For my last top 10 list, I listed the greatest movie intros of all time. Pretty much as important as the beginning is the end. It can make the movie better and more interesting or even, ruin it. Here are 10 of the greatest movie endings of all time.
Warning: Spoilers ahead. If you plan on seeing any of these movies, skip them.
1. Chinatown- There is still no ending that could match its bleak and pessimistic view of the world. The woman is killed, the villain gets away with his crimes, and the hero is told to simply walk away. So dark and shocking. It jolted me out of my seat the first time I saw it and still remains the finest example of the fact that films don’t need to exist in a fairytale world: they can be as real as night and day.
2. The Shawshank Redemption- After finally being released from his life sentence after nearly 60 years, Red doesn’t think he can make it in the outside world. That is until he remembers his old friend Andy and his dream of going to Mexico. The final shot is the two men hugging and reuniting. It is a great feeling of hope and an uplifting ending that strives away from schmaltz. Makes me tear up every time.
3. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest- Free-spirited McMurphy winds up in a mental hospital just to get out of jail time, but as he grows more reckless, the doctors leave him dumb and brainless. Chief kills his friend just to put him out of his misery and then breaks through the window and runs away. It is an incredible ending that brings up life and death; hope and despair; sadness and joy all at the same time. It stirs you and makes you feel like you’ve never felt before.
4. The Good the Bad and the Ugly- After a standoff, the Man with No Name walks up with the gold. That’s not the important part though: it’s the standoff. It’s incredible tension that builds up for minutes with just a few stares. Without this ending, there would be no Quentin Tarantino or Robert Rodriguez.
5. The 40 Year Old Virgin- After 40 long years, Andy finally gets lucky. What better way to celebrate his joy? By rounding up the entire cast for a rendition of “The Age of Aquarius”. Each actor adds their brilliant comic skills to the song that will have you singing along. What other way could there have been to end one of the dirtiest, sweetest, and funniest comedies of the decade then something like this. Judd Apatow is the true king of comedy.
6. Jaws- Steven Speilberg is one of the greatest directors of all time but his one fault is usually the ending of his films. Here though, he hit it perfectly. It’s one shot of Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss. After their boat has been totally destroyed and the shark is dead, they paddle away together on the only piece of the boat that remains. A feeling of relief, and the thrill that we’ve just witnessed one of the best thrillers and the first true blockbuster ever made.
7. Wayne’s World- This movie isn’t given all of the credit it deserves as comic genius. It has three endings: a sad, a happy, and a very happy ending. The sad ending ends with Wayne and Garth loosing everything while carrying themselves out of their destroyed home. In the happy ending, Wayne gets the girl and the bad guy is foiled. But they settle for the very happy ending in which everything works out and everyone is friends again. Here the characters break the fourth wall and literally control the movie. Not to mention, it’s a brilliant inside joke on Hollywood’s love for extremely happy/sappy endings. To Wayne and Garth and the film’s creators I say: Party on!
8. Reservoir Dogs- A huge standoff, a bloody mess, and huge confusion. The conclusion to Tarantino’s first film ends with all the main characters, once friends, being betrayed and lied to and end up blowing each other away as the undercover cop is also about to die. One gets away with the diamonds (some people have theories about what happened to him). The very last shot is of Harvey Keitel, about to blow the brains out of a rat, getting shot down by the cops and falling dead. Wow.
9. Children of Men- This is one of few films from this decade I am proud to say will go on to be a classic and be reconsidered as a masterpiece. The ending will be talked about for years. Theo, a man who cared so little and now cares so much has served his purpose and saved the last child on earth and his mother. He dies but the Human Project comes to the rescue, Like the ending of Cuckoo’s Nest, it arises both a feeling of sadness yet utter joy and hope overcome it. In this movie exists a future without hope. In this world without hope, even the tiniest bit can save mankind.
10. Braveheart- “FREEDOOOOOOOM!” That’s all I’ve got to say.
Other Contenders: Casablanca, Amadeus, A Clockwork Orange, Sunset Blvd., Some Like it Hot, The Graduate, Full Metal Jacket

