July 11, 2003
Great endings...?
[Movies]
After returning from Boston a day early after Dwight's wedding, I ended up going to the movies to see Terminator 3 on monday. Although it would be hard to say that it was better than T2, I was very happy with the movie for a number of reasons (hot TX and great non-stop action) but what really impressed me was the "I can't believe they did that" ending. I'm not going to give anything away but I thought it was pretty cool. So after taking it in, I got to thinking (dangerous) about great endings in movies and not so great endings. You know the unique, unexpected endings with twists. I'm a simple man and easily entertained, but the nice guy doesn't always get the girl and if you get shot with a machine gun or in the head your not really going to come back all smiles. So I came up with a few of my favorite movie endings and a few which we're not so great. So in no particular order......
1. Empire Strikes Back: the good guys don't really win, Han is frozen in Carbonite and Luke got his hand cut off.<br /> 2. The Usual Suspects: one of my favorite movies of all time and one of the greatest wrap-ups to a movie, I venture, ever.<br /> 3. The Sixth Sense: similar to the Usual Suspects in that it makes you ask yourself, "how the hell did I miss that?"<br /> 4. The Thomas Crown Affair: if you haven't seen it, it has a very cool scene at the end that just makes you say "neato"<br /> 5. "Shawshank Redemption" : AWESOME!!<br /> <br /> And the not so cool:<br /> 1. The Hulk: it makes my list because I found myself in the final fight scene going, "what the hell is going on?"<br /> 2. Star Wars Episode I: I'm one of the few that actually enjoyed this movie, I still can't comfortably swallow that the galaxy was saved for the moment mainly by a 8 yr old "person" and a stupid CGI thing named JarJar.<br /> 3. "Signs": I didn't really like this movie at all and worse of all was the ending. <br /> They fight off the dumbest looking aliens with glasses of water left by the daughter as premonition? And monkey's might fly out of my butt.<br /> 4. "Planet of the Apes" : the new one. Not so much that it was stupid, but it just <br /> was the biggest sell out for a sequel in a long time<br /> <br /> <br /> Well, that's a short list. I'm curious to hear what you guys have to say
Posted by matt at 10:10 | Comments (15)
Comments
Although obvious, great ending begin and end with Silence of the Lambs, one of my favorite endings of all time. Other great endings include American Beauty and Life is Beautiful. Ooh ooh - Me likely Oceans 11. And I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't include Ace Ventura - I didn't see that coming!
Bad endings. Sad to say I like most of the Rocky movies, but I still don't recognize Rocky V - he went from fighting the steroid-using Russian to a street fight with Tommy Morrison? Ugh.
Jar Jar was CGI?
Bad endings. Sad to say I like most of the Rocky movies, but I still don't recognize Rocky V - he went from fighting the steroid-using Russian to a street fight with Tommy Morrison? Ugh.
Jar Jar was CGI?
Posted by:
Ed Barnes
at July 12,2003 13:57
Good:
-No Way Out. Kevin Costner in his earlier years dealing with some heavy duty Cold War issues at the Pentagon. This ending is unexpected, and refreshing. Rent this when you are tired of the same old Hollywood endings.
-Vanilla Sky. Not the best movie, but I have to give the story some props for going in a totally different direction that ANYONE would have guessed.
-Wild Things. No, not the lesbo stuff. The fill-in-the-blanks during the credits. This ending provided several "oh, i see" moments. Nice touch.
-Seven. An intricate plot that comes to a well designed final scene that leaves our boy Brad Pitt with one of the worst decisions ever.
-Planet of the Apes. The original movie's ending provides Charlton Heston reason to take up arms and head up the National Rifle Association.
Not So Great:
-Magnolia. I know some of you weirdos liked this movie, but when its raining frogs, my suspension of disbelief goes right out the window. It was freakin' raining frogs!
-Mulholland Drive. I was looking for a Mulholland Drive to English dictionary throughout most of this hodgepodge of nonlinear thought. I wasn't prepared for the ending since the concepts of beginning, middle and ending didn't exist in this director's mind.
-What Lies Beneath. Harrison Ford couldn't have done it, he's Indiana Jones, Han Solo, AND Jack Ryan. There's no way he's the bad guy.
-No Way Out. Kevin Costner in his earlier years dealing with some heavy duty Cold War issues at the Pentagon. This ending is unexpected, and refreshing. Rent this when you are tired of the same old Hollywood endings.
-Vanilla Sky. Not the best movie, but I have to give the story some props for going in a totally different direction that ANYONE would have guessed.
