Scream to Scream, Scene by Scene: END CREDITS of Scream 2 (1:47:39-1:55:31)

In this project I attempt to review the entire Scream trilogy scene by scene in chronological order. Heavy spoilers and gore throughout!



SCENE 31 (End Credits) of Scream 2
Length: 7min 52secs


Cue inappropriate end credits song!

Randomly, this song that plays over the beginning of the end credits is, much like in the original, one of my favourite songs from the whole soundtrack. Along with D'Angelo's "She's Always In My Hair" from the opening scene, and "Your Lucky Day in Hell" by The Eels, Collective Soul's "She Said" is definitely a keeper. I know ranking Collective Soul alongside The Eels is considered sacrilege by many, but I just like it, okay? Reminds me of that great alt-rock period of the 1990s. Sigh.

Now, what I don't understand is what a song about an aging lush is doing as the big triumphant end scene. Anyone care to explain? Watch the video below, which features clips from Scream 2 interspersed. Using images of Neve Campbell's Sidney as they sing lyrics about "time isn't fair to a woman her age" and "she's seen better days" and you'll see how much they misread the lyrics. The video is so deliciously '90s though that I have to love it. Underwater ballet dancer putting on Ghostface mask!


Curious, too, that they chose a far more triumphant song choice to accompany the big end credits crane camera move, as opposed to the original which used a much darker track. If they never made another Scream movie then this would have been a very fitting ending. Apart from the lyrics.


I've said multiple times how wonderful and vivid the colours are in Scream 2, especially compared to the lower budget aesthetic of the original, so here is one last reminder.



Can we get a round of applause for Mr Craven and Mr Williamson, please? I think they deserved it after helping to bring the life one of the greatest ever sequels and one damn good film in general. I do still love that Kevin Williamson is perhaps the only horror film writer of the last few decades to actually be a name. Says a lot about the impact these movies had, I say. And even if Scream 4 didn't do the sort of business that everyone was hoping, the fact that so much press was made out of his return made me happy.


I like that the cinematographer gets the first credit title card after the screen goes to black. Like his own little ovation now that the curtain has closed.




The "return" of Ghostface in the credits has been taken by fans as meaning that he/she will be back. There was not one at the end of Scream 4. Make of that what you will.

Oh! It's time for the cast credits. For reason I get a real kick out of seeing these. One last reminder of all the awesome actors and characters. One last chance to go "awww" at their subsequent death.














I'm glad that Jamie Kennedy got upgraded to the main credits rather than the strange non-alphabetical order section that he was dumped in during the original's end credits. Meanwhile, would it had hurt them to add an extra slide for Omar Epps/Phillip Pavel/Christopher Doyle? I mean, they were all somewhat vital characters who died so it's almost like they're saying their deaths weren't important enough. They were just nothing characters. Hmmm.


And with that we are DONE! Complete! Finished! No more!

er... until we start on Scream 3. Oh Jesus. It will never end!

Scream:
Intro, Scene 1 Scene 2, Scene 3, Scene 4, Scene 5, Scene 6, Scene 7, Scene 8, Scene 9, Scene 10, Scene 11, Scene 12, Scene 13, Scene 14, Scene 15, Scene 16, Scene 17, Scene 18, Scene 19, Scene 20, Scene 21, Scene 22, Scene 23, Scene 24, Scene 25, Scene 26, Scene 27, Scene 28, Scene 29, Scene 30, Scene 31 Scene 32, Scene 33, End Credits

Scream 2
Scene 1, Scene 2, Scene 3, Scene 4, Scene 5, Scene 6, Scene 7, Scene 8, Scene 9, Scene 10, Scene 11, Scene 12, Scene 13, Scene 14. Scene 15, Scene 16, Scene 17, Scene 18, Scene 19, Scene 20, Scene 21, Scene 22, Scene 23, Scene 24, Scene 25, Scene 26, Scene 27, Scene 28, Scene 29, Scene 30

Hit Me With Your Best Shot: Rebel Without a Cause

When Nathaniel Rogers at The Film Experience said he was doing a "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" feature on Nicholas Ray's Rebel Without a Cause I made sure I made a preemptive blog note to be involved. I so rarely get the chance to do so, but not only do I actually own Rebel on DVD, it's also one of my favourite films. And when I say "favourite films" I mean favourite films, I mean top five of all time. The first day I ever saw it I didn't just watch it once, or even twice, but three times.

