That’s one of those scenes where it’s really up to the view to decide what he takes from it. The whole theme of the movie is how a history of violence – both personal history and the history of our species – catches up with you and can destroy you. But it’s also primally satisfying. It’s impossible not to enjoy seeing that punk get the beating he was so begging for.
Another Walter Matthau movie: the ending of Charley Varrick. I won’t spoil it, but Joe Don Baker played a great heavy who really had it coming.
When Tom Cruise goads Jack Nicholson into confessing in “A Few Good Men” and the last thing he says to him. “Don’t call me son. I’m an attorney and an officer of the United States Navy, and you’re under arrest, you son of a bitch”. That scene never fails to make me smile.
From Braveheart where that English Lord kills William’s wife. William’s storms back into the village with a vengance, kicks all the guard’s asses, pushes the lord around in the mud for a few then cuts his throat.
In Working Girl, Sigourney Weaver’s character, Katharine, has stolen her assistant’s idea for their client, Trask, to buy a radio station chain. Assistant Tess, Melanie Griffith’s character, tries to claim the credit but isn’t believed. But then Tess corners Trask in an elevator and explains the details of how she got the idea for the acquisition, showing him magazine articles next to each about Trask and a famous DJ that works for the radio chain.
At the top floor, Trask emerges to find Katharine waiting. He asks her a simple question: where did SHE get the idea? She tries to answer in generalities, but Trask presses her, saying it’s not something that makes sense to combine. What was her specific thought process?
The look on Katharine’s face as she keeps trying to force something, anything, out to cover herself… and can’t… is great.
It’s kind of corny, but every year when my high school English class (having studied Geoffrey Chaucer) watches A Knight’s Tale, there never fails to be a huge cheer when the evil knight gets his comeuppance at the end, and Heath Ledger (sob) gets the girl.
Super cheesy, but I like it anyway. AHnold character in True lies.
“You know these hand cuffs? I’ve picked them.”
The Galaxy Quest one is pretty sweet too.
Oh, and Argent Towers, thanks for the spoiler box. I’m going to watch The Mist this weekend and I’m guessing whatever is in that box, I will enjoy much more if I wait.
Ooooh, but it’s killing me not to highlight it!
Was that really Liam Neeson in Rob Roy? I don’t recall seeing him in anything before the crappy Star Wars prequels. Hmm, I’ll have to see that one again.
I keep thinking of bits and pieces of scenes. One involves Sigourney Weaver in one of the Alien movies where she gets to obliterate the critter. Another is in The Terminator where Linda Hamilton gets to crush what’s left of Ahnuld.
And the one I keep coming back to is from Sharky’s Machine where Burt has been on this boat having his fingers cut off by “the Chins” while Darryl Hickman questions him about where Dominoe is located. After Burt gets Darryl’s gun from him and kills him and one of the Chins, he finds a scuba speargun and shoots the other Chin in the chest. The Chin is standing there on the upper deck, gagging, tugging at the spear and pleading for his life. Burt takes a good pause and then kicks the guy in the chest and off the boat. One of those things in the thread title.
In Cat Ballou when one of Lee Marvin’s characters talks about killing the other one, he says something like, “It was fine!” The way Marvin delivers that line you’d think he was having an orgasm. Even today, decades later, whenever something is particularly cathartic in my life, I try to get just the right Marvin tone and say, “It was fine!”
Any number of the Bond movies have such moments. A noteworthy one is in Dr. No where Bond is sitting in his motel room in the dark with his silenced PPK waiting for a wannabe assassin to come for him. Soon enough the guy comes to the door (or window) and unloads into the pillows Bond has stuffed under the covers. Bond flicks on the light and says something like, “That’s a Smith & Wesson 328 and you’ve had your six.” Then he shoots the guy with his silenced pistol. Nice.
Some of you are going to hate this one, but the first one that came to mind for me was at the climactic moment Rocky III, when Rocky defeated Clubber Lang. It was one of the few times I’ve ever seen a theater audience stand up and cheer.
The second one that came to mind was the aforementioned Shawshank Redemption, and the third was good old Inigo. The Slingblade moment was up there, too.
Me, too; I rented *The Mist * a couple of days ago, but the disc was cracked. I’m gonna take that beeyotch back to Blockbuster and have them give me a watchable copy.
At the ending of Babe when the pig rounds up the sheep during the competition to a stuned and silenced audience. When the gate finally closes with a “click” and the people in the stands jump to their feet and cheer I felt like jumping up and cheering with them.
I don’t know if it qualifies, but Andy Shepherd’s entire speech at the end of “The American President.” I’ve memorized it, mostly because it embodies the liberal mindset. But what brings me out of my seat with a cheer every time is the last eight words.
Speaking of presidents, the climax of “Air Force One”, especially when Harrison Ford peels Gary Oldman’s fingers off the lip of the hatch and says, “Get. Off. My. Plane.”
In “Kill Bill Vol. II,” when Beatarix squishes Elle Driver’s eyeball with her bare foot after having plucked it out of her head. Disgusting, yet deeply satisfying. Much more so than the fight with Bill at the end.