-Wild Things. No, not the lesbo stuff. The fill-in-the-blanks during the credits. This ending provided several "oh, i see" moments. Nice touch.
-Seven. An intricate plot that comes to a well designed final scene that leaves our boy Brad Pitt with one of the worst decisions ever.
-Planet of the Apes. The original movie's ending provides Charlton Heston reason to take up arms and head up the National Rifle Association.
Not So Great:
-Magnolia. I know some of you weirdos liked this movie, but when its raining frogs, my suspension of disbelief goes right out the window. It was freakin' raining frogs!
-Mulholland Drive. I was looking for a Mulholland Drive to English dictionary throughout most of this hodgepodge of nonlinear thought. I wasn't prepared for the ending since the concepts of beginning, middle and ending didn't exist in this director's mind.
-What Lies Beneath. Harrison Ford couldn't have done it, he's Indiana Jones, Han Solo, AND Jack Ryan. There's no way he's the bad guy.
Posted by:
steve
at July 13,2003 11:30
Whoops.....
-Vanilla Sky. Not the best movie, but I have to give the story some props for going in a totally different direction that NO ONE would have guessed
-Vanilla Sky. Not the best movie, but I have to give the story some props for going in a totally different direction that NO ONE would have guessed
Posted by:
steve
at July 13,2003 11:33
I also just finished watching T3...
And you're right Matt, it was not the ending I was expecting (or even remotely prepared for)...
And you're right Matt, it was not the ending I was expecting (or even remotely prepared for)...
Posted by:
Dan Fisher
at July 13,2003 19:03
what this list needs is a chick-perspective. i'm happy to oblige . . .
great calls on all of the above, especially "no way out" - very cool one that i wouldn't have thought of. (although i vehemently disagree w/ steve on "magnolia" -- fabulous movie, fabulous acting, fabulous ending.)
now ed would have you believe that i've never stayed awake for any ending to any movie but that's not true.
i'd have to add "thelma & louise". it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about that ending.
"the life of david gale" -- this one was trashed by critics but i loved it and the ending definitely got me.
"stand by me" -- those 2 little guys parting ways at the end . . . UGH!
hmmmm. . . can't think of any terrible movie-endings that haven't already been mentioned. i'll keep thinking . . .
great calls on all of the above, especially "no way out" - very cool one that i wouldn't have thought of. (although i vehemently disagree w/ steve on "magnolia" -- fabulous movie, fabulous acting, fabulous ending.)
now ed would have you believe that i've never stayed awake for any ending to any movie but that's not true.
i'd have to add "thelma & louise". it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about that ending.
"the life of david gale" -- this one was trashed by critics but i loved it and the ending definitely got me.
"stand by me" -- those 2 little guys parting ways at the end . . . UGH!
hmmmm. . . can't think of any terrible movie-endings that haven't already been mentioned. i'll keep thinking . . .
Posted by:
kristin
at July 14,2003 08:33
Just to play devil's advocate with Kristin, I would have to say that the Thelma and Louise ending got most of its influences (stole) from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. A pair of friends that teamed up against the rest of the world find themselves in the worst situation possible, and decide together that their cause is worth dying for. (Although BC and SK went down swinging) However, T&L was still a great ending.
Nice call on The Life of David Gale. Although the movie as a whole did not grab hold of me, the ending made up for any short comings. Very clever.
Arlington Road went against the norm and delivered a sucker punch right in the gutt. The good guy doesn't always have to win, get the girl and save the day.
Nice call on The Life of David Gale. Although the movie as a whole did not grab hold of me, the ending made up for any short comings. Very clever.
Arlington Road went against the norm and delivered a sucker punch right in the gutt. The good guy doesn't always have to win, get the girl and save the day.
Posted by:
steve
at July 14,2003 15:01
hmmm. i've never seen Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. perhaps i should.
but i did think of 2 more great endings:
"primal fear" (because of the twist of course)
"chasing amy" (because the guy did NOT get the girl)
unfortunately, i fell asleep during "arlington road" so i haven't the faintest idea what you guys are talking about there. sorry, ed.
but i did think of 2 more great endings:
"primal fear" (because of the twist of course)
"chasing amy" (because the guy did NOT get the girl)
unfortunately, i fell asleep during "arlington road" so i haven't the faintest idea what you guys are talking about there. sorry, ed.