I was hooked on the film - and the film's star, James Dean, naturally - and any chance I can get to rave about it I will take. Of course, I got super busy and then these past two days I've had the flu and haven't felt like writing much and subsequently forgot all about this. Nevertheless, even though I'm a little late, there was no way I gonna miss out on this baby. I knew immediately what shot was my favourite, but that doesn't mean we can't look at a few others, right? A movie as gorgeous as this deserves to be obsessed over.


This shot is a fabulous one because it says so much about the relationship between these two characters, played by Dean and Natalie Wood. His volatile reactionary behaviour becomes blunted by the beautiful Judy that he can't even face her, while she is almost confused by why he would act this way. Everyone wants to look at her.



I adore these two shots, shared between Dean's Jim Stark and Sal Mineo's Plato. The flirtation between these two is so tragically erotic that it adds a whole 'nother dimension to the film. But I love these shots specifically because it's almost as if you can feel Plato's heart beating within them as Jim, the boy he lusts after, stands so close. The second shot of Jim playfully touching Plato's nose as he hides behind bars is very symbolic of how Plato surely feels about his sexuality. Like he's trapped behind the bars of society, but maybe - just maybe - Jim could be the one to remove those bars. Their relationship is so touching, and pains me somewhat to even talk about it.


This shot, meanwhile, exposes the sad, lonely lives of these two teenagers. It's a shot that director Ray and cinematographer Ernest Haller hold on screen for a long time, but this very moment where all three principal characters have this look of longing on their face feels the most devastating. The three of them brought together by their sadness.


Meanwhile, this shot of James Dean bathed in the shimmering light of the planetarium during the big finale? Well, I just like it because of the way it played with light and illuminates, but doesn't glorify, Dean's beauty.






However, my choice for favourite shot is this one. It comes roughly half way through the film as Jim tells his parents that he wants to go to the police regarding the "chicken death" on the clifftop. As this "all-American family" talk and argue - most argue - the camera suddenly tilts for seemingly no apparent reason. First time I saw it was confused by it, but liked it as an unexpected moment to remind audiences of 1955 that - to borrow a famous movie poster catchphrase - it's only a movie.

But after seeing the film many times since, I've come to identify it as a moment that symbolises a shift in the dynamics of this family, and especially between Jim and his father (Jim Backus). The way the camera moves ever so slightly like the scales of two prize-fighters, one of which has the upper hand. It's from this moment on that sets up the rest of Jim's story. How can he go back to the way it was before after what has happened now that his world has been shifted off of its axis?

It's a masterful shot in a masterful movie.

Read more "best shots" at The Film Experience.

Scream to Scream, Scene by Scene: SCENE 30 of Scream 2 (1:45:19-1:47:38)

In this project I attempt to review the entire Scream trilogy scene by scene in chronological order. Heavy spoilers and gore throughout!



SCENE 30 of Scream 2
Length: 2min 19secs
Primary Characters: Sidney Prescott, Cotton Weary, Gale Weathers, Dewey Riley and Joel the Cameraman
Pop Culture References:

• None, although major meta movie moment alert!
  

Chief Hartley. What a shit job he did, yeah? The deaths of the two officers, plus Hallie and Derek feel partly responsible to him, don't you think?


Aw, Joel the Cameraman came back! Suspiciously as soon as the murders end, too! I sense secret third killer subplot right there. Or maybe he and Chief Hartley were working in tandem to get these guys alone and easier to kill? I actually like to think that once Gale left the hospital with Dewey that she fired him while screaming "Kenny DIED for me!" or some such. If only.


"We've got a live one!"


"Dewey..."


"I can't believe you're alive!"
Despite the fact that, yes indeed, nobody can believe Dewey is still alive, I still love this moment. It fills the cockles of my heart, as they says. Whatever the cockles of my heart are, Gale and Dewey fill them every time.

Of course, when Gale gets in the ambulance to go with him to the hospital, you just know Joel the Cameraman is all "I came back for this?"


