Posts Tagged ‘sequences’
28
Dec
Posted by vagrantesque in Best of 2024, Lists. Tagged: 10, Best, bosses, countdown, five, levels, sequences, ten, top, Year. Leave a comment
I sure hope you like JRPGs and visual novels – or at least appreciate their existence – because this list is positively teeming with them. Come to think of it, there’s an overall theme of Japanese theatricality running through a good 70% of this thing, so strap in if that’s your speed. Japanese or not, these specific moments from 2024 videogames stuck out to me for all manner of reasons; a couple for their challenge, a few for their spectacle, a couple for their immediately evident significance within a wider franchise, a sprinkle for their shocking turns, and a handful for sheer novelty.
Just be warned that, naturally, there are some real gnarly spoilers ahead – and some of them come from several dozen hours into pretty long-ass games.
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VR BEST OF 2024 DISCLAIMER
This list represents my opinion only. I am not asserting any kind of superiority or self-importance by presenting it as I have. My opinion is not fact. Nobody ever agrees with me 100%. Respectful disagreement is most welcome.
MAJOR SPOILERS FOLLOW!
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10. The Frozen Ocean – Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
The stunning art direction of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown ensures its world impresses whenever you enter a new area: from cascades of jewel-encrusted sand waterfalls to grimy pitch-dark caverns and towering citadels, the imagination of the team behind the great Rayman Legends clearly had a lot of ideas stewing during their decade-plus away from the relative spotlight. But there is one locale in the game so striking that I actually gasped once I realised what it was attempting to depict.
As our hero Sargon approaches the easternmost edge of the map and looks out to sea, a towering wave comes into focus, and the wide-lens scrolling effect soon reveals that it isn’t moving. Cue a morbidly beautiful sequence made up of traversing airborne ship debris and weaving through static airborne enemies that ends in a thunderous crash as Sargon reanimates everything all at once, bringing a hail of enemy attention down upon him. Art direction meets game design at its finest.
9. Chocobo Gold Cup Finale – Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
If you haven’t played the truly gargantuan Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, it might seem outright odd to see a moment from a sidequest as my singular favourite. Alas, Rebirth’s weaknesses are tied up in its unavoidable middle-chapter identity lacking both the twisty novelty of its predecessor and (hopefully) the emotional release of its successor, while its strengths lie in the kind of properly-integrated open world wonder Square Enix has been trying to recapture since the PS1 days. That extends very much to the sidequests, many of which only unlock in a particular region if you have met and helped the relevant characters in a prior locale.
So long story short, I was rather fond of the underdog-slash-family-trauma Chocobo racing story that spans essentially the length of the entire game if you keep up with it. The unexpectedly heartfelt reappearance of VII Remake’s Chocobo Sam only added to the bittersweet satisfaction of its finale.
But that isn’t what pushes the sidequest over the top for me; no, that’d be the real-time realisation I had on the final lap of the final race that my chosen Chocobo’s unique hovering ability wasn’t just for gliding across rough terrain Mario Kart shortcut-style. With the smarmy shonen-style villain just ahead of me, I decided in the desperation of the moment to try and find out if she could also glide across wide-open pits like the one just before the final turn. To my immediate shock and fist-pumping glee, she absolutely could, and Cloud pulled out in front right at the very end of the race to initiate a shower of confetti and one of the most satisfying renditions of the FF victory fanfare I have ever experienced.
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27
Dec
Posted by vagrantesque in Best of 2024, Lists, Movies. Tagged: 10, Best, countdown, Film, five, sequences, shots, ten, top, Year. Leave a comment
We’re already into the second half of the 2024 countdowns, so let’s get serious.
The spoilers usually get fairly perilous around this point, but only three of my ten favourite movie scenes this year could reasonably be called climactic ending sequences – and only one of those actually contains a final shot. I can’t quite draw a common pattern through them otherwise: we’ve got a fair amount of tension, some gritted teeth, a bit of action and some comedy thrown in too. A pretty fun year, I’ve got to say.
