Favorite Movies Scenes (I can think of right now)

Just up doing some late night writing, watched a couple of great films the past couple of days, got my mind on movies and those scenes that never quite leave me. Movies can be judged and analyzed and rated as a whole, but it's those scenes - those particular moments - that stand out in your memory and become your emotional anchor to them. I have far too many favorites to remember or mention tonight, so I just feel like hitting a few.

And this isn't going to be very informative, because I also don't want to give out any spoilers. But hopefully you've seen a few of these and can back me up. Or, if not, maybe you'll consider giving some of these films a try.

"COLLATERAL" - JAMIE FOXX IN THE HISPANIC BAR. Just finished my first re-watch of this Michael Mann masterpiece in a long time tonight, so it's on my mind. So many amazing scenes. The first is the cab ride with Jamie and Jada Pinkett Smith, a brilliantly understated but poignant human moment. There's the fantastic moment of unexpected connection when Tom Cruise gets Jamie's dispatcher on the radio and completely upturns our expectations about his character. And there is, of course, the coyote. But the scene with Jamie in the bar, going in solo? Clock ticking, everything on the line, having no idea if he can pull this off? THAT was magic.

"WANTED" - THE KISS. Another film with plenty of scenes to nominate, from the great walk-out of the office to the spectacular slo-mo factory run. But you can't be a guy and NOT dial in on the whole scene with the kiss. Daaaamn.

"JAWS" - SHOW ME THE WAY TO GO HOME. Three men, all from different worlds, drinking together, comparing scars (Roy Scheider and his appendectomy one...brilliant!), comparing stories, with the remarkable Robert Shaw telling the tale of the fate of the Indianapolis that found us all holding our breath as he did, and the singing of the old sea shanty as the men finally bond. Spielberg, if they had an Oscar category for "Most Magnificent Bastard", you'd have a whole case filled with them.

"ANY GIVEN SUNDAY" - COMANCHE. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about. Thank you, Oliver Stone, for showing love for the game, not turning it into some kind of big fascist metaphor conspiracy.

"COPLAND" - STALLONE WALKS ALONE. Man-tears are a strong possibility for any red-blooded male lucky enough to have seen this scene, and to have sat, dumbfounded in wonder, at the unexpected return of Stallone as an actor. I can't hear you, Ray...

"HEAT" - TIE: THE WHOLE DAMNED SHOOTOUT AND THE KILMER/JUDD "WAVE". Many reasons to count Pacino in for this, but for me, it's all about the most glorious use of bullets in the history of cinema, and that heartbreaking moment with Ashley Judd giving Val Kilmer "the wave". Something about the way it was shot, the choice of music...it was devastating.

"THE BEST OF TIMES" - THE FINALE. I dare you not to shed a tear. I dare ya!!

"MAGNOLIA" - THE "SEDUCE AND DESTROY" SEMINAR. Say what you want about Tom Cruise. Then watch this scene. Respect the c***, folks.

"BOOGIE NIGHTS" - THE NIGHT RANGER COKE DEAL. You might be picking something involving Roller Girl, and who could blame you? Me? I'm going for the delicious insanity of that whole scene at Alfred Molina's house. The 80s music. The firecrackers. The tension. The long, long, long tight shot on Mark Wahlberg's face, and the lifetime being projected from behind his eyes, the final confirmation that, holy crap, Marky Mark CAN act! Motorin'...!

"BOONDOCK SAINTS" - "THERE WAS A FIRE-FIGHT!!". Willem, Willem, Willem. You are still the master.

"THE PROFESSIONAL" - THE FINAL ASSAULT. Excuse me...I think I have something in my eye...(sniff).

"STAR TREK II" - THE NEEDS OF THE MANY. Oh, screw you, you cried like a little girl, too.

"BREAKING AWAY" - THE LITTLE 500. Go, you Cutter, go!! Dennis Christopher, where did you GO after this?! We've missed you. One of the greatest coming-of-age films ever made. And it came from the 70s. Go figure.

"JACKIE BROWN" - "ALL I ASKED WAS FOR YOU TO BE BEAUTIFUL...". Tarantino made his first grown-up movie (thanks, of course, to the Elmore Leonard source material), and it was a moving experience for me. One of its most poignant moments was the Sam Jackson/Bobby DeNiro van moment. But I'd be wrong to not recognize the closing as well. Across 110th Street is a hell of a tester...

"PULP FICTION" - "BUT I'M TRYING, RINGO. I'M TRYING REAL HARD TO BE A SHEPHERD". Yes, first Sam Jackson broke our concentration, but it was in this moment when he became a superstar.

"THE COWBOYS" - THE JOHN WAYNE SURPRISE. Let's...sniff...let's just move on, okay?

"EMPIRE OF THE SUN" - "P-51! CADILLAC OF THE SKY!!!". Before Christian Bale started being done with people (professionally), he blew us all away with this childhood role, and this transcendent moment in American cinema.

"SWINGERS" - THE DANCE. With this, he knows what to do with the bunny. Who's the big winner? Mikey wins.

"JERRY MAGUIRE" - THE MISSION STATEMENT. The scene that made us all reevaluate our lives and our place in the world. Yeah, okay, there's that whole Cuba Gooding moment, too...

"THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT" - SAM JACKSON BEHIND THE WHEEL. Yeah, Sam Jackson again. A moment of pure redemption, a lifelong loser's moment of heroism. Chefs do that.

"LORD OF THE RINGS - THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING" - THE BATTLE IN THE WOODS. A handful of men against an army, and damned if they didn't make us believe they could pull it off. One of the most brilliant action scenes on record. Close enough to be a tie? "Fly, you fools!"

"LORD OF THE RINGS - THE TWO TOWERS" - HELM'S DEEP. The whole damned thing, but specifically, the ride out to meet the enemy. One of the best WAR scenes every filmed...and it had freakin' orcs in it, for crying out loud!

"SAVING PRIVATE RYAN" - THE FIRST TWENTY MINUTES. One of the most remarkable theater experiences I've ever had, the moment when, after all my years of watching World War II movies, I finally knew what being there was like.

"APOLLO 13" - "IT'S BEEN AN HONOR FLYING WITH YOU GENTLEMEN". "Apollo 13, this is Houston, do you copy?" I now know what it was like when the whole world held its breath, because thanks to Ron Howard, I did, too...

"ST. ELMO'S FIRE" - EMILIO DRIVES AWAY. Say what you want about the movie, but the Kirby Keger/Dale Biberman resolution will make you cheer.

"STEALING HOME" - FLY, JODIE FOSTER, FLY!!! A wonderful forgotten film of the 80s climaxed with an amazing Mark Harmon scene that put the bow on the whole thing. Try this one sometime if you've never seen it.

"THAT THING YOU DO!" - TIE: THE GENESIS SCENE AND THE RADIO SCENE. Maybe not one of the greatest films ever made, but it contains two of my favorite movie scenes of all time, both involving that damned song...

"THE SIXTH SENSE" - THE CAR SCENE. You thought I was going to go for the ending, didn't you? For me, the biggest moment of emotional connection in that film was between Haley Joel Osmont and Toni Collette in the car just BEFORE the ending. Wow.

"UNBREAKABLE" - THE BREAKFAST TABLE. I again challenge you to hold back a tear, in this magnificent scene in a film you either got or you didn't. I hope you did.

This is nowhere near a complete, list, as I said, and it's made up of random late night thoughts when I should be sleeping. But these are some of those scenes that continue to stoke my love of film, of what it can do to us, and what it can be when all the ingredients mix just right. And when that happens? THAT, my friends, is what they call movie magic.

To be continued.