Puntabulous

Today I welcome back my cousin Michelle, who you may remember from our debate over Which is the Best Muppet and from her previous post about Movie Monsters. Today she’s posting about Memorable Movie Endings, which she does completely spoiler-free!

1. Twist Endings: the good and bad:
Growing up watching the Twilight Zone on video has both it’s pluses and minuses. On the one hand it made me appreciate a great twist but on the other it made it more difficult to be surprised. Cases in point - “The Sixth Sense” and “Identity”. Both great movies, particularly the latter because I love John Cusack and creepy hotels with people being killed one by one. Unfortunately, unlike many, I guessed the end in the first 10 minutes. Maybe it’s that my mind has become twisted by both The Zone and David Lynch movies. “Lost Highway” is another that I figured out early on. I still enjoy all those movies but I do miss having the “A-HA!” moment that others have. It does make me appreciate all the more those movies that do that for me like any Agatha Christie. She pulled the “Usual Suspects” twist first and the astonishing revelation at the end of “Murder on the Orient Express” left me dropped jawed. “Primal Fear” with Richard Gere defending Ed Norton and “Jacob’s Ladder” with Tim Robbins as a Vietnam vet also did manage to surprise me.

2. Shocking Ends that spoiled the rest for me:
The ending that I absolutely never saw coming was “The Mist” I’m fairly certain there has never been an ending like it before or since. Stephen King had left the short story open and believe me, I would much have preferred that. The real bummer for me was that I was really enjoying the movie up until that point. The characters were interesting, the monsters were scary, the people’s reactions were horrifying. Then BOOM! The end hit me like a ton of elephants. Despite it being ironic and very Twilight Zone-ish it left me feeling disturbed. The only ending that I have found worse was “The Life and Death of David Gale” containing a scene so vile I wish I had never seen it. But there was nothing redeemable about that movie for me. At least “The Mist” was worth watching.

3. Movies that made me cheer:
On to the other end of the spectrum are those super movies that make you cheer at the end. There are few experiences greater than being in a huge audience watching “Star Wars”, “Aliens”, or “The Karate Kid”. The clapping, hooting and stomping of feet that always came at the final scenes lifts the spirit and brings a lump to the thought and/or streaming tears. I sadly never saw “Jaws” in the movies but I’m told that it brought about the same reaction. If you are one of the three people who never saw those movies - RENT THEM NOW!

4. Endings that I can watch over and over:
Two lesser known movies that I would also heartily recommend are “Two Brothers” and “Hero At Large” Unlike the ones above these I can simply watch the last ten minutes and get that warm and fuzzy feeling. “Two Brothers” is about tigers that are separated when cubs and are brought together in a Gladiator style fight as adults. The movie does contain heartbreaking scenes when they are being mistreated by their human captors. But the ending is so sentimental and uplifting, it makes the whole thing worthwhile. “Hero at Large” is a movie with John Ritter playing a normal guy who dons a hero costume and decides to fight crime on his own. I remember watching the last ten minutes of this movie dozens of times when I was a kid, any time I needed a pick me up.

5. Oh, Come On! or “St. Elsewhere” Endings:
These are endings that some consider a twist, but what I say - Nay! Thou has undone everything that I have seen up til now. Movies like “The Game” with Michael Douglas, M. Night’s “The Village” or the old slasher film “April Fool’s Day”. Movies that don’t make me feel fooled as much as a fool. “The Village” was the most disappointing because I’m a fan of M. Night and it was advertised as being a horror movie. Instead it was more of a social commentary drama, not scary with an ending that made me groan. Better more intelligent movies such as “Donnie Darko” and “Mulhulland Drive” make you rethink everything that you’ve seen on the second viewing. But they don’t make you feel cheated and are therefore worth that second and third viewing.