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VR BEST OF 2024 DISCLAIMER
This list represents my opinion only. I am not asserting any kind of superiority or self-importance by presenting it as I have. My opinion is not fact. Nobody ever agrees with me 100%. Respectful disagreement is most welcome.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
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10. The Car – Deadpool & Wolverine
For all its strengths as a fourth-wall-shattering comedy, Deadpool & Wolverine does bring quite a few memorable action scenes along for the ride. The opener single-handily brought *NSYNC back into relevance (well, for people who didn’t already have Bye Bye Bye on their workout playlists – hypothetically), and the side-on bus brawl against an army of Deadpool variants both sends up one-take battles and exists as a perfect example of one. My pick would be the set piece that takes place between those two, where the two title characters have it out inside a run-down car. Not only do you get plenty of creative moves due to the cramped space, but the inciting incident is a seething Hugh Jackman monologue that briefly reminds the audience just how good of an actor he is.
9. Vault Escape – Inside Out 2
In an otherwise admirably-balanced film where even the funny scenes are also tugging at the heartstrings a bit while working hard under the surface to set up a ton of necessary exposition as naturally as possible, only one scene pushes the comedy level all the way forward the whole time. And sure, what may have been a hilarious surprise was partially spoiled by trailers – especially the presence of a YongYea-voiced generically edgy videogame hero from the PS1 days locked away in Riley’s conceptual vault of shame – but for me the funniest part was mostly unspoiled: a direct-to-camera children’s television pastiche known only as Pouchy. I was laughing uncontrollably at every frustrating pause bemusing the main cast in the background.
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27
Dec
Posted by vagrantesque in Best of 2023, Lists, Movies. Tagged: 10, Best, countdown, Film, five, moments, sequences, shots, ten, top, Year. Leave a comment
I love writing this list each and every year, at least in part because a “scene” in a movie can be great for so many different reasons. Some years, however, a single genre or sub-genre of film dominates my watch list so heavily that some of the fun range gets lost. 2023 was one of those years, but because said source of dominance happened to be non-superhero action movies, I don’t mind one bit. This was a year teeming with examples of kinetic, pulse-pounding filmmaking craft – among other kinds of standout moments, of course – and I’m so excited to dive in. So let’s do that.
There are, naturally, a ton of spoilers on this page, so tread carefully.
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VR BEST OF 2023 DISCLAIMER
This list represents my opinion only. I am not asserting any kind of superiority or self-importance by presenting it as I have. My opinion is not fact. If you agree with me 100%, go buy a lottery ticket. Respectful disagreement is most welcome
MASSIVE SPOILERS FOLLOW!
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10. No Sleep Till Brooklyn – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3
Hey, I didn’t say there’d be no superhero action scenes – and if you’ve seen Guardians 3 you had to know this one was going to show up. The hallway brawl at the climax of the movie is three crucial things all in one: a magnificently-choreographed speed-shifting one-shot filled with faux-gore and crowd-pleasing team-up moves; an amazing song from a series famous for its amazing soundtracks; and most importantly, an emotionally resonant fist-pumper of a final combat moment for the Guardians team, spearheaded by the film’s emotional centre Rocket Raccoon and finished by the effectively all-new, all-different Gamora. Marvel’s best three minutes of the year.
9. Village Raid – The Creator
A testament to the enduring power of great shot selection and sound design, the US Army raid on a fishing village at the climax of The Creator’s second act is an effective microcosm of the whole film: it looks way better than it has any right to, it doesn’t hide from utilising gorgeous wide shots that would showcase blemishes easier, and it packs an immense serving of dread into a lean package. Extended sections of the scene have no music at all, and the ominous accelerating clunks of the self-destruct tin can robots obscured by weapon smoke is bone-chilling partially because of this – and partially because of their pre-sprint dialogue.
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28
Dec
Posted by vagrantesque in Best of 2022, Lists. Tagged: 10, Best, cinema, countdown, films, five, memories, sequences, shots, ten, top, Year. Leave a comment
This has to be my favourite edition of this list ever.
