The 2012 RyMickey Awards - Best Scene

This is typically my favorite category to form every year as I get to look back at the best singular moments in film throughout the prior year.  This year, you'll notice the dominance of one film (deservedly so) and the absence of some good films with good scenes that just missed the cut (Looper,  The Master).

Moreso than in years past, I've included both video clips and links to scenes via YouTube.

It should be noted that spoilers will abound in this category so be forewarned.

Be sure to click on "Read More" down below to continue on with the category.

Best Scenes of 2012

#25 - The Avengers - The Good Guys Argue

I certainly was not a fan of the biggest film of 2012, but I loved this scene where the good guys turn on each other.

#24 - Argo - Airport

***SPOILER***
Ben Affleck's film has been building tension to this point culminating in a scene at the Iranian airport where their "fake film" faces high scrutiny.  When they finally get on that plane to leave, you can feel yourself breathe a little easier.

#23 - Django Unchained - "Tell Miss Laura Good-Bye"
I imagine most love the massive shoot-out towards the end of Django Unchained in which the title character goes on a rampage through Candyland only to be caught at the end.  I, however, will take the short clip presented here any day of the week.  (The link is provided as it may be too graphic for some.)  The sheer ridiculousness of the final five seconds of the clip stayed with me quite a while after the film ended.

#22 - Les Miserables - Empty Chairs at Empty Tables

One of the film's final songs proves rather heartbreaking following the loss of many of Marius's colleagues.  A nice turn from Eddie Redmayne helps elevate the emotional level.

#21 - Lincoln - Mary Todd Steals the Show

Lincoln himself had some great speeches, but some of the most memorable scenes in Spielberg's film featured Sally Field as Mrs Lincoln.  In the first scene pictured above, Mrs. Lincoln tells off a group of pompous congressmen, creating the film's funniest moment.  In the second scene, Mary desperately pleads with her husband to not allow their son to join the Army having already lost a previous child.  With this being one of the few scenes in Lincoln that pushes politics to the side, it gives the familial aspects of the Lincoln family a much needed emphasis.

The Top Twenty Scenes of the Year can be found after the jump...

#20 - Wreck It Ralph - Smashed Car

Unlikely friends throughout the whole film, Ralph finds himself turning on Venellope, wrecking her car so she's unable to race.  After the movie builds up the unlikely camaraderie between these two outcasts, it's actually quite sad when the friendship starts to fall apart.

#19 - The Impossible - "Thank You"

When Naomi Watts' Maria is finally rescued following the horrible tsunami, some natives of Thailand clothe her and give her some water and she manages to muster a "thank you" which is, for some reason, utterly devastating.  It's the compassion on display that is beautifully touching.

#18 - The Raid - The Secret Room

The Raid is an action flick that hardly never slows down.  However, about halfway through the film, one of the good guys hides from the bad guys in a secret room.  All seems fine until the bad guys sense that things may not be kosher and they begin stabbing a wall with their sword coming within mere inches of killing our protagonist.  The tension in this scene is incredibly palpable and stands in stark contrast with the rest of the frenetic nature of the very good flick.

#17 - Rust and Bone - Visiting the Whale

A simple, yet beautiful, moment in which Marion Cotillard's Stéphanie returns to her former place of work where she visits the killer whale who injured her in a horrible accident in which she lost her legs.

#16 - Flight - Plane crash sequence

An intense action sequence is expertly lensed by Robert Zemeckis and well acted by all involved.

#15 - Safe House - An Out-of-Nowhere Surprise

***MAJOR SPOILER***

The film had set up Brendan Gleeson's character as the bad guy from the outset, but I never could have expected the moment right after the shot above when he pulls out a gun killing Vera Farmiga's main character Catherine.

#14 - Headhunters - Car Chase

Once Headhunters sets up its overall plot, the film turns essentially turns into one long chase -- whether that be the bad guy chasing the good guy or vice versa.  The scene that makes the cut here involves a high speed car chase in which neither party manages to end up staying on the road.  It's excitingly shot and ends in a way that we're not expecting.

