatim, but my high school friends and I will randomly go into that dialogue from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-otherwise-mediocre-movies/514252/80 "2009-11-30T22:33:17Z")
I happened to catch “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” on TV the other day and it made me think back to this thread. Overall the movie didn’t do much for me. But there’s a great little scene towards the end where Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are in a darkened department store and Brad takes down a bad guy with a couple of pipe wrenches. He then swings the wrenches around ninja-style and Angelina looks at him, gun drawn, and stifles a laugh. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-otherwise-mediocre-movies/514252.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-otherwise-mediocre-movies/514252.md?page=5)