Whoa, lady! You're not pretty enough to be that touchy with strangers.


It's almost as if she's saying to herself "So long, sucker! I'm gonna go become a reclusive hotline worker and you'll become famous and then when the next killer strikes they'll get you first!" How very Jennifer Jolie of her. Cunning.


"No one wants to give you the story more than I do. Unfortunately there is a time, a place, and, indeed, a price for everything so feel free to call me."
"C'mon Cotton! Tell us something."
"Well, I'll tell you one thing... it'll make a helluva movie."
And zing. They had to get one last jab in there, didn't they? It helps that it's a good one, yeah? And, suitably, ends the film on one of the most meta moments imaginable!

Scream:
Intro, Scene 1 Scene 2, Scene 3, Scene 4, Scene 5, Scene 6, Scene 7, Scene 8, Scene 9, Scene 10, Scene 11, Scene 12, Scene 13, Scene 14, Scene 15, Scene 16, Scene 17, Scene 18, Scene 19, Scene 20, Scene 21, Scene 22, Scene 23, Scene 24, Scene 25, Scene 26, Scene 27, Scene 28, Scene 29, Scene 30, Scene 31 Scene 32, Scene 33, End Credits

Scream 2
Scene 1, Scene 2, Scene 3, Scene 4, Scene 5, Scene 6, Scene 7, Scene 8, Scene 9, Scene 10, Scene 11, Scene 12, Scene 13, Scene 14. Scene 15, Scene 16, Scene 17, Scene 18, Scene 19, Scene 20, Scene 21, Scene 22, Scene 23, Scene 24, Scene 25, Scene 26, Scene 27, Scene 28, Scene 29

Review: Bad Teacher

Bad Teacher
Dir. Jake Kasdan
Year: 2011
Aus Rating: M15+ (ridiculous)
Running Time: 92mins

She’s a Bad Teacher, shootin’ grades in your direction. The latest in a string of raunchy, adult-marketed comedies (following Bridesmaids, with Horrible Bosses coming soon) is a rather obvious affair – watch as Cameron Diaz acts filthy and inappropriate around young children! – and yet succeeds due to the sheer determination of its towering lead performance. Not willing to lazily waltz their way through Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg’s ho-hum one-note screenplay, Diaz and her supporting cast routinely spin gold out of innocuous moments with blunt force dialogue delivery and physical determination.

Read the rest at Trespass Mag
I liked it. I'd almost say I prefer it to Bridesmaids purely because it's 40 munutes shorter. Hmmm. Anyway, who doesn't like a Vanity 6 reference?

Review: Larry Crowne

Larry Crowne
Dir. Tom Hanks
Year: 2011
Aus Rating: M15+
Running Time: 98mins

I can just imagine what it was like the day Tom Hanks decided to make Larry Crowne, his latest directorial effort about a man who loses his job at a local department store and goes back to school. He and his co-writer Nia Vardalos were probably on the terrace of a ridiculously expensive Hollywood mansion with Hanks’ wife (and Larry Crowne featured actor) Rita Wilson as they discussed writing a movie together. Maybe they wanted it to be sweet and funny and Tom could co-star with his good friend Julia Roberts. Oh, but it would have to be “relatable” to “common folk” so maybe the main character can be the victim of the GFC and upper-class company goons. Also they’re scared of bloggers, so there’s a big anti-internet subplot that goes nowhere!

Read the rest at Trespass Mag
You may actually be surprised to know that the cynicism of this opening paragraph is not a way of suggesting I hated Larry Crowne. In fact, I enjoyed it quite a bit. I will happily remain in the minority on this one.

Scream to Scream, Scene by Scene: SCENE 29 of Scream 2 (1:29:53-1:45:18)

In this project I attempt to review the entire Scream trilogy scene by scene in chronological order. Heavy spoilers and gore throughout!



SCENE 29 of Scream 2
Length: 15min 25secs
Primary Characters: Sidney Prescott, Gale Weathers, Debbie Salt aka Mrs Loomis, Mickey and Cotton Weary
Pop Culture References:

• Psycho (visual reference)
• Friday the 13th (plot similarity - mother avenging son's death)
• Alan Dershowitz, Johnnie Cochrane and Bob Dole (Mickey's planned trial defense team)
  

And so we come to the big climax where all is revealed. I do love this scene. It lacks the "oh shit! this is really happening?!" electricity of the first, but - much like the sequel's opening scene in comparison to the original's - is actually a bit more loopy fun. Let's take a look.


