The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – If we burn…
Although arguably Mockingjay – Part 1 didn’t offer fans an overwhelming selection of great cinematic moments, watching Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) annihilate President Snow (Donald Sutherland) during an on-air ‘propo’ definitely set the mood for the rest of the franchise. The character we knew in The Hunger Games and Catching Fire had briefly become unrecognizable up to this point in the film as she struggled to come to terms with the reality of District 12 being gone and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) being held captive in the Capitol. And frankly, that version of Katniss didn’t translate as well onto screen as it managed to come through in the book. This scene was the breaking point where Katniss took a stand against the Capitol and said, “Enough.”
It was a powerful scene for more than one reason, but mostly because it showcased Katniss’s underlying ability to rise to the occasion. She’s never been a showboat, but when the situation calls for it she always seems to naturally meets the challenge. Instead of running and hiding when the air strike became a threat to her team, she used her super nifty explosive arrows to make the point that all it takes is one person to stand up to the Capitol to make a difference. Granted, she had some gadgets that swayed things to her side when the average citizen was working with nothing more than makeshift weapons, but there’s no way to engineer courage.
Jennifer Lawrence brought her ‘A’ game to this scene and gave moviegoers a reason to cheer. You could feel the raw emotion radiating from the screen as a breathless Lawrence showered Panem, and the audience, with hope.
– Lindsay Sperling
The Skeleton Twins – “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”
The main selling point of Sundance hit The Skeleton Twins is the dramatic about-face of ex-Saturday Night Live stars Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig. In the film, they play siblings Milo and Maggie, who reunite after a prolonged absence and try to help each other deal with personal demons. With themes like suicide and neglect coming to the fore, this is far from the territory they used to mine when they were live from New York.
However, the film does have its moments of comic bliss. Its pièce de résistance is a scene where Milo tries to cheer up Maggie by turning on the cheesy 80s anthem “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” by Starship. The song is a duet between the band’s two main singers, so Milo tries to get Maggie to join along with him as he lip-syncs. The scene’s spontaneity enlivens some of the rest of the film’s despairing subject matter, while also proving just how formidable the chemistry is between Hader and Wiig. Here, the actors break free and begin dancing to the beat of the song, giving the moment an energy and glee that is difficult to resist.
Interestingly, director Craig Johnson revealed that the original 80s song for that moment was “Hold On” by Wilson Phillips. Of course, Kristen Wiig already did some lip-syncing to that ditty at the end of Bridesmaids. Hader and Wiig’s chemistry and dazzling comic timing would have made the moment a classic, though, regardless of the song Johnson had picked.
– Jordan Adler
