All Time Best Movie Endings

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TimesOnLine.com has posted their list of the All Time Best Movie Endings. Although my favorite movie ending wasn’t on the list, [“Ain’t gonna be no rematch!” “Don’t want one… Adrian!”], I’ll play along. Here are my top ten favorite movie endings using just those on their list:

  1. The Sixth Sense: everything that has happened throughout the movie is seen in a different light and makes complete sense. There hasn’t been a movie ending since that has stirred as much buzz.

  2. Se7en: You don’t even have to see what’s in the box to know…

  3. Planet of the Apes: I was 9 or 10 seeing it on the big screen and was stunned! Coolest ending I’d ever seen up to that point.

  4. The Usual Suspects: Much like The Sixth Sense everything that has happened throughout the movie is seen in a different light and makes complete sense.

  5. Carrie: I saw this at a midnight showing during it’s initial release. So it’s about 2am, I think the movie is over and get the shock of my life. I almost went over the back of my seat I jumped so high — probably gave the person behind me the shock of his life!

  6. Momento: This is one of my son, Mike’s favorite movies. That alone would get it on the list since he has such good taste in film. I dig it too.

  7. Casablanca: The perfect ending to a perfect movie.

  8. The Wizard of Oz: Remember how cool it was being a little kid and suddenly realizing that all of the people around Dorothy’s bed were the Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion. the Tin Man and the Wizard?

  9. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: Another favorite movie that had a classic ending.

  10. Doctor Strangelove: The ending is almost as classic as the scene with Slim Pickens riding the A-Bomb down!
Thanks to Bill Crider for the link!

Sons of Anarchy

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Anyone else planning to tune in to “Sons of Anarchy”? It’s by the same guy who created “The Shield” [that alone is enough for me to give it a shot], and the trailers look pretty good. You can see them and a bit more HERE.

If UR Thinkin’ UR 2 Cool

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From “Play That Funky Music” we swing over to “Boogie Oogie Oogie” performed live by A Taste of Honey. It’s somewhat surprising that guitarist Hazel Payne and bassist Janice Johnson, the ladies who made up A Taste of Honey didn’t hit bigger. They could sing, play and wrote most of their own songs… plus they were easy on the eyes. 

“Hell Ride” Poster [2008]

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The red band teaser trailer for Hell Ride is now online. It looks exactly like the kind of movie that we’d see as the second or third feature showing at a drive-in back in the 70’s. It’s a revenge biker flick starring Michael Madsen, Vinnie Jones, David Carradine, Dennis Hopper, that guy who used to be on “24” and presented by Quentin Tarantino. Yeah, I’m in.  And not just because Hell Ride has a cool poster.

Play That Funky Music

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A couple of days ago I posted The Sanford Townsend Band’s “Smoke from a Distant Fire?” I thought it might be cool to see what other 70’s songs I might find linked to it.


I looked and came up with Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music.” I hope ya digs it.

I wonder where the next link will take me?

 

Day of the Dead [2008]

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The Pitch: “Day of the Dead” updated with fast moving zombies and no George Romero.

The Good: The idea of a town being quarantined by the military. The chaos when the zombies begin attacking. Ving Rhames. Mena Suvari is a cutie. Several zombies jumping in unison out second [third?] story windows to get a people on the ground.

The Bad: Not enough Ving Rhames. Zombies climbing sheer walls and across ceilings. Zombies exploding when set on fire. Characters repeatedly making stupid decisions: [“Let’s sneak back into the city full of zombies that we escaped from so we can hold up in a room full of windows.” “Let‘s keep a zombie alive because he follows orders.”] Smart zombies — zombies firing guns — a zombie not attacking people because he is a vegetarian!

The Ugly: The alternate ending. Boy, if they’d have used it the movie would have been even worse.

The Summary: “Day of the Dead” is a remake of my least favorite Romero zombie movie. If you’re a real fan of zombie movies then you probably won’t mind some of this movie’s badness [and I don’t mean badness in a good way]. If you’re just a passing fan of the genre then you ought to pass on it.

