Miles takes a leap of faith – “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”
No ‘Spider-Man’ movie, until now, had been able to capture the precise coming-of-age moment when Spider-Man actually becomes the hero everyone knows and love. But with ‘Into the Spider-Verse,’ fans are rewarded with precisely that. Phil Lord, who co-wrote the script, does an incredible job depicting the peaks-and-valleys, but mostly valleys of Miles Morales’ (Shameik Moore) laborious journey toward tapping into his Spidey abilities. As he slowly comes to grips with the responsibility and implications of becoming a web-slinging hero, Miles finally suits up, ready to take on the Spider-Verse with unbridled confidence. It should be a surprise to no one that Miles eventually assumes his role as (a) Spider-Man. But even with the inevitable in the back of the mind of most, the very instance when Miles takes a “leap of faith,” both figuratively and literally by jumping off the top of a towering skyscraper, audiences are gifted with an incredibly cathartic moment of triumph—a scene that could be easily pinned as the most moving of 2018.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRZ9DRqNuLI
Homerton, the screaming bear – “Annihilation”
The most horrific moment of 2018 belongs to the screaming bear attack from “Annihilation.” Physically altered by the Shimmer, this mutant-bear monstrosity is an unholy sight with its face skinned to its bare skull. Using the petrifying cries of the group’s dead colleague Cass (Tuva Novotny) to lure Anya (Gina Rodriguez) outside, the bear attacks the easily deceived paranoid. Like Mr. Blonde interrogating a cop with a straight razor, Homerton (yes, the bear has a name), breathes heavily down the necks of Lena (Natalie Portman), Josie (Tessa Thompson) and Dr. Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh) waiting on the slightest movement to pounce. As the oozing creature strolls back and forth, it tries (and succeeds) to intimidate the three tied up women with the mimicked voices of its mauled victims, distortingly screaming “help me, help—me, me, help!” Jesus Christ, who thinks of this stuff? Well, writer-director Alex Garland of course. If plant-human hybrids and crystalline towers were making you comfortable, Garland makes sure that you have a reason to stay up at night with this undeniably hair-raising moment. Though the creature is loosely based off the books this film draws inspiration from, Garland’s frightful reimagination may make you reconsider “Annihilation” as a horror film rather than science fiction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYlIwaUhGi8
Red is forced to witness Mandy’s brutal murder – “Mandy”
As is the case with most of, if not all the films on this list; there are just too many noteworthy moments or images from “Mandy” to choose from. Given the visceral and violent nature of Panos Cosmatos‘ grindhouse horror, this onslaught of brutalism is packed to the brim with nightmarish occurrences and volatile depictions of insanity and savagery. As iconic Toni Collete’s screaming face has become over the past year, Nicholas Cage’s enraged and tortured grimace has enjoyed similar publicity. Well-regarded as the best performance of his career, Cage’s Red Miller is as gnarly and vengeful a human can possibly be—but for good reason. Behind his raging glare, it is clear Red has seen terribly traumatic things—like his wife (Andrea Riseborough) getting brutally murdered right in front of his eyes, type of traumatic. After the couple is captured by Jeremiah Sand’s (Linus Roache) cult, Mandy utters something that offends Jeremiah, and so she and her husband are punished. Pinned to a post with barbed-wire wrapped around his wrists and mouth, Red is forced to watch as the cult members set Mandy ablaze. Incapable of doing anything to stop them, Red hangs there ravished by indescribable agony, as his love is tortured before his very eyes. Both physically and emotionally, watching Mandy’s death alongside Red is an unsettling sight, one that is almost too real to endure.
Jack goes hunting, turns that frown upside down – “The House That Jack Built”
Though it pains me to spoil a movie, this is one I am unashamed to do so. You aren’t missing much when it comes to Lars von Trier’s new film “The House That Jack Built” — it’s self-indulgent, repulsive, and shocking in the worst kind of way. As with every von Trier film, his latest dips into an overflowing well of blatant misogyny and a sadist sense of humor that should piss off any viewer. Though Jack’s (Matt Dillon) unsettling fixation on Riley Keough’s breasts and eventual mutilation of said breasts would be an easy, albeit unsurprising, moment to include on this list, there was one other scene that should push you away from “The House That Jack Built.” With “The 3rd incident,” Jack takes a mother (Sofie Gråbøl) and her two little boys, Grumpy and George to a shooting range. Jack explains to the boys that when you go hunting for deer, it is important to target the fawn before you target the mother. With the heavy-handed foreshadowing in mind, von Tier cuts to the titular serial killer picking off the family one-by-one. Sparing the mother for a brief bit, Jack forces her to spoon feed apple pie to her children’s dead corpses. In what is arguably von Trier’s most grotesque and unforgivable moment as a director yet, this sequence somehow gets worse. After killing the mother, Jack brings the bodies back to his freezer and decides to contort Grumpy’s face into a horrifyingly disturbing ‘smile.’ As the camera lingers (and I mean lingers) on the unsightly and bone-chilling image of perverted innocence, it is plain to see why this film incited walkouts at Cannes.
Joe goes swimming, lays mother’s body to rest – “You Were Never Really here”
After stumbling upon his mother (Judith Roberts) murdered on the ground, Joe (Joaquin Phoenix) promptly places her body in a bag, loads it into a car and drives out to a lake located near her home. With intentions of lying her to rest, Joe has additional plans—drowning himself as he lowers his slain mother down the lake’s deep depths. After stuffing his coat and pant pockets with rocks, the stoic and quietly mournful hitman—with his mother in his arms—slowly descends into the water. For what seems like a graceful eternity, the two bodies—one dead and one barely alive—float suspended in a beautiful black void. Set against Jonny Greenwood’s gorgeous composition of “Tree Strings,” director Lynne Ramsey submerges her audience in the same waters that Joe calls home for a brief but profound couple of minutes. Though viewers are witnessing a deeply hurt man attempting to kill himself, it’s hard to not become enraptured by the oddly spiritual grandeur of tranquil isolation at hand, Once Joe finally let’s go of his mother, the melancholic weight of the scene ensues, weighing heavier on the audience and less on him. Within this very instant, a sense of unexpected freedom surmounts Joe’s internalized pain—so much so, he has to choose life.
Honorable Mentions:
From Aunt Lucy arriving at the Brown family’s doorstep in “Paddington 2,” Cassius stumbling upon the equisapiens in “Sorry to Bother You,” Atari giving Chief a bath in “Isle of Dogs,” Olga’s bone-breaking, pretzel dance scene in “Suspiria” and even Thor’s arrival at Wakanda in “Avengers: Infinity War,” of course, the audience’s first glimpse at Wakanda in “Black Panther” (oh that score!), the aforementioned scenes from “Hereditary,” and finally, the incredible bathroom scene from “Mandy,” I had to leave out many, many beautiful or beautifully horrifying moments. Feel free to comment with more moments!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7mDue5HOE8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8nxdAGg2FY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW2DPkd3Xm4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3yFzWtOaPA