Posted by:
kristin
at July 14,2003 16:13
Nice run on the comment stream. Gotta say that I agree with Matt's calls for the most part. I am surprised no one went with the Memento choice. Granted, based on the movie as a whole, you had to expect some kinda funky ending but still. Perhaps I am bit slow on the uptake but I also was surprised by the ending for fight club. As far as the non-traditional ending but you did see it coming, Pi was good. By Pi, I mean the math symbol not the misspelled pastry. As far as bad endings go, Chasing Amy still bugs me to this day simply because I didn't think the ending made sense. It almost seemed like Kevin was trying to shock and dismay without the proper set up.
Posted by:
Eric
at July 26,2003 23:51
After seeing Magnolia, I wondered about the "raining frogs" ending. Surfed about it, and found that there are Biblical tales about it. Being a devoted atheist, I read further on that it actually happened in Mexico during a tornado... Go figure.
Posted by:
bombay
at August 20,2003 15:05
I recently watched Confidence this week. It stars Dustin Hoffman and Andy Garcia. It's definitly not your Academy award winning ending but damn it was a hell of a con tehy pulled off. Just when you thought you had it figured out, there was one more little twist you never saw coming.
My other honorable mentions for best endings that weren't mentioned.
The Game (the ulitmate wake up call)
Ocean's 11 remake (well-planned heist)
Worst movie ending:
The Ring (I'm sorry...I still can't figure it out)
My other honorable mentions for best endings that weren't mentioned.
The Game (the ulitmate wake up call)
Ocean's 11 remake (well-planned heist)
Worst movie ending:
The Ring (I'm sorry...I still can't figure it out)
Posted by:
Jay
at October 27,2003 16:05
I'm in the process of writing a paper on Magnolia--which I've watched 6 times and studied in depth for a film class--and specifically about how the last scene is the GREATEST SCENE in cinematic history...that i've seen so far. I'm pretty impressed with it, and perhaps rather obsessed with it. Well played, well lit, well dubbed, and draws a great parallel to the earlier scene with Claudia and her father. Plus, once you know that the entire script was built around Claudia's character, the ending makes sense. And it's a moving forward, while the other threads in the movie end--with Earl dying, and the T.V. being shot--thus ending the world created by the cycle of false images and lies that trapped all the characters.
Posted by:
liz
at December 04,2003 22:11
OK, i think that the best movie ending was Scarface (Al Pacino)
But the most upsetting one was in Godfather 3. When Michael dies, blind and alone with his dog next to him. After all he tried, he realised that it could never be *cries*.
PS, Arlington road ending kicks ass too, WHO EXPECTED THAT!?
But the most upsetting one was in Godfather 3. When Michael dies, blind and alone with his dog next to him. After all he tried, he realised that it could never be *cries*.
PS, Arlington road ending kicks ass too, WHO EXPECTED THAT!?
Posted by:
Robin
at January 17,2004 16:23
I'm surprised there wasn't much mention of Memento. I thought overall it was amazing (the backwards concept and heck, it was just so weirdly different) but I still don't "get" the confusing ending just when I thought I finally GOT it. For me it gets the "bad ending" vote. I doubt I will ever understand this one-- a complete enigma, no matter how many times I see it. But maybe that's part of the beauty of it...who says we have to get everything? maybe there isn't an ending...
I just saw Vanilla Sky-- it was so totally NOT what I expected (I have an aversion to over-cute-look-at-me Tom Cruise, and that cheesy ToM CruiSe smile) but this was art...a great film, and total surprise ending. FUN!
I just saw Vanilla Sky-- it was so totally NOT what I expected (I have an aversion to over-cute-look-at-me Tom Cruise, and that cheesy ToM CruiSe smile) but this was art...a great film, and total surprise ending. FUN!
Posted by:
coral
at February 03,2004 13:05
I'm currently searching for the following cliche great endings, the lover whose supposed to have boarded a plane or a train, but turns to not have boarded, the musical where everyone ends a dance sequence and the camera pans out to reveal a huge arial shot of the scene, the infamous after the "drama" cop scene, littered with squad cars and ambulances and there's an injured hero on a stretcher being taken by ambulance or the helpless chic he just saved covered in a blanket.
The dog returning home to the lonely boy, the lonely cowboy riding off into the sunset or the samurai or kung fu fighter whose just killed the last villian to avenge or save a loved one. If anyone can help me source movies with these sort of cliche film endings or anything similar please shout. P.S: I'm really desperate.
The dog returning home to the lonely boy, the lonely cowboy riding off into the sunset or the samurai or kung fu fighter whose just killed the last villian to avenge or save a loved one. If anyone can help me source movies with these sort of cliche film endings or anything similar please shout. P.S: I'm really desperate.
Posted by:
dumi
at September 15,2005 06:51
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