The Silence of The Lambs (1991)
THE MOVIE:
One of the finest films ever made is also often credited as being one of the best horror movies of all time as well. That title is mainly in part to the Best Picture Oscar that was awarded. Many people will say that horror often gets the snub come award season, but to be honest – true horror died a long time ago. What we get not is watered down PG trash, suitable for any stomach. Give me smarts! Welcome, The Silence of The Lambs; (more…)
Reign Over Me (2007)
THE MOVIE:
Alan Johnson (Don Cheadle) has everything he needs to get through life: a good job, a beautiful and loving wife, and their wonderful children. Yet he feels isolated because he finds having a hard-working job and managing a family too much to handle. Charlie Fineman (Adam Sandler), on the other hand, doesn’t have a job or a family. He used to have both until a terrible loss took it all away. A chance encounter one night rekindles the friendship they shared. When Charlie’s problems become too much to deal with, Alan is determined to help Charlie come out of his emotional abyss.
THE SCENE:
Alan manages to convince Charlie to see a therapist, Dr. Oakhurst (Liv Tyler). After several sessions, Charlie finally begins to speak about his loss, but the experience leaves him severely jarred and shaken. In this Scene Stealer we see Adam Sandler give a powerful performance as Charlie breaks it all down for Alan. It is revealed that Charlie lost his wife and daughters in the September 11 attacks as they were on American Airlines Flight 11. Music is an important component of this film (the title of the film comes from the song Love, Reign o’er Me by The Who) as Charlie uses his iPod and headphones to selectively filter out the world. The scene uses Drive All Night from Bruce Springsteen’s The River (one of the best albums of all time by the way) coming from Charlie’s headphones, a great moment in Sandler’s career as well as great emotional filmmaking.
Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
Glengarry Glen Ross is a 1992 independent film, adapted by David Mamet from his acclaimed 1984 Pulitzer Prize- and Tony-winning play of the same name. The film depicts two days in the lives of four real estate agents and how they become desperate when the corporate office sends a representative (Baldwin) to “motivate” them by announcing that, in one week, all except the top two salesmen will be fired.
SCENE: Alec Baldwin as Blake is brought in by Mitch and Murray to motivate the salesmen in a ruthless manner; this character was created for the film and did not appear in the stage version. The scene is brilliant in its use of atmosphere. The only other sound besides Baldwin’s yelling is the rain. He berates the agents for over seven minutes in what is one of the best speeches of any film. Video after the jump.
(more…)
The Godfather: Part II (1974)
One of the best movies ever made has a scene stealer? No joke. The Godfather Part II is a history lesson in film making, everything on screen in amazing, I choose one particular moment. In this scene at a hotel room after a hearing, Kay (Diane Keaton) tries to leave Michael (Al Pacino) and take their children with her. Michael at first tries to mollify her, but, when she coldly reveals to him that her recent “miscarriage” was actually an abortion to avoid bringing another son into Michael’s criminal family, Michael explodes in anger and punches her in the face. I think my favorite part is when she goes on about”this Sicilian thing” and you can literally see Michael sink, defeated. Then of course he comes back with a right of his own. See it below.
There Will Be Blood (2007)
In this Stealer we get to look at a scene from one of the best movie made in the last decade, There Will Be Blood. The film stars Daniel-Day Lewis (Gangs of New York, In the Name of the Father) and Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine, The Girl Next Door) and was directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love). I saw TWBB with about five other strangers in an old fashioned movie house, no noise or interruptions, just a good old fashioned viewing of a fantastic movie. Needless to say I am sure they were as blown away as I was at the performances on screen.
Synopsis: Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) is, as he likes to remind those around him, an oil man: he finds it, he drills for it, and he makes money from it. Following a tip from a visitor named Paul Sunday, whose family sits atop a veritable ocean of oil, Plainview travels to the town of New Boston, California, with his young son. Sunday’s preacher brother Eli (both roles are played by Paul Dano) grudgingly accepts Plainview’s ambitions under the condition that he help fund the town church. As Plainview’s plans come to fruition, a series of events begin to fracture the insular world he has constructed for himself, pitting Plainview against Sunday and forcing him to become even more vindictive and ruthless. (Jump for Scene)
CityofFilms.com is your site for the latest news, reviews, and views on everything film.
Have something to say? Contact us.Let us know!
Plug your business the right way, advertise on our site.
Our weekly film-centric webcomic, The City Strip.
Working hard to kill productivity.one game at a time.
Hear what the Graham, Ryan, and Kevin have to say in our podcast: The City of Films Show!