It is to my dismay to announce that Michael “I like explosions” Bay is planning a remake of Roman Polanski’s 1968 horror classic Rosemary’s Baby. I wish this were a joke, but it’s true. Why are they even bothering. The original just turned 40 but still remains one of the best horror films ever made. Bay has made blockbusters such as Transformers, Pearl Harbor, Bad Boys, and Armageddon. The brilliance of the original Rosemary was how the horror was built up on character development and surprise rather than relentless gore. Put Bay in front of the camera, and the film will include Rosemary’s apartment blowing up in a loud, unnecessary explosion as the devil baby is first discovered. My biggest fear is that this will come out and few will know this is a remake and instead be exposed to an unnecessary remake. So if any Hollywood executives happen to be reading this I beg of you, DO NOT REMAKE ROSEMARY’S BABY! There’s no need to. Not to mention the fact that the destroyer of art and the blockbuster Michael Bay is a terrible idea. Its been forty years since the movie came out, and I’m just taking a guess by saying that he is the demonic child that Rosemary unknowingly gave birth to and the eventual cause of the apocalypse.

From here on I call a boycott of Michael Bay until this idea of a remake is brought to the ground.

Approximatively two hours ago, I received a phone call from my brother Gabe that while walking on Houston Street in New York he ran into comedy God Jonah Hill (Superbad). He was too shocked to say anything but then again, I would be too. This is my brother’s second big celebrity finding, after once running into Stella‘s David Wain. I will keep you passionate readers up to date with any more celebrity findings (hopefully, a few I will actually get to encounter myself in person). Until then, please watch and enjoy Jonah Hill this coming Saturday on SNL.

The opening of a film can be the most important part. It can last a few seconds or quite a while. It is to pull us into the film and introduce us to the characters. It can do so with a conversation, or an empty landscape, or an electrifying musical score. I now present to you, the best film openings of all time:
1) Apocalypse Now- The first shot is still, a shot of gently swaying palm trees. The shot looks so pleasent, it could’ve been shot in the back of grandparents’ Florida home. Then suddenly the silence is broken by rapid bomb fire to the tune of The Doors’ “The End”. All of the hell and unexpected chaos of war captured in one dialogue-free shot. Brilliant and haunting.
2) There Will Be Blood- A creepy buzzing sound gets louder and louder until its like an all around shout. The screens fade from black to a shot of some mountains. It is as if they are ablaze with fire, even though they look totally natural. Just that builds up all the heightening suspense and worsening evil to come in this epic masterpiece.
3) Reservoir Dogs- It’s just a bunch of strangers in sunglasses sitting around a table. They talk for several minutes in a conversation ranging from tipping to the definition of Madonna’s “Like a Virgin”. It has nothing to do with the movie but reveals so much about each character’s personality. You want it to go on forever but sadly it stops, but at least the rest of the movie still lies ahead.
4) Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas- It’s nearly impossible to capture the life and adventures of Hunter S. Thompson but this adaptation comes as close as anyone ever will. The beginning word-for-word follows the book as we see Thompson and his attorney driving through the desert in a convertible filled with drugs. This opening gives so much meaning to the writing, and a vision of what really happened on Thompson’s journey. What better way to get to know a character then by every drug he takes?
5) 2001: A Space Odyssey- It goes on for a near ten minutes. Ten undisturbed minutes of absolutely no dialougue and totally human-free. We get a glimpse of early man and his evolution and then witness one of the greatest transitions between past and future ever filmed. What a great opening is all about.
6) Once Upon a Time in the West- Another opening that silence is more powerful than speaking. The audience gets to glimpse at and study a group of scruffy looking cowboys waiting for a train, shattered by Charles Bronson’s gunshots. One of few movie scenes in which someone trying to swat a fly is actually captivating.
7) Goodfellas- The way opening is of a bunch of men driving down a highway in the middle of the night and then suddenly opening the trunk and stabbing to death a man inside of it. We then transition to the beginning of Henry Hill’s mob days with Liotta’s perfect narration. Scorsese jolts you out of your seat then blends in great humor and character study within just a few minutes. A genius opening to Scorsese’s best film.
8) Vertigo- James Stewart and a cop are chasing a criminal amongst high rise rooftops. Stewart slips and is hanging off the edge when a cop who tries to save him falls to his death instead. Hitchcock’s revolutionary zoom out/track shot terrifyingly shows the character’s fear of heights like it was ours. The master of suspense at the top of his game.
9) Raiders of the Lost Ark- It’s become iconic now; the image of Harrison Ford dashing from a gigantic boulder and outrunning savage Indians. We know the character isn’t going to die at the beginning, but Speilberg makes that perfect level of suspense where we seem to forget this fact and are more thrilled as to how Indy will make it out alive. The fun and adventure begins here.
10) The Big Lebowski- It seems cruel to leave a comedy off this list, for the opening is the best way to get the audience laughing and prepared for the film’s sense of humor. This one shows off Lebowski‘s very dark, odd humor as it opens with a desert tumbleweed traveling through the urban sprawl of LA until we meet the title character, The Dude, who’s head is dumped in a toilet as he is attacked for no reason except mistaken identity. This sounds cruel but just like the movie, the more you watch it, the funnier it gets. Points also for Sam Elliot’s perfectly droll and western-like narration.