#13 - Prometheus - Alien Abortion

***MAJOR SPOILER***
I know many weren't fans of Prometheus, finding it slow-paced and rather boring.  I liked it (especially compared to the last two installments of the Alien franchise).  One of the best scenes in the film is when Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) discovers that the baby she thought was in her womb may not be human after all.

#12 - The Impossible - A Father Breaks Down

Much like #19 above, this scene just gets me every single time.

#11 - The Sessions - After the Final Session

***SPOILER***

Over the course of their sex surrogate sessions together, the married Cheryl has become quite fond of the polio-stricken Mark and their friendship has blossomed into something special...perhaps something more than just acquaintances.  After Cheryl leaves the final session and tells Mark that they probably can't see each other anymore (more for her sake to try and squelch her blossoming feelings for him), Mark's assistant runs out to the car with her payment for the final session.  Cheryl looks at the money and breaks down.  It's a powerful moment in which the two main characters both realize that the love they feel for one another simply can't be.

#10 - Ruby Sparks -- War of the Words

***SPOILER***

While moderately light-hearted through most of its runtime, Ruby Sparks takes a turn to the wickedly frightening towards its conclusion when writer Calvin Weir-Fields becomes angered that his fictional-turned-real "creation" Ruby is starting to formulate a mind of her own.  As Calvin frantically hammers out a series of degrading tasks for his creation to undertake, Ruby is forced to complete the tasks despite having no idea what is going on.  While it's difficult to explain, it's an incredibly intense moment that proves to be quite uncomfortable for the viewer.

#9 - Amour - You Know...That Scene...

***MAJOR SPOILER***

Those of you who have seen Amour know exactly which scene I'm talking about towards the film's conclusion. You know...it's that scene in which Georges out of absolute compassion picks up a pillow and suffocates his incredibly ill wife Anne.  I sat in a theater all alone and was just devastated, uncomfortable, and immensely saddened.

#8 - Skyfall - Opening Scene

When Skyfall opened with a killer thirteen minute action scene involving a car chase, a bulldozer, and a fight atop a fast-moving train, I knew I was in for a treat.  Exquisitely shot by Sam Mendes, this set the scene for the wonderful film that was to come.

#7 - Anna Karenina - First Dance

This is the moment when the married Anna realizes that she's fallen (and fallen hard) for Vronsky and thoughts of her husband seem to fall by the wayside.  This is a gorgeous scene and exemplifies the wonderful work director Joe Wright brought the screen with Anna Karenina, a film that I want to love desperately, but can't because the story just didn't connect.

#6 - Silver Linings Playbook - Bad Philly Juju

This scene towards the end of the film (seen here, but language makes it NSFW) is my favorite moment in Silver Linings Playbook.  One reason I love it is that as Tiffany starts listing important games in Philadelphia sports history, I realized that I was at one of the games she was talking about (which personalizes this one for me moreso than for others, perhaps).  But the other reason this scene lands here is because of the way Tiffany stands up to Pat's father.  Jennifer Lawrence is stellar and Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro's reactions are priceless.  The whole scene (and some analysis by the screenwriter himself) can be read here.

#5 - The Impossible - The Wave

I'm fairly certain that this clip has been edited...but it's still an intense moment with fantastic special effects.

#4 - Flight - Stairwell Scene

The full scene of the screenshot above can be seen here (NSFW due to language), but darnit if this incredibly well written scene early on didn't win me over for the entire film.  There's something about these three souls coming together -- all with their different struggles -- that's touching.  I kept expecting James Badge Dale's character to come back into play...but this was it for him.

#3 - Final moments of Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

***SPOILER***

This film may not have been perfect and I'll be quite honest in saying that I'm not 100% sure how it managed to get me invested in these two characters...but it did.  And as the end of the world nears, Dodge and Penny share one of the most beautiful moments I've seen captured on film in 2012.

#2 - Les Miserables - I Dreamed a Dream

The reason why Anne Hathaway won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar and RyMickey Award.

#1 - The Impossible - Lost, Then Found

***SPOILER***
Damn this scene.  Even in just this little clip it got to me again.  Yep.  Wiping away liquid from my ocular region...