Sunday, December 7, 2008

Movies with endings that you can watch over "n over

I was surfing the channels this afternoon and I saw that Midnight Run was on and ending. I watch that movie a lot and love the ending. DeNiro getting Charles Grodin to Los Angeles and then letting him go and Grodin talking off his money belt and giving it to DeNiro. Just love it! Probabally not that special to many others, but to me, it works and gets to me. Thus, the idea of this posting: Movies that have special endings for you and work for you. When they come on cable you will watch the ending just to see it again... All of you won't agree and that is okay...This one is a personal thing..... For your consideration:

a. Midnight Run. For the above reason.

b. Dances with Wolves. The winter scene, saying good by to the tribe and exchanging gifts. The
Kicking Bird or what ever he was called....up on his horse, waving his spear and yelling across the valley with all his might..."you are my brother" you are my brother. "I will never forget you" To me, powerful stuff.

c. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. The supprise of her showing up with the boat of people and that exchange and then taken them by the arm and saying, "Let's go get em, boys!" Classic!

d. High Noon. Gary Cooper throwing his badge on the ground in front of the city people and riding off with Grace Kelly.

e. Notting Hill. Roberts and Hugh Grant on the park bench. She's pregnant and they are reading. Just nice!

There are a ton more that you will think of and I will later. Of course, we could do the same for bad endings of movies....starting with "Pretty Woman" Sooo Chezzey!

32 comments:

Sue said...

Nice post dad! The first movie that came to my mind is Resevoir Dogs. That has the best ending ever. Kill Bill Volume 2 ends well too. I guess I like Tarentino endings.

Sue said...

I just thought of another really good ending. Usual Suspects. When Kevin Spacey is walking off and suddenly he isn't limping anymore and you realize it was him!

Along the same line is the ending to Primal Fear when you realize *spolier alert!!!* that Ed Norton's character was faking the multiple personalities the whole time! Crazy!

Cat said...

Another great ending also with Ed Norton is from The Score. OK, bye bye.

Sue said...

Fight Club too! What is it with Ed Norton and good endings? I haven't seen the Score.

Cat said...

Totally Fight Club! Especially because it ends with a Pixies song!

Haley said...

I totally agree with Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Weird as it is, as I was reading the beginning of the post that's the movie I had in my head where I loved the ending! Good one Gramps!

Matt Wright said...

I agree with all of these endings. Along with Ed Norton, I gotta throw in American History X. (Shred awesome emotional ending.)
Any movie ending with a Pixies song is epic. Good call Cath.
Another Michael Cane movie with a sweet ending-
Prestige. It ties the whole movie together, and once it's over, you have this NEED to watch it again. (at least I did.)

Pops said...

I idea of this posting is not just movies with good endings or supprise endings, but movies with endings that you want to watch over and over. They make you feel good or the supprise was so great that you are compelled to see again and again. So my thoughts. Yes, Sue, Primal Fear was one of those. I don't know about the others even though the Score had a great ending and the others mentioned. The first Rocky, maybe,,,ADRIAN..........
Keep thinking peeps.....We are all effected by different things so there is no universal answer or Wright ending...

Cat said...

The movie-ending nazi has narrowed his criteria substantially. I can only think of one recent example fitting in with this definition. And people, I want absolutely zero flack about it. The movie that made me go, wow, I must see that again right now: Broke Back Mountain. One of the reasons is that at the very last second, Heath Ledger's character says something so mumbly and quiet that I could not hear it. I rented that movie sometime this summer and loved it so much that I watched it 3 times in the 7 days I had it. All 3 times, when the mumble was about to commence, I would turn up the volume all the way, rewind it at least 3 times... it's impossible to make out. I need to rent it again and activate the subtitles!

Pops said...

Wow, Cath, that's really letting it all hang out! Good for you. Like I said, it is an individual thing this ending stuff. Each his or her own! However I won't be renting Brokeback Mtn. soon.

