The 2011 RyMickey Awards - Best Scene

Best Scene is my favorite RyMickey Award every year as it allows for those special moments from movies that I loved (or even movies I didn't love) to come to the forefront.  Moreso than the previous two years of this award, a large majority of 2011's best scenes came from 2011's best movies (which you'll discover in the next and final award given out this year)...I'm not sure what that says, but I thought it was interesting to note.

I've also gone overboard...all year I keep track of my favorite scenes and I ended up with a perfect rounded number of 25 and it was just too difficult to keep any of them off the list.  In order to not bog down the main page even further with pictures, be sure to click "Read More" at the bottom of this post to head to the Top 15.

It should be noted that there are some spoilers ahead...I will try and state them before I begin discussing the scenes.

Best Scenes of 2011

#25 - "I Wish It Were You..." - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Dealing with his father's death couldn't be easy for young Oskar, but when he lashes out at his mother saying he wishes she had died on 9/11 instead of his dad, it was a moment that just hit me hard.  The line I mention above comes right at the tail end of this YouTube clip...and of course the clip stops right before it gets to that line.

#24 - A Surprising Revelation - A Separation

***MAJOR SPOILER ALERT***

We've spent half of the movie believing that Nader could very well be responsible for Razieh's miscarriage and the courts seem to be siding in Razieh's favor.  However, when we discover that a car accident caused Razieh to lose her child, it shows that every single character in this movie is struggling with morality.

#23 - End Credits - Winnie the Pooh

It's tough to find a picture of end credits, but this image above is part of the little Easter egg at the very end that finishes this tale on a witty note.  But it's not just this little 45-second bit of animation that I loved (which can be seen here)...I literally loved the credit sequence.  Seeing the antique-looking stuffed animals reenacting scenes from the movie, followed by the incredibly cute and ingenious animated bits in the rolling credits (which unfortunately are not fully seen in this clip), coupled with a catchy tune from Zooey Deschanel combined to put a smile on my face and were a great way to end this charming movie.

#22 - Chase Scene - The Adventures of Tintin

Sure, it's animated, but a two-and-a-half minute single shot chase sequence is cool no matter whether it's drawn or not.  (Clip on YouTube)

#21 - Spilled Liquor - The Artist
There's a shot in The Artist in which a depressed George Valentin spills his liquor on a mirrored table top and we glimpse a distorted image of his sad face.  This is such an obscure moment that I've been unable to find clips or pictures, but even the second time around seeing the film, it was powerful to me for some reason.

#20 - Phone Call - Crazy, Stupid, Love.

If you speak Spanish, you can watch this clip here, but for those of you who don't have that talent, here we see Julianne Moore's Emily calling her husband Cal (Steve Carell) from whom she desired to be separated with some phony household emergency she invented just to hear his voice.  She misses him, he misses her, but neither are brave enough to tell each other that.  It's a tender moment.

#19 - Going for Game 20 - Moneyball

Even though the end result of this real-life story was already known, it's amazing how much tension was built during the A's final drive to twenty-straight wins thanks to the work of Billy Beane's work as the GM assembling an unconventional team.

#18 - First Date - Shame

I so easily could've chosen the first scene of the movie (seen here) which sets this film off to a riveting beginning, but the sexy yet awkward first date is kind of beautiful in its simplicity and authenticity.  The largely improvised scene that starts in a restaurant and moves out onto the streets of NYC felt so natural and provided a different side of a main character that we thought we already knew so much about.  The end of the date can be seen here.

#17 - Life's a Happy Song - The Muppets

This may seem silly, but the fact that this song starts thanks to the sound of brushing teeth is kind genius to me and as soon as this little ditty popped up less than five minutes into The Muppets, a smile was on my face that hardly ever left.  Shockingly, the only full clip of this I've been able to find is in Spanish, but here's fifty seconds of the happiness in English.