So many great 2022 movies, so many great scenes, not enough space. There’s no slot for that haunting Riddler scene that opens The Batman, for example, or the water bottle backstory from Bullet Train. Zoe Saldana nailed two completely different all-too-short sequences in two wildly different movies this year, and I couldn’t find room for either of them here. I’d also normally have space to have fun with ludicrous moments like that crab dance from the third Fantastic Beasts movie – which is played completely straight – or that cooked out-of-body tiny cave meet-up from the beginning of The Northman – or that final shot from The Menu. But alas, only ten slots on this one. Here are the movie moments that fill them:
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VR BEST OF 2022 DISCLAIMER
This list represents my opinion only. I am not asserting any kind of superiority or self-importance by presenting it as I have. My opinion is not fact. To agree with me 100% is as likely as avoiding MCU fatigue. Respectful disagreement is most welcome.
MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
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10. Sea Showdown – Avatar: The Way of Water
The trademark James Cameron Action Finale is present and accounted for in his spectacular 2022 Avatar sequel, and how. A few prior action beats go off spectacularly in 3D and 48 frames per second – starting with a stunning train derailment and moving through countless gorgeous water-borne shenanigans – but the climactic battle on open water is somehow greater than the sum of its technically-impressive parts, largely thanks to an ocean of earlier ensemble character work with and an armada of Chekhov’s gunfire ignited surgically by a master of the craft.
9. Field Operation – Ambulance
The constant complication conga faced by the desperate criminal characters at the centre of Ambulance’s white-knuckle ride-along would probably make for a pretty decent black comedy if the film was shot differently – but that hypothetical version probably wouldn’t include this visceral scene. I’d wager only medical professionals would find the exaggerated luck and Hollywood-accurate medical terms at the heart of this impromptu video-call surgery funny in any way. For the rest of us, it’s just a nail-shredding tension tornado not for the squeamish.
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23
Dec
Posted by vagrantesque in Best of 2022, Lists. Tagged: 10, Best, cinema, countdown, films, five, memories, sequences, shots, ten, top, Year. Leave a comment
Last year this list of mini-lists had a bit of a shake-up, thanks largely to the increased amount of TV content with tenuous connections to the material Vagrant Rant normally covers; but I figured it had been such a unique year that 2022 would surely see some of the older categories come back. Nope, here we are with the exact same five. Maybe 2021 was more of a trailblazing year than it appeared?
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VR BEST OF 2022 DISCLAIMER
This list represents my opinion only. I am not asserting any kind of superiority or self-importance by presenting it as I have. My opinion is not fact. To agree with me 100% is as likely as avoiding MCU fatigue. Respectful disagreement is most welcome.
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Best Third-Party Game Publisher
Square Enix
We kick off with a back-to-back win for Square Enix; but even though its competition could only be described as paltry this year, the way the Japanese gaming giant went about dominating 2022 could not have been more different from its more measured and western-leaning 2021 efforts. As covered on yesterday’s list, Square didn’t exactly come out of the blocks flying this year, but never in my wildest adolescent dreams could I have expected the sheer volume – and at times relentless pace – of the Japanese role-playing output they had in store to help people forget how weird it was that they shed all those powerhouse western teams all at once.
Re-releases, fresh ideas and combinations of both abounded as Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster led into Triangle Strategy, the aforementioned Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, the shock localisation of Radical Dreamers as part of the Chrono Cross remaster, the even more shocking localisation/remake Live A Live, then Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song, The DioField Chronicle and Valkyrie Elysium back-to-back, a premium-quality Nier Automata Switch port, then a five-week holiday period stuffed with Harvestella, Tactics Ogre Reborn, Dragon Quest Treasures and finally Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core Reunion. There were also two whole Voice of Cards RPGs released throughout 2022. Given where this company was at a decade ago “staggering” doesn’t begin to cover it, and I’m probably forgetting something too. Is a 2023 win on the cards too? Looking at the schedule, I wouldn’t count it out.