Cat said...

Thanks Dad. I was kind of nervous to post that. And I completely understand about you not wanting to see it. Let me just say it's superbly acted and a really sad, sweet story.

Emily said...

I have been silent here because I wanted to give this it's due thought. As for movies that I like to watch the ending over and over, I am going to have to say, they are pretty much all romances.
Here are a few I have come up with:

PRETTY IN PINK: At the prom, when Andie sees Ducky and they run and hug and make up and he gives her his "blessing" to go after her love interest (Blaine)and then you see a rich girl checking Ducky out.

ROMAN HOLIDAY: When Gregory Peck goes to that press thing with the Princess and their eyes meet and she is so stoic and does her duty and you know they both just go back to life as they knew it.

AS GOOD AS IT GETS: Melvin and Carol go for a walk at 4 in the morning and he kisses her and then says, "I know I can do better then that!" and kisses her again. Then they go into the bakery and he steps on a patterned floor, and just kind of raises his eyebrows.

Here are two non romances..
NAPOLEON DYNAMITE: That dance scene at the end, is worth the whole movie (and the whole movie is good!).

THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION: The retold story of how Andy escapes is so great and gratifying to the audience. Especially when the warden looks up right before the cops break down his door and sees the scripture hanging on his wall.

I just thought of 2 more,
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE: When Cary Grant pretends to go crazy at the end to hide all the sinister things his Aunts have been doing is SO funny! If I catch that on TV I just have to watch the end.

WHAT'S UP DOC?:Is there a better car chase scene in the history of movies? That is just the best thing ever! It makes me laugh boisterously right out loud every time I see it and clap my hands, it totally makes me giddy. Then the end line, when Barbra Streisand says to Ryan O'Neal, "Love means never having to say you're sorry" and bats her eyelashes and he says, "That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard". Classic.

Totally agree these are all cool endings: Fight Club, Reservoir Dogs, Primal Fear, American History X, The Score, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and I would like to throw in Bandits (seeing them having faked their deaths and are happy in Mexico and the 3 way relationship seems to be working out fine). But these are all cool movies with cool endings, not ones I particularly seek the endings of.

Sue said...

I'm pretty confident that my movie picks fit dad's criteria. They may not make you "feel good", but they have compelled me to watch the movies over and over. I'll watch Reservoir Dogs just for that great triangle of guns shootout at the end and Mr Pink running out of the warehouse and you can hear sirens very faintly, and you know they are going to get Mr. Pink. Or are they? The sirens are so faint, it could be something completely unrelated, it is LA afterall. So after all their planning, they all die and the one that lives might get nabbed. There is a moral to the story. Crime doesn't pay. So that's kind of feel goody.

Usual Suspects I'll watch whenever it is played on cable, which is somewhat often (even though there is a Baldwin in it, ugh). I watch it because the ending is just insane. When you realize that Kevin Spacey is Keyser Soze! You have to watch the movie again and again to see if there is any hint of that during the movie.

At the end of Fight Club when you realize Tyler Durden was just a part of Jack's imagination you have to watch the movie again to see if you can pick up on that.

And Kill Bill ends great because she kills him with the "5 Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique" which is the best name for a martial arts move ever. And then her laughing and crying on the bathroom floor while her little girl watches cartoons is awesome!

I just reazlized I'm pretty dang twisted!

Matt Wright said...

B and I were just talking about the ending of Reservoir dogs on Saturday. Very much an awesome ending. It's so jaw dropping when Mr. White finds out "the kid" (can't remember his color) is a cop. Yet he spent all of his time feeling responcible for him being shot. He even kills his boss and gets shot. One minute he is willing to sacrifice everything for him, then the next minute has a gun to his head. HOLY CRAP!! One thing though... Who killed the bosses son? There wasn't even a gun pointed at him? The only thing that makes sense is Mr. Pink shot him. But if you watch it, it just looks like he falls down dead. Did white get two shots off and kill him and the Boss? Kinda weird.

