Movie Moments of The Year - 2012

As much as I love browsing everyone's year-end lists of their top films (my own should be forthcoming in a day or two), I think my favourite lists are those of people's memorable moments or scenes from the 12 months gone by. It gives a fuller and more detailed look at someone's movie tastes and typically expands further past the expected titles. So here are my own favourite moments from 2012 films as well as older movies seen for the first time year.

2012 films:

• Haywire's sense of real time in its initial chase sequence (following and catching up to someone fleeing the scene).
• "Mushrooms!...It's a textural thing!..." (from Wanderlust).
• The visual puns of Vivan Las Anripodes and the mirror images of its pairs of antipodes. This desperately needs a wider release.
• The beach dance in Moonrise Kingdom.

• The Shanghai office building sequence - in particular the fight in front of the huge digital jellyfish - in Skyfall.
• The individual shots of friends and family wordlessly remembering Sarah Polley's Mom in Stories We Tell. The emotional high point of an amazing film.
  
• The last of the five stories in V/H/S - there aren't enough fun ghost stories like that.
• Any of the encounters with the beasts in Beasts Of The Southern Wild.
• Driving among the rhinos in Rhino Season.
• The slow motion death (in all its oozing glory) in Looper.
• The accordion interlude in Holy Motors.

• Every time Rodney Mullen stepped on a skateboard in Bones Brigade: An Autobiography - by far the most original tricks I've ever seen.
• "Same as with shoes" - one of the many almost random lines delivered with impeccable timing by William Fichtner in Wrong.
• The willingness to slowly and wordlessly build the tension in The Woman In Black.
• Tommy Lee Jones in Lincoln.
• Michael Shannon bellowing "Get back in the car!" in The Iceman.
• The first borrowing run in The Secret of Arietty.

• The overflowing energy of Michel Gondry's The We And The I and how it so perfectly uses "Bust a Move".
• The New Orleans we see throughout Tchoupitoulas.
• The first interview scene in The Master between Hoffman and Phoenix.

Older films:

• The central 12 minute scene in Tuesday, After Christmas where the wife stands up to her husband, finds her resolve and decides to kick him out and make him face the consequences of what he has done. I wrote about it previously here.
• The impossible without animation "single take" chase sequence in The Adventures of Tin Tin as they chase the three scrolls - the best part of the film and loads of fun.
• The edits between time periods in the same location in The Guard. Also, the entirety of Brendan Gleeson's performance.
• The Dubai sequence in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol - damn that was an entertaining movie.
• The pillow fight in Zero de Conduite.

• Planet B-Boy's irresistible music and inhuman body movements.
• When Bill's voice cracks at the end of him saying "He who seeks beauty will find it" in Bill Cunningham New York.
• How incredibly bad Orange County was - not a favourite moment, but certainly (and unfortunately) memorable.
• The final decision in A Separation and the desperation of the girl for her parents to leave the room.
• Christopher Lee's awesome beard in Rasputin.

• Some of the throwaway comments in Hedwig And The Angry Inch like "You, Kant, Always Get What You Want".
• Take Shelter's horror scenes (visages in the windows, the birds, the storms).
• Jack Cardiff's life and work in Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff - truly inspirational.
• The beauty of Shadows And Fog and Stardust Memories.

• The final lap in Senna.
• 3:10 To Yuma (the original from 1957) - again with the gorgeous cinematography.
• The anger and deep sadness I felt after watching Polytechnique.
• The drowning in the tub in The Nanny.

• The Mother summons her strength in Aparajito. I wrote about it previously here.
• The opening images of Melancholia and Udo Kier refusing to look at Justine.
• "La Mer" by Julio Iglesias at the end of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
• Each woman in her different colour in Seijun Suzuki's Gate of Flesh.

• The scene in the club in De Palma's Body Double with Frankie Goes To Hollywood playing in the background. Mind-boggling.
• Buster Keaton trying to look natural in Our Hospitality. I previously wrote about it here which also includes a video clip of the scene.
• The crossing of the river in Stagecoach.
• Elaine May in A New Leaf - particularly whenever her glasses are falling off.
• Harriet Anderson's wonderful performance in Summer With Monika.

• Take This Waltz making Toronto look beautiful.