10 of my favourite musical moments in non-musical movies

I haven't made a list in a half a century! Or in other words, five months! Gee! It's about time to make another one. I know I usually specialize in Top Fives, but again, five turned out to be nearly not enough. Ten is not enough either, put I wisely drew the line there. I will now present to you ten of my favourite musical moments in non-musical movies. 'Musical moment' in thise case can mean either singing or dancing. Or lip-syncing.

Enjoy, if you please!

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10. Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You in Ten Things I Hate About You (1999)

 This first one is kind of a black sheep... The others are strictly my own personal favourites, and while I think 10 Things I Hate About You is an okay movie, it's not one of those I watch again and againa and whose lines I know by heart. However, I HAD to include this, even if only for number ten, because this particular scene is just wonderful. Thanks to Heath Ledger and his disarming awesomeness.




9. Thriller in 13 Going on 30 (2004)

(The option here was Jingle Bell Rock from Mean Girls. Yeah. And I do feel kind of saddened for having to let it go. Seriously!) 13 Going on 30 has been one of my favourite romcoms for a long time. Sure, I haven't felt like watching it for a looooong time, but I know one of these days I'll pick it up once again. Jennifer Garner's Jenna and Mark Ruffalo's Matt dance the Thriller to spice up a company party, and it's pretty catchy, isn't it? The highlight is of course when Gollum aka Andy Serkis steps up to show some of his sweet moves.






8. You Make My Dreams in (500) Days of Summer (2009)

In a film that in many ways likes to bend the traditional ways of storytelling, it makes more than enough sense for a character, in the height of falling in love, to suddenly break into a gleeful, Disney-ish dance number, joined by the by-passers and even an animated little bird. And Han Solo.

7. Pop! Goes My Heart in Music and Lyrics (2007)

Hugh Grant is hilarious, and he has some awesome hips, that man. I've gotten so many laughs out of this clip, I can't even begin to tell you. The best part is when they once or twice almost lose their poker face. And who can blame them! That's one pretty ridiculous music video.




6. I Need A Hero in Shrek 2 (2004)

The second Shrek is my favourite of the bunch (though the first one is good, too), not least because of its awesome music. This is a fun, catchy scene, where Shrek tries to outrun time to save Fiona from Prince Charming.




5. Hoist the Colors in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

The guaranteed goosebumps in the opening sequence of the third PotC movie guarantee Hoist the Colors the middle spot on the list.




4. Jump in Love Actually (2003)

More Hugh Grant's hips! Sorry! This is legendary. The shortest moment of the bunch, but maybe, just maybe, the most viewed one (by me). It never gets old.

 (No embedding available, click here.)


3. Titina in Modern Times (1936)

This marks the occasion when we hear the Tramp talk for the first time. Or not talk, to be exact. Sing. In gibberish. Yet the point and the story come across, because he acts it out simutaniously. It's one more proof of the genius of Charlie Chaplin. As if we needed any more of those.




2. Super Freak in Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

The brilliant awkwardness of the scene, Abigail Breslin's dance moves, the general context and how well it fits in the whole movie make this moment almost worthy the top spot. It's really quite an anti-climactic climax, but that's the awesome thing about it. The film keeps it real at all times, always avoiding melodrama and cliches, and yet this sequence ends up being quite rousing. And awesome. Just awesome.






1. Twist And Shout in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

My newest favourite of all of these ended up snatching the number one spot. Why? Because this is actually the scene that inspired me to make this list in the first place. Because in the film, this is when Ferris finally won me over, too. Because - don't argue - this embodies everyone's ultimate fantasy. Because everyone deserves a rockstar moment.

(The Twist and Shout part begins at about 2:00.)

I'm eagerly waiting for your comments, protests and additions!

The unimportance of being productive

During the past couple of days I've seen lots of movies, from various genres and decades, some very good, some not quite so, but I haven't really felt inspired to write a long post about any of them. Plus I think being on holiday makes me extra lazy. And the excitement about our approaching Paris trip makes it difficult to concentrate on anything! But here are the movies, in short this time.

(500) Days of Summer (2009) 

directed by Marc Webb / starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschannel

I will probably write a longer post about this some time, because its really a wonderful film, one of the best and most original of its genre. Gordon-Levitt is dreamy, first-class eye candy. And Deschannel fits very well on the role of the quirky girl, who doesn't believe in falling in love. I like how we know from the beginning that we don't get a happy ending for the two. I like Chloe Moretz as the know-all little sister. I like the little oddities, like the random, wonderfully cliched dancing sequence and the scene diveded in expectations and reality. A great movie about love that's not like in the movies.

Dracula (1979) 

directed by John Badham / starring Frank Langella, Kate Nelligan, Laurence Oliver

This one waited for watching for a long, long time, recorded on my DTA, and now I finally found the will to sit down and press play. And well, I liked Frank Langella, but at some point I just lost interest and started doing something else while the film played on the background. Once in a while I glanced at the screen and people were turning into vampires and being stabbed into heart with sticks and I didn't feel like I was missing much. But atleast the creatures didn't sparkle.

The Gold Rush (1925) 

directed by Charles Chaplin / starring Charles Chaplin, Mack Swain, Georgia Hale

This film would deserve a post of its own, too. This was true old school Chaplin again, quite similar to City Lights, and yeah, I liked it almost as much. (I think City Lights is untoppable. It was my first Chaplin full-length feature, and it probably will always be the best one in my book.) The Gold Rush includes some of the most iconic Chaplin moments - the house swinging at the edge of the ravine and of course the bread roll dance. Which is just awesome! God I just love this man. Next... The Great Dictator. Then The Kid, and then I've watched all the classic. Gee!

In Her Shoes (2005) 

directed by Curtis Hanson / starring Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette, Shirley MacLaine

A tale of two sisters who have nothing in common except for the shoe size. Both sisters annoyed me at times, in their own ways. Shirley MacLaine was the best thing in the film. I still recognized her, although it's been quite a while since The Apartment! Not a great movie, but couldn't say I wasted the hours I spent watching it.

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) 

directed by Robert Mulligan / starring Gregory Peck, Frank Overton, Brock Peters

Again, a relic from the very bottom of my DTA's memory. A black and white classic based on a novel, discussing racial issues doesn't really sound like a lot of fun. And sure, it wasn't a lot of fun, but a very good film anyway, and not even very deadly to watch. Gregory Peck's Atticus has to be the coolest movie dad ever, no questions asked. A deep, interesting film with a lot to say, definitely a classic for a reason. Next stop, the novel. If only...

L.A. Confidential (1997) 

directed by Curtis Hanson / starring Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Kim Basinger, Guy Pearce

A very highly ranked film about crime and punnishment that doesn't always occur. Guy Pearce was great, and Kevin Spacey and that actor whose name I just can't remember (even though I talked about him just a few posts ago, anyway, the farmer from Babe) too. It wasn't torture to watch this film, but for me it was just very forgettable. Russell Crowe has never been that annoying. Sorry, but I just can't see what everyone is fussing about.

The Ninth Gate (1999) 

directed by Roman Polanski / starring Johnny Depp, Frank Langella, Lena Olin

Weird.

That's all.

Touch of Pink (2004) 

directed by Ian Iqbal Rashid / starring Jimi Mistry, Kyle MacLachlan, Suleka Mathew

A fun, easy-going little film about a gay man, who pretends to be straight to his mum and who has Gary Grant as his imaginary friend. Nothing breathtaking, obviously, but quite entertaining and sweet. Some very nice British accents. And the leading actor has pretty eyes.

Now. Some True Blood and packing. We'll be off to the heart of Europe very very soon!