Darren’s Favorite Moments of 2007: TV, Film, and Otherwise
Hey guys. In the first of what may or may not be many posts reviewing the year of 2007, I would like to list my favorite moments in television, film, and otherwise. This is in no order whatsoever. Also, as the year draws to a close, I will continuously update this post.
[NOTE: Some of these movies were released in '06, but won an Oscar in '07, so I decided that still counts. Yes, I realize that not only does it not count, but also that my reasoning is in no way substantial enough for you to "be okay with it." I'm sorry.]
Film
- The scene in Superbad when Evan finishes his conversation with Becca in the hallway, and they end up walking off awkwardly in the same direction, so Evan just starts running away. For so long, I had hoped this exact moment would show up in something. Here it is done perfectly.
- The scene in Pan’s Labrynth when Captain Vidal breaks a bottle over someones FACE! This is one of the most shockingly brutal scenes I have seen in any movie. Not exactly captured well on youtube, but it’s good enough:
- That totally random scene in The Departed, when Costello tosses a handful of cocaine onto a bed and says, “You like cocaine? Here’s some cocaine. Don’t get up till you’re numb.” There is no reason why this scene is in the movie. There’s plenty cocaine and Costello being ridiculous without it. Also, it seems completely seperate somehow. It’s just really funny.
- Alan Arkin wins the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, for his role as Grandpa in Little Miss Sunshine. The role was perfect, and his acceptance speech is refreshingly the same:
- Robert Downey, Jr. looking mildly hilarious in Zodiac. It was a pretty spooky movie besides this:
- The extremely gay undertones of Xerxes in The 300. This is one of those moments where you can just feel the directer joking around with the audience. He went up to the actor and said, “Hey, wait, dude. Wouldn’t it be hilarious if you played the character super gay!? Alright cool lets do that and then have everyone kill each other more. Ok, places everyone.”
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End being the second movie I’ve ever walked out on. It was so bad, I was ruining the movie for everyone in the theater because I was laughing so hard. In case you were wondering, the only other movie I have ever walked out on, I am ashamed to say, is Blank Check. However I was like nine, and I have since understood the true importance of scanning a blank check into a computer, typing “1,000,000″ and suddenly being filthy rich.
- Paul Rudd in the hotel room in Knocked up. One of the funniest moments in his career:
[UPDATE: NBC TOOK THIS VIDEO OFF YOUTUBE! LET ME KNOW IF YOU FIND IT ANYWHERE!] - The scene Ratatouille when tasting ratatouille throttles Anton Ego back to his childhood, and we see an innocent child-Anton in his home, with his broken bicycle behind him in the front yard. The “camera” work is perfect.
- A close Ratatouille second should be given to the scene when Remi is speaking to Gustaeu’s portrait in his office, and halfway through the conversation, Gustaeu blurts out “this used to be my office!”
- Ellen Page’s performance in Juno. She completely nailed such a great character. It’s not often when a writer and an actor are both so spot on in a protagonist.
TV
- When Man vs. Wild is discovered to be a complete hoax. It made me question who I was as a person. I lived by that show. Now I have died by it. Yes, I realize that doesn’t make sense in any real way:
- Fred Armisen’s performance as Nicholas Fehn, Political Comedian, as part of Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live. This is one of those special moments of pure comedic ability getting its chance to shine. The first part of the segment is cut off by the YouTube clip. Basically, it’s him explaining that he is a political comedian, and he takes stuff from the newspaper and makes fun of it in a hard-hitting, real way:
[UPDATE: NBC Took this video off youtube, but I found the Nicholas Fehn sketch from this season. It's good enough] - Alec Baldwin’s incredible performance on 30 Rock as Jack in therapy with Tracy. Another example of unbridled comedic ability. After watching this clip, I feel like Alec Baldwin was put on this earth to act in this very scene:
- The Extras Extra Special Christmas Series Finale episode. It was, in my opinion, one of the best series finales of all time. When it was funny, it was laugh-out-loud-alone-and-Jewish-in-my-living-room-on-Christmas-Eve funny, and when it was dramatic it was extremely moving, poignant, and important:
- The entire Human Giant 24 Hour marathon on MTV. It was 24 straight hours of some of the best comedic talent ever (and never) to be seen on television (I have to also point out that our own Kevin Mead had his photo on TV for about 3.5 seconds during this marathon). Click here for tons of videos.
- The season finale of Flight of the Conchords. A great ending to a season that started to teeter a bit towards the end. I can’t wait for the next season. Let me just spoil the ending for you:
- Anything Jared ever did on Kid Nation. The Colonialist staff watched the entire season religiously, for all the wrong reasons. This clip shows most of those reasons:
- The music video for Same Girl. One of the funniest videos ever, period. Oh, also, one of the worst songs ever. Also period:
[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.492349&w=425&h=350&fv=]
[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.492352&w=425&h=350&fv=]
Otherwise
- The Boston Red Sox winning the World Series, catalyzing an all-around championship year for Boston sports.
- Michael Cera hosting a live version of Saturday Night Live at the UCB Theatre in New York City to benefit writers and crew members struggling from the writer’s strike. I wasn’t there, but it’s easily the #1 event of the year I wish I didn’t miss. This also brought about live versions of 30 Rock, The Colber Report, and more to the same theatre.
So, that’s it for now. If you’ve got images or videos for anything that I don’t, let me know. Or, weigh in. Keep the comments comin’.
Dear 2007,
Thanks. You were pretty okay.
Love,
Darren
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
This is a comprehensive list of everything amazing in 07. You should write for VH1 if VH1 was interesting.