Case in point: I recently watched the movie Black Swan DESPITE its R-rating (a level of "maturity" I usually avoid) in order to revel a bit in the weirdness that is Darren Aranofsky. I knew there was a scene all uptight Mormons should avoid; so, when that scene came on, I promptly left the room and brushed my teeth. Five minutes later, when my gums started bleeding, I shouted, "They're STILL GOING?!"
So, yeah, I didn't enjoy the movie as much as everyone else. However, the last half hour, where Natalie Portman's character dances the black swan routine, may be the most brilliant half-hour of moviedom I've ever seen. The dancing is beautiful, the visual effects spectacular, and the emotional payload is explosive.
Also, it made me want to see a ballet, so good job, movie!
And speaking of dances... I think I've finally figured out why I can't bring myself to hate Tangled despite everything the movie does wrong... It's the dance sequence.
It's not really anything obviously spectacular, but the town dance in Tangled is rather brilliantly executed. The scene begins before we're even aware of the fiddle music that sweeps Rapunzel, Flynn, and the whole city into a Riverdancing frenzy. I'd watch the whole movie - terrible songs and all - for that one sequence.
Finally, I'm reminded of the movie Up, which I thought indicated Pixar was running out of ideas. Sure, the PREMISE is pretty unique - a man and a stowaway boy scout float away in a house full of balloons - but the execution doesn't do anything special with the premise. Instead, we get two hours of stale old-man jokes and Star Wars references. And, of course, that talking dog which I hate so much to the surprise of absolutely no one.
Still, those first fifteen minutes of the movie, showing Carl's and Ellie's courtship, are just beautifully simple. In fact, I'd go so far as to say the opening scene to Up is the best fifteen minutes in animated history - or pretty darn close to it.
So with the introdution to Up, the dance interlude in Tangled, and the finale of Black Swan, I could put together one utterly brilliant little movie.
Turn it over to you now: Any movies that you LOVE... for fifteen minutes?
2 comments:
From Dusk Till Dawn.
The opening 15 minutes is a beautifully made hostage action scene.
Written my Quentin Tarintino and starring George Clooney, Tarintino, Michael Parks and another cool actor whose name escapes me. The opening to that film was amazing, it was intense, bloody, funny, vulgar...and you didn't see any of it coming. The next hour and a half of the movie however was a very crappy vampire/gangster movie that just didn't mesh well.
But as it turns out Tarintino admitted he'd been sitting on the script a long time and had pulled things from it for other films. Leaving a crappy movie with a good opening.
Never have I cried only ten minutes into a show, I can't stand russell and kevin in up either. Also I bought the tangled soundtrack just for that one song, that fiddle build up is awesome
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