The 411 Movies Top 5 08.27.10: Week 232 - Best Summer Movie Moments of 2010

Posted by Trevor Snyder on 08.27.2010

From Inception's gravity-free fights to Iron Man 2's shocking post-credits secret, the 411 staff picks their favorite moments of this year's summer movie season.



With summer movie season now more or less over, there's no better time to look back at the movies that were. But instead of listing our favorite films of the season, I asked my fellow writers to join me in being a little more specific, and instead offer up our favorite SCENES of the season. So, needless to say, spoilers ahead! But for those of you who dare, here's a look at:

OUR TOP 5 FAVORITE SUMMER MOVIE MOMENTS OF 2010

TREVOR SNYDER

5. THE scene, Splice



If you've seen Splice, you know exactly which scene I'm talking about. Despite the spoiler warning above, I don't really want to say too much about this moment, because I don't want to ruin it for anyone for anyone who hasn't experienced the movie yet. Suffice to say there is a particular moment where the film suddenly goes in a very different direction than where it seemed to be heading, and heavily alters the relationship between Adrien Brody's geeky scientist and Dren, the animal-human hybrid he helped create. It's an amazingly ballsy moment, one that pretty much guaranteed this movie would never be a huge mainstream hit, but at the same time pretty much cemented its spot as a future cult classic and a film to be admired by those who appreciate true originality in their horror movies. I still can't believe Warner Bros. bought this movie and agreed to distribute it, but more power to them.

4. Spring break massacre, Piranha 3D



Piranha 3D>'s disappointing box-office performance in the same weekend that the lackluster The Expendables won the top spot for the second week in a row was quite the shame, considering Alexandre Aja's film was exactly the sort of over-the-top cheese-fest that Stallone's movie should have been. Those who were lucky enough to experience the ridiculous delights of Piranha were treated to one of the craziest, bloodiest, and just flat-out enjoyable sequences in recent horror-movie history – a nearly twenty-minute assault of gory mayhem as the film's titular fanged fish laid waste to a river full of drunken, horny, partying teens. Featuring some incredibly brutal kills and more blood than has been seen on the screen in a long time, this sequence was just what the end of summer needed in order to send fans of outrageous cinema out on a high note.

3. Scott Pilgrim Vs. Todd Ingram, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World



Yet another box-office disappointment that deserved better than it got. But rather than dwell on the negative, let us instead applaud Edgar Wright for delivering one of the most creative and cool movies in quite some time. As far as I'm concerned, Wright has earned having his named mentioned in the same breath as guys like Nolan and Tarantino; one of those directors who you now are always excited to see their next project. It was hard to pick a favorite scene from this, his most fully-realized film yet, but I chose the Todd Ingram fight because it had a little bit of everything that made the whole film great – reality-bending physics, witty dialogue (gotta love Ingram's over-convoluted "cleaning lady" diss), exciting action…and then it was all capped off with a hilarious final moment that was easily my favorite film cameo of the year.

2. Heading for the incinerator, Toy Story 3



Pixar seems to be heading in a slightly more adult direction with each new film. That's not to say they're not making family films anymore, but you can certainly see more mature themes working their way into each new entry. First there was Wall*E's almost dialogue-free first act, and then there was the incredibly sad opening montage in Up. If that didn't get to you, then how about this ultra-powerful moment near the end of the third Toy Story, which saw our favorite characters seemingly trapped in a junkyard incinerator, slowly heading to their fiery doom. As Woody, Buzz and company realize there is no way out, they look at each other with sad looks of acceptance on their face, join hands, and turn to face their fate together. I still can't believe how emotional this moment was – it was more moving than anything I've seen in a live-action film for quite some time. Of course, the toys don't end up going into the fire, but the moment is so well-played that for a second there I almost believed they would, and I was even accepting it in my head as an appropriate ending. That's how good Pixar is at this, folks.

1. The anti-gravity hallway fight, Inception



Alright, I've already complained twice about certain films underperforming at the box office this summer, and I could complain a lot more about certain other films performing well (Vampires Suck, people? Seriously??). But the huge success of Inception does prove that it's not time to entirely write off the movie-going public just yet. Christopher Nolan's dream-world-set action film was one of the best high-concept thrillers to come along in years, and cemented the director's reputation as one of his generation's finest filmmakers. The film's clever twisting of reality and time (anything is possible in a dream, after all) created a number of fascinating sequences, but for me the highlight was Joseph Gordon-Levitt's anti-gravity fight sequence. As Gordon-Levitt's body is violently tossed around in one level of the dream he is in, it sends the physical reality of the deeper level spinning out of control (it makes sense when you see it, trust me), thus resulting in him fighting his opponent in a revolving hotel hallway. In an era where the whole wire-work thing has been done to death in the aftermath of The Matrix, it was great fun to finally see it applied in a new and exciting way.