#16 - Final Scene - Martha Marcy May Marlene

***SPOILER ALERT***

Having finally escaped the clutches of the cult, Martha thinks she's safe until she sees a man whom she believes may be from the group watching her swim at her sister's lakeside home.  Cut to a few minutes later and Martha's sister and brother-in-law are driving her to get some psychological help to get over the horrors she experienced at the cult.  We then discover that the mysterious guy is following them.  Cut to black.  We have no idea what happens and we can only speculate as to whether Martha gets away safe or if the mysterious man was even a cult member to begin with.  A great ending that I rewatched immediately after the credits popped up.

The Top Fifteen can be found after the jump.  Click "Read More" below to get the rest of the list.

#15 - Dress Fitting - Bridesmaids

This scene proves that ladies expelling bodily gasses can be just as humorous as their male counterparts.  The full scene doesn't seem to be available, but the start of it can be found here.  Truly funny and it places the septet of ladies together in hilarious form.

#14 - The Answering Machine Messages - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Clips unfortunately can't be found of this moving scene in which young Oskar plays his dead father's final answering machine messages for The Renter (except for this incredibly brief ten-second snippet which starts around the 0:54 mark), but this was another moment that just hit me hard.  As The Renter pleads for Oskar to stop, the boy refuses and it's painful to witness.

#13 - Breakfast...The Morning After - Young Adult

I don't believe that the picture above is from the scene I'm actually referencing, but it appears to be as close as I'm gonna get.  In the final moments of Young Adult, mean girl Mavis appears to have had a change of heart -- maybe being a bit nicer is the way to go -- only to be talked out of it by the sister of the guy she just slept with.  This scene made this movie a success.  It showed that not all people want to change who they are -- something that certainly made this flick more realistic than some of the Hollywood happy endings we're used to seeing.

#12 - Opening Scene - A Separation

A single take setting up what we in the audience think is going to be the main thread of the film.  While the movie eventually takes some unexpected turns, this opening in which an Iranian woman is begging a judge for a divorce is the seemingly conventional influence for everything that comes next.  Great acting certainly helps its placement on this list.  Portions of the scene can be found here.

#11 - The "Psycho" Death - Red State

***MAJOR SPOILER ALERT***

For nearly forty minutes we've been following around Michael Angarano's Travis as he's faced the torture of being taken hostage by a crazy religious cult.  With the help of a rebellious member of the group, Travis escapes and runs towards what he thinks will be safety...only to be shot down by the police who think he's one of the criminals they've been sent to take into custody.  And just like that, we've got a Psycho-style death on our hands in which our main character bites the dust.  A cool, unexpected move.

#10 - Pictures in My Head - The Muppets

After the joyous opening number (#17 above), "Pictures in My Head" hits us like a ton of bricks.  Who knew puppetry could be so sad?  As Kermit walks down that dark hallway remembering his past, it choked me up a bit.  It's a beautiful song that can be seen in its entirety here.

#9 - Melies' Backstory - Hugo

Not only does Martin Scorsese get to show off his vivid imagination in recreating some of Melies' greatest silent films, but in the midst of this loving homage to the director that comes towards the end of Hugo, we learn why Papa Georges has become the curmudgeonly man he is.  As Georges lovingly remembers his past, he's forced to also remember the bad times that caused him to abandon the new burgeoning cinematic world that he so loved.  A melancholic moment.

#8 - Hotel Room Confrontation - Beautiful Boy

This is a rough scene.  We've witnessed a husband and wife go through hell after their son has committed a mass murder at his college.  Kate and Bill have had good days and bad days, but are finding it hard to move on with their lives.  Unable to live in their home because of the media frenzy, they leave the restaurant (pictured above) and find themselves in a rundown hotel, both a little on edge.  The rush of emotions shifts towards anger and when Bill yells, "I wish we never had him," it just hits you hard.  And it hits Kate hard, too.  A powerful moment that lingers because of the director's lack of cutting away, forcing the audience to stay with the uncomfortable scene.