I like the idea of this on campus theatre being almost possessed, what with the lights turning on and the equipment starting up without anybody around. Of course, we all know that's not true and that the killers were simply placing an awful lot on the hope that Sidney would run back to the college campus after her recent run in with Ghostface in the car rather than run away as far as she possibly could from the scene of so many crimes.


Good work, Sidney. Good work.


I don't have anything to say here, I just like the shot.


I actually really like the setup. It works well in the film given the idea of a sequel needing to be "much more elaborate", but I think the way Craven filmed it was particularly great. So many wonderful shots like this one of Sidney almost slinking off into the darkness, but not being able to get away from the big bright light that constantly shines on her. Plus, I like the way they set up all the effects that the stage show has, reminding us of them, so that when Sidney uses them against the killers it feels organic.


I also think placing the big finale on an empty theatre stage - a nice mirror, by the way, to the opening that takes place in front of a packed cinema - fits in to Mickey's "it's all about the execution" idea and making it as grand as possible. I like to imagine Mrs Loomis hearing Mickey's plan for what to do with the big finale and humouring him with this rather outlandish stage bound idea because her son, Billy, would have appreciated it.


Oh hai Derek. Hallie's Mickey's been running around all over campus because of you!


Talk about a fetish!


"I wouldn't do that if I were you. You really wanna trust your boyfriend?" *click* "Don't you know history repeats itself? Hmmm?"
First of all, love that bit. I think it's the "hmmm?" that sells it. Second of all... the mystery of the crazy voice-changer strikes again. I haven't the foggiest idea how these machines work because when Billy/Stu/Sidney used them in the climax of Scream they sounded nothing like the phone voice, and now here while the voice does sound like the voice on the phone I also don't know how Mickey manages to turn it off from inside his mask. I guess he uses his tongue?


I imagine at this stage many people watching for the first time were all "who?" They would be stupid people, yeah? Okay, no, I sorta get that Mickey was obviously a second wrung - third? he probably is in the film just as much as Sister Lois and Sister Murphy - character that was shoved into the killer position after the Derek/Hallie combo got the shaft due to screenplay leaks, but only a dimwit couldn't remember who he was. People said the same thing about Roman in Scream 3 and, to be honest, made more sense. People said the same thing about Charlie in Scream 4 and that was really dumb. Do people even watch these movies?


And Mickey's fabulous, FABULOUS hair remains in tact despite running around all night with a hood over it. He must be bordering on Ross Gellar levels of gel use!


"Since Derek here disappeared on my ass, I've been on my own all fuckin' night. Thanks a lot, partner"
"Motherfucker! Sid, he's crazy. You know me better than that."
"Come on Sid, I've gotta have a partner. I could've have possibly done this alone."
Mickey is actually quite smart. He's also stupid, but sometimes quite smart. Great way to fuck with Sidney's mind here.


"Hmmm. Boyfriend, killer, boyfriend, killer, boyfriend, killer."
I really love the rhythm that the dialogue in this scene has. While the Scream 2 climax is far less referential and winking as the first, Timothy Olyphant really sells the part. He does crazy well and so despite the character being a weaker killer identity, in the end, it still works because Olyphant plays it precisely perfect.


In retrospect, knowing that Derek isn't one of the killers makes this playful smile of Mickey's so deliciously evil. Like watching a pair of experimental hamsters run around unsure of what's what as he plays wicked mind games with them.


"What do you think, Derek? Is Sidney experiencing some deja vu?"
I can't say enough how much I enjoy the revelry that Mickey has in messing with Sidney's mind here. Again, so much credit must go to Olyphant. He obviously didn't have much else to do throughout the movie so he took his role as the killer in this scene and ran with it.


Aw, bye bye Derek. You were bright (maybe), funny (when?), handsome (except played by a douche so unbelievable as a nice guy), had a decent singing voice (hardly) and the kind of guy a girl would like to take home to "mom"...


"... if you had a mom."
Zing. Ouch.