Finally, the first post the Breaking Emotions blogathon has arrived! Well, the emotions arrived on Monday, but you know, time zones and stuff. So let's dive right into this - if you want to read more about the fabulous blogathon, click here.
* My choices are in no particular order.
28 Days Later • Empty London
I'm generally not scared of anything that has to do with makeup or other practical effects, although I find it very interesting to see how they do things like that. What scares me in movies is always an emotion or an idea, something that happens in my head when I see what happens on the screen. At the beginning of 28 Days Later, Cilian Murphy's character wakes up in a hospital in London to find that there's not a soul there. He walks outside and even there, the city is empty. I've often walked around town on Sundays, when there wasn't a soul outside and imagined being the only person left on earth, which is a thoroughly scary thought. I mean, just being there and seeing the remains of people and signs of what has happened must be horrible.
The Conjuring • Trying to Sleep
This is the only "genuine" horror film per se in this little list, and one of the best I've ever seen. Haters, go away, The Conjuring is scary in a super effective, subtle, old-school way. Now the scene I think I found scariest is when one of the sisters wakes up by her blanket being drawn away, which at the beginning, she ignores - assuming that it's her sister doing this. First of all, the little girl reminded me a lot of my own sister when she was younger, and second of all, the scene reminded me a lot of the horror scenarios that would sometimes mix my head up when I was a child. Again; just that idea of someone playing with your fears, only showing itself to you and no one else, scares me a lot. Plus, the little girl was so convincingly horrified that her terror emerged through the screen.
2001: A Space Odyssey • The Pod Doors
2001 is a very scary film, and without it, I don't think we'd ever have seen an Alien or a Gravity, which were very evidently inspired by this sci-fi classic. HAL, the artificially intelligent computer on the spacecraft, is one of my favorite villains of all time - few real-life performances manage to send a shiver down my spine like Douglas Rain's voice does. Although we suspect HAL of becoming the source of future problems, it is in the famous pod door scene that we realize how big of a threat he actually is. His cold, emotionless way of speaking to the main character Dave, is enough to scare the sh** out of me. Add to that the thought that someone way smarter and way more capable than you, nearly immortal as well, is in control of your life and you've got one of the most frightening scenes in cinematic history.
Spider Man 3 • Peter Parker Goes Emo
It's not like I was ever a big fan of the Spider Man series and would like to pretend that Spider Man 3 doesn't exist. Part one and two both had their problems, and they just got a little bigger and more evident in the third part of the installment. However, the makers managed to put things in there that were completely unnecessary, had nothing to do with the style of the first two movies, and were so bad that the franchise was killed off. One of these things, one might say the thing, is Peter Parker going emo. As in full-on emo. As in embarrassing and awkward in every thinkable way.
Borat • The Dinner Scene
Nope, I didn't go the easy route and just selected the whole (glorious) movie, I actually did dig for a particular scene that I think made me feel the most awkward (apart from the obvious naked wrestling one). Borat learns about the etiquettes of dinner parties and goes on to use his new knowledge in real life. Mayhem ensues and that's all I have to say.
About a Boy • Killing Me Softly
This is probably my favorite choice in this list, as it proves the point of an 'awkward scene' (or my definition of the same) very well. It's a cute scene in a way; Marcus, the little boy, sings Killing Me Softly in front of the whole school, however, he's not much of a musical talent. He is then 'saved' by Will, who joins in and acts like a cool rockstar, which convinces the audience. So Marcus sort of learns the lesson that in life, attitude is one of the most important things, and Will learns that sometimes, you need to stand by someone, no matter how 'weird' they are. But despite the cuteness and our determination to not laugh or find Marcus awkward - we still do. He is awkward. And so is Will's joining in, until he manages to somehow turn things around through his cool attitude.
I hope you had as much fun with this blogathon as I've had so far.
To be continued next week!