LENNY VOWELLS

The summer of 2010 has to be one of my favorite movie seasons in quite some time. Even 2008, with the combined awesomeness of Iron Man and The Dark Knight, couldn't top this year. Probably because there wasn't much else that was memorable, outside of those two blockbusters. Either way, out of the 8-10 movies I managed to catch during this summer of sweltering heat, these were my top 5 memories..

5. Mjolnir appearing, Iron Man 2



Is it bad that my favorite scene from a movie came after the credits? Is it even more telling that I didn't care? Really, all Iron Man 2 did was serve as a hype vehicle for the upcoming Avengers flick due out in 2012, so I refuse to beat around the bush about it anyway. Everyone in the IMAX theater marked out like a 7-year-old for the appearance of Thor's majestic hammer at the end of this otherwise solid popcorn flick. May 6, 2011 can't get here soon enough!

4. MINIONS~~!, Despicable Me



This movie was an animated treat. I didn't expect anything worth its 3D-modeling weight to come out this summer outside of Toy Story 3, but Despicable Me easily proved me wrong, and the best part about it was the adorable grunts known only as the Minions. My favorite scene would probably have to be when three of them dressed up as a family to go shopping for supplies. It was one of maybe only three times this year that I laughed that hard in a theater, which just goes to show the quality of movies over the past three months. Long live Minions!

3. Sergio's text message, Get Him to the Greek



Russell Brand's latest, the spinoff of the wildly hilarious Forgetting Sarah Marshall, is everything that its predecessor was and more. It was crazy, rambunctious, full of adrenaline, and had a star-making acting performance by P. Diddy of all people. This was my particular favorite scene. His text to Aaron that read "Where the $*#@ you at? I'm gonna kill you! :)" summed up his character perfectly, and nearly had me in tears. Though that may have been due to the adrenaline shot scene that came right before it, though I'll always remember the funny flick for this scene first.

2. Scott Pilgrim vs. Ramona's evil exes, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World



These were hard to choose from. There wasn't a single bad fight scene in this movie, but if I really had to narrow it down, it would be a split between Sex Bob-omb's band battle against the Katayanagi twins, or Scott's fight against the vegan psychic, Todd Ingram. Both were ridiculous, over-the-top, and an absolute blast to watch. Brandon Routh's turn as the douchebag boyfriend was a joy to witness (as it's quite the opposite of Superman), and the fight against the twins was a special effects monster (literally). It's a shame this movie hasn't made more box office buck, because it really is worth seeing, especially by anyone from our generation.

1. Slow-motion, with no gravity, Inception



Hands down THE best movie of the summer, and maybe the year. Inception was everything it should've been and more, and I'd even go so far as to call it the best thinking person's action movie since the originan Matrix. This scene went a long way towards tailoring to that case. Joseph Gordon Levitt's character, Arthur, has to get the other characters into the elevator in the second dream world, and on the way, he has to take out a couple of security guards in a grand hallway... minus gravity. The wirework was awesome, and the tense feel of "the clock is ticking" did a lot for this scene, as well as the movie in general. It was epic, and it's just one of the reasons I feel that Christopher Nolan's masterpiece deserves an Oscar mention.

BRYAN KRISTOPOWITZ

5. After credits cameos, The A-Team



Joe Carnahan's movie adaptation of the 1980's classic action show "The A-Team" didn't get the box office that it should have (it's a great action flick with plenty of great performances), so there probably won't be a sequel. For those of us who actually went and saw the movie, sat through it, and then sat through the end credits (love that "The A-Team" theme) you got to see two small scenes featuring two of the original show's cast members. Bradley Cooper's Face got to meet the real Face, Dirk Benedict, in a prison sun tanning area, and we got to see the original Murdock, Dwight Schultz, declare the movie Murdock nuts. The Face cameo comes off the best because Benedict still has that Faceman charisma (he gives off that little smirk and that little laugh and it's the 1980's all over again). Both little scenes are a great way to bridge the TV show and the movie. "The A-Team" is forever.