Of mice and men. Sling blade.

Sue said...

It is a great scene when Mr Orange confesses to Mr White that he is an undercover cop! You feel so bad for Mr. White!

The ending shootout is so quick, but I think I have it. And they do all have guns. I think Mr. White and Joe shoot eachother and Mr. Blonde and Nice Guy Eddie shoot each other.

I found this 13 second part on youtube. Tell me what you think:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIomipDU0B8

Pops said...

Holy crap, Peeps, nice thinking and remembering. The Source, you hit the nail square in my opinion. Roman Holiday, Pretty in Pink , As Good As it Gets and Shawshank Redemption. Spot on! Just what I was thinking when I posted the thought. Resevour Dogs I'll have to watch as I don't remember any of it. Same for Usual Suspects. "Seven" has one of those endings that is compelling to see again. Kevin Spacey, the Physco, Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt. Wow! powerful with Brad Pitt being taken away in the back of the cop car shattered and mind blown. Ems, I havent seen or thought of "What's up Doc" in years. It used to be my favorite movie. I loved all the characters, even the mousey little guy. And the car chase scene was truly classic. Thanks for the memory.... Something wierd...I watch the Hud Sauce movie "Bodyguard" just to hear Whitney Houston sing her song over the titles at the end. And I agree that the ending of "Bandits" fit and that reminds me of the ending in "Trading Places" on the tropical island. "How are you Billy Ray?"

Emily said...

Seven has such a trippy cool ending. Probably the least feel good ending I can think of. The credits role to that movie and you are totally in despair at humanity.

Oh I love What's Up Doc so much. Sad little story about that. I had just found a copy online and had it about a month and it was nabbed in the great house robbery of 2007. I need to see about purchasing it again, I'm in the mood for a mad cap car scene.

Matt Wright said...

K Sue, WHAT?? I'm sorry but your theory is whack. I watched the Youtube clip you attached like 8 times. I just don't think Mr. Orange shot anyone, If you pause it right at that wide angle, you can see that Mr. Orange doesn't even have a gun in his hands. If you remember from the movie, Joe has his gun pointed at Orange the whole time, because he knows he is a cop. White wants to save Orange, so his gun is pointed back at Joe and says "Joe, don't make me do this". Eddie freaks out and points the gun at White saying "stop pointing that gun at my dad!" So from this it should be clear that White shoots Joe, Joe shoots Orange, and Eddie shoots White.... But who the bip shoots Eddie? I am going to get to the bottom of this...

Sue said...

I did not say Mr. Orange shot anyone!

If you pause it at second 6 it is clear that Mr. Blonde (the guy who cut off the cops ear) is pointing a gun at Eddie. He and Eddie shoot each other and Mr. White and Joe shoot eachother. Mr. Orange is just laying there bleeding to death.

Sue said...

Okay back up. I'm confused. Why did I think Mr. Blonde is part of that? For some reason I thought Mr. White is still sitting with Mr. Orange. Mr. Blonde gets shot a few minutes earlier than that, because I think he is dead when Eddie gets there.

So the people standing are Mr. White, Joe and Eddie, Mr. Orange is laying there. So who shoots Eddie? ha ha

Sue said...

I think I found the answer!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105236/faq#.2.1.1

Matt Wright said...

Yeah, I confused Mr. Blonde with Mr. Orange. Blonde was long since dead and out of the picture. Sorry bout that, haha, we both went weird for a second. (so many similar names)

I found the same thing else where. I also learned that Quentin Tarantino printed a very limited amount of shirts that say "Who killed nice guy Eddie" HA HA! I think that is great that he left it in just to create some controversy.

According to the script, White killed Eddie.

CHECK IT OUT!

http://www.godamongdirectors.com/scripts/reservoir.shtml

Just scroll forever till you get to the end of the movie.

Pops said...

