Movies are about moments – big moments that erase our cynicism about cinema and remind us of its capacity to dazzle as well as touch us. This happens in a way only possible with a medium that seamlessly combines so many other art forms. There are instances that prompt us to consider things in a different light, encourage us to think about issues from a different perspective and empathize with others in a way we could never expect.
While sometimes memories of the overall plot of a film or its minute details may escape us, certain scenes stand out like a beacon in a bland cinematic landscape. What follows is a list of the 10 best scenes from the movies in 2014. While some of the films they’re from might not have been completely successful, during these moments perfection was achieved and they’ve proven powerful enough to stay with this viewer long after the credits have rolled and the lights have come up.
1. 22 Jump Street
When their commanding officer, Captain Dickson (Ice Cube), finds out that Schmidt (Jonah Hill) is sleeping with his daughter, Maya (Amber Stevens), he nearly loses his mind. However, when Schmidt’s partner, Jenko (Channing Tatum), realizes this situation, his manic reaction is beyond reason. Tatum goes all out here, yelling, dancing, running, careening, mugging and being all sorts of inappropriate in this scene which left me gasping for breath and wiping away tears.
2. American Sniper
Expert marksman Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) is providing coverage for ground troops on the streets of Fallujah when a mother and her young son enter his line of sight. She hands him an object that may or may not be a bomb and the young solider is faced with a crisis of conscience over whether to kill this boy or not. Clint Eastwood opens his film with this tense gripping moment and it sets the tone, not only for the tension to come, but for the psychological toll combat takes on our warriors.
3. Begin Again
Gretta (Keira Knightley), a songwriter who has just rejected a chance to become a pop star and has permanently put the man who broke her heart in her past, is riding her bike serenely in the Manhattan night, unsure of where she’s going, but now strong enough to face whatever comes her way. This is such a quiet simple moment, yet it conveys so much about this character’s journey we can’t help but share in the quiet joy she feels for overcoming so much.
4. Enemy
Adam (Jake Gyllenhaal) has seemingly come to the end of a nightmare, having resolved issues with an exact look-alike he’s stumbled across. In his apartment, he goes into his fiancée’s bedroom only to discover an elephant-sized spider occupies it. Yes, you read that correctly. This was the most WTF movie moment of the year. This is symbolism run rampant, an ending so terrifying and inexplicable that it causes you to go back and watch Denis Villaneuve’s feature again in an effort to unravel its mysteries.
5. Fury
Having entered an occupied German town, Sgt. Collier (Brad Pitt) and his inexperienced protégé Pvt. Ellison (Logan Lerman) discover two young women hiding in an apartment. They instruct them to go about their business and prepare a meal for all of them to share, only to have it ruined by the intrusion of the others under Collier’s command. This rare moment of quiet among the chaos proved unexpectedly poignant. It underscored these men’s futile efforts to achieve a sense of normalcy that would allow them to keep a grip on their sanity.
6. Godzilla
Over the opening credits of Gareth Edwards’ reboot, a montage of footage of atomic bomb tests, article clippings recounting “natural” disasters and drawings of ancient sea monsters assail us, providing connections between the King of All Monsters and significant dates in the history of atomic energy. This clever melding of historical fact and pop fiction was a brilliant way to start this film and helped ground and separate it from the other Godzilla flicks that had come before.
7. Guardians of the Galaxy
Desperate to escape from a deep-space prison, Rocket Raccoon and his best tree buddy, Groot, engineer a chaotic prison break from which they barely escape with their lives. This moment perfectly realized the goofy sensibility and energy of this film. Really, who doesn’t want to see a wisecracking raccoon firing a machine gun three times as big as he is?
8. Interstellar
Having just returned from exploring a planet in which time passes far more slowly than ours, NASA deep-space astronaut Cooper calls up a series of video messages that span 20 years. In reviewing them all in a row, he watches his own son grow up before his eyes and become a father himself, all of which reminds Cooper of all he’s sacrificed. There wasn’t a more emotionally resonant moment in the movies this year and in this scene, director Christopher Nolan poignantly summarized the theme of his space epic.
9. Whiplash
Having been humiliated by his sadistic band instructor (J.K. Simmons) in front of an influential crowd, Andrew (Miles Teller) defiantly returns to the stage, takes command of the ensemble there and proves with his manic, precise, impassioned drumming that he’s willing to suffer for his art and overcome any obstacle in his way. Thanks to Teller’s willingness to play from the heart and Tom Cross’ razor-sharp editing, this was the most invigorating, exciting scene I witnessed all year. It crackled with energy and innovation, providing a worthy triumph for a protagonist we come not only to admire, but to care for as well.
10. X-Men: Days of Future Past
Having been asked to help engineer a jailbreak from the basement of the Pentagon, super-speedster Quicksilver (Evan Peters) utilizes his mutant power to flummox the guards on duty, having some wicked fun along the way. This slow-motion sequence shows director Bryan Singer at his best as he masterfully utilizes digital effects in order to deliver a meticulously detailed, humorous sequence that makes you wish you could run half as fast.
Contact Chuck Koplinski at ckoplinski@usd116.org.
This article appears in Dec 25-31, 2014.