4. Intro of Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), Iron Man 2



The first time we see Mickey Rourke's Russian bad guy Ivan Vanko he's watching Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark reveal to the world via television that he's Iron Man. Vanko doesn't say much of anything. He just starts to seethe with anger. He's going to get revenge on the son of the man that destroyed his father or something. And we watch Vanko start to build his laser whip weapon suit. Rourke says everything with his face and his general demeanor. You just know that he's going to explode at some point, that whatever he has planned is going to be brutal. And as we see later on at the Monaco Grand Prix, Vanko explodes. Absolutely chilling.

3. Lee Christmas vs. basketball players, The Expendables



This little beat down scene has been done a million times before in both movies and on television. One supreme bad ass up against a gaggle of douchebags and the bad ass wipes the floor with the douchebags. In "The Expendables," Jason Statham's Lee Christmas goes up against his former girlfriend's abusive boyfriend and his douchebag pick up basketball buddies. Christmas takes them all on in a flurry of punches, chops, and kicks, completely destroying them. He then hovers over the lead douchebag and rams a knife into the guy's basketball and then says "Next time I'll deflate all of your balls, friend." Now that's how you end a completely one sided physical encounter.

2. Predator sword fight, Predators



On one side you've got a Predator; a big ass alien monster with all kinds of weaponry at its disposal. On the other side is a Yakuza assassin named Hanzo (Louis Ozawa Changchien) brandishing a sword. It's a standoff. Suddenly they come at one another and it's a Predator sword fight. Back and forth, back and forth they go. Clang, clang, clang. Then the scene ends with both sides destroyed. Who won? Does it really matter? It was a freaking Predator sword fight!

1. Steve Austin meets Dolph Lundgren, The Expendables





The moment Dolph Lundgren's meth head mercenary Gunner Jensen meets Stone Cold Steve Austin's Paine there's instant electricity. They don't know one another, and it doesn't really matter. They despise one another. Paine wants to kill Jensen, and Jensen no doubt wants to use his patented little Dolph Lundgren shotgun on the sneering bad ass across the room. We don't get to see them come to blows, but you know that if they did come to blows you know the encounter would have been epic. It would have been brutal. It would have been classic. But it doesn't happen. We just have to savor the macho hate.

ANTHONY ACERO

5. Jackie Chan, in The Karate Kid



So we all knew that this movie would get a lot of flack. Even I wasn't all together behind a remake of yet another great 80's movie, especially considering the death of Miyagi. Now I'm not saying that the movie was a complete hit and changed my mind completely, but there was a very pleasant surprise within the film....Jackie Chan can act! Now, many may have already known this due to his other movies, but in every movie I have seen him in, acting isn't his best asset. So to see Jackie Chan in one of the most emotional scenes of the summer (save for my #2 pick) of all people was a deligthtful surprise. If you don't know what scene I am referring to, watch the movie and get back to me.

4. The race sequence, Iron Man 2



I'd like to consider this the official kick off of the Summer Season. True, it may have been a little in the Pre-season (released in May, I beleive) but I don't think "Summer Movie Season" equates to a number of months as much as it is the events of big blockbuster movies, and how much bigger can you get than with Iron Man 2. The entire race car scene builds up to a point where you just know some shit is going to go down. The moment the suit is on is the moment you're sitting in your seat for the first weekend of the Summer movie season and enjoying the hell out of it. Sure, the movie may have been a bit of a drag in some spots, but it was this moment below when I knew that I was in for a treat and a whole bunch of Avenger nuggets of goodness.

3. Jet Li vs. Dolph Lundgren, The Expendables



I thought the story sucked and the dialogue was horrible. I thought the characters were flawed and the film as a whole was badly written. So why the hell did I watch this movie twice? Simple: the bad ass fighting. If there was one thing Stallone did right it was the combination of stars and the fights they were in. Statham was his usual awesome self with added knife fun. The Stone Cold vs Randy was a mini dream match that was also well played (and was it me or did Stone Cold look so much bigger than everyone else?). My personal favorite was Jet Li vs. Dolph Lundgren. Anytime I get to see Jet Li fly around like a gnat with extra wings, I love it. The movie was just small plots to lead up to big fights and big explosions and apparently my Manly Mind is ok with that.