Mr. White, Orange, Pink, Green, Lavender, Black...Way to many color names for me. I got another head acke.
Ems, you are wright about Seven. The ending certainally is not a happy, feel good ending. It is the worst! So evil, mean and it knocks you out depressing. But, it is compelling to watch it unfold between Morgan Freeman and Envy and Wrath.
"Hook" has a pretty good ending, but not a top 10. "Beverly Hills Cop" is good also. Eddie Murphy rolling his eyes and saying, "Trust me!" But I really would"nt watch those movies because I want to see the ending.
"The Sting" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" both had good endings and both were Newman and Redford movies.

Pops said...

I saw part of a cleaned up version of "Pulp Fiction" last night (if they really cleaned it up there would be no film) and the ending with the robbery (Honny-bunny & the guy) was pretty good. Then Trovolta and Jackson walking out to the door in their volleyball clothes and tucking their pistols in their shorts and turning to the door and fading into blackness. Good stuff! not top 10 again but worth seeing again and again. I am supposed to have a date with Matt and B on Friday night to see "Roman Holiday" and eat Vanilla Bean ice cream. (Haggen Das). I have an old copy on VHS. Movie, not ceem, ceem.

Matt Wright said...

Can't wait Dad!

Sue said...

It's always made me laugh that Pulp Fiction was edited for cable. Is it like 10 minutes long? I love the clothes that Vincent and Jewels have on at the end of that movie.

Matt, did you know that Mr. Blonde is Vincent Vegas brother in Tarantino's mind? Mr. Blonde's real name is Vic Vega.

I want to watch Roman Holiday and eat ceem ceem with you guys! That sounds like fun.

Matt Wright said...

I did not know that. Way cool. I did learn that Michael Madsen, after reading the script, wanted to play Mr. Pink. But Tarantino wouldn't have it. He already had it in his mind that Madsen had to play Mr. Blonde.

Dad is watching Pretty Woman right now. HAHA!

Emily said...

That is an interesting fact about the Vegas. I'll have to tuck that away in my brain.
Your date sounds like fun. Tarantino totally knows what he's doing, Steve Buscemi was a perfect Mr. Pink, and Madsen was a great Mr. Blonde.

You put the lime in the coconut and drink em both together, you put the lime in the coconut....

Sue said...

Michael Madsen could only play Mr. Blonde. He would not have made a good Mr. Pink. Buscemi is a great Mr. Pink, he is such a jerk in the restaurant when he doesn't want to tip the waitress. I love that scene!

Anyway, rumor has it that Tarantino always wanted to do a movie called "The Vega Brothers" with Madsen and Travolta, but it would have to do with the years before Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs since they both are killed in those movies. But the actors are getting to old. But I bet it would be a great movie.

Cat said...

Have you guys seen Michael Madsen lately? He looks like he's aged 50 years since R. Dogs. It's really weird and sad, he's like crazy.

Pops said...

Mom, me and Matt and B watched Roman Holiday and ate ceem, ceem. Fun time. B finished finals and now has a break from school. She was most intense these last few weeks with studying. For her, I'm glad it is over. Both Matt and B wanted Princess Anne to run down the hall after Greg Peck and run off with him. They didn't like the ending or at least it suprised them.

Matt Wright said...

It was a great movie. Loved it. Hepburn is awesome. Surprised by the end a little- yes. Didn't like it- not necessarily. It was MOM that thought the end was "stupid". B and I talked (mostly B, who liked the ending a lot) about it and thought it ended fine. Hepburn grew up a lot, and when she got back she said if it wasn't for her responsibilities and duty to her country, she would have never came back. So that's cool. Plus, she looked at Peck right in the eyes at the end and in front of everybody said that her favorite part of the tour was her stay there. Meaning her favorite part was to have that one day with him. Cute.
Dad said it best, it was a very "realistic" ending.

We all loved when he scared her at that stone statue thing. And we all laughed when after the dance and the fight broke out, she jumped the lake plugging her nose! Double cute.