Eastern Promises

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The Pitch: “The Godfather” with a Russian twist.

The Good: Viggo Mortensen owns every second he is own the screen. Armin Mueller-Stahl quietly demands to be watched and heard in every scene — which is exactly what is needed as the kind restaurant owner, family man and head of a Russian mob. The killings in the public bath — brutal, but believable. The twist near the end — I totally did not see it coming and loved it.

The Bad: The movie is slow to get started and then moves at a steady pace. The violence is there, but not as bad as you may have heard.

The Ugly: “Okay. Now I’m going to do his teeth and cut off his fingers. You might want to leave room.”

The Summary: “Eastern Promises” is a brutal look at the Russian mafia. Viggo Mortensen gives an Oscar-worthy performance as the “driver.” The violence may put some off, but it grounds the movie’s reality. I have a feeling that this one is going to grow on me as time passes.

Smoke from a Distant Fire

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The Sanford Townsend Band‘s biggest hit was “Smoke from a Distant Fire.” You may not know the band, but I bet if you’ve heard the song once, it made an impact with it’s perfect blend of lyrics and music. How can you not be pulled into a song that opens with:


“You left me here on your way to paradise
You pulled the rug right out from under my life
I know where you goin’ to I knew when you came home last night
‘Cause your eyes had a mist from the smoke of a distant fire…”

Here’s a link to a live performance of “Smoke from a Distant Fire.” No lip syncing or recorded instrumental tracks, and The Sanford Townsend Band doesn’t miss a beat. It makes me wonder why they weren’t better known, because they sure could play.

UFC 86 Results

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Okay, let’s take a look at last night’s UFC results:

* Light-heavyweight title fight: Rampage Jackson vs Forrest Griffin: Forrest fought an extremely smart fight and was able to win a unanimous decision and the title. He hurt Rampage early with repeated hard leg kicks. I gave Rampage the 1st and 3rd rounds and Forrest the 2nd, 4th and 5th with the second being a 10 – 8 round. There will no doubt be a rematch down the line.


* Ricardo Almeida vs. Patrick Cote: Cote won via a split decision.

* Joe Stevenson vs. Gleison Tibau: Joe Stevenson won via a second round submission.

* Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Lytle: Josh Koscheck won via a unanimous decision.

* Marcus Aurelio vs. Tyson Griffin: Tyson won via a unanimous decision.

Congrats to Joey “Bartledoo” C. for picking every fight right!

UFC 86 Predictions

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Okay, let’s take a look at tonight’s UFC card:

* Light-heavyweight title fight: Rampage Jackson vs Forrest Griffin: the smart money is riding on Rampage and the “heart” money goes with Forrest. I’d bet on Rampage straight up, but I’m pulling for Forrest.

* Ricardo Almeida vs. Patrick Cote: Alemida is in his second fight after a three year layoff and Cote is on a three fight win streak. I’ll take a chance that Cote pushes the streak to four.

* Joe Stevenson vs. Gleison Tibau: I like Big Daddy Joe Stevenson and that’s reason enough to pick him against Tibau.

* Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Lytle: Josh Koscheck is talking about dropping weight and taking on BJ Penn in a title fight, first he’ll need to win against Lytle. I think he will.

* Marcus Aurelio vs. Tyson Griffin: This will be an exciting and explosive match. I’m predicting Tyson Griffin will find a way to win.

Here’s to great fights with more fireworks than we saw last night!

How I Spent My 4th

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I love used book stores. My buddy, Rob, has been telling me about Chamblin’s Book Mine in Jacksonville, Florida for some time now. Today, I knew I would be in the area and so I made it a point to go there. My wife and I were excited about hitting Chamblin’s. If it was half as good as Rob described it, we’d get some great books at great prices.Funny thing is… I didn’t consider that they’d be closed on the 4th of July. They were. Arrrgh! We’ll try again the next time we’re in the area.In the meantime, have a Happy 4th of July! We’re off to see the fire works and then back home to catch some episodes of Twilight Zone Marathon on the SciFi Channel!