As a professional editor, I have a particular soft spot for this category.
Best Film Editing
There is a huge amount of work, dedication and passion that goes into the final edit of a film. These unseen heroes deserve their time in the spotlight. There are so many talented editors who have been nominated but didn’t not receive their prize. This list is dedicated to them.
Here are the Top 10 Best Film Editing Losers:
Million Dollar Baby
Edited by Joel Cox
LOST TO: The Aviator
Apocalypse Now
Edited by Richard Marks, Walter Murch, Gerald B. Greenberg, Lisa Fruchtman
Horror fans line up for the scares. It’s all about the thrill of gripping your seat and holding your breath before the big Ahhhhh! Horror movies live and die by their ability to deliver moments that make your heart race. When they don’t, it can lead to a pretty boring experience especially if the story isn’t stellar. It’s like watching a comedy and waving as every single joke flies over your head and into a trash can.
In the past, I’ve examined the All Time Best: Scariest Movie Scene. For me, the ‘hell’ sequence from Event Horizon was absolutely terrifying but there is a big difference between terrifying and jumpy.
This post is all about slashers who jump out from behind a door. Ghosts that appear behind you while you stare into a mirror. Monsters that burst back to life.
Much like the first reveal of the creatures in 2005′s The Descent. When that night vision camera reveals one of the beasts for the first time, I jumped out of my seat. Well done Neil Marshall, well done. (It’s a little disappointing that the shot is included in the trailer though.)
Trying to narrow it down to one single scare is extremely difficult but there is ONE I couldn’t erase from my mind. So, the winner of the award for the All Time Best Jumpy Movie Moment?
SEVEN
THE NOT-SO-DEAD JOHN DOE VICTIM
When Mills and Sommerset enter this gruesome scene all you can think about is the amount of incredible pain and suffering this man went through. The genius of the film is that the man is evil himself and morality enters the equation. Seven deadly sins. The setup is perfect as a cop leans in and whispers ‘You got what you deserved’…
BLAM!
I love horror films and I’ve never jumped higher. It’s a record that may never be broken but I still hoping it will someday. Bring on the jumps! Seven is one of my favorite movies because of the story but it’s legendary because of moments like these. That and the absolutely incredible ending.
We need a new movie with an insane twist at the end.
Don’t we?
I know movies come along all the time with twist endings but I’m talking about mind blowing – best twist ever – moments. The legendary endings that send your jaw to the floor and leave you wide eyed for a week. Endings you can’t wait to discuss with your friends. (Hopefully you aren’t one of those jerks that ruins twists. If you are please stop that.)
In the interest of not being hypocritical, there are no spoilers in this post.
It’s been a while since we’ve had a great one. Some may argue that Shutter Island has an amazing twist but everyone I talked to saw it coming a mile away. I’m on the fence as well.
Saw
The Sixth Sense
Seven
The Usual Suspects
Those are twists!
The final 5 minutes of Saw actually made me yell ‘What!’ out loud in the theater. I had no clue. Who doesn’t love a good surprise when they go to the movies?
“Wow them in the end.”
A quote from Adaptation that I feel works nicely for this post. It’s completely true. Nothing beats a well planned and executed twist ending.
The Sixth Sense was actually one of the best twists I’ll never get to truly experience. Someone in high school ruined it for me. Idiot.
Still, I got to see the seeds being planted and watched M. Night Shyamalan craft one of the best thrillers of all time. What an ending!
We need more twist endings!
While I’m on the topic, I want to give a special mention to Inception. That final shot may not be a traditional ‘twist’ but it’s one of the best ending shots in film history. Yes I loved Inception that much.
The award for best twist ending, in my opinion, goes to Seven. It was such a smart and thought provoking way to end the movie. I’m still stunned each and every time I see it. I actually look forward to watching it with people who haven’t just to see the look on their face when the credits roll.
There have been a thousand million twist endings. (That’s a real number by the way) Trying to come up with my all time favorite was actually pretty easy. It was simply a process of elimination.
Here are some of the contenders that just missed.
Signs
Swing away
People will disagree with this. So many people I’ve talked to about movies were shocked to learn that Signs is my favorite movie. The number one comment I hear is how they loved the movie until the end. I thought it was a fantastic ending. Shyamalan set things up perfectly. Whether you liked it or not is up to you.
However, it’s not my favorite twist ending.
Saw
What!?
That was my reaction in theaters when I saw this movie. Normally, studios feel the need to sell a movie based on it’s epic twist ending. I find that when you go in expecting a twist, you’re more likely to spot the hints. I had no idea this twist was coming and it shocked the hell out of me.