#7 - Realization of Rape - Trust

Even after being raped by a thirty-something man, fourteen year-old Annie is living in denial, still believing that her rapist loves her.  However, when Annie's psychologist reveals to her that the man has done the same thing to other girls Annie's age, it sends her over the edge as she realizes the severity of her circumstances.  She's angry with him for sure, but you can tell she's angry at herself and it's the latter that is so painful to witness.  Stellar work from young Liana Liberato here...

#6 - Final Scene - Last Night

***MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD***

Last Night has already taken a surprise turn by the film's final seconds.  A tale about both sides of a married couple faced with temptation, the audience likely didn't suspect who was actually going to have cheated by the film's end.  Nevertheless, as the film draws to its conclusion, we find the couple returning home to their apartment after they both spent nights with other people and the awkwardness is palpable.  As they embrace and the husband looks down at the floor and sees a pair of fancy purple high heels, he questions in his mind where his wife has been.  The hug ends, the wife notices her husband's unease, takes a breath, and begins to utter a word...then cut to credits.  Some may find the ending angers them by not providing answers, but I loved it.  I just rewatched the last scene on Netflix Instant...and it's still great.

#5 - Dialog with a Dead Woman - The Descendants

In The Descendants, George Clooney's character Matt often finds himself in a hospital room with his adulterous, yet comatose, wife.  Towards the beginning of the film after Matt discovers that she had been having an affair with another man, he stands over her hospital bed yelling at her, angry that she played him for a fool.  Juxtapose that with a scene at the end of the movie where Matt stands over her crying because he knows there's no hope of recovery.  The two scenes together (which may be a bit of a cheat, I guess) combine to provide a great moment and what I think is the best work Clooney's done to date.

#4 - "I Didn't Answer the Phone" - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

The third and final scene from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close on this list, this one comes towards the film's end.  Young Oskar is so excited to finally discover the truth behind the mysterious key he found in his father's closet.  Although he doesn't get the answer he hoped for, he does have a rather cathartic experience as he begins to weep over the fact that he was sent home from school on 9/11, but didn't answer the phone when his father called, unaware of the severity of the situation.  This was a rough moment for me and I admittedly had to fight back tears on this one.  

#3 - Ménage a Trois - Shame

No, this isn't #3 on the list just because of the abundance of female nudity.  This orgy scene is this high on the list because it symbolizes Michael Fassbender's character Brandon in a nutshell.  Addicted to sex, there's a moment at the end of the scene in which the director lingers on Brandon's face.  He's just experienced an orgasm, but in the midst of the pleasure, there's very apparent shame.  Shame that he's let himself get to this addictive point and completely and utterly unable to shake off this incessant craving.  It should be noted that there are some videos of this scene available online, but they all cut out before the end which, as I've stated above, is the reason this scene works and finds a place so highly on this list.

#2 - Aural Dream - The Artist

This is simply an ingenious scene, wholly original and a true surprise.  Up to this point, the only sounds we've heard in The Artist have been via the score, but after George Valentin is presented with the notion of becoming a star in "the talkies," he steadfastly refuses.  While sitting in his dressing room, he puts his glass down on the table and suddenly we're transported to the world of sound for two minutes. Screenwriter Michel Hazanavicius may have "borrowed" storylines from other old-time flicks for his film (to good effect, I'll add), but this dream sequence seen here was truly inventive.

#1 - "Mom" - 50/50

I don't cry in movies often, but I always readily admit when it happens to me.  Most times, the eyes just well up and nothing falls down the face, but in this scene from 50/50, there was dripping saline.  Not a lot...just a tear or two, but they fell.  As Adam heads into surgery in an attempt to remove the rare cancer in his spine, I couldn't help but be swept up in the moment.  It starts with his dementia-stricken father completely unaware of the gravity of the event his son is soon to be facing.  Then there's the panic that sets in when the anaesthesia is administered.  But it's that call for "Mom" that did me in and opened the tear ducts.

Previous RyMickey Award Winners

2010

2009