10 of my favourite movie musical numbers

Some time ago I made a list of my favourite musical moments in non-musical movies. So this list is a natural follower! It also happens to match the first challenge in the new Movie Monday blog. (Note: no animations accepted on the list! Why? It would be filled with Disney songs, and I already made that list.)
 

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10. Time Warp in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

This movie is so insane. It doesn't have a sensible moment in its running time! And I appreciate and respect that. Time Warp is the catchiest and thus my favourite song in the musical, so it has the honour to inhabit the last but not... well, yes, the least position on the list. In a list ranking songs according to their ability to get stuck on your head, this would be number one by a bullet! ... Aaaand just when you thought I would get through with this without mentioning the Glee version, I go and mention the Glee version. Because it's brilliant and Kurt is brilliant and so on and so forth.




 9. My Favourite Things in The Sound of Music (1965)

It's just so very sweet, okay? And so is Julie Andrews, ah!




8. Greased Lightning in Grease (1978)

 I used to love Grease, but then I watched it too many times and now I just kind of unactively like it for the nostalgic value. Still, there's no denying the entertainment value of John Travolta's hips and the always-makes-your-feet-restless value of the beat in Greased Lightning.

7. Good Morning in Singing' in the Rain (1952)

I could've and maybe should've chosen the most iconic musical scene in the history if cinema, but decided to go with this one instead without much ado. I just like the melody and the enthusiastic and cheerful mood of the scene. And the tap dance. Oh, the tap dance.

6.  Can I Have This Dance in High School Musical 3 (2008)

Haha, I think it's appropriate to talk about a black sheep here. Me and High School Musicals go way back, and it would've been unfair and evasive to ignore that fact when making this list. Now, about this particular song and scene. Sometimes I've been joking that I want to dance to this at my wedding, and unfortunately it wasn't always pure joking. I have now accepted that this song will indeed have nothing at all to do with my wedding, whatsoever, but while I'm beginning to forget the lyrics to all the other HSM songs, I still find myself listening to this once in a while. It's quite nice, really. And not half as cheesy as it could be.




5. A Little Priest in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

 Well, first, if there's Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and singing involved, it can't end up being nothing too bad. Sweeney Todd is pretty great, and I chose this scene for its quirkiness, its relevance to the plot, and for the pure joy of watching Johnny and Helena work their magic together.




4. Cell Block Tango in Chicago (2002)

Chicago is sexy and chic and just unresistable. It has many, many awesome musical numbers, but Cell Block Tango is hands down my favourite. Those murderesses just kick ass! After this, no one can say that murder is not an art.




3. Somewhere Over The Rainbow in The Wizard of Oz (1939)

It doesn't get much more classic than this. Judy Garland, stuck in the dull, colourless Kansas, dreams of a better place somewhere over the rainbow, not knowing that's exactly where she will end up soon enough. Oh, I adore this song.

2. Dancing Queen in Mamma Mia! (2008)

This movie is such a joy. It's the ultimate pleasure without a single drop of guilt. Meryl Streep and the girls dancing around a beautiful Greek island, singing this timeless, feel-good ABBA song, is so much fun - just a thought of it is somehow uplifting and makes a smile sneak up on your face. The best thing is, you don't necessarily have to be young and sweet, only seventeen, to a be dancing queen. It just takes some growing back down.




1. El Tango De Roxanne in Moulin Rouge! (2001)

Moulin Rouge! had to be number one, of course. Deciding on just one song, scene, number, was a much trickier job to do. Your Song, Elephant Love Medley and Come What May finally lost, though only by inches, to the dramatic, thrilling, flamboyant, goosebumps-quaranteed El Tango De Roxanne. Oh, how vividly we feel the heart-rending pain of Ewan McGregor. You just want to give him a big hug. But only after he's stopped singing! Don't you dare interrupt the magic in action.

Long stories short

Here's a sample of the films I've watched in the past few days!

Singin' in the Rain (1952)

I thought about being radical and choosing a picture not featuring Gene Kelly hanging on a lamp post with an umbrella, but came around in the end. Because it just doesn't get much more iconic than that, does it? This was only the second time I saw the classic, and I liked it even more this time! Cosmo is awesome and so are all the tap dance numbers, especially Good Morning. Lina and her horrible accent ("I cayn't stand'im!") crack me up, and yes, nothing quite puts a smile on your face like the Singin' in the Rain number. I want the spring here so I can do that, too! A bit less exuberantly, though, maybe.

"Tell me the truth, am I a good actor?"
"As long as I'm working for Monumental Pictures, you're the greatest of 'em all."

Home Alone (1990)

Home Alone is one of my childhood favourites and was still quite charming. Though I couldn't stand to to watch that iron to fall on that poor guy's face. That hurts too much. Macaulay Culkin (has the most difficult first name ever) was awesome as a child actor, shame growing up didn't really work out for him.

P.S. I swear I never got the joke below when I was a kid. Was it a bad translation or didn't I read the subtitles or was I just plain dumb? I just though it was funny how Kevin was jumping up and down and yelling something. Oh well.

"When I grow up and get married, I'm living alone."

 Mary Poppins (1964)

Mary Poppins was a tiny bit too long. BUT still enjoyable (almost) all the way! Julie Andrews is amazing, just amazing as Mary. I guess only now I really, FULLY understood why everyone's fussing about her (and why Chris Colfer wants her to play Kurt's grandmother on Glee). Also, Dick Van Dyke (has one of the most wonderfully ambiguous names ever) as Bret is so thoroughly JOLLY that I wanted to jump though the TV screen just to hang out with him. Oh and I think I came up with a potential New Year resolution: to learn say that super... mumblemumble...docious word fluently five times in a row. There's enough challenge for a whole year...


"You know, you can say it backwards, which is 'docious-ali-expi-istic-fragil-cali-rupus', but that's going a bit too far, don't you think?"

Panic Room (2002)

Panic Room was not David Fincher at his best, but a good, solid thriller anyway. There are two things on the top of my mind: 1) The long C.S.I.-ish shots from one room or floor to another, through keyholes and air conditioning pipes. Cool. 2) Kristen Stewart. And the fact that she didn't annoy me AT ALL! I actually liked her a lot, can you believe it?

"We can't get in the panic room. That's the whole point. We have to get her to come out."

Lust, Caution (2007)

Finally I managed to watch this, it's been my intention for quite a while. My fears about deadly boring two and a half hours were needless, as the film turned out to be surprisingly suspenseful and compelling, in addition to being very intelligent and skilfully crafted. Lust, Caution is one of those films that keep whirling in your head long after watching, because there are some interesting holes to fill. A very good film, I'm glad I watched it. (Not so sure if all the sex scenes really needed to be that graphic, but oh well, at least they've got people talking...)

"Keep playing."

Splice (2009)

(Speaking of graphic sex...) Well, wasn't this a queer little film? I don't know if I liked it, exactly, but I do know it kept me on the edge of my seat to the very end. The CGI was fantastic, how did that creature look so much like a human, but still not quite? Splice made me certain that I do NOT want to know what's going on in all the shady laboratories around the world. Ignorance is bless. It was a very bold film and I understant why some people might despise it. But know this, Adrien Brody has the most awesome nose in the world!

"What was that?"

"A mistake."

 Oh dearie me! Time to go to bed. I have to be fresh and sharp for tomorrow's ultimate LotR marathon extravaganza!