What are your thoughts? Any other great openings to add to the list?

Wayne Campbell: Or, imagine, being able to be magically whisked away to… Delaware.
[pauses]
Wayne Campbell: Hi. I’m in Delaware.
-Wayne’s World

One of the many films of Derek Zwyer and Hugh Hagan

The Beatles. Their songs defined a generation in strife and still ring true today. Few movies (if any) have ever been made that are totally inspired by a band. Only The Beatles could inspire an entire plot after them. Across The Universe gives this concept a try, and does okay.
The story follows Jude (Jim Sturgess), a Brit searching for his father in America and stays with a Princeton boy and falls for his sister, Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood). See, look at all the Beatles references already! Anyway, the two go on a journey from innocence to adulthood amid the Vietnam War and protest. Jude gets the American perspective on sex, drugs, and rock & roll while watching a generation change in revolution.
The movie is a musical using new versions of Beatles songs. Many work well (“I’ve Just Seen a Face”, “Let Me Hold Your Hand”) and some, don’t (anything Bono sings). The set pieces are elaborate and stunning. What the movie does best is put a perspective to the songs, and show how they relate to society and the message they spread. This is the movie’s strong point.
The weaker points may be in its story. Jude’s original purpose for coming to America is to find his father, but not much is done with that plot and the dinner table scene with Joe’s family seems laughably artificial (much of that scene reminds me of the Shoes video on Youtube). Many of The Beatles references are pretty corny as well: how many times do they have to say hey to the girl named Prudence before we get that that was the name of a song?
Overall, we have a film here that tries hard with great potential. There’s enough good material here so I can’t pan it, but there’s not enough to give it an all out rave, which is what I had hoped for. Unlike most musicals, the music is actually great. This might have been a better movie had they made the story work better and avoided cliché. Ultimately, the story is about the power of music. How it can convey our emotions and describe the troubles of our times. Mainly, thanks to John, George, Paul, and Ringo.

Otis B. Driftwood: It’s all right, that’s in every contract. That’s what they call a sanity clause.
[Fiorello laughs loudly]
Fiorello: You can’t fool me! There ain’t no Sanity Claus!
-A Night at the Opera

Eli: Well, everyone knows Custer died at Little Bighorn. What this book presupposes is… maybe he didn’t.
-The Royal Tenenbaums