Runner-Up: Focus Entertainment
Best Indie Game Publisher
Devolver Digital
As always, this was a fun one to call; it seems indie publishers are only getting better at curating and fostering quality in gaming’s most exciting space. Raw Fury had a quiet one by their standards, only really offering the critically-loved NORCO as a brand-new title; everything Chucklefish announced got delayed (almost certainly a good thing); and most of the glints in the eyes of Gearbox Publishing are still on the horizon. That left us with a good old-fashioned heavyweight battle pitting Annapurna Interactive – house of the beloved Stray, A Memoir Blue, and Neon White – against Humble Games – who gave us runaway hits Temtem and Signalis alongside the underrated Chinatown Detective Agency and Prodeus. It’s a toughie, but my pick goes to Annapurna – just – for reasons that may become clear by the end of the year.
All that fight is just for the runner-up spot, of course, because Devolver Digital spent 2022 doing a lot more than simply producing their best mid-year game presentation in years. The indie publishing veterans showed the rest of the industry how it’s done, letting loose the likes of Samurai Warrior 3, Trek to Yomi, Weird West and Card Shark to delight players with all kinds of tastes in the first half of the year alone, before sealing their dominance with two of the biggest indie hits in recent memory. Return to Monkey Island is the point-and-click return to form no one saw coming, and as for Cult of the Lamb… well, that one may have just codified an entire subgenre.
Runner-Up: Annapurna Interactive
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27
Dec
Posted by vagrantesque in Best of 2021, Lists, Movies. Tagged: 2021, Best, countdown, Film, list, Movie, scenes, sequences, top, worst. Leave a comment
When you bring back blockbuster movies, you bring back spectacle and surprise and scale, and that makes this year’s list very different from 2020’s. Though I really did enjoy putting together last year’s list, the bombastic highlights were much easier to pick in 2021; in fact there are multiple films on this page packing more than one worthy scene, so I had a grand old time choosing. We’re looking at plenty of big action beats, coils of tension, a surprise or two, and a whole heap of spoilers.
Seriously, don’t read this if there were any big movies you missed in 2021 – especially that really recent big one that everyone’s been talking about.
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VR BEST OF 2021 DISCLAIMER
This list represents my opinion only. I am not asserting any kind of superiority or self-importance by presenting it as I have. My opinion is not fact. To agree with me 100% is beyond unlikely. Respectful disagreement is most welcome.
HUGE SPOILERS FOLLOW!
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10. Train Fight – Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
For my third mention of Shang-Chi this week, we have this fabulous character-revealing martial arts platform from the film’s first act. The one-vs-many showdown on a bendy-bus is actually quite similar in both setting and narrative purpose to another great sequence in Nobody, but of the two I think this one is more flashy and fun. With great choreography, every kind of dynamic camera move in the book, well-paced comedic beats, a properly crunchy soundtrack, and a (literally) crowd-pleasing final move, the constant momentum of the fight makes it easily the action highlight of the movie’s first two hours.
9. Scorpion vs Sub-Zero – Mortal Kombat
Speaking of martial arts scenes, Mortal Kombat fans get to see two rounds of the series’ most iconic rivalry in action within the 2021 movie of the same name: Once when neither combatant has reached the full extent of their powers in the extended prologue, and once for the grand finale of the whole (and I use this word loosely) plot. The second fight doesn’t really do anything super different from previous movie iterations; it’s really just playing the hits with much higher-quality stunt work and special effects. But the build-up to Scorpion’s re-entrance is a lot of fun, and if the thing you pay to see in a Mortal Kombat movie is the best thing about that movie, it’s kinda hard to complain.
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27
Dec
Posted by vagrantesque in Best of 2019, Lists, Movies. Tagged: 2019, Best, countdown, five, moments, sequences, spoilers, ten, top, worst, Year. Comments Off on Best of 2019: Top 10 Movie Scenes
Now we arrive at the year’s most stacked and probably most fun list. I had a shortlist of 28 scenes from 31 movies to whittle down to ten, and it’s been a good time reliving these well-constructed moments of tension, emotional catharsis or just plain fun at the movies. But while sifting through the shortlist I had a wild realisation: 2019 was a real good year for movie songs. I’ve got three of them on the main list and two in the honourable mentions, but worry not – there’s plenty of other stuff too. Including, obviously, lots and lots of big fat spoilers.
