RMOCJ: President's Speech from Independence Day

Movies and movie criticism can be terrible, cynical and soul-crushing. So why do we go to the movies? Random Moment of Cinematic Joy highlights a moment, scene, character or film that is awesome in a way that can refill your reservoir of faith in films.

 Today we are going with the painfully obvious.

Roland Emmerich's Independence Day is a big old hunk of cheese.  The dog leaping to safety, winning via computer virus, Randy Quaid: all Limburger.  But, for me, it's cheese in the best possible way.

Which is why this scene always makes me smile.  Bill Pullman as the President during an alien attack has an earnestness throughout that is pitch perfect.  Here, they give him the big motivational speech before the battle that they all believe to be suicide.  The music, the awkward beginning moment where the microphone doesn't work, the extra crazily saluting at the end: all crazily awesome.

Happy Fourth of July!

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RMOCJ: "Your Song" from Moulin Rouge

Movies and movie criticism can be terrible, cynical and soul-crushing. So why do we go to the movies? Random Moment of Cinematic Joy highlights a moment, scene, character or film that is awesome in a way that can refill your reservoir of faith in films.

 Okay, I admit it. I am a romantic at heart. I tend to favor genre films, but I think at some level that's because comedy and romance are so much harder to get right.

Moulin Rouge gets it right. And that's despite the higher degree of difficulty in making a musical.

The set up is simple. Boy meets girl. Boy belts out an Elton John standard. Boy and girl fall madly in love.

The camera and Nicole Kidman's eyes sell the transition. You believe that she falls head over heels for Ewan McGregor. You can understand how they would literally be dancing on air by the end of the song.

Moulin Rouge is the perfect melding of old style movie musical and modern film technique.  When I think about happiness in movies, it doesn't get better than Ewan singing the last chorus of "Your Song".

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RMOCJ: Score from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Movies and movie criticism can be terrible, cynical and soul-crushing. So why do we go to the movies? Random Moment of Cinematic Joy highlights a moment, scene, character or film that is awesome in a way that can refill your reservoir of faith in films.

 Hearing the terrible James Newton Howard score from Green Lantern had me thinking about movies that get their music right.  And while there is a number of movies whose music I have loved in recent years, the score of Pirates seems just perfectly constructed to that movie.

The main theme has become one that is iconic.  To me, the two things that define a POTC movie are Captain Jack Sparrow and that incredible Hans Zimmer score.  Depp rightfully gets a lot of the credit, but the music propels that movie like few scores can. The way it announces Jack's arrival on screen, the ominous notes that accompany the undead crew of the Black Pearl, the romantic interludes for Elizabeth and Will: all perfect.  Hell, for me, it's the iconic musical cues that put me back into this world more than Johnny Depp's teeth or gait.

Here's a Serbian orchestra doing a compilation:

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RMOCJ: Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird

Movies and movie criticism can be terrible, cynical and soul-crushing. So why do we go to the movies? Random Moment of Cinematic Joy highlights a moment, scene, character or film that is awesome in a way that can refill your reservoir of faith in films.

 Happy Father's Day!

As a dad myself, I know how we want to be viewed.  We want to be the patriarch.  The one with all the answers.  We want to be Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Gregory Peck set the gold standard for on screen patriarchs in the 1962 classic.  It remains one of the best films ever in large part because of his Oscar-winning turn.

Sadly, most of us have to settle for being Eugene Levy in American Pie or Darren McGavin in A Christmas Story.  Still, it's important to have aspirations and I can't think of a better one than Atticus.

So, to all the dads out there, here's what you are aiming for:





Have a great day!

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RMOCJ: Hudson in Aliens

Movies and movie criticism can be terrible, cynical and soul-crushing. So why do we go to the movies? Random Moment of Cinematic Joy highlights a moment, scene, character or film that is awesome in a way that can refill your reservoir of faith in films.

 James Cameron's Aliens is notable for a number of reasons.  It's a sequel that manages to be the equal of the original while taking the movie in an entirely new direction. It further establishes Sigourney Weaver's Ripley as one of the strongest female characters ever.  And it gives us that awesome ending with one of movie's most iconic lines:"Get away from her you bitch!"

