July 28, 2006

The Top 50 Movie Endings of All Time


A fun time-waster, courtesy of filmcritic.com, and a nice, inclusive (ie: non-snobby) list (among the 50: Real Genius!). However, I would have added three more (and skipped the worthless Batman Begins):

Time Bandits: Young Kevin, after traveling through time with six dwarves, warns his Mum & Dad not to touch the large stone that's inside their toaster oven:
"Mom! Dad! It's evil! Don't touch it!"
[Kevin's parents explode]
"Mom? Dad?"
Local Hero: After Mac (Peter Reigert) makes a failed, drunken attempt to trade places with Gordon Urquhart, accountant, bartender, innkeeper, husband to Stella and community representative of a small Scottish coastal village ("I'd make a good Gordon, Gordon"), the film ends with Mac's return to the rat race, his yearning for the quiet Scottish life touchingly conveyed by the final shot of the town's red phone booth, it's phone ringing, ringing and ringing...

Duck Soup: After plunging Freedonia into an unnecessary war, it's leader, Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) leads his country to victory with the help of Chicolini and Pinkie (Chico & Harpo):
Rufus to Pinkie: "You're a brave man. Go and break through the lines. And remember while you're out there risking life and limb through shot and shell, we'll be in here thinking what a sucker you are."
As the absurd battle comes to a conclusion, Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont) declares "Victory is ours!" and begins to sing the Freedonia national anthem. She is then pelted with rotten fruit and vegetables. Comedy gold.

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