Still, Saw doesn’t win my award today.
The Sixth Sense
A real jerk ruined it for me.
The ending of this movie was ruined for me by one of my “friends”. I was devastated and didn’t bother seeing it in theaters. When I finally rented the movie, I regretted that decision because Shyamalan’s story still kicked my ass.
Had the ending not been ruined, this film would have probably been my favorite twist.
Seven
What’s in the box!
Whoa. Easily one of the best movies ever written. (In my humble opinion) I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t see this movie until a couple years ago. I had no idea what I was in for. When the final scene began, I had absolutely no idea what to expect. Those are the best kinds of twists. The ones that blind side you. I’m an even bigger fan of the movies that wrap up quickly after the big reveal. It leaves you stunned in your seat trying to figure out how the filmmakers managed to manipulated you so easily.
It’s time for another feature to launch on The Athletic Nerd. Just about every blog about movies has lists. It’s inevitable. I’m about to join the team but I’ll be taking a different approach. By now, many of you are aware I earn a living editing professional sports. Sports is another area where lists are a must. On my network we countdown 5 highlights just about every day in categories like plays, misplays, fights, hits etc…
Now, I’m a sports fan in general so I do watch shows on ‘the other guys’ network. They create a top 10 list everyday that isn’t necessarily based on plays from that week. They base their list on current events using big news as a spring board to list similar stories.
This is the approach I plan to take with my lists and so in honour of yesterday’s ’44 Inch Chest’ post, here’s are 10 Bad Ass Movies.
I’m not afraid to go to the movies by myself and those Spartans got me twice for a total of 4 trips to the theater. From a visual stand point, this movie brought something new to the table that blew my mind. The fights are incredible and be honest, you’ve yelled it…
‘This is Sparta!’
Terminator 2
One of the best action movies of all time. Thinking about T2 has me even more excited for Cameron’s Avatar this month. Terminator 2 is one of the best sequels ever with better action, better effects and better gigantic explosions. It’s as bad ass as it gets.
“Come with me if you want to live.”
In Bruges
This movie made my list purely because of story. A simple concept told well and it all started with an original and hilarious script by Writer/Director Martin McDonagh. (I’m a big fan of original scripts. There’s only so many remakes and sequels I can take.) I bought this movie without seeing it thinking it could be good but I never thought it would become one of my all time favorites.
Predator
Oh Arnold, so many awesome movies. Predator is one of those movies that every bad ass movie fan has seen at least 457 times. Give or take. Don’t believe me? Stand in front of a group of people and yell:
“Get to the choppah!”
You’ll find out who the fans are. They’ll be the ones laughing. However, make sure you set it up. Don’t just randomly yell it because there is a chance you could look like an idiot. Attempt at your own risk.
“Soon the hunt will begin…” That old school voice over guy really doesn’t read with much enthusiasm does he?
Boondock Saints
I saw this movie years after it was released. The story of how it was produced is absolutely fascinating. I highly recommend you watch the documentary Overnight as well. Regardless of the trouble surrounding the production, Troy Duffy’s movie has so many memorable moments, it’s hard to ignore.
Not sure if I’m ready to see the new movie though…
Resevoir Dogs
Admit it, when you saw the title of this post, you knew Tarantino would show up eventually. What more needs to be said?
Snatch
I really didn’t know what to expect when I first saw this movie. A friend of mine showed it to me one day and I went out and bought it a few days later. It’s one of those movies that makes you ask a question I consider to be one of the highest compliments you can give a filmmaker.
“How did you come up with that?”
Such a good flick.
Goodfellas
Admit it, when you saw the title of this post, you knew Scorsese would show up eventually. What more needs to be said?
Seven
Story. I’m all about story. In my opinion, Seven has one of the best endings in the history of film. If you haven’t seen this movie and it hasn’t been ruined for you go out and buy it. I’m literally jealous of everyone who hasn’t experienced Seven yet. I would love to experience it for the first time again.
“What’s in the box!”
Pulp Fiction
Tarantino again. Is anybody else shocked two of his films made this list? Pulp Fiction is a true classic bad ass movie. It changed the way people looked at films and inspired young filmmakers everywhere. There have been countless emulators out there and while none have truly duplicated Tarantino, we still have him to thank some pretty great movies. It’s the bad ass flick that started it all, for me at least.
There it is. My top 10 Bad Ass flicks. I’m sure there are people out there who disagree. I recommend commenting below. I probably overlooked about a million movies. That’s the beauty of runnin my own site. I’ll just make another list.
