Great Scenes That Outshine Their Movies

The Museum Sequence is a textbook example of what we're talking about here. Come to think of it, a *lot* of Brian De Palma qualifies for this list.

The rest of this movie is solid, competent, if unspectacular, but Tom Hanks's final scene might be the crown jewel of his career.

Speaking of Tom Hanks: when Michael Sullivan returns home, and finds -- well, you know. Second place goes to how Jude Law's introduced.

Again, not a bad film, but the entire train sequence so thoroughly outclasses everything else here that it seems bad by comparison. That might be the best thing Kim Jee-Woon's done.

Two words: the windmill. Terrific stuff.

I know, I'm cheating a bit, given it's a TV show and all. I wax hot and cold on the original Twin Peaks, especially Season 2, but "Episode 14" is just jaw-dropping.

Somewhere, in a parallel universe, there's a cut of this that's just 90 minutes, and all in the same vein as the opening and closing battles. The beach landing might be Spielberg's best work since Raiders.

The insect/leech attack, oh *man*. Somewhere deep inside of him, that older, nastier Peter Jackson is waiting for all of us to drop our guard again. I miss that guy.

If you know this movie, you know the scene. Nothing else about it really works for me, but that ghastly kill is an instant classic.

The rest of the show was... well, what it was, but speaking for myself, this pilot was why I gave it a chance in the first place. I spent a few seasons waiting for it to reach these heights, and it never happened again.

With a little time and distance between myself and when the film came out, it's easier to see where the film comes up short. Mike Gioulakis's work is still awesome, though, particularly an unnerving scene where the camera simply spins, as It walks closer and closer.

I don't remember a goddamned thing about the rest of this movie, but I sure remember the Burj Khalifa.

(That's not 100% true, now that I think of it. The opening jailbreak was also fun.)

The bear. Plus, man, does this film have some unnerving imagery -- honestly, I think it has more to say thematically than the film itself does.

Two of these here: the Pod Race sequence, which is quite good, and the finale, which cross-cuts between Naboo and outer space and the Darth Maul fight with surprising competence.

Also, as a footnote, that brief shot of the heroes swim down to the Gungan City. Lovely production design.

Nothing about this movie worked for me on any level... until we got to the POV night-vision assault/massacre sequence at the end. That's unforgettable filmmaking.

Most of this is a perfectly serviceable '90s thriller. Funnily enough, its best sequence has no impact on the plot at all: Harrison Ford and company watch a CIA incursion into an IRA base via satellite, and it's *riveting*.

You might already know what I'm about to throw in here: the scene where poor, poor Olga discovers just how powerful Suzy is.

I actually liked quite a bit of this movie, but its cold-open is just formidable. The orgy is also fantastic, and it's easily the funniest scene of its kind that I've ever seen.