6. Movies that make you feel like a bloodthirsty roman…in a good way:
These are the ‘revenge’ or standing up for yourself movies. Movies which bring out that primal instinct that we don’t want to admit having. Movies that make you cheer “Yah! Get ‘em!” or something like that at the end when the villain finally gets their comeuppance. Though I’m not a Jodie Foster fan, I did enjoy “The Brave One”. I mean who couldn’t like a heroine who growls “I want my dog back!” before dispatching one of the baddies. Also not crazy about Julia Roberts but the end of “Sleeping with the Enemy” gave me a similar feeling with her last line (which I won’t give away). There’s another old movie, “Defiance” with Jan Michael Vincent that we used to love as kids where he helps the townspeople stand up to a gang. It’s a serious version of “Blazing Saddles” or “The Three Amigos” (which I love). The movie “Death Sentence” with Kevin Bacon has a more realistic end to the tale of vengeance. But who wants realism in a movie like this? Give me my Kirk kicking Klingon off the cliff “I’ve had about enough of you” moment any day.

7. Movies that left me completely creeped out:
I love horror movies. “The Shining”, “The Exorcist” truly scared me so I can’t watch them that often. “Poltergeist”, “Jaws”, “JoyRide” and most recently “1408″ on the other hand scared me but they were just plain fun too. I can watch them time and time again. They leave you feeling scared but overall good at the end. Then there are those movies whose endings left me feeling completely creeped out like “The Ring”, “Dead Silence” and “May”. I saw “The Ring” in the movies and when the girl crawled out of the TV, I literally put my arms up in front of my face as if someone was trying to whack me on the head. It’s one of the only movies that gave me nightmares for days after. The director of “Saw” made “Dead Silence”. There aren’t many things creepier than ventriloquist dummies and the flashback end was surprising and ick-y. “May” is an independent and little known movie about a shy girl with an obsession for dolls who begins a gory search for the “perfect” guy. The final scene of this one had an even higher ick factor then “Dead Silence”. These are movies that keep giving you a chill on the back of your neck long after.

8. Endings that Make the Movie:
Ones that first come to mind are “The Royal Tennanbaums”, “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Wild at Heart”. The first two are both stories of dysfunctional families that come together in unexpectedly sentimental ways. “Little Miss Sunshine” is great from the start but the ending puts it over the top in my mind. “The Royal Tennanbaums”, I only enjoyed after seeing the ending. “Wild at Heart” (yet another David Lynch) is filled with crazy offbeat characters that you’re not even sure you like at first. But they grow on you and the movie has one of the most romantic endings ever. “Splash” being runner up.

9. Endings that make you cry and cry and…cry:
There are two types of movies that fall into this category - the difference between a good cry and a bad cry. Movies like “E.T.”, “Glory”, “Lassie” and “The Muppet Movie” (any Jim Henson will reduce me to tears) all made me cry but left me feeling good after. A bad cry to me is one that leaves me feeling down. Three that come to mind are “Phenomenon”, “My Life” and “Sunshine”. “Phenomenon” has John Travolta seeing a flash in the sky and then becoming smarter and smarter. It’s like “Flowers for Algernon” if anyone knows that. As much as I love John Travolta the ending leaves me feeling incredibly down. “Sunshine” is a sci-fi movie about a team going into space to reignite the sun and save the earth. It’s a fantastic story with great actors (Cillian Murphy & Chris Evans), is very suspenseful. I can’t even say the ending was bad but it left me in a puddle of tears. At least one knows what they are in for with “My Life” (Michael Keaton as a cancer patient who makes home movies so his new born son will know him). I sat in my car for 15 minutes after the movie ended bawling my eyes out. I would recommend all those movies but with a warning, you will want to have a feel good movie like “Snow Buddies” handy to recover after.

10. Best Climactic Revelation Endings:
Many movies have big revelations at the end, but few are as memorable and supercharged as “Saw”, “Signs” and “Dead Again” They have not so much endings as Grand Finales. “Saw” is the most notorious with it’s keep you guessing who is the villain plot. Like “Dead Silence” it’s revealed in fast paced dizzying editing with soaring music. Even though it was completely ghoulish, the directing makes you feel like it’s a triumph (of who I won’t say). “Signs” was one of the most beautiful and spiritual endings, everything coming together and displaying a message of hope that there is a reason for everything. Kenneth Branagh’s “Dead Again” is one of my top faves of all time and it’s largely due to the finale. Switching between flashbacks and present, the murderer is revealed and another key twist occurs, all the while the heroes are fighting for their lives. Patrick Doyle’s score is simply amazing adding that great orchestral crescendo. Again if you haven’t seen that one - RENT IT NOW!

WHICH MOVIE ENDINGS DO YOU GUYS LIKE?