Proceed with caution.
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VR BEST OF 2019 DISCLAIMER
This list represents my opinion only. I am not asserting any kind of superiority or self-importance by presenting it as I have. My opinion is not fact. To agree with me 100% is rarer than an EA game without microtransactions. Respectful disagreement is most welcome.
MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD!
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10. All Hands on Deck – Shazam!
Like quite a few people out there, outside of Batman and friends I’m not a huge DC guy. There’s an awful lot about DC Comics characters that I don’t know. I also did not keep up with a ton of the marketing for Shazam! So I had no idea that the titular character has a super-powered foster family in the comics with whom he fights bad guys. But it didn’t take long for the movie to charm me – and make me well up a bit – with its regular human foster family plot. The movie’s portrayal of believably flawed kids living together in a community held together by a ridiculously patient couple really, really got me. So when the finale places a bunch of dominoes in a row in order to set up that power-dividing moment, it felt triumphant and earned. The fight afterwards is incredibly cheesy and a bit too neatly staged, but it was hard to care. I was having too much fun.
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30
Dec
Posted by vagrantesque in Best of 2014, Lists, Movies. Tagged: 10, 2014, 5, Best, Film, five, moments, Movie, scenes, sequences, story, ten, top, Year. Leave a comment
Here’s my favourite annual list once again – my personal top ten movie scenes of the year. These are the moments within 2014 films that drew real reactions from me, mostly either of the teary-eyed or the “That was so sick!” nature. Even if they come from otherwise poor movies, I will still remember these cinematic moments, and if they come from otherwise good movies, well those movies just go up a level and look all the better for it.
Naturally, this is the most spoileriffic list of them all, so please proceed with caution.
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VR BEST OF 2014 DISCLAIMER
This list represents my opinion only. I am not asserting any kind of superiority or self-importance by presenting it as I have. My opinion is not fact. If you actually agree with me 100%, that’s spooky. Respectful disagreement is most welcome.
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10. The Final Blow – Godzilla
Jeez, I mean – just… Just LOOK at that shot. Badass doesn’t even begin to describe the moment when Godzilla finally bests the “MUTO” menace in his 2014 return to the big screen. It almost makes up for all the flaws in the rest of the movie. Almost.
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25
Dec
Posted by vagrantesque in Best of 2012, Lists, Movies. Tagged: 2012, Best, Film, Movie, scenes, sequences, Year. Leave a comment
There’s nothing like a great film scene. When you’re sitting in the theatre and something happens onscreen to make you lean forward in your seat, or sit bolt upright, or cower into a fetal position, that’s what going to the movies is all about. In 2012, I experienced quite a few of those moments. Here they are, arranged in convenient order for your reading pleasure. Please note that while I won’t be going out of my way to include spoilers, the very fact that I am talking about impactful scenes within movies should suggest the kind of caution with which you might want to approach this list.
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VR BEST OF 2012 DISCLAIMER
This list represents my opinion only. I am not asserting any kind of superiority or self-importance by presenting it as I have. My opinion is not fact. If you actually agree with me 100%, that’s scary. You have been warned, fanboys.
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10. Sky Ball – Chronicle
Chronicle is a film with some pretty dark interpretations of the age-old “What would it be like if normal teenagers actually got superpowers?” question. Yet the most memorable scene of the movie for me was the joyous initial expression of physical freedom in which the three main characters engage soon after recieving their new telekinetic abilities. Once they learn to levitate themselves, the wonders of flight are shown in all their shackle-less glory through a wonderfully shot sequence culminating in a sky-high game of catch. It really feels like you’re there, thanks to the film’s “found footage” gimmick.
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