But today we come to praise what for me is the film's most glorious creation: Private First Class Hudson.

I don't have a list of favorite film characters, but if I did, I can't imagine Hudson not being in the top five.  Bill Paxton perfectly captures the energy of the initially cocky and arrogant character.  He is a constant source of comedy throughout the film. Beyond being simply funny though, his reaction for me is how most of the audience would react given similar circumstances.

Below is a video of every perfect, over-the-top line Bill Paxton delivers in this performance. NOTE: Some of the language is NSFW.

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RMOCJ: Spiderman in the Elevator

Movies and movie criticism can be terrible, cynical and soul-crushing. So why do we go to the movies? Random Moment of Cinematic Joy highlights a moment, scene, character or film that is awesome in a way that can refill your reservoir of faith in films.

 Why do I love Sam Raimi?

The list is long, but chief among them is this. Spiderman 2 was 127 minutes long and cost $200 million.  Over a minute of that runtime and some percentage of the budget went to this scene.  People had to light this scene.  They had to hire an actor.  The had to bring in their star and get him costumed for the day.  For this short, awesome scene.

It's a simple moment.  Spidey's powers are on the fritz and he's stuck on top of building.  Our hero is forced to resort to taking the building's elevator.  Hilarity ensues.

This scene is comedic, but also a great character moment.  Peter Parker is a dork and the movie always underlines that.

Raimi is a movie god and as evidence here is a scene he managed to squeeze into one of the biggest movies of 2004.

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RMOCJ: Opening the Vault in Die Hard

Movies and movie criticism can be terrible, cynical and soul-crushing. So why do we go to the movies? Random Moment of Cinematic Joy highlights a moment, scene, character or film that is awesome in a way that can refill your reservoir of faith in films.

 For me, when I think Die Hard, I think three things: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman and... this scene.

For the first half of Die Hard, Rickman and his cronies have executed a flawless plan to take over Nakatomi Plaza and make off with the loot. The one variable they did not account for was Willis's John McClane, who observes his role as a "fly in the ointment" of Gruber's plans.

Over halfway into the picture, Gruber gets one of the things he wants. The FBI shuts off power to the building, disabling the lock on the vault and opening it to the bad guys.

It's the details that make it.  The light behind Hans Gruber.  The slight hint of wind through his hair.  The confidence of the FBI agents.  Awesome.

Sure, it's the bad guys winning (for the moment), but the feature is titled "Random Moments of Cinematic Joy" and when I think "joy" I think Alan Rickman, bearer bonds and, of course, Beethoven.

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RMOCJ: Ed Wood

Movies and movie criticism can be terrible, cynical and soul-crushing. So why do we go to the movies? Random Moment of Cinematic Joy highlights a moment, scene, character or film that is awesome in a way that can refill your reservoir of faith in films.

Ed Wood is for me the ultimate cinematic sorbet.

If I see a terrible movie and need to cleanse my theater-going palette, Tim Burton's ode to the worst director ever is my go to choice.

I could talk about Johnny Depp's incredible performance as the always smiling title character. Or Martin Landau's imagining of the old and broken Bela Lugosi. But for me, this is simply the ultimate valentine to Hollywood.

There are scenes that stick with me. Wood's first interaction with Lugosi as he is coffin shopping. Wood's random run-in with Orson Welles. His sheepish, but brave, admission that he likes women's clothes.

But the scene that always sticks with me is when Wood begins shooting Glen or Glenda. They shoot with Wood as the lead looking in a window wistfully. He yells cut and the crew asks if he wants another take. Wood immediately answers that no, the shot is perfect. But that description minimizes the moment. Depp's Wood is filled with energy and optimism. It's not the shot that's perfect; it's the fact that he is being allowed to do the thing he loves. He's not a terrible director because of a lack of ability or an ego (though those are factors). No, he's a terrible director because he loves the medium so much.

Ed Wood makes me smile like no other movie. And it makes me anxious to head to the theaters again and give myself completely over to the cast and crew of storytellers whether it's a blockbuster or an independent.

So enjoy this, the triumph that is the filming of Plan 9 from Outer Space:

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