2. Closing Sequence, Toy Story 3



And we go from the manliest moment of the Summer to one of the most emotional scenes ever. For the longest people time, people would ask what my favorite movie was and I would seriously always say Toy Story. I know, I know, it's a child's movie but you cannot deny the amazing story of the film and the great work of Tom Hanks (who, consequently, is my favorite actor). It was the perfect blend of childhood humor, heartwarming moments, and a bit of moral fiber throughout. Toy Story 3 came out and I was skeptical, but only for a minute...I mean how many times has Pixar disappointed? None, that's how many. The movie was sweet and felt like it belonged in the trilogy of films but the moment that stood out most was the end where Andy hands over Woody to Bonnie in a moment that really pulled at the heartstrings. It was sort of a symbolic passing of us iin our 20's to the younger generation and it was great in my opinion.

1. Joseph Gorden-Levitt in Inception



I heard the rumor about Gordon-Levitt playing The Riddler in the upcoming Batman series before I saw Inception and although I've always thought he was a capable actor, I just didn't see it. Then I saw Inception and all doubt went out the window. He was amazing in this film. He had the face of a man and the capabilities of a madman. He had what I feel would be needed to play The Riddler. Those who've read The Good, The Bad and The Fugly know I'm a batman aficionado so I don't take my villains lightly but to say that the scene in the hallway-as well as pretty much anytime he is on the screen-is not enough to convince you that this man can act then perhaps we should reconsider your tastes.

MICHAEL WEYER

A hard thing as not that many really memorable overall movies for the summer so whittling it down to scenes was hard. But managed to come up with some ones that really sounded out to me:


5. The Opening, Toy Story 3



I know most will say the ending of Andy saying goodbye and I agree that's great. But anyone's who played with action figures as a kid has to appreciate that opening where a Wild West bank robbery goes wild with the addition of Buzz lifting a train of "orphans" (the little space guys), the Potatoe Heads as the baddies, a giant barrel of monkeys dumped on the heroes and more. All of it wonderfully realized as a child's mind sees it and a great call-out to the kid in all of us who spent hours battling our figures together and coming up with adventures off the top of our head.

4. The Tunnel Fight, The Expendables



So many bad-ass scenes in the movie but this is the one that stands out as Ross (Sylvester Stallone) leads an attack on the bad guys underground that turns into a wild fight involving his men. Jet Li and Gary Daniels go at it in a martial arts battle while Stallone and Jason Statham fight it out with other guys with hard punches and kicks, Stallone and Steve Austin beating the hell out of each other. Then, just as it looks like a platoon of soldiers have the guys down, Terry Crews and his huge bullets tear them to shreds in grand style. Old-school action movie bloodshed at its best.

3. Creating the City, Inception



The scene that really showed what the movie could do as Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) leads Adriane (Ellen Page) into a dream version of Paris to let her see how you can minipulate dreams. She proceeds to twist the city on its side, entire blocks folding up like walls and staircases appearing out of nowhere with a mirrored wall popping up as well. Page carries it off with a great humor, stunned at first but soon into it and enjoying the process...until she learns the hard way how deadly dreams can be. An eye-popper on the big screen and a showcase of how the movie will bend your perceptions.

2. The First Fight, Scott Pilgrim vs the World



Up until now, this was a typical young romance/comedy, albeit with some goofy subtitles here and there as Scott (Michael Cera) meets and romances Romana (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). But then in the middle of a performance by Scott's band, Mathew Patel (Satya Bhaba) bursts through the ceiling to challenge Scott and everything goes nuts. Instantly, we're in the middle of a video-game styled battle as the two defy physics punching and kicking each other with sound effect titles in the air and Patel summoning a set of ghostly dancers and fireballs to throw at Scott. The best part is the shot of Scott's sister (Anna Kendrick), who appears to be the only person in the movie who thinks it's bizarre these fights break out. True comic book style fighting that brings the "graphic" to "graphic novel adaptation."

1. First Strike, Iron Man 2



Given how the first movie had a great post-credits scene, expectations were high for this. But it paid off as Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) drives up through an Oklahoma desert and stops his car. Getting out, he looks down then turns to get out his cell, a large pit behind him. "Sir, we found it," he says into his phone as the camera pans down to show....

Mjolnir, Thor's hammer, sitting in the middle of the pit with a crack of thunder blasting over the soundtrack. Total geekgasm moment.

Feel free to share your own favorite moments of summer 2010 down below (or just criticize ours), and we'll be be back next week with a brand new topic. Have a great week, everyone.