It may be almost March, but I felt it was wrong that I never did this. 2007 was a great year for film. Films so diverse that broke new ground, and revived tired genres (thrillers, westerns, comedies). To honor this great year, I now present you with the top 10 films of 2007:
1. There Will Be Blood- Rarely does a film divide audiences like this one did. Some found it a masterpiece, others loathed it, and some were just too weirded out. Me, I thought it was the best film of the year and one that will be talked about for decades to come. The typical rise-and-fall story is turned on its head as Daniel Plainview (incredible Daniel Day-Lewis) is evil and greedy without much cause. He is a prospector who unexpectedly finds oil and becomes rich. Throughout the year he endures a tumultuous relationship with his son and a preacher (Paul Dano). Anderson’s film traces the roots of capitalism with themes relevant to the present that can be seen in Dano’s wacky preist, which feels like watching the Church Network. Anderson’s work is one that the likes of Kubrick would be smiling on today with prolonged silence and hidden irony. Blood is one that will forever stay with you. Without a doubt one of the best film’s so far this decade.
2. Superbad- Comedy had a new name this year, and its name was Judd Apatow. He only produced this film, but you can really see his trademarks showing. This is the story of two high schoolers (Cera and Hill) who have been lifelong best friends about to be split apart once college comes around. Perhaps the one thing that keeps them together is how unpopular they are, but they find their last chance to get girls in high school when they get asked to buy alcohol for a popular girl’s party. Superbad is a spot on portrayal of the awkwardness of high school that is sometimes so hard to watch because it is so realistic but then again, its impossible to stop watching. Superbad succeeds in the way nobody is made to look like a bad guy and the heroes strifes are just like our own. Mainly, it is a film that explores the meaning of true friendship like it’s never been before on film and basically, the angst of being a teenager. Oh, it’s also one of the funniest films in years. And I haven’t even mentioned McLovin…
3. No Country for Old Men- When I first saw this, I walked out confused and unsure whether I liked this film or not because of its ending. But it does what a great film should do: it never leaves your mind. The Coen Brothers have created one of cinema’s darkest thrillers. A hunter (Brolin) stumbles upon $2 million which insites the wrath of deadpan, psychotic assassin Anton Chigurh (Bardem) and an aging sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones). This is the brothers’ darkest vision to date but they have not lost their old habits; they pay extra close attention to the culture and layout of the land they are exploring which emphasizes their stories. It works perfectly in No Country, as they search the empty, decaying Texas deserts. The daring decision of no background score is a fascinating one, and Bardem is the scariest killer since Hannibal Lecter. The Coen Brothers rightfully earned their first directing Oscar.
4. Knocked Up- The first Apatow film of the year is a brilliant example of just how far improv can take you. The story of a lazy stoner (Rogen) whose one night stand with a beautiful woman (Heigl) results in pregnancy is utterly convincing and in the end, deeply moving. Along the way, are a series of hilarious pop culture references ranging from Munich to naked Meg Ryan. It’s a reflection of our pop-culturally, beauty obsessed culture but most importantly, dirty comedy done right.
5. Grindhouse- Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez united for this two part, 3 hour long film thats a tribute to their youth. One half is a trashy zombie film and the other is a chase film. It immitates, without mocking an underground culture of film the world ignored in theatres. Sadly, you’ll never get the full Grindhouse experience because its tragically been split for DVD.
6. Juno- Another part of the comedy revival of 2007. Juno (Page) is a free-spirtied teen who goes too far when she coerces her best friend, Paulie Bleeker (Cera), into having sex with her. Inevitably, she gets pregnant. Instead of abortion, she decides to give it up to adoptive parents. Although criticized recently, Juno is just as good as when I first saw it. The jokes are hilarious, and the story moving. Page steals the film as a girl more mature than most teens who surround her yet still maintains childlike innocence. The soundtrack by the Moldy Peaches becomes a second narrator, giving away hints to the story’s theme.
7. Eastern Promises- Mortenesen is spot-on as a Russian Mobster. A nurse (Watts) probs a diary she found from a dead teenager to a ring of prostituion and murder in the underground Russian mafia of London. David Cronenberg’s (A History of Violence) second account of the effects of violence is even more effective then the first, pondering what justification could ever be made for violence. The answer: none. Credit also for the shocking violence, including the soon-to-be-famous bathhouse scene (see it, and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.
8. Michael Clayton- A corporate lawyer (Wilkinson) finds a deadly secret about the company he has defended and goes mad. Another corporate “fixer” (Clooney) is the only one who understands his warnings. Clayton is a brilliant thriller, one that echos the 70s and hits you when you’re least expected. It also makes you wonder, what makes people do the jobs that they take when they’re as bad as Clayton’s is? What do you do when you’re defending the death’s of over 400 people?
9. Persepolis- This brilliant French animated film tells the story of a rebellious teenage girl during the Iranian Revolution who gets away and explores the world as she matures. This is a film about what happens once a child leaves the nest into the harsh world and must learn to fend for themselves. Most importantly: always be proud of who you are and where you come from.
10. Zodiac- David Fincher (Fight Club) explores one of the most terrifying unsolved murder cases in this country’s history. In the late 60s into the 80s, cartoonist Robert Greysmith (Gyllenhal) tries to track down the notorious serial killer the Zodiac and becomes obsessed. The film explores the dangers of inescapable obsession and one of Fincher’s favorites: the exploitation of the media and people aiming for fame in the wrong way. Because the Zodiac has never been found, the film searches for no answers since there is none. All we see of him is a shadow and possible ideas of his identity. While most directors might’ve shown his face or tried to find an answer, Fincher makes a wise decision is staying away from that. Although it failed at the box office, Zodiac deserves a second life on DVD so you can all experience one of 2007′s most unique tales of mysterious and unspeakable evil.
Other Favorites: The Simpsons Movie, Ratatouille, Darjeeling Limited, 3:10 to Yuma, Sweeney Todd, Sicko, Rescue Dawn